The Zombie Apocalypse is Real, and it’s already started

The Zombie Apocalypse is not only a very real possibility; I believe it’s already upon us.

While it might not be the typical scenario that you’re used to seeing depicted in Hollywood movies, the reality of the situation is no less frightening.

Article Overview: What we are going to Talk About

A look at Real-World Zombies: Separating Fact from Fiction

Of all the horror tropes, zombies might be the most accessible because the idea of the dead rising from their graves dates back to when early man was living in caves. Since not much is known about what happens to us when we die, the idea that corpses could somehow be reanimated is something that has always captured people’s imaginations.

Are Zombies Real?

Before we jump into why we believe we may be in the midst of a modern-day zombie apocalypse, lets look at real examples of zombies in nature. Yes, you heard me right. There are actually numerous real-world examples that closely parallel what we see in zombie books and movies.

In nature, we see multiple animals, insects, bacteria and Fungi that not only act like zombies but can turn their hosts into zombies.

Zombie Ants: Ophiocordyceps unilateralis — the zombie-ant fungus

Mind controlled zombies infected with some sort of zombie-virus don’t just live in the world of science fiction. In fact, in the animal kingdom we can find a real-life example in tropical countries like Brazil.

Carpenter ants in these environments can become infected with Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, the zombie-ant fungus. The parasitic fungus can manipulate the brains of ants, turning them into mindless zombies that obey and work for the fungus.

When the ant becomes infected, the fungus quickly spreads through muscle fibers in the ant’s body, releasing chemicals that takeover the ant’s central nervous system. The zombie-ant fungus forces the ant to leave the safety of its nest and climb up vegetation and stop at 25 centimeters – an area where the fungus thrives. The fungus eventually completely takes over the ant, grows a long capsule of spores out if it’s head, and then rains down more fungal spores infecting other ants on the ground below. 

Zombie Wasps

In nature, a number of different Wasps seem to act as host zombies what insect other insects. Take, for instance, the parasitoid wasp Glyptapanteles. This Wasp lays its eggs inside living caterpillars who then mindlessly guard its invading hosts eggs.

The parasitic jewel wasp, lays eggs inside cockroaches’ abdomens, which then hatch and eat the roach from the inside out.

What about Human Zombies? Are there examples of people being turned into Zombies?

Believe it or not, historical records record multiple examples of zombie-like people who sound very much like Hollywood-style zombies. We also know of numerous bacteria and funguses that can infect the human brain and change the way a person thinks and acts.

Zombified Cat Owners: Toxoplasma gondii the Brain-Controlling Cat Poop Parasite

For years people have made fun of cat owners, often joking about the crazy cat lady down the block. But those jokes, sadly, may have a basis in reality.

Recently, scientists have discovered tiny organisms carried by house cats that can infect the human brain causing everything from altered brain chemistry and changes in personality to schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Parkinson’s disease.

Degenerative Brain Diseases

Another cause for concern when it comes to real-life zombies is the idea of a genetic mutation of an existing disease causing zombie-like behavior.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is a genetic disorder that can also be contracted through eating cows infected with mad cow disease. It’s a degenerative brain disease that causes dementia and death, and one of the characteristics is sudden jerky movements that might resemble those of a zombie.

Any kind of disease that impacts the ability to think is cause for concern. When people can’t control their behavior, they can put themselves at risk, which means you’re at risk, too.

Confusion could cause someone to step on the gas instead of the break, or hallucinations could lead someone to start attacking people around them. Whether they’re walking down the street or driving a car if someone isn’t able to process decisions it could spell disaster for innocent bystanders.

Incidentally, because Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease can be contracted through a contaminated food supply, imagine how easily it could be weaponized with the introduction of contaminants into the food chain. It’s for this reason that people need to be prepared for just about anything.

Haitian zombies

As crazy as it sounds, there are documented medical cases that suggest some sort of zombification in humans in Haiti. Rumors of people rising from the grave, and actual medical records of it happening in Haiti, have intrigued people for years.

According to Harvard Magazine, in 1980, two women turned up in other villages saying they were zombies. In the same year, in northern Haiti, the local peasants claimed to have found a group of zombies wandering aimlessly in the fields. AT THE Centre de Psychiatric et Neurologie in Port­ au-Prince, Dr. Lamarque Douyon, a Haitian­-born, Canadian-trained psychiatrist, has been systematically investigating all reports of zombies since 1961. Though convinced zombies were real, he had been unable to find a scientific explanation for the phenomenon.

Anthropologist and ethnobotanist Wade Davis Ph.D, has spent years investigating a possible scientific explanation for the alleged existence of zombies in Haiti. While studying the phenomenon, he discovered a powder used by Voodoo practitioners that he believes is responsible for some of the cases.

A powder? That sounds like something we are seeing here in the United States!

Bath Salts and Bad Drug Trips

It’s no secret that drugs are bad for you, but sometimes impurities in drugs can cause erratic behavior beyond the drug’s expected side effects. There are also stories of people experimenting with drugs for the first time and having horrible reactions that land them in all kinds of trouble.

