Zombies

**Zombies**, colloquially known in-universe as **"walkers"**, are an antagonistic force that serves as the main catalyst for the universal events within *The Walking Dead* universe.

## Overview

Walkers are reanimated human beings that will not "die" under typical conditions that would cause the death of a living person. They do not respond to pain, can survive the most brutal injuries, and despite their bottomless appetite for flesh, they do not need food, water, or sleep to survive. Their brain maintains limited abilities of the body, allowing for movement of the limbs (provided that they are not decomposed to the point where the bones break upon bending), jaws, neck, and even the use of its sensory systems. While the walkers are notoriously weaker than humans, the only way to kill one is to destroy the brain. They can be paralyzed if their spinal cords are severed, though this does not kill them, even if their heads are severed from the bodies. Walkers are unintelligent as individuals but are rather dangerous in large numbers and in tight spaces.

## Pathogen

Everyone in *The Walking Dead* universe somehow contracted the pathogen that, for reasons and through means unknown, brings the recently deceased back to "life" per se. It is unknown where the disease originated from nor it is known whether if it's a natural or a man-made disease. The exact taxonomy of the pathogen is also unknown.

Curiously, the pathogen itself does not kill its hosts. Instead, it remains dormant, likely within neural cells in the brain, leaving its host visibly and physically healthy. Only when the host dies, does the pathogen become active, infecting and reviving neural structures in the brain stem and certain parts of the cerebellum, turning a human into a walker. A Walker is thus a condition a recently deceased host enters when the pathogen is in its active stage.

## Symptoms of Infections

The zombie pathogen seems to possess two stages: a dormant stage and an active stage.

* **Dormant Stage:**

The pathogen is asymptomatic. The host will thus remain healthy and will continue to remain so as long they are alive. After the host dies, the dormant pathogen enters the active stage and will begin the process of reanimating the body through the infection and reactivation of neural structures in the brain. No matter how an individual dies, unless their brain was damaged or completely destroyed, they will reanimate into a walker following their death.

* **Active Stage:**

When an individual is bitten by a walker, the pathogen is transmitted into them as well as a plethora of bacteria and other infectious agents that reside in a walker's mouth. In the event that amputation fails or is not possible, the active pathogen provokes an irreversible cytokine storm, causing a high fever, aches, extreme fatigue, and nausea. As the infection progresses, the active pathogen invades and spreads through the brain like meningitis, infecting synapses and neural structures that are concentrated in the brain stem and parts of the cerebellum.

At the climax of the infection, the adrenal glands hemorrhage and the brain of the individual completely shuts down followed by all the major organs, and the body would be clinically dead: no measurable brain activity, no reflexes, and no pulse or respiration. The time between the onset of the symptoms and death, followed by the reanimation depends on the severity, location, and quantity of the bite wound(s) of the infected individuals.

## Reanimation

The dead corpse of anyone that dies for any reason will reanimate as a walker, unless the brain of the individual is badly damaged or destroyed, or the person was dead prior to the outbreak. When a person dies, the pathogen they carry enters the active stage and reactivates critical areas of the brain, specifically the brain stem and parts of the cerebellum that support vital systems, resulting in reanimation after a variable amount of time. Since the pathogen does not reactivate parts of the brain such as the frontal lobe and neocortex that are responsible for higher-order brain functions, the reanimated person retains only a physical resemblance to their former self.

## Physiology

Walkers have the ability to detect scents and can differentiate between the living and the dead, as they prefer to feed on living flesh. Although they have poor eyesight as their irises fade and decay over time, turning a gray color, they make up for this with heightened senses of hearing, which allows them to attack in the darkness. Individual walker strength depends on the physical makeup of the individual and on how long they have been reanimated. When attacking, walkers exhibit full-body effort and can produce enough force to overwhelm an adult human. They are also able to rip open their victims with ease, and they can even rip off human limbs with enough force.

As walkers decay, their muscles deteriorate and thus their entire bodies become slower and weaker. Although seemingly unintelligent when not active, they can react quickly to sufficient stimulation and therefore rapidly overpower a victim they have taken by surprise. Though they feel no pain and their bodies are no more or less durable than one of a human, they can absorb physical damage, even when badly decomposed. Anything other than a head attack, spinal cord serving, or dismemberment leaves them totally unfazed. As long as their brain remains intact, everything attached to it can continue to function normally, even if only the skull remains and this has been severed from the body. Walkers don't appear to need vital systems nor organ functions in order to survive, although their ambulatory functions decrease as their level of decomposition increases.

