Ridiculous History
Episode: "The Truth About 'Zombies'"
Hosts: Ben Bowlin, Noel Brown
Air Date: September 30, 2025

Episode Overview

In this Halloween-season episode, Ben, Noel, and special research contributor Ren Fair Jones embark on a deep dive into the history, myth, and cultural significance of "zombies." The hosts trace the concept from its Haitian and West African roots through its appropriation in American pop culture, dissecting fact, fiction, and enduring misunderstandings about this most persistent folklore figure. Treading from brutal colonial histories to Hollywood schlock, they examine how the undead became a modern monster—and what the real zombie myth has meant for those who lived it.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Pop Culture Zombies: From Romero to Modern Media

• Introduction to Zombies in Media (06:53–12:18)

  • George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) is credited with coining "living dead" and launching a media empire of zombie films and tropes.

    "The term living dead was first used in the 1968 Romero film Night of the Living Dead, which spawned an empire of media." — Ben Bowlin [07:03]

  • Discussion of "Carnival of Souls" and the influence of outsider and 'stunt' creators on horror.
  • Divergence of slow versus fast zombies, highlighting 28 Days Later's introduction of the "fast zombie."

• Zombies and the Fear of Contagion (14:03–16:51)

  • The evolution of the zombie from a gut-eating shambler to a virus carrier—mirroring societal fears, especially post-COVID.

    "Covid taught us a lot about the real life consequences of not telling folks when you're infected. The zombie films were right." — Ben Bowlin [16:20]

  • References to World War Z (book and film) and modern horror like The Last of Us, discussing pandemics as zombie origins.

The True Origins: Haitian and African Roots

• Etymology & Historical Context (17:11–19:56)

  • The word "zombie" traces to West African language ("zonbi" in Haitian Creole):

    "Zombie as a term can be traced all the way back to the 1600s to Haitian folklore...it comes from or has alternate spellings like ZOMBI and JUMBIE." — Ben Bowlin [18:14]

  • U.S. fascination (and distortion) began during the American occupation of Haiti (1915–1934), as white observers exoticized and often demonized Vodou.

• Colonialism, Enslavement, and the Zombie Myth (26:12–29:10)

  • The zombie concept is entwined with the horrors of slavery in Haiti:

    "They made profit in human blood, and they were forcing these enslaved people into a very brutal life...If you did take your own life, you would be condemned to stay on that cursed sugar cane plantation for eternity." — Ben Bowlin [26:36, 28:30]

  • The myth provided a social mechanism discouraging suicide; the afterlife offered freedom, but suicide damned souls to remain as zombies—trapped laborers for eternity.

Vodou, Syncretism, and Cultural Reframing

• Vodou's Complex Reality (29:10–34:01)

  • Under oppression, enslaved Africans hid and syncretized native beliefs with imposed Catholic rituals, creating Vodou.

    "They carried [their beliefs] with them back to their homelands. And over time, they did establish this system of beliefs known as voodoo, which took elements from Christianity and kind of blended them." — Noel Brown [29:39]

• The Haitian Zombie: Not an Undead Monster (31:15–35:05)

  • In actual Haitian beliefs, zombies are not flesh-eating corpses but living individuals robbed of free will and agency, often connected to sorcerous practices (by a "bokor").

    "Outside of Western film...in actual Haitian culture, a zombie is not considered undead. A zombie is instead considered a living human being whose mental faculties have been severely altered." — Ben Bowlin [31:15]

  • The folklore describes the bokor using ritual, drugs, and trickery to induce a coma-like state, leading families to believe the victim is dead.

The Science & Ethnography of Zombification

• Pharmacology, Poison, and Misunderstanding (35:35–41:44)

  • Theories by ethnobotanist Wade Davis (Serpent and the Rainbow) pointed to pharmacological elements—tetrodotoxin from pufferfish and the hallucinogenic jimson weed—as possibly responsible for "zombification."

    "He believes that these self reporting sorcerers, these bokor, are actually using toxins from animals and paralytic herbs to create this cognitive state, especially pufferfish stuff, tetrodotoxin." — Ben Bowlin [37:15]

  • These scientific claims have been contested by other experts; no consistent evidence has supported a "zombie powder" recipe.

• Anthropological Encounters: Zora Neale Hurston (47:01–55:39)

  • Anthropologist and writer Zora Neale Hurston documented a purported real zombie case (Felicia Felix Mentor) in 1930s Haiti.

    "She is frightened by all this attention. She can't really communicate. She's lost the faculty of language. She's making sounds, but not necessarily words...Life magazine published this photograph...and they said it's the first real evidence of a zombie. The trick of it is there's no real proof that Felicia Felix mentor was an actual zombie." — Ben Bowlin [50:39]

  • Hurston herself became ill—she later suspected poisoning for prying too deeply into spiritual secrets.

Final Reflections on Zombies, Vodou, and Othering

• Hollywood and Colonial Tropes (55:39–58:33)

  • Western cinema routinely mishmashes and sensationalizes Afro-Caribbean spiritual traditions (e.g., Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom).

    "You see it all the time...the mishmash and the very kind of gross depictions...The mannered sort of white folks from the US...taken aback and aghast by eating baby snakes and monkey brains—really not good. Did not age well." — Noel Brown [56:20]

  • Real acts of "zombification," if they do exist, are extremely rare and misunderstood; Vodou practitioners often identify as Christian, reflecting religious syncretism.

• Belief, Empathy, and the Universality of Death (58:33–60:24)

  • Hurston, reflecting on her experiences:

    "Haitian ceremonies were both beautiful and terrifying. I did not find any of them any more invalid than any other religion." — Zora Neale Hurston (read by Noel Brown) [58:33]

  • The line between life and death, and the notion of agency, is central to why zombie myths persist globally.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I also threw money at the screen every time a zombie film with 28 in the title comes out." — Ben Bowlin [10:10]
• "The idea of the living dead, I think addresses one of the main questions of humanity, which is mortality. No one really knows what happens when you die." — Ben Bowlin [14:40]
• "It's normalized cannibalism...just because we're using that—you know, you're eating someone." — Noel Brown [58:53]
• "Is Jesus Christ not the world's most famous zombie?" — Ben Bowlin [59:04]
• "We want to establish here, as we go into our favorite time of year, the Halloween season, that there may be some grain of truth to the story of mysterious zombie powder. However, if it exists, it would be incredibly uncommon for priests to do it." — Ben Bowlin [57:29]

Important Timestamps

• Pop culture zombies & Romero legacy: 06:53–12:18
• Zombie tropes: viruses, contagion: 14:03–16:51
• Haitian and West African roots: 17:11–19:56
• Zombie myth & slavery: 26:12–29:10
• Vodou, syncretism, and spiritual beliefs: 29:10–34:01
• Science of zombies (Wade Davis): 35:35–41:44
• Zora Neale Hurston & real 'zombie' case: 47:01–55:39
• Hollywood, tropes, and the persistence of myth: 55:39–59:04

Tone & Style

The episode balances irreverent pop culture banter with serious, historically grounded discussion, maintaining a respectful and inquisitive approach, especially regarding the sensitive, often-misrepresented histories of Vodou and Haiti.

Conclusion

This episode of Ridiculous History offers a nuanced examination of the "zombie": a figure born of unimaginable suffering and spiritual resistance, recast again and again through the lens of pop culture, misrepresentation, and enduring fascination. It challenges listeners to look beyond Hollywood’s gory façade and consider the lived histories behind the myth, just in time for the spooky season.