Zombies: A Field Guide to the Walking Dead

In the myths, legends and folklore of many peoples, the returning, physical dead play a significant role, whether they are the zombies of Haiti or the draugr of Scandinavia. But what are the origins of an actual bodily return from the grave? Does it come from something deep within our psyche or is there some truth to it? In ZOMBIES, Bob Curran explores how some of these beliefs may have arisen and the truths that lay behind them, examining myths from all around the world and from ancient times including Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian and Celtic. Bob traces the evolution of belief in the walking cadaver from its early inception in religious ideology to the Resurrections and cataleptics of 18th century Europe, from prehistoric tale to Arthurian romance. Zombies even examines the notion of the living dead in the world today - entities such as the living mummies of Japan.