The dark history of zombies – Christopher M. Moreman

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Trace the origins of zombies from the Afro-Haitian religion of vodou, and discover how zombification was a reflection of slavery.

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Zombies have a distinct lineage— one that traces back to Equatorial and Central Africa. For three centuries, African people were enslaved and brought to the Caribbean Islands. There, a religion known as vodou developed, along with the belief that a person’s soul can be captured and stored, becoming a body-less zombie. Christopher M. Moreman uncovers the true origins of the undead.

Lesson by Christopher M. Moreman, directed by Kaspar Jancis.

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42 thoughts on “The dark history of zombies – Christopher M. Moreman”

  8. There's some chinese sci fi novels that a zombie has a crystal in it's forehead that can enhance a person's body, some plots even have superhuman abilities like conjuring elements and manipulating space of sorts.

    Reply

  15. I think you should change the thumbnail, it might trigger/scare some people, like imagine if you were a kid and you were watching SpongeBob clips and you saw that. Also might wanna add “TW: Scary imagery, racial violence, and trauma” to the title.

    Reply

  18. I would actually like to see zombies as they were once known and stood for by the Haitians to be discussed in media the way this video did.

    I think there's a lot of weight to the vessels of the dead that couldn't rest in peace because they were forced into labor. It's both chilling and tragic.

    Reply

  23. Am from Africa, stories of enslaved dead are still available, and some people claim to have seen their deceased loved ones on some plantations! On the border of uganda and Tanzania, even enslaving you in your sleep is a possibility! At least I know someone who can demonstrate the last one

    Reply

  26. In Brazil the leader of the country's greatest "quilombo" was called "zumbi"(not the person, but the leadership position, like mayor, president…), and that's the same word for zombie in portuguese

    Reply

  28. about zombies you might not African people don't understand I am a Muslim African and I know what does it mean zombie in my country ,my country is one of the middle east countries and we still might have something similar to zombies but we call it in different name it actually kind of a bad magic yeah we still have magic any way let me explain what I meant with all above so in my country when someone die he really dies and really can't come back but if some people want to revenge or any thing from the dead family they go to the magicians and say for them to bring the genie of the dead person to there house or any where they want and abracadabra the dead person is here but you can't see him exept when he is walking fast or doing something so fast and then vanish like you can't talk to him or do any thing to him exept the magician or sometimes the genie comes from his own
    trust me with this there a lot a lot of scary things happen in our live if I said it you guys won't trust me but I swear to god it happens here in Africa if you want to know more just ask I will tell from what happens in my home

    Reply

  35. 1:47 it'd interesting to see how this stuff influences outside cultures. Here in Jamaica, the white which of Rose Hall haunts the great house because the ritual wasn't carried out properly. From what I've heard it was an oral chant that got messed up but either way seeing how it ties into Hatian beliefs is intriguing

    Reply

  38. I don't consume a lot of zombie media, but I feel like most depictions of zombies in the last couple decades that I've seen generally address that victim vs monster dilemma. The zombies are monsters because they're trying to kill the protagonists, but they're also acknowledged as victims because they were once living innocent people. It seems like a common trope now for characters to wrestle with a loved one becoming a zombie because they have to wade through the ethical dilemma of deciding if the zombie is a monster that must be dispatched or a victim that can be saved.

    Reply

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