So... Why did I want to write about zombies?

Well, I think all the different types of monsters and creatures that you see in movies and books (werewolves, vampires, aliens, mermaids, etc.) are all interesting. They can all make for good entertainment. Some are scary, some are fun, and some are versatile enough to fall into whichever category the writer wants them to be in.

But the concept of zombies is both fascinating and terrifying to me, though. And for the purposes of this here, I don't mean "zombies" as in the dead that have come back to life. What I'm talking about is the very most basic, fundamental thing that makes a zombie, well, a zombie: When a person's actions are no longer controlled by their own brain. Whether it's an infection that alters their behavior, or a curse that brings them back to life after death and makes them hunt more victims, or a parasite that takes control of the host's brain. Whatever is the cause, a zombie is someone who can no longer control their own actions.

Of all the fantasy and sci fi creatures, zombies have the most potential to really happen. In fact, in nature, you can find examples of fungus and parasites that alter the behavior of insects and animals to cause them to do things they'd never normally do. (The cordyceps "zombie-ant fungus", for example of one such fungus.) Then, of course, you can look at the way that rabies will change a mammal's behavior in dark and terrifying ways. Rabies drives its host insane and makes the host aggressive and blood-thirsty – is that really all that different than a zombie?

So, zombies – real zombies – probably aren't ever going to happen. (Thankfully.) But, I'd say they're a lot more likely than werewolves or vampires. And that's what makes zombies a lot more frightening.