Popular blogging site Gawker poised the big question which seems to reappear every few weeks in an attempt to explain the current zombie bubble. Why is it that we love these undead creatures? The article attempts to explain our fascination with them, moving from scientific experiment to scientific experiment to show our love with reanimating the dead.

Andrew Belonsky, the author of the article, concludes that its are quest for the soul that attracts us to zombies and by extension, our quest for God. He states it right here:

In the end, aren’t our popular or scientific fascinations and pursuits with all things zombie motivated by an equally mythical thing: the soul? Even if you claim to be an atheist or, damnation, agnostic, isn’t the real scare in zombie lore that someone — a person with friends and family — could return with no apparent loyalty? And couldn’t that “loyalty” be called a soul?

I think he’s either missing a big point, or needed to reach a certain word count, because from all the zombie fans I’ve ever met, the “search for the soul” is usually the last thing that attracts people to the genre. In fact, I’d argue that there is no universal “theory” of why zombies are entertaining. Some people like the mayhem from a society falling on its back. Others love the weapon testing potential. Others love the siege elements to the genre. And of course, others love watching people get torn to pieces by other people.

Me? I love the idea of world becoming undone and I’m often attracted to themes of self reliance. But most important, simple acts of compassion take on a whole new role in a post-apocalyptic world. The small everyday choices we make on a day to day basis become magnified in the world of an apocalypse. Nothing is taken for granted which is the same as it is right now but not as obvious.

Why do you love the genre? What attracts you to zombies and does religion have anything to do with it?

On Mankind’s Maybe Doomed Love for the Undead (gawker.com <- new window)