The Truth About Zombies and Vampires

By Alexander Rosacruz

Monsters are everywhere these days, and paradoxically by the start of the third millennium, belief in their existence seems to be even stronger. For many, in the age of satellites and the internet, the presence of these fantastic creatures should have disappeared... but there are those who are willing to find the evidence to support their opinions.

The belief in monsters is found, although at different levels, in all cultures of the world. What changes is only the nature of the beings that haunt the nightmares of humanity. If less than a millennium ago it was still possible to swear that fairies existed, today such a conception seems extravagant. This is because scientific knowledge was added that provided answers to inexplicable facts, but, as in other cases, new doors were opened for debate.

This is the case of zombies and vampires, who have been present for centuries in cultural traditions; full of fantasies and truths; but in the scientific light, they can have explanations, which do not finish calming the human. Thus, the window is open for future research.

This book is a guide to understanding the zombie and vampiristic phenomenon, providing facts, clarifying concepts, and the reader will need a valuable contribution to their knowledge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Editorial Anuket
• Release date: Sep 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223669982

Book preview

Chapter 1

Zombies, their story

––––––––

Haitian zombies

Zombies are well ingrained in Haitian stories and mythology. Researchers who have studied Haitian culture have told countless stories of victims whose bodies were brought back to life by bokors or sorcerers.

Those zombies are mindless slaves. They are not self-aware and are not particularly dangerous unless given salt that restores their senses and consciousness. Stories like these are like campfire stories: They tap into the listener's deepest fears and seem believable despite their improbability.

Even after studying numerous stories and rumors, researchers have not found convincing evidence to recognize the phenomenon of the zombification of people.

Zombie wannabes often received little or no medical care until their apparent death, simply falling into prostration due to psychological exhaustion. Investigators have faced identity errors and fraud.

And yet, the phenomenon cannot be completely ruled out, because they really are unique cases.

––––––––

The most surprising case

The story begins in 1962, in Haiti. A man named Clairvius Narcisse was sold to a zombie lord by his brothers because he refused to sell his family's land to him. Shortly after, Clairvius officially died and was buried. However, he was later dug up and put to work on a sugar plantation, along with many other zombies. After the zombie lord died in 1964, Clairvius wandered the length and breadth of the island in a psychotic trance for 16 years. The drugs that had induced his psychosis were gradually beginning to wear off. In 1980, he met her sister in a market and recognized her. She did not recognize him, but he convinced her of her identity by telling her different moments of her childhood, which only he could know.

Scientists considered the case as possible evidence of Haitian zombies. In fact, according to the documents, Clairvius had died and had been buried. When his body disappeared, the family reported it as a stolen body. When the authorities interviewed the subject, thinking that it was a scam, the man answered all the questions about his family and his childhood. He was eventually recognized by family and friends.

Clairvius was the driving force behind the Zombie Project, a study of the origins of zombies conducted in Haiti between 1982 and 1984. During this time, ethnobotanist and anthropologist Dr. Wade Davis traveled throughout Haiti in hopes of learning the origin of zombies Haitian zombies.

Davis traveled to the Caribbean island with a request from Nathan S. Kline. The doctor did not believe and suspected some kind of drug responsible for the appearance of zombies. Because the drug could have medical uses, particularly in the field of anesthesia, Kline hoped to collect samples, analyze them, and determine how they worked.

Davis learned from Haitians who believed in zombies that bokor witchcraft had nothing to do with drugs or poisons. According to local legends, the bokor captures a part of the chosen victim's soul, which is directly connected to the person.

However, this curious researcher discovered that, in their rituals, the bokor used complex powders made from dried plants and animals.

Davis collected eight zombie dust samples from four districts of Haiti. The ingredients were not identical, but seven of the eight samples shared common ingredients:

• One or more species of fish that contain a deadly neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin.

• Sea frog (Bufomarinus or frog), which releases highly poisonous and toxic substances

• The powders contained plant and animal ingredients, such as lizards and spiders. Some even included broken glass!

The use of puffer fish intrigued Davis. Tetrodotoxin causes paralysis and death, and victims of tetrodotoxin poisoning often remain conscious until death.

Paralysis blocks the response to external stimuli, as in the case of Clairvius. There are other known cases in medicine where people have taken tetrodotoxin and appeared to be dead, only to recover fully later.

Perhaps, Davies suggested, the topically applied powder irritated and penetrated the victim's skin. If it was a drink, the tetrodotoxin would have paralyzed her immediately. In all applications with this substance, the poisoned person gives birth dead. The sorcerer must have waited for the family to bury the victim, then removed the body with little vital signs, and handed it over to the future owner.

Note that the zombie's body must have required a constant feed of zombie dust to keep the victim in check. In this case, there is no classic zombie, which occurs when the body is absolutely dead, with broken limbs, even with a damaged head, but