Zombies

"These things ain't sick! They're not people! They're dead! Ain't got to feel nothing for them, 'cause all they do, they kill! These things right here!"

- Shane to the group, just before the barn massacre.


 * For the most Notable Walkers in the TV Series, see Notable Walkers.
 * For other Themes, see Themes.

Zombies are the main non-human antagonists of The Walking Dead. The zombies are the classic slow-walking, Romero-style zombies, which originated in Night of the Living Dead. Following classic Romero rules, everyone who dies — for any reason — will re-animate as a zombie except if the brain is damaged/destroyed. Even someone killed by a gunshot wound with no zombies involved at all will re-animate as a zombie. Zombie bites are not how the "infection" is spread. Instead, zombie bites and saliva cause infections that are 100% fatal. Characters have speculated, but cannot confirm, that whatever causes zombies to re-animate is some sort of virus everyone in the world is technically already infected with but is only triggered by death. It is known, however, that upon death, it can take anytime between three minutes and eight hours for the corpse to reanimate.

Zombies out-number humans about 5,000 to 1.

Behavior
Besides eating humans, zombies have been seen eating animals, including the horse that Rick used to reach Atlanta, rats in Atlanta's sewers, a deer in the woods outside the original survivor camp, Hannah's dog (according to Andrew, the dog was mutilated by a zombie), a stray dog in the streets of Atlanta, chickens in Hershel's barn, a steer after Carl enticed a walker to follow him back to Hershel's farm, and a woodchuck's upper jaw was found in one zombie's stomach. This also follows one of the variants of classic Romero-style zombies: some zombies from other science-fiction narratives actively prefer to eat only human brains, or more generally, try to eat any part of a human but ignore animals. Romero's more realistic rules, established in 1978's Dawn of the Dead, are that zombies are just compelled to attack and try to eat any "warm bodies" they come across, regardless of whether they are humans or animals.

A description of the zombies as stated by a scientist in Dawn Of The Dead can also be attributed to the zombies of The Walking Dead: "It is preposterous to consider these beings cannibals, as a cannibal is something that only eats it's own kind. That is NOT what these beings are, they only eat the living rather than each other, therefore disqualifying the notion that they are cannibals."

As far as eating habits go, zombies in both the TV series and the comic series seem to only have an attraction to warm, fresh meat (and blood as seen in the TV series episode "18 Miles Out," when Shane is trapped inside the school bus). Some of the more picky individuals will even neglect or hesitate to eat meat that is only a few hours old (like The Governor's niece, Penny). Rotting or processed meat (like canned ham) will be ignored altogether. It is unknown whether consumed meat is digested in some way or simply continues to rot within the stomach (both explanations could explain the lack of tissue remains of the ground squirrel eaten by a zombie in the forest of the TV series). If the meat is digested, however, and serves in some way as fuel, it could explain how some zombies have not yet rotted while others have decomposed to the point of immobilization. Seeing how the virus (or whatever the cause of reanimation is) restarts the central nervous system and the muscles within the body, as well as the majority of sensory organs (eyes, ears, sense of smell, etc.), the idea of it restarting the digestive system to some extent might not be too far fetched. Then again, even zombie heads can survive decapitation and risk infecting people, so zombies might not actually need to digest food. In Day of the Dead, classic Romero-style zombies did not need to actually eat to stay functional.

Zombies in the TV series somewhat differ from their comic-book counterparts, but they do share some characteristics. Zombies from both sides have small fragments of memory of their past life. This can be seen when Rick visits Morgan Jones for the second time and also when the little zombie girl Rick shot picked up a teddy bear. Morgan's son, Duane, was bitten, and the way Morgan explained it, zombified Duane looked at Morgan strangely, like he knew him - but this could simply be Morgan's imagination, as the loss of his son almost mentally ruined him. But it could also be the perceived docile nature that zombies tend to exhibit when they have been exposed to a particular person for a long period of time. Some would argue that Sophia's behavior when she first walked out of the barn in the TV series showcases this, since she looked around her at the faces of the people she knew. But she may have simply been searching for the best meal among the crowd. In the first episode of season 3, "Seed," we see Michonne return to the deer locker (where she has been holed up with Andrea) from scouting and walk past her two "pet" zombies, whose arms and jaws have been removed. These zombies have been with Michonne since at least the end of season 2, which was chronologically at least nine months earlier, and one of the zombies, though chained, moves towards her with an obvious desire to eat her though it's impossible for it to do so. So the notion that zombies are docile towards people they've been exposed to for a long period of time is likely not universal. Either way, though both zombies may share the trait, it is obvious that memory is much more prevalent in the minds of the zombies from the TV series rather than the comic series, due to the more common examples.

