Davis and the Creation of a Zombie

Wade Davis’ second work on zombification in Haiti, ‘Passage of Darkness,’ though just as criticized as his first work for providing weak arguments and misrepresented information, does provide some points to think about. The chapters read connect to Seabrook’s ‘The Magic Island’ and provide a sort of context to view the text from.

Chapter 2 of ‘Passage of Darkness’ presents the zombie as it is in Haitian and western popular culture. It is understandable why the zombie is a figure of fixation in every form of story from legends to film. The zombie holds an interesting position, straddling the worlds of that which is known, life, and that which cannot be known, death. This dual nature is of importance to the Vodoun practices from which the zombie legends stem. The stories of the zombie are used to get across a moral or other social lesson. While they may not be Pinocchio, they get the job done.

But unlike the wooden puppet, the zombie stories may have ground in truth. Davis observes the rituals used to make several different poisons in several parts of the country. He also breaks down the recipe and goes into more specific detail each ingredient, plant, fish, reptile, and human remains may have on the mixture. Beyond this, he also calls into question the accuracy that is truly present in the methods used to proclaim an individual as dead. Methods such as checking for heart beat or breathing may not be universal, particularly if there are poisons and neurotoxins interfering with the normal body processes.

While Davis spends his third and fourth chapters explaining the ways in which the creation of a true zombie could be possible, perhaps the most influential force in the creation of a zombie is seen in his second chapter: the belief of the Haitian people in the zombie.

Put aside for a moment all the neurotoxins and poisons present in the puffer fish and the bufo toad and focus solely on the belief necessary to keep the legends and stories as alive and recurring as they have proven to be. If there was not such a strong belief that zombification was possible, there would not have been nearly the amount of reports for Davis to draw from in his essay. People would believe it a trick of the mind when they saw a relative long dead, not report the sighting (and be backed up by multiple others.) And when these sightings were reported, if the belief was not as widespread as it is, a single report would not cause widespread hysteria. Even if Davis does provide an argument that the possibility is there for a zombie reminiscent of the folk lore to be made through the combination of inadequate and non-universal proclamations of death and a mix of flora, fauna, cadavers, and sometimes glass, the most important ingredient to the zombie will continue to be the belief of the people. The zombie is part of the social folk lore and religious structure of Haiti, perhaps creating a figure so strong, we up in Wisconsin can’t even shake a Hodag at it.