The blanket term zombie tends to be applied to a variety of different entities with the assumption being that only one of many characteristics is enough to classify a creature as being a zombie. This simplification is not only incorrect, it is also dangerous and has led many amateur monster hunters to their doom.

To insure that such incidents are few and far between, we’ve broken down what most perceive as “zombies” into five different classes based upon their threat level, resiliency and methods of termination.

That being said, creatures fitting the description of zombies tend to:

• have some sort of infectious quality about them (if they bite, scratch or get their juicy bits on you then you’ll probably turn into on of them)
• tend to congregate (more dangerous in large numbers)
• eat the flesh of humans (have been known to consume animals as well)
•  lack basic reasoning skills (you can’t negotiate with zombies)
• be in some state of decomposition (exception being the Class C Zombie)
• lack feelings, both physical and emotional (kicking your zombified dad in the nuts won’t affect him and neither will telling him that you love him.)

Another aspect of zombies to be aware of is that zombies are usually the side effect of a bigger problem. While it is always necessary to insure that every zombie that turns up is destroyed, it is more important to find the source of the zombie invasion and either learn from it or stop it.

Possible Zombie Scenarios

The Zombie as a Contagion– Zombies are seen most commonly as a side effect of an illness that spreads quickly throughout populated areas. The contagion itself can have a variety of different characteristics so one should never assume all zombie contagions are created equally. While usually spread through physical contact, it is quite possible for the contagion to be airborne.

The Zombie as a Biological Weapon– Also known as a “Bio Zombie”, zombies resulting from the use of genetically engineered biological agents are similar to contagion zombies in that there aren’t any sort of universal standards for how these weapons are applied to their targets. These weapons are rarely used in largely populated or landlocked areas for fear of uncontrolled spread. That being said, accidents do happen, rendering any sort of application and containment protocol useless.

One difference that can make bio zombies themselves more dangerous is that mutations often occur, resulting in the enhancement of a zombie’s physical characteristics and abilities.

The Zombie as a Mindless Slave– Practitioners of the dark arts have found numerous ways to enslave people with certain poisons or spells, but such things can also occur through medical or technological means.

The Zombie as an Incubator– The bodies of animals and humans make for the perfect hosts to incubate the young of certain creatures as they develop during the early part of their life cycle. Because the implantation of these creatures tends to result in the death of the host, they’ve developed a means of keeping basic neurological functions active in order to maintain homeostasis within the body of the host. This type of zombie tends to stay close to the nest or hive of the implanted organism, only leaving in order to find food. Once mature, the organism will leave the body, often times leaving the host body to continue functioning as it had during the incubation stage.

The Zombie as the Product of Magic– People tend to assume that all zombies rise from the dead, but the scenarios mentioned above actually begin with a living person. It takes very powerful magic (called Necromancy) to actually reanimate cadavers, though certain viruses have been known to have similar results. Zombies that are the result of Necromancy tend to be controlled by the person who reanimated them (called the Necromancer) and may appear to have more functionality than other zombie types. While killing the necromancer may also destroy the creatures he created, it could also merely destroy his control over the undead hordes. This could have dire consequences if all of the zombies created are not accounted for.

Zombie Types

Zombie Class F (Voodoo Zombie)

Threat Level:

Background:  The class F zombie can be found most commonly in Voodoo lore and is characterized by a live person being put into a trance (through magic or pharmaceutics) so that another person has some kind of control over their actions.

How To Kill It:

Zombie Class E (Romero)
Creature Type: Undead
Threat Level: medium
Habitat: Anywhere populated by humans, functions better in moderate temperatures
Origin: (Mythology)

Background: (General Information) The Class D or Romero Zombie

While the Class E Zombie is the least threatening of the bunch individually, the true danger lies in their numbers.

How To Kill It:

Zombie Class D (28 Days later)
Creature Type:
Threat Level: (0= No Threat, 10=Possible World Ender)
Habitat:
Origin: (Mythology)

Background: (General Information)

How To Kill It:

Zombie Class C (Dawn of The Dead Remake)
Creature Type:
Threat Level: (0= No Threat, 10=Possible World Ender)
Habitat:
Origin: (Mythology)

Background: (General Information)

How To Kill It:

Zombie Class B (Revenge of the Living Dead)
Creature Type:
Threat Level: (0= No Threat, 10=Possible World Ender)
Habitat:
Origin: (Mythology)

Background: (General Information)

How To Kill It:

Zombie Class A (Resident Evil)

Creature Type:
Threat Level: (0= No Threat, 10=Possible World Ender)
Habitat:
Origin: (Mythology)

Background: (General Information)

How To Kill It: