Zombie Walks And Social Experiments

Some hilarious text from an article on Zombie Walks:

Promoted primarily through word of mouth and online message boards, zombie walks are an underground activity. During the event participants are encouraged to remain in character as zombies and to communicate only in a manner consistent with zombie behavior. This may include grunting, groaning and slurred, moaning calls for 'brains'. It should be noted that zombie behavior is a hot topic of debate. Purists who draw their definitions from the original Living Dead films will claim that a zombie would never have the ability to call for 'brains' and furthermore that a zombie needs only living (or freshly killed) flesh for its sustenance and not the brain in particular.

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At the 2006 Vancouver Zombiewalk, an incident occurred in which a driver attempted to push his way through the crowd of zombies that was headed down Robson St. This resulted in some minor injuries among the zombies, severe damage to the car, a number of ICBC insurance claims, and coverage on CBC Television.

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On October 31, 2006, a young woman in Bloomington, Indiana reported to police that a group of "zombies" attacked her in her Land Rover and covered the vehicle in "purple goo". The zombies in question turned out to be participants in a small, local zombie walk, and no arrests were made.

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An advanced technique to heighten interest and 'realism', some zombie mobs will actually 'eat' victims to create new zombies, in sight of horrified onlookers.

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I love this. There will be a world wide zombie walk on 10-26-08 and I am seriously considering participating because this is something right up my alley. During my third year in college, I had to do a social experiment where we had to change something about our appearance—drastically or something miniscule—go about our regualr routine on campus and then discuss how we were treated.

Well, count on me to do something fucked up.

Let me take you back to Virginia Tech, October 2002. It was Halloween weekend and we were preparing our costumes for that nights party at my BFF Kay's apartment complex. I had decided to go as a drug-addled model. Did I look like a model? No, but the idea in and of itself was fun and "adult"!

Most of my costume I had nailed down:

1. Cute model-esque outfit and sky-high faux-hawk (its was 2002 people, that hairdo was happening then!). Check.

2. Dark sunken in eyes with coagulated blood colored lipstick. Check.

3. Bruises and track marks a la Requiem For A Dream. Check.

4. A crushed up bit of a Tums dotted around one nostril as fake cocaine. Check.

5. Dark red nail polish as fake blood dripping from my nostril (I highly recommend this method if you need a small amount blood for a costume, it looks very realistic and once it dries, it stays put). Check.

6. Hypodermic needles. Acquisition status: Doubtful.

I did not think I would be able to get the hypodermic needles for my costume, but it wouldn't hurt to ask at a pharmacy. Some friends and I went to the local Walmart for more Halloween stuff and I sheepishly approached the pharmacy counter.

Me: Uhhhh. I need some hypodermic needles.

Pharmacist (in her southern twang): Oh, okay, you're diabetic. Do you have your insulin prescription with you?

Me: Oh, I'm not diabetic. I need them for a costume.

Pharmacist: A coss-tuuume???

Me (trying to control my giggles): Yeah. I swear, I don't do drugs! (because that declaration is totally going to help my case)

Pharmacist (giving me a long squinty-eyed look): Ooookay. I'll need to see some identification and you'll need to sign this sheet here.

SCORE! Had I asked in any other locale, I would have been turned down flat. Talk about total amazement. I could have been a high-functioning addict for all the pharmacist knew. Soooo, I took my needles and filled them with fake cheap heroin (Coca-Cola diluted with water) and made them into a necklace.

Costume complete.

Consequently, after all the trouble and thought I had put into my look, it ended up being too dark and crowded at the party for anybody to "get" the intricacies and cheekiness of my costume. I just looked seriously fucked up.

Fast forward to the next week and completing my social experiment assignment. Again, we had to change something about our appearance and go about our regular routine on campus. Since my costume failed so miserably because it was too realistic, I decided to use some of the same ideas for my experiment. I dabbed a little bit of crushed Tums inside one nostril and had fake blood (nail polish) dripping from another. My roommate, Deutlich, was a bit horrified yet highly amused by my look which confirmed I definitely looked like I had a bit of a problem. With coke. Or something.

I only had one class that Friday. An 8:00 am. Since there aren't that many people out and about that early on a Friday, I figured I go for the gusto and make eye contact with every person I passed. Man! Their faces were a mixture of horror, shock, and concern. It was hilarious. One girl stopped in her tracks, mouth agape. I think she was going to try to tell me my nose was bleeding, but she couldn't get the words out. In turn, I had to keep walking and ignore her because if I didn't I would have busted out laughing, thus breaking character.

It was one of the many memorable college moments I have. When I told my parents about it, my mom's response was: "You're sick."

Heeeeeeee! I think this is why participating in a zombie walk is so appealing to me.