Zombies in the Stacks: A Pathfinder

So when staff at the Rapid City Public Library were asked to make a video about what we thought the library would look like in 2017, we blinked. A lot.  And then I started making zombie jokes with one of my coworkers.  And then we made this video.

We made other videos too. But I think we should all be aware that future zombie library patrons will have a significant impact on our services.

We should start planning now.  Maybe make a committee. Yeah, that'd work.

Happy Not-Zomtober!

(A very big thank you to John Pappas, for being our movie-trailer voiceover man, and to Lisa DaSilva, for giggling at me and answering every question with "Braaaaaaains."  She really stayed in character, folks. It was awesome.)

All of Zomtober leads up to the last day of the month - Zomtoberfest!  This Zomtoberfeat weekend, I participated in my local Zombie Awareness Walk as a Zombrarian, then went to see Shaun of the Dead with my fellow zombrarians and our significant others.  A fun, and educational, time was had by all.

I also sat down and watched one of my traditional Zomtoberfest television specials - The History Channel's The Real Story of Halloween.  First of all, you can never really go wrong with a short documentary on a holiday, and The History Channel is light and fluffy enough to not dissapoint.  But this year, they also aired Zombies: A Living History which I freaking adored.  They rounded up authors like Max Brooks, Jonathan Maberry, Dr. Steven Schlozman, Daniel Drezner, and others along with anthropologists and zombie enthusiasts to talk about the history of zombies in a variety of cultures as well as the threat of disease/disaster/pandemonium and our ability to cope and survive.  It was amazing.  So amazing that if you're reading this right now, you'd better already have it set to record on your DVR or else be moving to pick up your remote, or else I might just have to give you librarian eyes.  Don't make me say it twice.

On a lighter note, I owe you all your last three Zomtober presents! First we go to Thinkgeek and their Zombie Attack Hoodie. Looks fun, doesnt' it?  Great for reenactments and training sessions on a budget.  Plus I bet it's snuggly.

Next we have a zombie-themed headband from Etsy seller JanineBasil.  Delightful, isn't it? For those formal Zomtober occasions when you want to celebrate the spirit of the holiday without getting fake blood on your evening gown. Ingenious!

Last but not least, it's no secret that I'm a knitter.  I'm also super sad that these unique stitch markers have already sold.  Still, we can enjoy tdozieart's sculpting skills and stalk her Etsy shop until she makes more, right?

I hope you have had an enjoyable and educational Zomtober, and that your Zomtoberfest is the perfect culmination.  Be safe out there!

While White Zombie is the grandpappy of zombie movies, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead is recognized as a  key part of the foundation of modern pop-culture zombiism.  "Romero zombies," slow moving, ravenous, pack-mentality beasts are seen as the classic undead terror.

Night of the Living Dead is the only one of Romero's zombie films that is in the public domain.  You can watch/download it via the Internet Archive.

This Zomtober, the Rapid City Public Library is going to showcase this film for our Zombie Movie Night.  This is our first year doing so, but we're expecting a great response - who doesn't love a classic horror movie right before the grandest of Zomtober-end festivities?

I'm sure many of you are aware of the old anti-drug propaganda films, most importantly Reefer Madness.  It was turned into a musical in 1998, and then a film in 2005.  The modern version is (obviously) satirical as it bring the rationality and fears of 1936 into the 21th century.

One of my many favorite sequences from the film is the opening, where Alan Cumming's character begins his lecture on the dangers of marijuana to parents of high schoolers, only to be interrupted by the pot-crazed, zombie students.

It's hilarious.  But it also at least tickles at the Caribbean roots of the zombie.

I'll just leave this here.

It's simple math.

White Zombie (1932) is widely considered the first feature length zombie film.  While genre-purists may revere George A. Romero, Victor and Edward Halperin came first.

Béla Lugosi brought the now iconic Dracula to life in 1931, and was subsequently type-cast as a horror villain.  Universal tried to get him to be Frankenstein's monster, but when Béla came back at them with an interpretation of the monster that was more in line with Shelley's original and makeup that was an homage to The Golem (1915), they denied him the role.  For you trivia fans, Boris Karloff, everyone's favorite flat-topped, bolt-necked reanimation, was found in a Hollywood cafeteria.

But we're not talking about dead bodies stiched together to create new life!  We're talking about complete bodies being transformed into the living dead. For...sexual purposes, if you believe the poster.  My guess is that since Béla's Dracula was so sexualized (as many classic and modern interpretations of these aristocratic undead are), they tried to use the same draw by applying the motive to the Bokor.

Okay - enough of me rambling on about voodoo priests, sexy fanged dudes, literature, and pop culture. It's movie time!

That's right, you can watch White Zombie on the Internet Archive - everyone's favorite place for public domain films.  You can find White Zombie here. Enjoy!