"Just call them Zombies!"

[LunaSoltaer]

Because sometimes a word has baggage in language that does not exist in your setting.

As an example, I used Elder Futhark in building the Spell Circles of my magic system. Problem: Norse Gods do not exist.

Therefore, I either have to redefine the Ætts to be something else or drop them.

I chose to drop them.

Zombie iirc is a relatively specific term relating to someone who just stopped moving that then got repurposed to the walking dead.

But yeah, if you Can keep a term you probably should, but if youre building a brave new world, think about your elements.

 

[Sabruness]

'zombies' can be a great chance to have the occasional running joke. one of my favorite apocalyptic novel series (featuring a viral apocalypse) has a running joke between some of the prominent side characters about not calling them zombies because they arent the living dead (ie dying and then coming back to life)

 

[Zinless]

'zombies' can be a great chance to have the occasional running joke. one of my favorite apocalyptic novel series (featuring a viral apocalypse) has a running joke between some of the prominent side characters about not calling them zombies because they arent the living dead (ie dying and then coming back to life)

Please use the sentence "Just call them zombies!!" as an homage to this thread.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Wait, so you want to classify all fleshy undead as "zombies"? I mean if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's totally a swan, so...

But yeah, calling the rose by any other name just to be different almost never has that effect. If you have reanimated corpses whose only drive is to kill everything living so it can spread "the virus", you better call them zombies, everything else is free game.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Because it is goddamn SUICIDE.

Haven't you ever watched a zombie movie? If you say the word zombie in a zombie movie, you will beattacked by zombies and DIE. You could be in the most secure base on the planet, and a hundred will teleport into the base, knock down a wall, and a waterfall of zombies will pour into the room to eat your face.

It's just how it works.

KNOW YOUR TROPES TO SURVIVE AN ISEKAI:
NEVER SAY THE WORD "ZOMBIE".

 

[Zinless]

Because it is goddamn SUICIDE.

Haven't you ever watched a zombie movie? If you say the word zombie in a zombie movie, you will beattacked by zombies and DIE. You could be in the most secure base on the planet, and a hundred will teleport into the base, knock down a wall, and a waterfall of zombies will pour into the room to eat your face.

It's just how it works.

KNOW YOUR TROPES TO SURVIVE AN ISEKAI:
NEVER SAY THE WORD "ZOMBIE".

I'm gonna try this then.


MONEY! MOOONEEEEY!

 

[LunaSoltaer]

I'm gonna try this then.


MONEY! MOOONEEEEY!

[A Mimic spawns directly in front of you. It is awake and knows you are there.]

 

[KrakenRiderEmma]

There are often good reasons for “zombie” and “monster” to have different names, because of in-world knowledge or making the story less generic, like has already been said. In past decades, like in fantasy and sci-fi writing from the 80s-00s, there was a trend for a while where ALL sorts of things would be renamed for no reason other than to seem different. It got so bad that a well-known fantasy author, I think maybe Diana Wynne Jones, wrote an essay begging people to stop doing it. I forget exactly who…

For instance, a fantasy author might describe characters in their world as riding on domesticated animals called “kutharks,” which have four legs ending in hard toeless feet that allow them to run fast over all sorts of terrain, and short hair on most of their body, but long flowing hair on the back of the neck; people can ride on the back of a kuthark, often using specialized equipment to sit on and guide the kuthark. Kutharks have a long snout and eat grass and other vegetation, and are often bred for speed, strength and stamina.

You get the idea — the point was that some authors were just trying to make their world seem more exotic (“it’s not just another version of Earth, it’s a much more fantastic place”) just by changing a name, when they could have just said “horse” and everyone would be able to picture what it looks like.

 

[Corty]

I use the undead instead of zombies in my current book because I don’t want them think of them as rotting corpses that cry bariiiiinz constantly when I mention them.

They are dead people, moving again after death but they are not rotting corpses. So its mostly the reason I use anything but Zombie.

The whole thing behind them is different and the reason why they exist is one of the main plotline.

 

[Sabruness]

just as a side note, this is actually a trope in itself: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotUsingTheZWord

 

[Zinless]

There are often good reasons for “zombie” and “monster” to have different names, because of in-world knowledge or making the story less generic, like has already been said. In past decades, like in fantasy and sci-fi writing from the 80s-00s, there was a trend for a while where ALL sorts of things would be renamed for no reason other than to seem different. It got so bad that a well-known fantasy author, I think maybe Diana Wynne Jones, wrote an essay begging people to stop doing it. I forget exactly who…

For instance, a fantasy author might describe characters in their world as riding on domesticated animals called “kutharks,” which have four legs ending in hard toeless feet that allow them to run fast over all sorts of terrain, and short hair on most of their body, but long flowing hair on the back of the neck; people can ride on the back of a kuthark, often using specialized equipment to sit on and guide the kuthark. Kutharks have a long snout and eat grass and other vegetation, and are often bred for speed, strength and stamina.

