Zombies in the Stacks: A Pathfinder

So I'm walking from our Youth Services department to one of the Adult Services desks and I see this gem on our New Books shelf. (Picture snagged from the author's site)

Meet Angel Crawford, who is apparently a loser. And an addict.  And a convicted felon.  And a car-accident survivor.  And a new employee at the county morgue. And a zombie.

Sounds fun, doesn't it? I might have to pick it up after I finish Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children...

Happy Zomtober Reading!

Today's Zomtober link might just be my favorite out of the entire list.

The Men Who Wear Many Hats took a beloved game from my childhood,  removed the buffalo and iconic 19th century landmarks and added in zombies.

How awesome is that?

In Organ Trail, you and your party are trying to make it from the east coast to the west in a station wagon while evading the zombie hordes that ravage the landscape.  You have to scavenge for food, protect yourself from raiders, and deal with the other trials of the road.

When I first came across this game, my thoughts immedieately went to our Zomtober library programming.  After all, the original Oregon Trail was no piece of cake!  The opportunities to share screen shots of progress via social networks (the ability play via Facebook!) are just screaming for this game to be used as the foundation for a teen-centered gaming tournament.  

Winner gets a copy of Max Brook's World War Z?  Fido? Or how about a backpack of survival gear? The possibilities are endless!

Are you still thinking of what to pass out to the little zombies when they come a-knockin' on your door the last night of Zomtober?

Wait.

Seriously?

What are you doing by the front door?!

It's Zomtober!

Get your butt back in the safehouse!

But if you insist on tempting fate, you might try these lollipops from Perpetual Kid.

Alternatively, if you don't want to shell out $3 a pop for a sucker, you could make your own brain candy using this Instructables tutorial.

That's right, folks. Today's Zomtober is a Two-fer Tuesday.

Now just stay away from the front door and help me with these ammo boxes...

Over at ZombieWagon.com, they have a lot of cool zombie related comics and link to a lot of whimsical zombie-products.  But my favorite post by them, by far, is this one.

The post includes step-by-step instructions on how to decorate these amazing treats as well as links to resources for materials (like the art for the graves and the zombie-graspy-hands).

In short, if you're looking for a fun, easy treat to share with your friends, family, or coworkers this Zomtober, you can't go wrong with these puppies.  I was actually planning on making them myself - and I still might! But I think I'll use the skull wrappers from my Brain Cupcake kit... or maybe these bad boys.

If you make these, I'd love to see them! Happy Zomtober!

When the undead masses are crowding at your door and scrabbling at your hastily barricaded windows, it's important to know exactly what you're dealing with.

For the second day of Zomtober, I give you this: a guide to Zombies via TvTropes.  Not only does it outline the different geneses of zombies, but it also gives examples of each kind.  Want to find a movie or television show that has zombies made by Dr. Frakenstein types trying to reanimate a lost loved one? You'll find it here!

But wait - there's more!  TvTropes is about more than TV and film; it also includes examples from video games, tabletop RPGs, and webcomics.

Yes, that's right. Medieval zombies.

They're in a Burgundian book of hours, and you can see them here, in the digital facsimile hosted by the Harvard University Library.

I don't get the abdomen holes, but I'm sure there is a scientific explanation that includes bacteria, decay, and gas.  I also have to give credit to GotMedieval, without whom I would have never found this gem.

Tonight my husband and I went to the Halloween store that's been set up in our local shopping mall.  I love Halloween stores.  They're so amazingly, over-the-top grotesque.  But my favorite things in the store were these.

Next to the costume party award ribbons was this delightfully lime-green adornment that declared the wearer "Zombie Approved."  Grade A Brain Meats, yesiree.

After the Halloween store, we hit up some local discount department stores looking for deals on shoes for my Halloween costume, which is where I found this:

Why yes, those are the last two Brains! Cupcake Kits that were on the shelf at my local Gordman's.  They are now on my kitchen counter.  I can't decide what I like more - the step-by-step instructions on how to pipe brains onto the cupcake, or the skull and spiders cupcake wrappers.

At any rate, I sure hope they're tasty.  At the High Plains Zombie Regional Fair, I bet they won the green ribbon.

I've compiled a list of zombie-related items from around the web to share with you during the month of Oct- I mean, Zomtober.

Zomtober is a special time of year where we remember our loved ones and solidify our resolve to shoot them in the head should they ever try to feast on our brains.

Why Zomtober?  Because there should be a month dedicated to zombies! And also I have all of this zombie stuff that I threw in a list randomizer...


For the first day of Zomtober, my gift to you is this lovely vintage-y scientific illustration of a brain.  If Zombies had restaurants, images like these would be framed and hanging on the walls.

Beautiful, isn't it? Check out the Etsy store Curious Prints for more of the delightfully macabre.