Zombie Taxonomy

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Zombie Terminology

Abbreviations:

TWD = The Walking Dead

TWDU = The Walking Dead Universe

FTWD = Fear the Walking Dead

TWB = The World Beyond

TTWD = Tales of The Walking Dead

WWZ = World War Z

General:

Zombi 

Zombies

Ghouls

Living Dead

Undead 

Movies and Television:

Biters (TWD)

Blasters (Z Nation): Zombie irradiated by a nuclear reactor blast.

Blends (Z Nation): Half-zombie, half-human

Bonies (Warm Bodies)

Brûlant (Daryl Dixon, TWDU): S1E1. French for “burner” as the zombies carry a corrosive element in their bodies.

Carion (FTWD S8E1)

Chompers (TTWD “Amy/Dr. Everett” & (TWDU: Dead City S1E1)

Clickers (The Last of US)

Cold Bodies (TWD “No Sanctuary”)

Creeper (TWD “Walk with Me”)

Creeps (Republic Z/Republica Z)

Deadheads (Z Nation)

Deadie (TWD)

Dead Ones (TWD): S5 Terminus member calls them ‘dead ones’.

Demons (Republic Z/Republica Z)

Bloaters (The Last of US)

Eaters (FTWD, S5.E11): Wes says his brother might think he has become an ‘eater.’ Although he is lying about his brother waiting for him, he uses Alicia and Victor to return to the police station to retrieve the book manuscript a man stole from him. 

Empties (TWB)

Fleshies (Warm Bodies & TWDU: Dead City S1E1)

Floaters (TWD)

G’s (WWZ): for Ghouls

Geeks (TWD)

Ghouls (Night of the Living Dead)

Ghoulies (Daybreaker) 

Goner (Z Nation S5.E2)

Groaners (TWDU: Dead City S1E1)

Growlers (FTWD)

Guardians (TWD): The Whisper group refers to them zombies in positive terms. 

Has Beens (TWB)

Hawkings (Zombieland: Double Tap)

Homers  (Zombieland: Double Tap)

Hungries (Girl with All the Gifts)

The Hungry Ones (TWD) S9. How the Whisperers  (Alpha in the first instance) refer to zombies along with Guardians (first used by Beta).

Husks (FTWD, S6.E12)

Infected (28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, FTWD, and numerous others)

Lamebrains (TWD): S2.E8.

Lurkers (TWD “Walk with Me”)

Les Affamés (Daryl Dixon, TWDU): S1E1. French for “the hungry ones”.

Los Muertos (FTWD, Z Nation)

Monsters (TWD, and others)

Mortally Challenged (Z Nation, S5.E2)

Munchers (FTWD, S5.E12): Sarah says: “Wen and I have been pounding the pavement since before the munchers were munchin’.”

Necrotics (Eat, Brains, Love)

Ninjas (Zombieland: Double Tap)

Post-Dead Folks (Z Nation, S5.E2)

Puppies and Kittens (Z Nation)

Rippers (TWD) S10.E13

Roamers (TWD, S2.E9)

Rots (TWD) S8E6

Rotters (TWD)

Saifu (WWZ)

Shamblers (Army of the Dead)

Sickos (TWD): S9 The term used by the group introduced in season 9 that includes Connie, and Kelly, Luke, Magna, and Yumiko.

Sicks (Republic Z/Republica Z)

Skin Bags (TWD)

Skin Eaters (TWD)

Stenches (Land of the Dead)

Stumblers (FTWD, S5.E9)

Munchers (FTWD)

The Passed (FTWD)

Skin Bags (FTWD)

T-800s (Zombieland: Double Tap)

Talkers (Z Nation, S5.E1): Zombies that retain cognitive abilities. The ‘Black Rain’, George (Katy O’Brien),  says it’s on account fo their souls remaining conscious even though their bodies have died: “The dead don’t just walk. Now they talk.” Talkers are possibly in between Zs and Human. At one point one of the Talkers refers to humans as ‘Bleeders’.

Those things (Night of the Living Dead): This is the most used reference to the zombies.

The Wailing (TWD: The Ones that Live) S1E2

Walkers (TWD, FTWD)

The Wasted (TWD): S6E15

White Walkers (Game of Thrones)

Z’s (Z Nation)

Zachs (WWZ)

Zed Heads (WWZ)

Zendingo (Z Nation)

Zeros (Resident Evil, 2022)

Literature:

Shamblers (Feed)

Hungries (The Girl with all the Gifts, The Boy on the Bridge)

Restless Dead (Dread Nation & Deathless Divide)

Returned (The Forest of Hands and Teeth)

Rotters (The Deadlands)

Shambler (Broken Lands [p.113]) [Ravager, p.113?]

Skrakes (Last Ones Left Alive)

Skels (Zone One)

Stragglers (Zone One)

The Unconsecrated (The Forest of Hands and Teeth): Term used for the horde.

Zoms (Rot & Ruin)

El Muertos (“The Crossing of Aldo Ray”)

Los Muertos Vivientes (Broken Lands [P.10]): Spanish for ‘The Living Dead’

Dead Ones (TWD): GN. Hershel calls them ‘Dead Ones’.

‘Squares’, ‘suckers’, ‘saps’ (Zone One): How the character Gary refers to the dead in different ways. (p.25)

Other Terminology:

For the apocalypse:

First Night (Rot & Ruin series):

The Rising (Newsflesh series):

Zompocalypse (Z Nation. S5.E4 “Pacifica”): George [describing the town of Pacifica]: “everybody’s equal. Black, white, gay, straight, Talkers and humans.”Doc “Who woulda thunk it? The Zompocalypse, nature’s great equalizer.”