It’s been a while since I did a Five Things post but to celebrate the launch of Serial Killer Z, I thought I’d go with a zombie themed list.

So, here’s five things I learned about zombies last week.

• Zombies go back as far as the ancient Mesopotamian poem, Epic of Gilgamesh In the poem, the goddess Ishtar claims, “I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld; I will smash the doorposts and leave the doors flat down, and will let the dead go up to eat the living!” [Thanks to All That is Interesting for that one]
• Ophiocordyceps, the so-called “zombie ant fungus” hijacks  its victims central nervous system and forces it to do its bidding Then it kills its host and launches new spores to infect more ants.
• I live in one of the top 10 safest countries during a zombie outbreak  – According to geographic location, topography, armed populace, population density, and military preparedness these are the best places to live when the inevitable outbreak hits – 1) Australia, 2) Canada, 3) United States, 4) Russia, 5) Kazakhstan, 6) Bolivia, 7) Norway, 8) Finland, 9) Argentina, and 10) Sweden. [Thanks to LiveScience for making me feel a little bit safer]
• Haitian, Clairvius Narcisse is probably the best known case of zombification. According to Narcisse, he died, was buried, and was then resurrected by a Voodoo witchdoctor.
• The first zombie movie was White Zombie (1932) and tells the story of a young woman being turned into a zombie by a witch doctor. [IMDB]

I’m one of a whole bunch of authors taking part in an October Frights themed blog hop at the moment.

Click on the image for links to the other authors taking part.

For a limited time, I’m giving away a free copy of the prequel to my new horror series, Serial Killer Z: Infection. To get your copy, just sign up to my mailing list by clicking here.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE COPY OF INFECTION

[Five Things I Learned Last Week (about Zombies) by Philip Harris first appeared on Solitary Mindset on 11th October 2017]