Bed Rest and Zombies

I spent today sick and sleeping most of the time. I don't know what's wrong, but I've just been wiped out since I got back to work. Also feeling sick more often than not. I may go see my regular physician this week.

Nice to see the horror/comedy ZOMBIELAND was the #1 movie this week. My agent is taking my zombie novel THE LIVING END around to the publishers, so the timing is good.

For years I've wondered about the relative popularity of the zombie mythos. All kinds of ideas and impressions hit me, notably the racist/xenophobia aspects of it. But I think what gets a lot of people excited about the basic premise is the opportunity to be reactionaries. Here is a problem that you really can smash or burn or shoot. For the first time here's something that bullets can take care of.

And that's why it appeals to a lot of right wing mentality. I covered that before, back in December 2006 here.

Now...that doesn't explain why it appeals to everyone else. One of my good friends once pointed out that the zombie trope plucks so many strings on the fear guitar that it's a can't-miss scenario. Just about every fear you can think of can be contained within the zombie storyline. I think he was right. I think that's exactly what's going on in most of these books and films and comics that center themselves on the idea of the recently dead returning to a mindless sort of life to consume the living.

It's just pretty darned scary.

Even when you try to work in a laugh or two.