Zombie behavior is a side effect of bad drug trips and super strains of meth and other drugs that fall into the “uppers” category. There are stories all over the internet of “zombie attacks” that see people high on drugs who either exhibit superhuman strength or abilities or who do unspeakable things as a result of the drugs.

Some of the more well known zombie attack stories include the man who was high on synthetic pot who attacked his neighbors and ate their dog while the poor creature was still alive. Another instance was the man in Dallas who stripped naked and jumped head-first into the sunroof of a passing car and started attacking the female driver. There are also several stories of people who have been high on drugs who start eating the faces of the people they attack.

The problem with people who are on drugs is that there is no reasoning with them. Not only do the drugs take away their fear and inhibitions while giving them enhanced strength, but their ability to think is also gone. What’s worse is that they might be hallucinating, in which case they might perceive you as the threat, which means you are the target.

You can’t talk people down in these situations, so your only hope is to subdue them before they attack. But be ready for a fight, and be ready to do whatever it takes to defend yourself even if that means using lethal force as a means of self-preservation.

What would happen if zombies were real?

These days one of the most popular shows on television is The Walking Dead, a show about what happens after the dead come alive and civilization collapses. During the first season, the survivors head to the Center for Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta for answers and find that the government is as helpless as everyone else. It’s no wonder, then, that the CDC uses zombie outbreaks to illuminate the importance of being for emergencies and preparing for Pandemic Outbreaks.

Zombies are so terrifying because they are people who were dead who have come back to life. Some versions depict slow-moving members of the undead who wander aimlessly while others move quickly in search of their next victim. Some zombies are after brains, and some just want a bite of living flesh no matter where it comes from. The only way to kill them is to damage their brains, which can be a challenge.

While the odds of Hollywood-style, real-life zombie attack might seem nonexistent, there’s a good reason that zombies and disaster preparation go hand in hand. A plague of the undead would be the ultimate test of human survival, and so it makes sense to say that if you’re prepared for a zombie attack, you’re prepared for anything.

Just because “Hollywood zombies” don’t exist doesn’t mean that there aren’t similar threats to your family’s survival and well-being. While Hollywood zombies may not be exist, there are real situations that mimic zombie attacks, from people high on drugs to people who are so preoccupied with their phones, gadgets and what’s going on in “reality tv” that they might as well be among the undead.

Cultural Zombification

Our society has degraded so far down into the gutter that today’s youth will do anything to escape from reality, including taking drugs that are literally turning them into real-life walking zombies. It’s really a sad state of affairs, but it should serve as a wake-up call to those who are still in denial as to where our society is heading – The Zombie Apocalypse.

I know that’s ridiculous, right? Wrong!

Now I’m not talking about the Walking Dead here. I’m talking about real-life zombies who are so whacked out on drugs, television, our sick society, and countless other degenerating factors, that they have morphed into mindless, soulless beasts that no longer care about their fellow human beings.

Soulless Media Consumed Creatures

Think I’m exaggerating? Have you taken a good look at society lately? People are literally willing to literally kill each other over an iPhone. Forget the mindless idiots who sit in line for ten hours when the stupid phone hits the market – because heaven forbid they are caught walking around with a phone that’s more than six months old – people are actually killing each other over iPhones.

But it’s not just iPhones; it’s our whole sick society. We have a culture that’s become obsessed with anything immoral, and everything violent.

If you think the Zombie Apocalypse is just science fiction, take a look at what’s happening on the streets of Chicago. In my opinion, Chicago is a thousand times worse than a Zombie movie, and it could be a good look at what our future has in store for us.

Between 2016-2016, 10762 wee shot in the streets of Chicago. That’s 9.82 people a day! Many of these people were shot and killed simply for walking over some imaginary line in Chicago’s notorious gang filled neighborhoods.

While some would like to pass these incidents of as anomalies, or something that only affects urban areas, the problem is much more than an inner-city problem.

This culture of violence has invaded every aspect of our lives. These aren’t poor urban kids in some neighborhood that you’ll never have to walk through; these are people of every race, and from every corner of America. Watch the first five minutes of your local news tonight, and then tell me I’m wrong.

Dangerous Drugged Out Drones

If you haven’t heard of drugs like Bath Salts, Synthetic Marijuana, and Molly, it’s something that you need to be aware of – especially if you have younger kids.

These dangerous drugs are being popularized and promoted by people like Kanye West and Miley Cyrus, both of whom glorify the dangerous substances in their songs. Drugs like Molly are being pitched as a pure form of Ecstasy, and these other commonly sold synthetic concoctions are being marketed as legal alternatives to street drugs.

In reality, most of these substances are the same chemicals that have caused people to go crazy and literally try to eat other people’s faces off.

Smartphone Zombies

Survival and the drive to stay alive is supposed to be an inherent and basic human trait. However, we live in a world that is fast becoming a threat to that basic trait. When people start falling into open trenches, getting too close to wild animals, walking into traffic or falling off of cliffs to get the perfect selfie or because they’re completely caught up in their game of Candy Crush, well, you know that’s a sign of the end times.

Smartphone Zombies are a real threat. And they’re the ones you’ll encounter the most frequently because they’re everywhere.

