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Emerson C. |
On The Walking Dead, a virus has invaded the human race and only a handful have survived since the outbreak. One bite will cause an irrevocable infection, which means zombie — but they never say the word zombie.
The outbreak is similar to Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, or World War Z, but one of the biggest changes is that they never use the word zombie. Robert Kirkman has created a new world for zombies.
The Walking Dead | Photo Credit AMC
Creating a New Zombie Universe
Ideally, The Walking Dead takes place in a universe where zombies have never existed. Meaning, there is no such thing as a zombie movie.
On Talking Dead, Kirkman confirmed, “They’re not familiar with zombies, per se… We felt like having them be saying ‘zombie’ all the time would hearken back to all of the zombie films which we, in the real world, know about.
“These people don’t understand the situation,” said Kirkman. “They’ve never seen this in pop culture; this is a completely new things for them.”
This makes sense and it’s very unique, which shows how much care goes into the story.
The Walking Dead | Photo Credit AMC
Walkers, Bobbers, and More
Here are eight examples of words used in The Walking Dead, to replace the word “zombie.”
⢠“Walkers” is the most common phrase as it’s used by Rick’s gang.
⢠“Bobbers” was by the Oceanside community as they bob up on the ocean shore.
⢠“Roamers” are what Alexandria called the undead before Rick and the gang arrived. We heard Aaron use this phrase.
⢠“Biters” was by The Governor in Woodbury.
⢠“Lurkers” has also been said by The Governor.
⢠“Rotters” was used by Beth early in the series.
⢠“Creepers” was used by Daryl’s brother, Merle.
⢠“Dead Ones” was often used by Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene.
If zombies were known, everyone could simply start hitting them over the head, rather than having to learn how to kill them and what else to do to survive in a zombie apocalypse.
In a recent episode, Tara also changed her phrase to call them the “dead” to make sure that her capturers knew she was talking about the walkers. But no matter how The Walking Dead characters refer to them, the zombies are one of the most important parts of the show.
Have I missed any other “zombie” names used on The Walking Dead?
