Difference Between Vampires and Zombies

Vampires vs Zombies
 

There is a wealth of difference between the two terms vampires and zombies. Although both of them return back from the state of death, the process of returning back from death is different in both the cases. Also, it should be noted that when they were first created these legends brought only horror to the minds of the readers. However, by now, due to the adaptation of vampires in the popular culture as in television and even the film industry, vampires have turned out to be more desirable and mesmerizing creatures rather than the blood sucking monsters they were first introduced as. It is quite interesting to note that there is no substantial evidence to prove the existence of either a vampire or a zombie. That is why they are known as parts of folklore.

What is a Vampire?

One of the main differences between a vampire and a zombie is that a vampire is a corpse that gropes for human blood. Vampires are from the Slavic mythology. A vampire returns after death and is evil in nature. It begins to suck blood from the living. It is interesting to note that vampires are very much conscious of what they are doing.

Vampires move about in the nights, in search of warm blood for their survival. They are described as lovers of sleep in day time. Vampires are described as growing weak in the absence of blood. They are said to die by the exposure to sunlight. In the original stories, it is said that you can kill a vampire by putting a wooden stake through his heart. However, in modern fiction sometimes you find stories where this belief is not accepted.

Vampire fiction is even very popular today. Some of them are Dracula, the Twilight saga, and the Vampire Diaries. Their popularity was so great that the first two were made into films while the last is currently a popular TV show.

What is a Zombie?

On the contrary, a zombie is under the direct control of a master who is adept in sorcery. Sorcery performs the act of the creation of a zombie with an intention to bring about selfish wants. Zombies, on the contrary to Vampires, are folklore from African American culture. These characters are prevalent in the Caribbean too. As said earlier, a zombie is a dead corpse brought back to life by an evil sorcerer. He uses the zombie as a slave to achieve his own ends. Although the zombies are portrayed as flesh eating monsters in movies and other descriptions, strictly speaking they were not so. Zombies are often described as the dead that start from their graves and roam about frightening people without any reason. Nothing is told in literature regarding how they can be killed. Zombies are also a subject for modern films. Resident Evil and World War Z are two such popular films.

What is the difference between Vampires and Zombies?

• One of the main differences between a vampire and a zombie is that a vampire is a corpse that gropes for human blood. On the contrary, a zombie is a corpse under the direct control of a master who is adept in sorcery. Vampires are from the Slavic mythology, while Zombies are from African and Caribbean folklore.

• Vampires have conscious thought. Zombies cannot think rationally.

• Vampires and zombies have become interesting and popular subject areas for writers and directors.

Images Courtesy: 

1. Zombie by Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)