Death is as common a theme in the world of the arts as it is an event in everyday life[phpbay] The point where a single, living being is separated from other living souls has become as common a subject of literature and art as any other aspect of human life[phpbay] It has also inspired in countless cultures various concepts on what happens beyond the mortal coil[phpbay] This is understandable, as the dying tend to feel anxiety at the idea of death[phpbay] The bereaved, for their part, go through a period of grief and separation anxiety[phpbay] Arguably, this aspect of human psychology regarding death can be used as an explanation for the widespread – nearly universal, by some accounts – tales of the “undead[phpbay]”
Achieving or stumbling upon tales of life after death appears in almost every major continent[phpbay] Ghosts are prominent players in these tales, naturally[phpbay] These incorporeal beings generally are attributed to have a form of separation anxiety, fundamentally attached to something they valued or held dear in life[phpbay] The unwillingness to leave also grants them the ability to manifest in the mortal world on a variety of levels[phpbay] While Western concepts of ghosts are incapable of influencing the mortal world on a physical level, they are more than able to damage the mental health of the living[phpbay] In contrast, Chinese ghosts come in a variety of forms, but all invariably are capable of visiting physical harm upon the living[phpbay]
It is not only the spirit that is subject to being turned into one of the “undead,” as the living tend to attach emotions to the body as well[phpbay] Zombies are corpses brought back from the dead through arcane and occult rituals, are a prime example of this[phpbay] The drauger of Norse mythology also fits into this category, as they are corpses that resist being brought to the burial mound or refuse to stay buried[phpbay] Some analysts of the literature and mythology surrounding these beings have noticed that most people regard these creatures with fear and anxiety[phpbay] There are some that theorize that this stems more from cultural and religious norms about death than society at large[phpbay] Most people have come to believe that a the bodies of the departed should be incapable of motion, so an animated corpse is something to be feared[phpbay]
However, this apparent idea does not extend to forms of “un-death” that are both spirit and flesh, such as the Romanian strugoi – more commonly referred to as vampires[phpbay] These creatures are often seen as having both the body and the soul of the deceased, but require something else to continue corporeal existence[phpbay] This is apparently a prevalent phenomenon among various cultures, though the substance varies from culture to culture[phpbay] Europeans consider the blood as the sustaining factor in the existence of vampires, while most African equivalents of the creatures subsist on human feces or bones[phpbay] Regardless, these creatures are traditionally regarded with fear and anxiety by mortals, particularly the ones that are being used as “food[phpbay]” While the vampire image popularized by Hollywood's version of Dracula has become a creature of wonder and sensuality, most other variants are still objects of horror[phpbay]
One interesting tangent to the “vampire” category above would be the variations to be found in Chinese and Japanese culture[phpbay] The jiang shi (hopping corpses) of China, for example, are comparable to their Western counterparts, except that it is not the blood in and of itself that feeds them[phpbay] Rather, the jiang shi are said to lack something called chi – the essence of life – and require taking it from the living to stay extant[phpbay] Most often, the strength of human chi is concentrated in the blood[phpbay] The end result is that the victim is drained of all blood, as consequence of the feeding[phpbay] The gaki of Japan are similar creatures, but are often described as being more human in countenance than the jiang shi[phpbay] Also, they take the chi directly, leaving a body that appears to have died while asleep[phpbay]
Regardless of what form or variation is taken, the state of “undeath” is a prevalent one in the various cultures of the world[phpbay] The fear and anxiety associated with death often attaches itself to these mythical creatures, even if pop culture has made some forms more appealing than others[phpbay] In some ways, the undead are considered a means of coping with the separation anxiety people experience around dying people[phpbay] At the same time, they also act as allegories for what could happen if certain cultural and religious norms are ignored in life[phpbay]
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