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Zombies were re-animated corpses, undead beings somehow raised from the dead by magical means, such as witchcraft. Devoid of feeling, efficient, and enduring like machines, zombies make ideal slaves for any form of tough physical labor. A zombie could be described as a re-animated corpse, and can sometimes be controlled by people who dabbled in Voodoo magic. For instance, a zombie crew were under the command of the infamous pirate Blackbeard aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge.

History

Legend

Of Voodoo origin, the word initially referred to a curse cast by sorcerers allowing them to take control of a person's mind, therefore affecting his or her actions. However, due to significant influence of Voodoo on witchcraft mythology, this meaning soon morphed into that of a human corpse mysteriously reanimated to serve the undead.^{[citation needed]}

During the quest for the Sword of Cortés by young Jack Sparrow and the the crew of the Barnacle, Arabella Smith believed that Left-Foot Louis was dead, Creole crewman Jean shrugged and said it was possible Louis was alive, though Tumen doubted it. Jean grinned as he said things he knew in Creole lands, saying that the living and the dead weren't separate before asking the crew if they heard of a zombie before. Arabella went pale, and Fitzwilliam thought it would be best if they could refrain from speaking about zombies, which Jack agreed, though he considered that there was a great possibility that Left-Foot Louis was still alive.^[1]

Tia Dalma's zombies

The mystic Tia Dalma was fluent in making zombies. In one of his tales of adventure, Jack Sparrow unknowingly led the Admiral Royce of the East India Trading Company and his men to a place where Tia Dalma was performing a voodoo ritual. When Royce revealed his intention to take Tia Dalma to his superior, Lord Cutler Beckett, Jack turned against him, and Tia Dalma summoned a group of zombies from the jungle, who eventually killed Royce and his men.^[2]

Prior to the quest for the Shadow Gold, Tia Dalma sent one of her zombies, Alex, to join Jack Sparrow and the crew of the Black Pearl to find the scattered pieces of gold. As a zombie, Alex's eyes were filmed over and clouded. Whenever he walked, bits of skin and flesh would drop off him.^[3]

Blackbeard's officers

Main article: Zombie Officers

The zombies that served as Blackbeard's officers aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge were created through Greek fire and practiced rituals of the dark arts. Blackbeard's most notable officers were the Quartermaster and Gunner,^[4] the latter Jack Sparrow told Scrum he believed to be French.^[5] When the Quartermaster was zombiefied, he was gifted with a second sight, thereby gaining the ability to predict the future.^[6] After Blackbeard's death at the Fountain of Youth,^[4] all of his zombies died with him.^[7]

Biology and appearance

From beyond the grave they have returned as empty vessels stirred to life, a zombie can be described as a re-animated corpse. Devoid of feeling, efficient, and enduring like machines, zombies make ideal slaves where they could be controlled by people for any form of tough physical labor. Sewn-up lips were one of the telltale signs that dark magic was at work, as some believed that the soul can escape the body through the mouth, so this precaution was taken to keep the spirit enslaved Zombies could sometimes be controlled by people, such as Blackbeard.^[6]

As undead beings, zombies were immune to almost all sorts of conventional weapons. Sword stabs and pistol shots had no effect on them. Since they were technically walking dead, some of them were more or less decomposed.^[4] Some who were brought to life as zombies shortly after their death looked similar to normal human beings and retained more of their original personality than others.^[6]

Notable zombies

• Alex^[3]
• Zombie Officers^[4]
  • Quartermaster^[6][4]
  • Gunner^[6][4]
  • Yeoman^[4]
  • Master-at-Arms^[4]
  • Cook^[8]

Behind the scenes

Zombies were first mentioned by Jean Magliore in the 2006 book The Pirate Chase, the third book of the Young Jack Sparrow series by Rob Kidd.^[1] Although zombies first appeared in the comic "The Compass of Destiny!" published in Disney Adventures, they were not identified as zombies by name.^[2] Nevertheless, they were summoned by Tia Dalma, a voodooo mystic and priestess who is confirmed being able to resurrect the dead through Captain Hector Barbossa in the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,^[9] and create zombies through Alex in the Legends of the Brethren Court series, beginning with the 2008 book The Caribbean.^[3]

Captain Barbossa's crew of the Black Pearl from the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, while in actuality skeletons, were sometimes mistaken as zombies.^[10] In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's first screenplay draft for the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Jack Sparrow described Davy Jones' crew of the Flying Dutchman as zombies when talking to Murtogg and Mullroy.^[11] The 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was the first Pirates film to officially include zombies through Blackbeard's zombie officers.^[4]

One of the zombies Miles Teves designed for On Stranger Tides was named Black Caesar,^[12][13] based on the real-life pirate who sailed with Blackbeard in 1718, but never used in the final cut of the film.^[4]

In real-world history, the word "Zombie" and its derivations didn't actually exist during the reign of King George II of Great Britain, which is the time-frame in which the story On Stranger Tides is set. The word "Zombie", as "Zombi", first appeared in a history of Brazil by poet Robert Southey in 1819.

In Pirates of the Caribbean Online, there are several zombie-related objects. These include weapons, like the Zombie Doll and Zombie Kabab Bayonet and clothes, like Zombie Trousers and Zombie Shorts.^[14]

In the 2011 non-canonical LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, zombies were created by Blackbeard using the Sword of Triton, unnamed in-game.^[15] However, the power of the sword were separate from the rituals required and practiced to create zombies,^[4] which includes Greek fire according to James Ponti's junior novelization.^[8]

In Tim Powers' 1987 novel On Stranger Tides, which was used as the basis for the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, zombies were heavily featured as mindless walking corpses.^[16] In the Pirates film, Blackbeard's zombies look and act almost like normal people.^[4]

Though not referred to as such in canon, Hector Barbossa's resurrection at the hands of the voodoo priestess Tia Dalma and his subsequent obligation to serve her agenda resemble the concept of a zombie in Haitian folklore.^{[citation needed]}

Appearances

The Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Zombie.

• World of Color (2011-2023 update)
• Jack Sparrow: The Pirate Chase (First mentioned)
• Disney Adventures: "The Compass of Destiny!" (First appearance)
• Legends of the Brethren Court: The Caribbean
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East
• Legends of the Brethren Court: The Turning Tide
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (junior novelization)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Movie Storybook
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)

Sources

• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide
• The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

External links

• Zombie on Wikipedia

Notes and references