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Illustration of Zombies of The Magic Island
Original AI-made illustration based on the descriptions in the sources. Not an official design.
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Zombies of The Magic Island

Also called: zonbi
BooksUndeadSorcery1900 to 1967

William Seabrook's 1929 account of Haiti is the book that carried the word zombie into American popular culture. He described the zombie as a dead body made to walk and work by sorcery, with no will of its own. Hollywood's first zombie film followed within three years, built directly on the interest the book created.12

Battle it
First appeared
1929
Published 3 January 1929
Source work
The Magic Island (1929)
William Seabrook
Made in
USA
What causes it
Sorcery
Seabrook reported the Haitian belief that a corpse can be given a mechanical imitation of life by sorcery; a later suggestion on the page is that coma-inducing drugs could explain the accounts.

When did it first appear?

Ancient worldMiddle Ages1500 to 18991900 to 19671968 to 19992000 to 20092010 to today1929

Published 3 January 1929

field notes

What the sources say

1

A non-fiction travel book based on Seabrook's stay in Haiti, illustrated by Alexander King12

2

The word comes from Haitian Creole zonbi12

3

Considered the first popular English-language work to describe zombies as the living dead12

4

It inspired the 1932 stage play Zombie and the film White Zombie12

5

Seabrook turned down a 15,000-dollar serialisation offer when he learned the text would be altered12

6

A 2016 Dover reprint carries an introduction by George A. Romero12

Sources

  1. The Magic Island - Wikipedia
  2. White Zombie (film) - Wikipedia

Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at [email protected].

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Same era: 1900 to 1967

Herbert White (The Monkey's Paw)The Monkey's Paw (1902)Vampires of I Am Legend (novel)I Am Legend (1954)Cauldron-BornThe Black Cauldron (1965)Herbert West's reanimated corpsesHerbert West–Reanimator (1922)
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