Compared to humans, walkers have limited mobility. Unstimulated, walkers will stand still or shuffle around slowly. Some can also be found lying on the ground and can appear to be dead until stimulated. They can lunge very short distances to grab close prey and are hard to shake off if they do manage to grab their victims, often allowing their arms to be ripped off before letting go. When in this state they are referred to as "lurkers".

## Herd

A herd is an enormous group of walkers that are usually attracted by sound, leading a few individuals to come together, eventually finding and merging with other groups, growing larger and larger. They are more aggressive than smaller groups, roam without a real purpose, can smash through the heaviest of barricades, destroy fences, and completely overwhelm humans in throngs of undead bodies. Herds are considered the zombie population at its most dangerous point.

## Camouflage

It's been discovered by survivors that there are ways for them to blend in with walkers without being noticed.

The first known technique is to cover oneself in the guts of a walker or a fresh corpse so other walkers can't tell the difference between them and one of their own. Unfortunately, there are two problems with this technique. The first problem is that the blood can easily dry up or be washed off, leaving you once again being noticed by passing walkers. The second problem is that walkers will attack the user if they draw attention to themselves such as causing extremely loud noises or their behavior appears odd for a walker.

The second known technique is the "walker pets", in which you cut off both the arms and jaws of a pair of walkers, and then keep them in chains or any kind of restraints to act as your escorts. By being close to a walker without being bitten, other walkers will instinctively assume the human is also one of them. Although the user's close proximity to their pets usually wards off other walkers, they can still attract attention to themselves since their human scent is still exposed.

The third known technique is to wear walker skin as clothing to mask the human smell. This is perhaps the best out of the three when it comes to camouflage as it can't be washed off and doesn't leave a survivor exposed. However, they can be attacked by walkers if they draw attention to themselves. Additionally, unfamiliar survivors may shoot the camouflaged humans, mistaking them for walkers.

## Notable Walkers

The following is a list of all the characters in *The Walking Dead* universe that died and reanimated as a zombie.

* TV Series
* Fear The Walking Dead
* Webisodes

Season 1
* Summer
* Hannah
* Jenny Jones
* Leon Basset
* Wayne Dunlap
* Amy
* Jim
* Candace Jenner

Season 2
* Louise Bush
* Doug
* Annette Greene
* Arnold Greene
* Sophia Peletier
* Randall Culver
* Shane Walsh
* Mike
* Terry

Season 3
* Sean
* Welles
* Penny Blake
* Michael Coleman
* Erin
* Duane Jones
* Merle Dixon
* Milton Mamet

Season 4
* Nick
* Eddie
* Clara
* Patrick
* Charlie
* Tony
* Mr. Jacobson
* Henry
* Caleb Subramanian
* Crying Mom
* Noris
* Bill Jenkins
* David Chambler
* Pete Dolgen
* Hershel Greene
* Joe Sr.
* Lou
* Christopher's Father

Season 5
* Terminus Butcher
* Joan

Season 6
* Richards
* Will
* Man 2
* Betsy
* Wolf 6
* Carla
* Delly
* David
* Young Boy
* Owen
* Deanna Monroe
* Donnie
* Paula

Season 7
* Library Survivor
* Savior 5
* Gordon
* Neil
* Spencer Monroe
* Winslow
* David
* Sasha Williams

Season 8
* Eric Raleigh
* Daniel
* Lucille
* Dean
* Brion
* Tamiel
* Tobin
* Kurt
* Kevin
* Dana
* Wesley
* Katy
* Savior 27
* Simon

Season 9
* Justin
* Norris
* Kathy
* Bernie
* Richie
* Matias
* Whisperer 5
* Martin
* Casper
* Ozzy
* Alek
* D.J.
* Frankie
* Tammy Rose
* Rodney
* Adeline
* Enid
* Tara Chambler
* Henry

Season 10
* Beta's Best Friend
* Whisperer 9
* Whisperer 10
* Siddiq
* Alfred
* Alexandria Guard
* Panicked Woman
* Felix
* Penny
* Mary
* Earl Sutton
* Alpha

Season 1
* Gloria
* Calvin Jasper
* Art Costa
* Matt Sale
* ND Woman
* Peter Dawson
* Susan Tran
* Kimberly

Flight 462
* Marcus

Season 2
* Willa Geary
* Melissa Geary
* Michael
* Reed
* Priest
* Choir Boy
* Luis Flores
* Brandon Luke
* Ramiro
* Antonio Reyes
* Marco Rodriguez