The zombies from the comic and show (more so in the latter) display limited problem-solving intellect and understanding of their surroundings, as one outside the mall took a rock to the glass door, knowing it would be effective. Whether this concept of smart(er) zombies will be dropped altogether or explored further as the series enters its third season is unknown.

Zombies also have a tendency to travel in packs (or Herds), possibly drawn together by sounds or smells in search of their next meal, or sparked into a copycat action almost animalistically due to their limited brain capacity and intellect.

Weakness
Zombies can be slowed or incapacitated by significant damage to certain parts of the body, but zombies can only be killed by massive brain damage (e.g. as the result of a bullet or axe to the head). Removing limbs from zombies can make them less formidable, but even the heads of decapitated zombies remain active until destroyed. Zombies can also die if set on fire, provided the fire destroys the brain before it burns out.

The threat of zombie bites can be minimized or eliminated by damaging or removing the lower jaw from a prospective assailant. Michonne renders her travel companions unable to bite her by removing their lower jaws. Alternately, if one is able to capture a zombie and successfully remove their teeth, they can bite but will be unable to successfully penetrate a would-be victim's skin. The Governor employs this strategy successfully on his zombified niece Penny, and is able to hand feed her and even kiss her on the lips with minimal risk.

Despite still moving, zombies still decompose as regular corpses. The zombified Hannah, encountered by outside the hospital, appeared to be immobilized after some kind of decay. Zombies are shown to become frozen, but one had thawed out enough to almost bite Glenn. In Issue 55, a zombie attempted to grab Rosita, yet it lacked the strength to keep his hold, pull her or stand up. This may be a sign that zombies will eventually decay to the point where they are no longer a threat to humans, which would mean that the outbreak could eventually end on its own accord, assuming that the 5,000-to-1 zombie-to-human ratio does not succeed in wiping out the human population before all zombies run out of food or are killed. There is also no known cure to the virus, so presumably all remaining humans, after zombies have been hypothetically wiped out, will still eventually die and reanimate because they are carriers.

Zombies seem to differentiate living humans from the undead via smell. Rick and Glenn are able to walk through an infested Atlanta to search for supplies after covering themselves in a zombie's entrails. But due to the disgusting smell and the possibility of it washing off, it doesn’t make it very practical for everyday application. Michonne is also able to walk vast distances without being attacked because the two defenseless zombies she keeps chained to her dampen her scent.

Kirkman wrote:


 * "[Zombies cannot usually go up stairs]--it's decided on a case by case basis...I'm sure there's a zombie out there who could...but not very well...to reference this series--was it issue 8? Rick opens the door to the basement of that house--and zombies are waiting at the top of the stairs and rush him!...So based on that scene...zombies can go up stairs... but it probably took them a while."

Despite this quote from Kirkman, two zombies are shown pursuing Rick down a flight of stairs in the hospital in Issue 1 and both of them manage to use the stairs with no problem. Furthermore, in "Tell It to the Frogs", an entire group of zombies are able to walk to the top of the staircase outside of which Merle is chained. Of course, going downstairs might be easy compared to walking up, and it could have taken the zombies some hours to climb up the stairs.

Strengths
Zombies' main advantage over humans is that they do not need to sleep or breathe. This allows them to slowly follow the survivors around in perpetuity (or until they decay to the point of no longer being mobile or otherwise threatening). Another advantage over humans is that they can survive most situations that humans would not, i.e. they are not hindered by gunshot wounds, knife wounds or falls which affect their body (arms, legs, chest). The only way in which a zombie is permanently killed is via trauma to the head, destroying the brain. An example of this is when Shane shoots the zombie that Hershel is attempting to put into the barn in the season 2 episode "Pretty Much Dead Already." Shane shoots the zombie several times in the chest. The only effect is that the force of the bullet entering the body causes the zombie to stumble a little. It is not until Shane shoots the zombie in the head that it actually dies. Zombies also greatly outnumber the human survivors, giving them a huge advantage - especially when traveling as a Herd.

Infection
Robert Kirkman wrote:
 * The rule is: WHATEVER it is that causes the zombies, is something everyone already has. If you stub your toe, get an infection and die, you turn into a zombie, UNLESS your brain is damaged. If someone shoots you in the head and you die, you're dead. A zombie bite kills you because of infection, or blood loss, not because of the zombie "virus."

