In the study of many of the most successful civilizations throughout human history, a large number of commonalities begin to appear between civilizations that have not had contact: religion, laws coded, division of labor, and zombies! Although widely prevalent in modern literature, the concept of the zombie can be identified in literature dating back to ancient Sumeria. As surprising as it may seem, zombies are as old as humans and have appeared in the cultures of civilizations such as ancient Sumer, China's Qing Dynasty, Germany, and numerous others. Cultures around the world have developed variations of the idea of ​​"zombies" because people need to face their worst fears about what might happen to them in order to live free from fear of the unknown. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Historically, separate ideas about zombies developed by cultures have had many similarities, including a close association with spirituality. The Haitian Zonbi were transformed into zombies when a vulnerable soul was captured by a powerful sorcerer. Likewise, in Germany, the Nachzeherer could cause death by ringing church bells which would kill anyone who heard the sound. The association with spirituality continued in England, where Revenants were corpses reanimated from corpses. Zombies in Hindu mythology took the form of Vetala, or demons who take the body of humans. Shared traits between different cultures' ideas of zombies often indicated people's greatest fear for their souls in the afterlife. In addition to a close association with spirituality, premature death was a common thread between different cultures' versions of the zombie. Zonbi were created when one died unnaturally and lingered at the grave. The idea that premature death could lead to Zombification was also seen in China and Germany. In China, Jiangshi could be created when a person suffers a violent death, which would be a way of premature death. Nachzeherer were created in Germany through accidental death, suicide and illness. The fact that zombie cultural ideals were interconnected with instances of premature death shows how humans are afraid of dying before believing their time is up. Despite all the similarities between zombies of different origins, some distinctions appear simply because each civilization was unique. . The Chinese zombie, the Jiangshi, moved by hopping rather than walking, due to the way corpses were transported in Qing Dynasty China. The Pontianak of Indonesia made their presence known through the cries of children that grew quieter as the danger approached. In Norse mythology, the Draugr relied on luring their victims into the darkness as the light weakened their powers. Nordics likely place such high emphasis on the effects of light and darkness on zombies because of their unique location in the far north of the globe. These distinctions between the concept of zombies in different cultures show how people from very different civilizations project unique fears onto their idea of ​​zombies. The similarities and differences between zombie cultures demonstrate that people need a way to face what their worst fears of death are. . Zombies are scary because people worry “how sad it would be to become one yourself.” Zombies are so closely linked to spirituality for this very reason. People were afraid of perpetually suffering from slavery in Haiti, and this showed why their idea of ​​​​zombification was.