Recent studies coming out of Haiti tell tales of zombie intrigue and immigrant slave conspiracies. Apparently researchers have found, in a remote Haitian area, information that Haitian voodoo priests have concocted a drug or "poison" that can render the person on the receiving end immobile and, for lack of a better term, "dead." Now, not exactly being the re-animated corpses we are so used to seeing in movies, these drug-induced people are usually poor villagers or immigrants/tourists that get doses of the "zombie drug" and are thus rendered unconscious and unaware of their actions for what can be up to hours, days, weeks, or even months! Once injected with the toxin, the victim is then forced unwillingly (and generally unknowingly) into slavery. Once they come out of this zombie-like stupor after how ever long they were under for, they have no recollection of how they ended up where they did or what they were doing.
According to the article, located under AOL's "Weird News" section, this has most-likely been an ongoing event for decades! The article chronicles the story of one man, a Mr. Clairvius Narcisse, who was pronounced dead at a hospital in Haiti, buried, and, 18 years later, found wandering around alive and, for the most part, well. He went on to state that he was drugged (probably with this "zombie poison"), buried alive, but unconcious, and dug up and forced into slavery. Narcisse recounts in his tale that he was sent to work on a plantation with others who shared the same experience. One man who researched this phenomena extensively, Wade Davis, turned this accounts into a popular, mainstream movie in the early 1980's called "The Serpent and the Rainbow." Davis recalls that this zombie-drug that makes people appear "dead" was most-likely tetrodotoxin, a deadly poison found in puffer fish. According to Davis, "Tetrodotoxin turns out to be a very big molecule that blocks sodium channels in the nerves, bringing on peripheral paralysis, dramatically low metabolic rates and yet consciousness is retained until the moment of death." Scary, isn't it? After one of these Haitian voodoo priests, called "bokor's," injects their victim with the tetrodotoxin, the person is then pronounced dead by a physician, subsequently buried, and then dug up by the priest and given some kind of "chemical paste" to keep them in the zombie-induced state so they can be sold into slavery.
This article brings to surface some terrifying accounts of an un-Godly practice. It just makes one even more worried about traveling abroad or even leaving the comfort of their own home. It seems like it can happen to almost anyone without them even knowing until it's too late (or until the drug wears off). All I know is that I don't plan on booking a trip to Haiti any time soon...
The article I referenced can be found here: http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/how-to-make-a-zombie-haiti-style/19638134?icid=main|main|dl12|sec1_lnk3|172567
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I remember seeing an episode on TV about zombies in Haiti, don't remember what channel it was on (maybe Discovery or Travel). They went to the village with most of the zombie tales to hear the stories and see the "zombies" themselves. Except that was more about people being presumed dead and coming back to life. Now that I think about it, potentially it was a movie as well where they returned to their graves night after night. Regardless, it was like the old days when people would tie a string to the dead person's finger, which was attached to a bell. Just in case the person wasn't truly dead, they could ring the bell and be released.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think this is morally wrong and I totally understand your fear of travel, especially with all the bomb treats and what not. This world is a crazy place, can't believe we live in it at times.