Our fascination with the undead has a long history. Horror films are not a recent creation. Vampires were creatures of the silent films in the 1920s. Zombies are a slightly different story. White Zombie was a 1932 film produced and directed by brothers Victor and Edward Halperin. Bela Lugosi stars as Murder Legendre, an evil voodoo master who turns a young woman into the first screen zombie. With his death, she reverts to normal in a happily-ever-after ending. The first modern zombies appeared in George Romero‘s 1969 movie, ”The Night of the Living Dead.”
George Romero is to zombies as Isaac Asimov is to rules for robots. Romero created the zombies we know and love. He is the reason why so few zombies are able to run upstairs.