The most common way that people become a zombie is after dying from infection caused by a zombie bite.

Symptoms of a zombie bite:

 * Lethal fever
 * Chills
 * Hallucinations
 * Vomiting
 * Pale skin
 * Delirium
 * Sensitive bones (e.g. Jim in the TV Series episode, "Wildfire")
 * Exchange of fluids

While there is no zombie "virus" spread through bites, zombie bites cause lethal infections. Thus, a person can become a zombie from dying of any cause other than brain damage.

According to the CDC's Dr. Edwin Jenner in the TV series, a corpse can reanimate between three minutes and eight hours after death. It was also once hinted by executive producer Glen Mazzara that the time it takes for a corpse to reanimate depends on how full of life the person was before they died. With this in mind, it's interesting to note that it took a full night (perhaps eight hours) for Amy to reanimate in season one, but just minutes for Shane to reanimate in "Better Angels."

Interestingly, during the second season of the TV series, as the group is stopped on the highway there are multiple dead and decayed bodies that have not reanimated. Kirkman has stated the reason for this is because the passengers all suffered brain trauma from the car crashes.

Amputation
A person can survive a zombie bite if the bitten limb is amputated. In the comic book, is the only character known to have survived this process while both  and Allen died of either blood loss, bacterial infection or clots (unknown due to a constant lack of professional opinion).

In the TV series, was also bitten on the leg by a zombie in the first episode of season three, and had  amputate his leg. He was last seen dying of blood loss.

Evolution
Robert Kirkman wrote that "Romero's evolving zombies are his spin. Mine just keep rotting."

Nicknames
While the term "zombie" does exist within The Walking Dead universe, it is used very seldomly. In the comic book, when Rick's group discover the prison, both Rick and Tyreese discuss how it still sounds funny to use the word "zombie". The characters within The Walking Dead TV series and comic books come up with their own monikers and categorizations for the undead.

Walkers
'Walker' is the most commonly used term for a zombie, appropriately named because they tirelessly walk around in search of prey. 'Walker' is a broad category that can apply to any zombie. Simply put: Walker = Zombie.

Roamers
Roamers are known to "roam" around looking for food. They are the most commonly encountered type of zombies. The term "roamer" is used most frequently in the Comic Series.

Lurkers
Lurkers are the zombies that just sit around playing "dead" until something approaches them and they bite. Lurkers can be the real threat because they can appear to be a dead corpse. One of them was responsible for Allen's death and Dale losing one of his legs. Oftentimes, lurkers have suffered some type of major injury or are otherwise in some kind of weakened state, preventing them from walking around. The term "lurker" is used most frequently in the Comic Series.

The Herd
As described by Eugene in the comic book, a herd is when a group of walkers act with a mob mentality. One zombie might brush his hand on a door knob and another will see this and mistake it as an attempt to get in. Then he will beat on the door to get in, and the first zombie will see this and try to get in. This will spark a chain reaction. An example of this is in the start of the season 2 finale where a zombie sees a helicopter and follows it to Hershel's Farm.

Biters
Alice, Dr. Stevens' assistant in Woodbury, mentioned that her original group of survivors referred to the zombies as "biters," because while some do lurk and some may roam they will all bite and to classify them into separate groups is a silly practice. 'Biters' is what Woodbury call the zombies, as seen in the novel and comic series.

Floaters
Floaters are zombies that became bloated after spending a long period of time in water. One was first encountered by the TV survivors at the Greene Family Farm where it was found trapped in a well. Fearing that shooting the floater might result in polluting the well the survivors decide to pull it out. This proves to be futile as it gets stuck on the lip and splits in half, the bottom part of its body (and most of its innards) falling back into the well.

Lame-Brains
The term 'lame-brains' was first used in the TV episode "Nebraska" by Dave and Tony, strangers that walk in the local bar near the Greene family farm. The pair indicate that they are from Philadelphia, implying that the term 'lame-brains' may have been more widely-used in and around the Philadelphia region. It is implied that 'lame-brains' is a broad category for all zombies, equivalent to the term 'walkers.'

Geeks
In the TV series, Daryl, T-Dog, Shane, and Glenn have been known to call zombies "geeks." This name is also used by Molly from the video game. She says she calls them geeks because, just like carnival geeks, they will eat anything. This name isn't used in the comics.

Monsters
In the Video Game, Chet and Clementine call the zombies, "Monsters", Rick also calls the zombies "Monsters" once in the Comic Series. This name isn't used in the TV series or Novel series.