Many Smartphone Zombies make decisions based on social media likes. If the photo will generate a lot of likes, what difference does it make if you move past the safety barrier to get close to the jaguar for a better picture?

Not only is there a threat from people who are caught up in their phones, but there’s a very real threat from people who have become so reliant upon their phones that they have lost the ability to function. Consider an emergency situation where cell phone towers are down, and you have to drive out of the city. Can you drive without your GPS system? Can you manage basic directions without your phone? That could be a real problem, especially if you’re prepared and you have to not only worry about the threat itself but to also worry about navigating the people who don’t have a clue.

It sounds harsh, but try walking down a street without running into someone who isn’t looking up from his phone. Now imagine that person being in your way when you’re trying to get to safety. Yeah. You don’t want that guy in your way. Best to steer clear of people who are fixated with their smartphones.

The Zombie Apocalypse is Here, and it’s only going to get Worse.

This isn’t a science fiction movie; It’s a reality.

In my opinion, our society is just one disaster away from total collapse. Take a look at disasters like Hurricane Sandy and Katrina, and then imagine what would happen if our country was to face a similar, but prolonged nationwide disaster.

It’s not the Walking Dead who you’re going to have to worry about.

• It’s the 70% of Americans who rely on prescription drugs to function; the ones that will be going through massive withdrawals once they can’t obtain their medications.
• It’s your neighbors who will be killing each other for food and water; because they thought watching reality T.V. was more important than preparing for what’s coming.
• It’s the over 50% of Americans who depend on Government assistance to live.
• It’s the unprepared masses who are so reliant on modern technology that they actually admit they wouldn’t last over 2 weeks without electricity.
• It’s the average American Citizen who has forgotten the skills they need to survive without running to the local Walmart.

Did you know the average American spends more than 40 hours a week watching TV? That’s more time than someone spends working at a full-time job!  According to a study commissioned by Nokia, the average cell phone user checks their phone at least 150 times a day, or approximately once every 6 minutes.

But it’s even worse when you take a look at the next generation, who spends more than 7¹/₂ hours a day consuming digital media. Is it any wonder why society is devolving into a bunch of zombies? We have a world full of people who have literally checked out of reality.

How to survive a zombie apocalypse

If you have been stockpiling supplies in case of a natural disaster or attack, then you’re ahead of the game. Well done. Now it’s time to think about how you’d stay safe if faced with one of these real-life zombie situations.

When it comes to people on bath salts or on a bad drug trip, you need to incapacitate them as soon as possible. While they might be impervious to pain, it doesn’t mean that they’re impervious to injury. If possible, use something to hit them across the legs. If they can’t get up, they can’t chase or attack you. The problem with people who are high on drugs is that a half dozen police officers could be on top of them and they’re still fighting. That’s why disabling their legs is your best choice.

As with any kind of attack, keep basic self-defense techniques in mind: Go for the eyes, the groin, or use a key as a puncturing weapon to incapacitate them. This works for people who might be suffering from diseases as well. They might not be able to stop themselves or are completely unaware of their actions, and so the best thing to do is limit their ability to hurt you.

When it comes to the Smartphone Zombies, make sure you’re being twice as aware when you encounter them in your day to day life. Watch for people not paying attention and make sure that if something happens you’re two steps ahead. If a Smartphone Zombie walks in front of a car and the car swerves to avoid an accident, make sure that you’re already jumping out of the way.

How To Protect Yourself

• Take the threat seriously. I know we’ve had a little fun here using the Zombie Apocalypse to illustrate the problem, but nevertheless, the problem is serious and it affects us all. Don’t forget, during a disaster people (especially the Zombies) are going to be one of the top threats you face.
• Don’t be a Mindless Moron. Preparedness is the key to staying alive during any disaster. If you spend most of your time playing video games, staring at a screen, or whacked out on some type of drug, you might want to rethink your choices. Don’t let yourself become one of the zombies.
• Do Something to Prepare. From learning how to hunt and fish, to taking a weekend hike or camping trip, there are a million fun things you can do that will also help prepare you for tough times.
• Pay Attention to Your Kids. If you have kids, please pay attention to what’s actually going on around them. The amount of harmful garbage they’re exposed to on a daily basis far exceeds what most of us experienced throughout our entire childhood.

As with everything else that comes with preparing for disaster, thinking ahead and being vigilant is always your best defense. When it comes to real-life “zombie” threats, it’s a matter of paying attention. Watch the people around you. When you spot erratic behavior have a plan in place of how you’ll deal with any threat that might arise. The more you can stay ahead of the threats, the better off you’ll be in the long run and the more likely you are to survive.

The Thing About Zombies

There are several real-life scenarios that mimic zombie behavior. People who are on drugs, especially bad strains of drugs, can often exhibit superhuman strength while also being impervious to pain. There are also degenerative brain disorders that can mimic zombie behaviors, and there is also the case of people who are so absorbed with their smartphones that they aren’t paying attention to anything.

When people aren’t in control of their mental faculties and therefore can’t be reasoned with, they’re a huge threat to your safety and well-being, and that’s why you need to be prepared.