ZOMBIES
Now if there's a monster that's been completely reworked by Hollywood to fit man's fear of germs, it's the zombie. The basic concept is the same, a corpse that has risen from the dead in a mindless state. But the original Voodoo concept is that the corpse is raised by a bokor, or Voodoo sorcerer, to serve as a slave. Living people could also be turned into zombies, or at least a zombie-like state, by means of a combination of two unique powders injected into the bloodstream. The first, called coup de poudre, puts the victim into a death-like state due to the key ingredient, tetrodotoxin, which is found in pufferfish. Once injected in near-lethal doses, the powder puts the victim into a state of near-death for several days, all while remaining conscious. Then the second powder, which is composed of dissociatives like datura, is added, which puts the victim into the zombie-like state, where they have no will of their own. In either case, if they're going around attacking people, it's because they were ordered to by their bokor masters, and its doubtful they would eat anyone.
But thanks to films like Night of the Living Dead, the idea that people have of a zombie has changed dramatically. The zombie is still a corpse that rises up and is still totally mindless, but now not only are they truly “living dead”, but they attack anyone in sight and eat them. And anyone who ends up simply being bitten will end up being turned into a zombie themselves. Voodoo magic isn't the cause of this; instead its rather a virus either man-made or space-born that's the cause of the initial infection and resulting plague. Recent films like 28 Days Later added the idea of contact with a zombie's blood could spread the infection.
With such concepts and ideas being used since the "40s and "50s, you can see why man has developed a fear of germs and still continues to have it. Regular viruses and diseases are bad enough. What about one that would, literally, turn you into some kind of monster, no longer considered human? And thanks to recent films treating the concept on a scientific level and even calling such conditions viruses and infections, you can bet that man's fear of germs isn't going to go away any time soon.