Meat Puppets
This name is used by an unnamed savior. Since he is part of The Saviors, it is presumed that the nickname is a common one amongst the group. The name most likely originated from the fact that the zombies' intelligence levels are very low, so they are just considered mindless puppets of meat.

Empties
This name is used by Jesus when he first meets Abraham and Michonne. Being safed by them as he was sleeping in a abandoned car when zombies surrounded the vehicle and attempted to get it.

Zombie animals
Presumably, the zombie virus is specific to humans, as animals are not affected by "zombification". It is unknown whether the survivors are aware of this; the animals encountered are eaten whole. Kirkman has stated there are no zombie animals.

Although animals do not reanimate, they are still a very good food source for zombies. For example a dog, a deer, a rat, a woodchuck, several chickens, a cow and a horse are all seen being eaten by walkers in the TV series. In the first series of webisodes, the dog Max is mauled by a walker. In the Video Game, Lee Everett and Mark find a zombie eating a rabbit. Roamers are also seen eating deer in the comic series. Morgan Jones later tells that he fed dogs to the zombified Duane.

Characters That Have Turned
The following are characters from either the comic book series, novel series, the game or the TV show of The Walking Dead. The video game section shows all the characters that can turn into zombies despite what the player chooses.

Characters That Turned (Comic Series)

 * Hannah
 * Jim
 * Shane
 * Shawn Greene
 * Julie
 * Chris
 * Rachel Greene
 * Susie Greene
 * Mike
 * Terry
 * Andrew
 * Penny Blake
 * Dr. Stevens
 * Otis
 * Caesar Martinez
 * Carol
 * Tyreese
 * Abraham's Daughter
 * Duane Jones
 * Jessie Anderson

Characters That Turned (TV Series)

 * Summer
 * Hannah
 * Jenny Jones
 * Leon Basset
 * Wayne Dunlap
 * Amy
 * Jim
 * Dr. Candace Jenner
 * Shawn Greene
 * Lacey
 * Duncan
 * Mr. Fischer
 * Mrs. Fischer
 * Louise Bush
 * Annette Greene
 * Doug
 * Sophia Peletier
 * Randall
 * Shane Walsh

Characters That Turned (Webisodes)

 * Hannah
 * Judy
 * Palmer's Children
 * Harris
 * Lenny
 * B.J.

Characters That Turned (Video Game)

 * Sandra
 * The Unnamed Police Officer
 * Chet
 * B. Everett
 * Jenny Pitcher
 * David Parker
 * Travis
 * Mark
 * Brenda St. John
 * Kenny Jr.
 * Dr. Logan

Characters That Turned (Novel Series)

 * Bobby Marsh
 * Penny Blake
 * David Chalmers
 * Brenda Stookey

Characters That Turned (Social Game)

 * Summer's Mother
 * Jon
 * Summer

Trivia

 * In Issue 38, Robert Kirkman writes there is "ONE zombie who's appeared no less than three different times in the book"
 * kills a zombie going into a car with a T-shirt that says "Youngblood" (a superhero comic published by Image Comics).
 * In the TV series, the zombies are shown mainly in "Guts" and "Bloodletting" to run at a jogger's pace.
 * In the TV series, the zombies can apparently use tools. This is shown in "Guts," where a zombie is using a rock to smash open the department store doors.
 * It is also shown in this episode, that zombies are capable of climbing small scale objects such as chain fences.
 * In Season 1 of the TV series, the zombies' eyes were generally gray or yellow, but in Season 2 webisodes, their eyes are generally gold.
 * According to Robert Kirkman in Episode 2 of Talking Dead, in the world of The Walking Dead, the works of George A. Romero were never made, and thus zombies do not appear in fiction.
 * In the webisodes, it is rumored that terrorists caused the "infection." This is most likely not true, as Kirkman himself never intended to explain the source of the outbreak.
 * The term "zombies" is never mentioned in the TV series; they are simply referred to as walkers.
 * Robert Kirkman said, "I think the zombies that survive are maybe a little quicker on the uptake than the ones who don't. I think there is still survival of the fittest, even among the zombies".
 * Zombies are one of the many amputees in The Walking Dead. For other victims, see Amputated Victims.
 * Zombies seem to be somewhat tame-able. Examples of this are Penny Blake and Michonne's pet walkers. Additionally, Michonne uses her pet walkers to carry her supplies in the Season 3 premiere.