How To Write Zombies In Fiction
Learn the history of zombies in fiction and discover how to write believable zombie characters in your stories.
Zombie stories are fan favourites and a great playground for writers. While they are not always popular, zombie tales rise from the grave every so often.
Western zombie stories began to attract public attention in the 1800s. Today, writers mix zombies with many genres, including romance, horror, action, and comedy.
Let’s look at where zombie stories come from and explore some techniques you can use to write your own zombie tale.
How To Write Zombies In Fiction
A Grand Zombie History
Theories about the origins of zombies often point to Haitian Vodou. In these traditions, stories tell of corpses brought back by priests, usually to serve others or perform evil deeds.
Stories about the dead returning to life also appear in other cultures and legends, including South African and Brazilian traditions. Like vampires, early zombie legends were rooted in fear.
Zombie stories travelled with people affected by the slave trade. As they spread, the stories changed and evolved. In English, the word ‘zombi’ appeared in Robert Southey’s ‘A History Of Brazil‘, published between 1810 and 1819. One of the next well-known uses appeared in W. B. Seabrook’s ‘The Magic Island’ in 1929.
From there, writers began exploring the idea of reanimated or drugged zombies in fiction.
Film soon followed. White Zombie, released in 1932, was one of the first major zombie films. Night Of The Living Dead, released in 1968, helped bring the zombie genre back to public attention.
Modern zombie stories moved further away from the idea of bewitched or cursed people. From the mid-20th century onwards, many stories gave zombies a viral, bacterial, or chemical origin.
Zombies In Fiction WritingÂ
1. Zombies Defined
According to the Merriam-Webster definition, a zombie is: ‘a will-less and speechless human … held to have died and been supernaturally reanimated’
But zombie stories can be more than supernatural tales. In the 21st century, zombie fiction has become increasingly biological and viral. Many modern stories don’t mention faith, magic, or supernatural origins.
The source of the fear has changed, too. Readers fear unstoppable viruses, isolation, disease, and the struggle to survive. These elements make zombie stories feel more immediate and believable.
2. What Causes Fiction’s Zombies?
A zombie can be created in several ways:
- They are bewitched or drugged.
- They are bitten by another zombie.
- They are infected by a virus, bacteria, or chemical.
Other causes are possible. However, if you move too far away from the accepted idea of a zombie, you may end up with a story that no longer feels like zombie fiction.
Think about it like describing a square. You can describe a square in a creative way, but the reader must still recognise it as a square.
The same principle applies to stories based on well-known myths, including zombies and vampires. Be creative, but keep enough of the familiar elements for readers to recognise what you are writing about.
3. Zombie Characteristics
Let’s look at what zombies are — and what they are not.
Zombies are traditionally human. They are either brought back to life or transformed by a virus, disease, or other infection. A zombie bite may turn another person into a zombie or infect them with the same disease or condition. These basics appear in most zombie stories.
Other characteristics are optional. Zombies are often slow, but some writers make them fast. Some zombies can be killed in several ways, while others can only be stopped by destroying their brains.
Once you have established the basic elements of a zombie tale, you have more freedom to experiment with the secondary details.
4. When Is A Zombie Not A Zombie?
Sometimes a zombie story moves so far from the traditional idea that it stops feeling like a zombie story.
Zombies are traditionally human. If your creatures are no longer human, you have moved away from the traditional zombie myth. Zombies are also usually undead, but their characteristics separate them from other undead creatures, such as vampires.
You could, for example, set a zombie story in space. But if the zombies are actually aliens from another planet, you have moved into another genre. Richard Matheson’s ‘I I Am Legend‘ is a good example of a story that sits between genres. It is often described as a vampire or apocalyptic story rather than a traditional zombie story.
The lesson is simple: you can change the rules, but your story should still contain enough familiar elements for readers to recognise the genre.
5. Traditional Zombie Stories
Zombie fiction can take many forms. Survival, horror, and apocalyptic or dystopian themes are common.
Stephen King’s ‘Home Delivery‘, collected in Nightmares & Dreamscapes, is a good example. It combines zombies with fear, survival, and isolation. King’s ‘Cell‘ also explores zombie-like ideas. In this story, a mysterious signal transmitted through mobile phones turns people into violent creatures.
6. Modern Zombie Fiction
Modern zombie fiction gives writers more freedom to experiment. A zombie story does not always have to be pure horror or survival horror.
- Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies gives the zombie story a romantic twist.
- Lynn Messina’s A Girl’s Guide To Dating Zombies also uses zombies in a romantic setting.
- Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies adds zombies to Jane Austen’s classic novel.
These stories keep the basic zombie element while changing the genre, tone, setting, or purpose.
That is one of the strengths of zombie fiction. Once you understand the basic rules, you can experiment with them. Modern zombie fiction is more willing to incorporate freedom in the genre.
The Last WordÂ
In this post, we explored the history of zombie fiction and the elements that make a zombie story work. Zombie fiction has changed over time, but its basic appeal remains the same. Take the familiar elements, add your own ideas, and see where your story takes you.
Image by SvenKirsch from Pixabay
By Alex J. Coyne. Alex is a writer, proofreader, and regular card player. His features about cards, bridge, and card playing have appeared in Great Bridge Links, Gifts for Card Players, Bridge Canada Magazine, and Caribbean Compass. Get in touch at alexcoyneofficial.com.
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