Mississippi State University students can expect to see the undead wandering around campus today. Zombie Walk, an independent event allowing participators to dress up and stage a miniature zombie apocalypse, will begin at 1 p.m.
Students dressed as zombies will meet in the parking lot between Stafford and Freeman halls to begin the walk which will end at McComas Hall. Students wishing to participate, but do not have time to dress up, can wear old clothes with a large visible “X” on them and stand in the path of the walk.
These students will be targeted and attacked with fake blood and can then join the march of the living dead.
Participants have been told not to attack onlookers.
Unlike last year, this Zombie Walk is unaffiliated with MSU’s improv comedy troupe, Lab Rats. Sophomore art majors Zack Wolfe and Jake Moore are leading this march.
“Jake and I are the only two people heading this, and the reason we stress that fact is that we want to continue this annually even after we have left this school, somewhat like an underground tradition,” Wolfe said.
He and Moore originally planned to publicize the event only in the art department and Lab Rats, but there are now over 200 members in the Facebook group and over 100 confirmed for the event.
Wolfe said he is extremely excited to see the turnout.
“I love the annual zombie walk in Memphis, and we wanted to do something big here at State. The walk in Memphis is a huge event, and everyone in Tennessee knows about it.
“We want MSU to have its own big thing. We’re hoping that this Zombie Walk idea picks up while we’re here and that it continues long after we’re graduated.”
Freshman foreign language major Max Vanlandingham said he will be dressing up for Zombie Walk because he likes the idea of zombies.
“Zombies are awesome because they are the one thing, apart from Jesus, that can come back from the dead and kill people and feast on brains,” Vanlandingham said. “Not that Jesus kills people and feasts on brains.”
Amy Gangloff, assistant professor in the history department and professor of the American pop culture course, said America’s obsession with zombies stems from George A. Romero’s “The Night of the Living Dead.” She said it played off feelings of the Cold War.
To understand the impact it had, she suggested reading Roger Ebert’s review of the film.
In the review, Ebert talks about the horrified expressions of everyone in the theater – the audience was stunned.
Wolfe said he thinks it is not just Americans who are obsessed with zombies, but it is a worldwide fascination.
“I think it has something to do with everyone’s fascination in death, whether they admit it or not,” Wolfe said.
Moore said most people he knows who are fans of the living dead want to be able to fight off the zombies and see how long they could last in a zombie apocalypse. He said his favorite zombie movie, “28 Days Later,” encompasses that concept.
“In a movie setting, I think fast zombies make for better entertainment. It keeps the viewer a bit more interested than the slow ones,” Moore said. “When it comes down to a real-life situation though, I would pray for slow, Romero-type zombies because they’re easier to kill.”
Vanlandingham said he did not know why everyone seems to be crazed over the undead.
“I think America’s obsessed with zombies for the same reason ‘Twilight’ fanatics are obsessed with vampires; no one knows. There’s no logical reason; they just are,” Vanlandingham said.