The secret of making zombies

I’ve been reading a fascinating real life account of a journey to discover the scientific and cultural roots of zombies and voodoo and I now know what it takes to make a zombie. Wade Davis’s account of his visits to Haiti in the 1980s, meeting with witch doctors, secret societies and zombies, combines scientific biological analysis of poisons, ethnography, history and personal narrative into a great read in “The Serpent and the Rainbow”.

Davis writes beautifully and the book reads like a novel, with lyrical passages describing the natural wonder of Haiti and mystery built into enigmatic encounters with various strangers. The book opens “noir” style with Davis being summoned to the apartment of a rich scientific investor for drinks, complete with the investor’s beautiful daughter. Thus, he is given the quest to find the elements that go into making zombies - a quest that leads him to participate in shamanic rituals, bargain with shady characters for poisonous powders, win a horse race through the streets of a Haitian town and penetrate voodoo secret societies. But this isn’t a novel - it’s fact, which is what makes the whole read even more engaging.

There has been some scepticism about the veracity of the tale because it all seems so fantastical - see Bob Corbett’s critique of the book. Corbett seems to be an Emeritus professor at Webster University so it’s a criticism to be taken seriously. However, on the page I’ve referenced, Corbett does give Davis the opportunity to respond and also acknowledges that “without sufficient evidence. I don’t claim to have any further evidence than I cited above”.

At any rate, it’s a cracking good read and I’m raring to put on my fedora and leather jacket, grab my whip and artefact-gathering sling bag and head off into the wilds…