 Originally Posted by darth los
That's a good observation. I always thought it strange that just a couple of weeks into the plauge that the zombies in the remake looked the way they did. But back to the original film's zombies. What actually determines what color a zghoul comes back as?
Corpses can vary in the way they look based on many different factors, the first being how long they were dead before they were moved, or in this case I guess, before they reanimated, and what the environmental circumstances they were in.
A corpse remaining in one position for a period of time after death will display marks of lividity, that is, the bodily fluids, blood primarily, stop circulating once the heart stops and will sink to the lowest points in the body, causing a purplish or sometimes brown to black tint very similar in appearance to a bruise. Example: If a person dies lying on his or her left side in a semi fetal position one will expect to find marks of lividity on the left hand side of the body, most likely where the body came into contact with the floor or bed. Or if the body is laying with the lowest point being a leg, or the head, this will cause the fluids to pool at those points resulting in discoloration.
Environmental conditions will cause the appearance to change. This is pretty obvious: if a corpse is in a cooler environment, the rate of decomposition will slow as opposed to a warmer environment. If the corpse is exposed to the elements-- rain, wind, sun,-- this too will factor in. If the corpse is laying in a wooded area, bugs and animals will go to work and alter appearance. Of course, if a corpse is immersed in water for a period of time, for whatever reason, this will also affect appearance (think about how your skin looks after a long swim) and will expose it to fish and other critters and inevitably lead to postmortem wounds.
Physical condition and ailments at the time of death will have an effect. Jaundice, as I mentioned, will cause the skin to appear yellow at first and later darken to a brown or even green tint. Natural skin color will also determine to some degree the appearance of the corpse, obviously. In many instances the skin will turn a grey to blue-grey tint after a few hours. If left without cosmetics or other intervention the tint becomes increasingly visble and obvious.
NOTE: The application of cosmetics to the remains prior to a viewing or an open casket funeral is standard operating procedure to mask visible skin discoloration.
Rigor mortis begins immediately after the heart ceases to circulate, and can set in within six hours. Within this period of time the limbs may "lock" into position and once advanced becomes difficult to impossible to reverse without popping the joints.
Finally, and this is an unpleasant concept but completely natural and common, in many cases at the time of death the bowel and bladder of the deceased may spontaneously empty. This can be explosive in nature or can be a slow process occuring over several hours. Gases will continue to collect inside of the body, and will expel from time to time for hours and in some circumstances days after death, sometimes giving the impression that the deceased is groaning, breathing, sighing and of course cutting a fart.
If left unrefrigerated and unembalmed, the deceased will begin decomposing within a short time after death, usually once the body reaches ambient temperature, which can sometimes take a few hours. Skin slippage, that is, fluids pooling under the upper layer of skin, can occur within the first 24 hours, causing a blood blister type of wounds that easily burst, sometimes spontaneously. Discoloration becomes inherently noticable within this period of time. Bloating from gases can alter appearance signifigantly within the first 48. Outer skin will begin drying out immediately after death, so within the first 24 hours the remains will signs of withering which, if left untreated can lead to severe parching. The appearance of the eyes will be altered within this period of time, giving the eyes a milky appearance.
A sensitive person may be able to smell decomposition within the first 48 hour period or less depending on the environment. In the case of evacuated bowels, this will be detectable immediately after it occurs.
This is not a complete list, and actually not my specific field of expertise within the industry as my position is primarily one of a glorified event planner and advisor. A lot of this is from criminal science courses in college and from working with morticians and embalmers. I explained things in a rather simplistic manner and my associates in the industry would have a lot more to add as there is technically a lot more going on than I have the capability to explain.
One other point in this regard, to add to my already lengthy post: In the GAR universe of ghouls, I recall hearing one of the talking heads, or perhaps it was Logan in DAY, state that revival retards the process of decomposition. Therefore, some of what was said may not apply in this sense, and I guess that while decomposition will continue after revival, perhaps this magical intervention (the revival) may alter to a large degree the effects of the decompositional process. So in this regard, perhaps the appearance of the ghoul would be determined by at what stage of the process revivial occured.
Let me close by saying that it is very easy to find all this repugnant (believe me I understand) and I am aware that there are cultural taboos, etc associated with thinking and talking about these items. Let me stress here and now that in spite of however gross this might appear to everyone, it is all part of a natural process that we all will go through and that in spite of what you may have been led to believe (philosphically, spiritually, etc) I still believe that there is dignity in death.
In this regard, I am one of those people that Peter refers to in the basment of project 101 in that in spite of what I have seen, I still believe that there is respect in dying.
|
Posting Permissions
Dawg
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks