Differences and Similarities between Zombies and Vampires - Essay Example

Compare and Contrast the Zombie and the Vampire Introduction In folklore, the vampire is a dead evil creature or monster that comes back to life at night and feeds on human blood(Devera ). The vampire is utterly ruthless in its work, never sparing anyone in their path. A zombie is a dead person that a witch doctor, by the power of their black magic, raises back to life so that they may be punished for their sins. Usually, the witch doctor punishes the zombie by subjecting them to hard labour on the witch doctors farm until they rot. In folk tales, vampires would often visit their loved ones and cause mischief or kill them together with the entire village where they lived(Devera ). They were different from the vampires of today. They wore the linen pieces of cloth in which they were buried and had a disfigured appearance with a ruddy color. Toady’s vampire dates from the early nineteenth century and is gaunt and pale. Today, the vampire is mostly seen as a creation of fiction. Zombies, on the other hand, featured prominently in Haitian rural folk tales. These were dead people brought back to life by a witch or witch doctor. This paper compares and contrasts the two characters in folklore. Similarities It appears that vampires and zombies have more differences than similarities among them. Two similarities will suffice here. Both the vampire and the zombie are dead human beings that have come back to life(Devera ). While they lived, both were people who now continue with their evil ways even in death. They are so evil that they cannot die for good. It would appear that these people are too evil for heaven to admit them. As they can do more harm on earth than anyone else can, hell will not let them in either, so they continue wreaking havoc on earth. Both vampires and zombies are “undead”(Neugebauer). This term means they are not dead because they are able to move around and cause harm to people. Neither are they living because their hearts do not beat. However, given the creativity of modern fiction, a distinction is emerging between “living” and “undead” vampires. Recent works of fiction claim that a vampire can reproduce with another vampire to create a “born” vampire (Neugebauer). Born vampires are considered superior and of a higher class in the world of vampires. This means they have even greater supernatural capabilities – they are more intelligent, they live longer and fly faster and farther. In fact, the creators of born vampires claim that they rival human beings in intelligence. When born vampires die, they become undead. Usually, undead vampires are soulless; that is without a soul. Differences Whereas, the vampire feeds on human blood, the zombie eats human food, not brains. The former is obvious. However, the latter is likely to surprise many. Hollywood movies depict zombies as feeding on the brains of people. However, according to Caribbean Voodoo, a zombie never dies in the first place(Devera ). This is a human being that is poisoned and forced to appear to be dead. They remain dead and in the grave until the witch doctor unburies them. The zombie is then tortured and drugged until they give in to the will of their creator, a doctor of black magic. Vampires feed on human blood(Devera ). In virtually all cultures, they prefer the blood of the very young, including babies. Vampires are inhuman, evil, and have magical powers. They are able to fly, change forms and control animals. Usually, they appear at night. Even though can also appear during the day, light weakens their supernatural abilities significantly. According to folklore, vampires are very compulsive; once they embark on their mission of sucking human blood, nothing will stop then. However, three things overpower them, namely religious symbols, roses and garlic. Whenever they come across any of these, they must run for their lives. Otherwise, they will die. Zombies have a limited lifespan as well a limited physical abilities(Neugebauer). These characteristics can be explained logically and scientifically. Given that a zombie is powered by its brain, though weak, the surest way to kill them is by destroying their brain. Despite their folk tale origins, zombies are a contemporary phenomenon that can be explained by logic. In a way, vampires live for eternity. They have superhuman abilities and speed and can change shapes. In order to kill a vampire, a person must drive a wooden stake through the vampire’s heart even though it does not beat. Vampires are mythological legends from the ancient world. There is also a difference in the appearance of the two(Neugebauer). The folklore vampire was described as having a bloated figure and ruddy, dark or purplish color. These features were often associated with recent blood drinking frenzies. Blood would be seen seeping from their mouth and nose. Typically, the vampire would be dressed in the linen cloth they were buried in. Their teeth, nails and hair were likely to have grown longer than they were when they lived. By contrast, zombies appeared weak as though they would die any moment. Either way, both creatures were scary to encounter. However, one would argue that the vampire, with fresh human blood dripping from its mouth and nose was scarier. Whereas zombies remain under the control of the witch or witch doctor who created them, vampires are free moving creatures(Neugebauer). The owner of the zombie kept them as a slave and overworked them on their (slavemaster’s) farm until they grew weak and eventually died. Vampires, on the other hand, would invade a village and terrorize it by sucking blood from every person in the village until no one was left alive. Given their supernatural abilities, it was virtually impossible for anyone to escape their wrath. For instance, if a person tried to flee from them, they would fly and stop right in the path of their victim. Once they had finished a village, they would move to the next. They would do this until no one in the land was left alive. Then, they would grow weak and die. Conclusion The above are the similarities and differences between zombies and vampires. There are far more differences between vampires and zombies than there are similarities. Movies have, however, misrepresented them and given us superficial zombies from the outer space and vampires that are very powerful one moment and extremely weak the next(Devera ). Some fiction enthusiasts that this falsification is acceptable. The work of fiction is to entertain. However, the enthusiasts claim, the zombies and vampires that mythology presents to us fall short of the entertainment function. Thus, even though more authentic, they do not scare much like Dracula, for instance. Works cited Devera , John. "Mythology and Folklore." 18 August 2009. Life Paths 360. Webpage. 26 October 2014. Neugebauer, Annie. 23 September 2011. Annie Neugebauer. Website. 26 October 2014. Read More