Zombies have been a pop culture sensation over the last century

 Zombies have been a pop culture sensation over the last century

. However, now many have heard of its origins, so let’s talk about it. The original zombies weren’t flesh-eating fiends. They were a projection of the experiences of Africans as slaves in the French colony of Saint Domingue, or Haiti. 

 From 1625 until around 1800, Saint Domingue had inhumane and brutal practices of slavery. Slaves were brought in, and over half were worked to death. Instead of loosening up with the harsh treatment, the French imported more slaves. Haitian slaves believed that death would release them back to Africa in the afterlife. Although suicide was common amongst slaves, the belief was that those who committed suicide would be denied their bodies in the afterlife and live an eternity as undead slaves, or zombies. Overseers (usually other slaves) used this fear of zombification to discourage slaves from committing suicide. 

Zombies became Haitian folklore following the Haitian Revolution. This also saw zombies become entangled with the Voodoo religion, and it was believed that zombies were revived by bokors (sorcerers) to be their slaves. Because of Voodoo, and Haiti becoming an independent black republic, Haiti was vilified and demonized for its cannibalism, human sacrifice, and dark magic.

Zombies started to become popular in the United States after 1915 after President Woodrow Wilson ordered the occupation of Haiti, where a formal system of unpaid labor and forced Haitians to build new roads was instituted. This imposed yet another form of slavery and zombification. By the end of the United States’ occupation of Haiti in 1934, zombies were appropriated, taking on a new meaning. Along with the Marines came members of the media. One of those was William Seabrook, who was obsessed with Voodoo culture. 

While in Haiti, Seabrook participated in Voodoo ceremonies and claimed to have seen actual zombies.  He used his experiences in Haiti, and other third-world countries, to create The Magic Island in 1929, which became a bestseller and opened the door to zombies in pop culture, making the living dead a new horror sensation. Excerpts from The Magic Island paved the way for the 1932 film White Zombie, the first full-length feature film based on zombies. From that, zombies would go from being a projection of the plight of Haitian slaves to the brain and flesh-eating fiends.