According to The Undead Eighteenth Century by Linda Troost, zombies appeared in literature as far back as 1697 and were described as spirits or ghosts, not cannibalistic fiends. They arrived on the film scene around the same time as their monster peers, Frankenstein and Dracula, with the 1932 release of White Zombie.
But it wasn’t until 1968 that zombies acquired a cult following of their own with the release of Night of the Living Dead, directed by George Romero. Over the next 15 years, Romero directed two more zombie films, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. As special effects technology improved with each film, the zombies appeared more gruesome and realistic.
From the 1980s on, dozens of zombie films were made. Even Scooby Doo battled zombies in the 1998 film Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. And the 2013 release of World War Z starring Brad Pitt brought zombie culture to a disturbing new level.
Not surprisingly, television jumped on the zombie bandwagon with shows like iZombie and Helix. But no zombies ever terrified more television viewers than those on The Walking Dead. Each show features a post-apocalyptic zombie feeding frenzy that leaves fans horrified yet unable to look away.