  Horror/Scary
This week: The Unsparkly Undead - Zombies Edited by: Ben Langhinrichs  
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Greetings! I am a guest editor for the Horror/Scary Newsletter, and honored to be able to share some horrible thoughts in October, a particularly scary month.
~ Ben Langhinrichs |
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The Unsparkly Undead
Shambling and mindless, never stopping and always hungry, the zombie taps into our deepest fears from childhood. There are no magic silver bullets or crosses or incantations to make the zombies go away. We can't argue with them, persuade them to give us a chance, or trick them into going somewhere else. They smell us, they want us, they eat us alive. They are difficult to kill, and there are always more to take their place if we do, because the tiniest bite or scratch and their victims join in the shambling horde.
Worst of all, nobody is safe or immune. Our friends and loved ones may get bitten and turn on us, milky eyes no longer knowing us, teeth ready to tear out our throats and turn us into horrific monsters that never die and never sooth the terrible hunger.
A couple weeks ago, I went to Horror Realm, a convention for those obsessed by horror and particularly zombies. It is held annually in Pittsburgh, where George Romero's Night of the Living Dead was set and filmed. That movie sparked the modern zombie craze, although it certainly didn't invent it. I was at Horror Realm to meet various authors I have gotten to know on-line. One, I think it might have been David Dunwoody, author of Empire and many other zombie and horror novels and stories, talked to me about what was special about zombies.
When we write about zombies, he explained, the creatures don't take center stage. They don't think or have feelings, so we focus on the people who have to deal with them. The best zombie novels, he went on, show the humanity and inhumanity of people under intense, unrelenting pressure, with the zombies simply a prop to ramp up that pressure.
Zombies have also been described as a blue-collar horror because the people dealing with zombies aren't helped by knowing the right things or having the right background or having money or being beautiful, or any of the things which help people get ahead in our society. Zombies are the great equalizer - young or old, men or women, black or white, we all look equally like fresh meat to a zombie.
I should note that there are lots of types of zombies, slow, fast, mindless, sentient, but I have focused on the shamblers, as they are often known. In my Editor's Picks below, there are different types represented.
Sorry, I have to run. I hear moaning at my door.
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On a side note, I am the editor for the Short Stories Newsletter this week. My newsletter: "Those in Front of the Curtain"
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Editor's Picks
Please note, zombies are flesh-eating undead creatures, so the picks below are often rated 18+. Also, zombies come in many flavors, and I have given you a taste of different types. Yum!
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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Feedback from my last newsletter, "The Origin of the Beast" :
Loreli  If you like virus vampires, there is an RPG that's close to SteamPunk called Shadowrun that their vampires are made through a virus
Thanks for the tip.
LJPC - the tortoise  Hi Ben! Thanks for the attention to monster lore and the tried-and-true shockers that may have been done one too many times. I think it's very true that any writer wishing to take on a classic monster had better come up with a new twist. Good newsletter.  -- Laura
Thanks, Laura.
billwilcox Great beastie stuff Ben. Welcome to the team!
It's an honor.
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Horror/Scary: October 06, 2010 Issue [#4000]
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