You get the idea — the point was that some authors were just trying to make their world seem more exotic (“it’s not just another version of Earth, it’s a much more fantastic place”) just by changing a name, when they could have just said “horse” and everyone would be able to picture what it looks like.

Thanks for the response!

While reading your post, I suddenly remembered that in "Fake Saint of The Year"'s epilogue, the MC mentioned that earth has iron horses that act like beast speeding around everywhere in berserk. This made the people around her believe that earth is dangerous and should be avoided and sealed at all cost.

Those 'Iron Horse Berserker' are actually cars.

(I think that's how it goes. Been a long time since I read it, will re-read it someday.)

 

[KrakenRiderEmma]

Oh yeah, I found it! The trope fantasy and sci-if writers used to use for this was “calling a rabbit a smeerp.” The author James Blish came up with it and the idea was taught for a long time at SFF workshops:

https://pattyjansen.com/calling-a-rabbit-a-smeerp/

The “Iron Horse Berserker” example is another one where there’s a good reason for it — the people who have no idea what “cars” are wouldn’t understand that word, etc. The “smeerp” or “kuthark” problem is where it’s taken to the extreme, literally no reason to use a weird word other than to seem exotic and fantastic

 

[Zinless]

Oh yeah, I found it! The trope fantasy and sci-if writers used to use for this was “calling a rabbit a smeerp.” The author James Blish came up with it and the idea was taught for a long time at SFF workshops:

https://pattyjansen.com/calling-a-rabbit-a-smeerp/

The “Iron Horse Berserker” example is another one where there’s a good reason for it — the people who have no idea what “cars” are wouldn’t understand that word, etc. The “smeerp” or “kuthark” problem is where it’s taken to the extreme, literally no reason to use a weird word other than to seem exotic and fantastic

That article answered all my questions. Thank you!

If people complain about calling a rabbit a smeerp, a lack of worldbuilding lies at the heart of the comment.

 

[CautiousTitan]

Back in I think 2010-2012 or something, there was a huge craving for zombie related media. High school of the Dead, sankarea, Walking Dead, and a few video games like Lollipop Chainsaw and Left 4 Dead. This was the apex of Zombies. But it was also too much.

When the zombie hype cooled down, people had enough. So eventually, people started calling zombies by different names to keep it fresh. That’s where The Last Of Us comes in and every other undead related title.

The zombie hype is also what made COD zombies so popular fyi. Black Ops 2 Zombies came out in 2012.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

iron horses that act like beast speeding around everywhere in berserk. This made the people around her believe that earth is dangerous and should be avoided and sealed at all cost.

Those 'Iron Horse Berserker' are actually cars.

I mean, cars are dangerous. What is the longest period nobody got ran over to death in your city in the past 20 years? 2 months? Even that feels generous.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

MONEY! MOOONEEEEY!

Irony.

I knew a guy called Reverend Mooney. Went to college with him. Hired him for a wedding once. He worked for 20 bucks and a bottle of Crown Royal.

If he shows up, you'll have a good time.

 

[DeathLight]

If anything zombies will be basically like snow is for Eskimo. Seeing how Eskimo have a bunch of words for snow and how it is. It will make sense for the undead to have the same treatment as well.

High chance of people making/giving names to various types of zombies to make it easier to tell them apart.

 

[RainHarlow]

I propose all zombies be called 'rice counters' and actually hop.

 

[Notadate]

Also depends if they are us (modern humans) or in a fantasy world. It would make sense for us to say zombies, but fantasy people, not so much — unless anotherworlder introduced them to the term.


But sometimes it makes sense to not call them zombies if they don’t fit the criteria in the persons head. Mine is a dead person who has risen. But if I saw a parasite infest a corpse and start manipulating it and little tendrils are poking out… one I would get the fuck out of there, and then name them something else. Tenders, Parasites, Corpse worms. Wormlers. Succumed.

 

[Rezcore]

So, zombie fictions rarely use the term zombie as a tribute to Night of the Living Dead. If I were to use the word it'd be for its more accurate voodoo meaning. The fuckers from TWD aren't zombies, they are Ghouls