Season 3
* Steven
* Geoff
* Young Infected Hag
* Vernon Trimbol
* Kathy Trimbol
* Gretchen Trimbol
* Jimmie
* Joseph
* Jake Otto
* Pat Daley

Season 4
* Thin Survivor
* Ennis
* Ellen
* Rose
* Edgar
* Purvis
* Quinn
* Hank
* Stevie
* Jim Brauer
* Martha

Season 5
* Beckett
* Michael Sherman
* Robert Deeley
* Ben

Torn Apart
* Judy
* Hannah

Cold Storage
* Harris
* Lenny
* B.J.

The Oath
* Karina

Red Machete
* Jerel

## Trivia

* Robert Kirkman stated that George Romero's zombie movies never existed in the popular fiction of the TV Universe and that's why the term "zombie" isn't used by the characters.
* In Season 1 of the series, the walkers' eyes were gray or yellow with a red limbal ring, but in subsequent seasons, their eyes are more decayed, with their irises mostly or completely faded, leaving only dark pupils.
* Before he was fired, Darabont intended the walkers to be smart and to have vague memories of their past lives because he wanted the series to have a supernatural direction.
* Glen Mazzara explained that the speed in which someone reanimates varies depending on how full of life the person was before dying, which is why Shane and Amy had different time spans of reanimation.
* The foods that walkers consume (both people and animals) is not immediately digested by gastric juices but are rather decomposed over time. According to Robert Kirkman, when their bodies are "full", the whole undigested meat will be forced out through the anus.
* Scott Gimple believes the walkers' decaying vision attracts them to fire. According to him, the fire represents two of the only things walkers can still see: light and movement.
* At the beginning of each season, extras must go through the *School of Zombies*, which is in charge of the executive producer and director of special effects, Greg Nicotero.
* The walker makeup process lasts about an hour and a half per person. If the walkers featured in an episode don't exceed six or seven, the makeup team puts more emphasis on their characterizations to make them look more decomposed. If more appear, they have three kinds of makeup: *"Hero makeups"* for those who will have a bigger role, *"Midground makeups"* for those who have highlights and shadows in their faces to appear dead, and *"Deep background"* for those who fill the background of the scenes.

## References

1. ↑ Explained by Dr. Edwin Jenner in "TS-19".
2. ↑ As revealed separately in "TS-19","Better Angels","Beside the Dying Fire" and "Walk With Me".
3. ↑ TS-19
4. ↑ TS-19
5. ↑ TS-19
6. ↑ Guts
7. ↑ Cherokee Rose
8. ↑ What Lies Ahead
9. ↑ Vatos
10. ↑ Beside the Dying Fire
11. ↑ Judge, Jury, Executioner
12. ↑ Vatos
13. ↑ Season 3 onwards.
14. ↑ Cherokee Rose
15. ↑ Judge, Jury, Executioner
16. ↑ Days Gone Bye
17. ↑ Strangers
18. ↑ Explained by Morgan Jones in "Days Gone Bye".
19. ↑ Tell It to the Frogs
20. ↑ TS-19
21. ↑ Days Gone Bye
22. ↑ Guts
23. ↑ Days Gone Bye
24. ↑ Seed
25. ↑ Season 2
26. ↑ Milton Mamet came up with the name in "Walk With Me".
27. ↑ This method was first discovered by Rick and Glenn as they were walking through Atlanta in "Guts".
28. ↑ This method was first discovered by Michonne who kept her zombified boyfriend and his friend in chains after cutting off their arms and jaws.
29. ↑ This method is used by a group called the Whisperers.
30. ↑ *Talking Dead*, Season 2, Episode 2. "Bloodletting".
31. ↑ In "Days Gone Bye", an undead Jenny Jones tries to open the door of a house while in "Guts", a walker uses a rock to break the glass of a department store in which a group is hiding.
32. ↑ https://ew.com/article/2012/03/15/walking-dead-season-2-finale/
33. ↑ It can be seen when Daryl and Rick perform an autopsy on one of the walkers.
34. ↑ Issue 111 Letter Hacks.
35. ↑ *Talking Dead*, Season 4, Episode 14. "The Grove".
36. ↑ https://screencrush.com/the-walking-dead-season-4-zombie-school/
37. ↑ https://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/12/showbiz/tv/walking-dead-zombies-greg-nicotero