"I've seen those movies. I know what they're supposed to be called. But I refuse to use the word. They're dead people, but they walk..."
— The Secret World's "Kingsmouth" trailer
Isaac Washington: Shit! I fuckin' hate these zombies-
Agent G: Mutants. How many times do I have to tell you not to use the Z-word?
Agent G: Mutants. How many times do I have to tell you not to use the Z-word?
Oh, if only we could capture one of these ... these ... let's call them "bite-walking corpse monsters," we could learn from them!
Ned: I asked you not to use the word "zombie". It's disrespectful. Stumbling around squawking for brains? That's not how they do. And "undead"? Nobody wants to be "un"-anything. Why begin a statement with a negative? It's like saying, "I don't disagree." Just say you agree.
Emerson: Are you comfortable with "living dead"?
Ned: You're either living or you're dead. When you're living, you're alive. When you're dead, that's what you are. But when you're dead and then you're not, you're alive again. Can't we say "alive again"? Didn't that sound nice?
Emerson: Are you comfortable with "living dead"?
Ned: You're either living or you're dead. When you're living, you're alive. When you're dead, that's what you are. But when you're dead and then you're not, you're alive again. Can't we say "alive again"? Didn't that sound nice?
"So it's a werewolf. Or are we not saying 'werewolf'?"
—Jim Sterling on Guise Of The Wolf
"Popular culture in recent years has handled zombie apocalypse the way Kurt Cobain handled the smack. I can see the appeal: why bother coming up with ways to make us sympathize with the characters’ personal struggles and motivations when you can just burn all their stuff in the first 5 minutes? And that’s fine, I suppose, but I’d wish they’d stop dancing around it. "Oh, no, these aren’t zombies, they’re 'Infected.' There’s a difference; they’re created by breathing in these mind-altering fungal spores which can also be transmitted by bites because of reasons." And you just want to grab popular culture by the lapels and scream "Will you and zombie apocalypses just fuck already?!""
Gunvolt: Hey Zeno... Are those... zombies?
Zeno: Zombies? C'mon, man...This ain't no horror game.
Leon: I've read a lot of dank comic books, and all of them point to one thing: we've got zamboes on our hand. Y'know, crombies, walkers, undead bitches. They go by many names in pop culture, although we get to come up with our name since we're living in it. What do you wanna call these guys? ...Claire, what do you wanna call them? That's gonna be important for, like, when... Claire, are you listening to what I'm saying?
Claire: [watching zombies eating] I wanna call them "eaters".
Leon: Not the most creative name, but I guess we'll go with- OH GOD, AN EATER!
Claire: [watching zombies eating] I wanna call them "eaters".
Leon: Not the most creative name, but I guess we'll go with- OH GOD, AN EATER!
Lisa: Bart, you cast the wrong spell! Zombies!
Bart: Please, Lise, they prefer to be called the living-impaired.
Bart: Please, Lise, they prefer to be called the living-impaired.
—The Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror, "Dial 'Z' for Zombies"
"Look out, Rotters"
"I'm gonna kill every last Z Person there is."
"Place is over run by Psychos"
"If starvation doesn't kill us, Roamers will. They're just roaming around out there."
"Who's ready to slaughter some Bratz? Bratz with a Z."
"Whole thing is overrun by Knick Knack Paddywackers."
"What are those things? 'They're Runners.' Why do you call them that?! 'Because...Because they run. It just it seems like the most logical thing to call them.'"
"A pack of Crunchy Munchers took my mom's life."
"By nightfall the Flesh Feasters will come."
"Shh Candy Corns. 12:00"
"Going north is a lost cause. It's a Monster Mash up there. Graveyard smash if you will."
"We call them Bobbys. It's the name of our stepdad. It's metaphorical. Cause this is an indie zombie flick."
"Can't cross the bridge. There's too many Squids."
"Let's kill some Frogs."
"Too many Crickets out there."
"There's two Giraffes in the grocery store, but we got them."
"A pack of Creepers ate my entire family."
"There's too many Freakers."
"Scallywags are coming!"
"There's too many Screamers!!"
"Group of Hotties took my dad."
"There's too many Little Bitches, we can't take them all!!!"
"I'm gonna kill every last Z Person there is."
"Place is over run by Psychos"
"If starvation doesn't kill us, Roamers will. They're just roaming around out there."
"Who's ready to slaughter some Bratz? Bratz with a Z."
"Whole thing is overrun by Knick Knack Paddywackers."
"What are those things? 'They're Runners.' Why do you call them that?! 'Because...Because they run. It just it seems like the most logical thing to call them.'"
"A pack of Crunchy Munchers took my mom's life."
"By nightfall the Flesh Feasters will come."
"Shh Candy Corns. 12:00"
"Going north is a lost cause. It's a Monster Mash up there. Graveyard smash if you will."
"We call them Bobbys. It's the name of our stepdad. It's metaphorical. Cause this is an indie zombie flick."
"Can't cross the bridge. There's too many Squids."
"Let's kill some Frogs."
"Too many Crickets out there."
"There's two Giraffes in the grocery store, but we got them."
"A pack of Creepers ate my entire family."
"There's too many Freakers."
"Scallywags are coming!"
"There's too many Screamers!!"
"Group of Hotties took my dad."
"There's too many Little Bitches, we can't take them all!!!"
Vetter: What are you doing here?
Vachon: You said, 'May be a vampire'.
Vetter: Tsk!—don't say that word! Look, I can handle this; I don't need your help.
Vachon: Fine, I guess I'll be on my way!
Vetter: Wait! Is he a vamp—
Vachon: Don't!—say that word. And I thought you didn't need my help.
(Vetter looks abashed)
Vachon: No, he's not a "—"
— Forever Knight, "My Boyfriend is a Vampire"
"You've never had a crew of this type before either, have you, Commander?"
"Zombies, you mean? No, not yet, I'm happy to say."
She made a disapproving pout with her mouth. It was fully as cute as her approving pouts. "We do not like that word."
"All right, blobs then."
"We don't like bl—that word either. You are talking about human beings like yourself, Commander. Very much like yourself."
I began to get sore fast, just the way the kid had out in the hall. Then I realized she didn't mean anything by it. She didn't know. What the hell—it wasn't on our orders. I relaxed. "You tell me. What do you call them here?"
The blonde sat up stiffly. "We refer to them as soldier surrogates. The epithet 'zombie' was used to describe the obsolete Model 21 which went out of production over five years ago. You will be supplied with individuals based on Models 705 and 706, which are practically perfect."
"Zombies, you mean? No, not yet, I'm happy to say."
She made a disapproving pout with her mouth. It was fully as cute as her approving pouts. "We do not like that word."
"All right, blobs then."
"We don't like bl—that word either. You are talking about human beings like yourself, Commander. Very much like yourself."
I began to get sore fast, just the way the kid had out in the hall. Then I realized she didn't mean anything by it. She didn't know. What the hell—it wasn't on our orders. I relaxed. "You tell me. What do you call them here?"
The blonde sat up stiffly. "We refer to them as soldier surrogates. The epithet 'zombie' was used to describe the obsolete Model 21 which went out of production over five years ago. You will be supplied with individuals based on Models 705 and 706, which are practically perfect."
— Down Among the Dead Men (1954), by William Tenn
