2012. The best year yet.

Thank you Richmond. For everything. You make this event unbelievably awesome every year.

We don’t have a specific count, but I’m pretty sure we went well over 600, maybe 700, zombies on the streets last Saturday. We were also able to break the $1000 mark in donations this year. I never thought we’d be able to do something like that, but there it is. You guys rock the house like that.

We’ve already got our sights set on next year for the 9th Annual Richmond Zombie Walk on Saturday, October 26, 2013. Go ahead and save that date now. Nobody will judge you. We promise.

We were able to award a handful of special prizes to some exceptional zombie costumes and had our event posters autographed by our grotesquely wonderful illustrator, Abigail Larson. By the way, stay tuned for more information on event poster availability. We’ll be reprinting very soon.

Special thanks to Abigail Larson for creating our event poster for the past 3 years. We hope you can do it every year. Thanks to our make up artists, Tony, Jennifer, Liam and Nico, that help with the Make up and Costume Workshop. Also a shout out to Scott and the Richmond Fencing Club for hosting, RVA Magazine, Zombie Victory Gardens, our sponsor Costume SuperCenter, our contest winners and you, my stinking undead walkers.

Bloody kisses all around. See you next year.

Well, kind of.

For the past couple of years we have been honored to have Abigail Larson create event posters for us. We will be offering you a chance to get a 2012 Richmond Zombie Walk event poster for only $5. The beautifully illustrated gore is printed on a textured heavyweight stock that is fit for framing in its 11″ x 17″ standard dimensions.

In addition to the 2012 poster, we also have a few left over from 2011 and 2010. Complete you’re collection for $5 each, but you’ve got to pounce because we only have a few of these from the past couple of years. As with your donations, all of the profits from the posters go to the American Cancer Society.

But wait, there’s more! Want to make that poster extra special? Abigail Larson will be at the pre-walk meet up at Byrd Park’s Boat Lake at 1pm to sign posters.

Whew.

Posters, costume contest giveaways, lots and lots of blood.. What’s not to love?

For those who will need a nice beverage after chasing down brains, I present to you our official after party, TACO HELL! At 5p.m. after the Richmond Zombie Walk, head on down to Don’t Look Back for Zombie Hour, taco specials, a zombie make up station and the ever popular photo booth!

THEN, really get the party started at New York Deli for the NIGHT SLASHERS party where they’ll have costume cash and prizes!

I’m pumped. I may even wipe my.. face clean and put on my “goin’ out” fez. See y’all there!

xoxo,
DeadMason

A working-class Irish family decides to care for their zombie son much to the chagrin of the neighbors and the local crime boss and all under the gaze of an American Documentary film crew. Will the Murphy’s love of their son be enough to protect them from a Dublin zombie outbreak? Or will they discover that blood runs thicker than water?

We haven’t seen it yet, but the trailer looks pretty rad. Rad.. Yeah, I said it. I’m bringing it back. Check it out.

Portrait of a Zombie is scheduled to run on Sunday, November4th at the Virginia Film Festival. Get your tickets now!

We are proud to be included in RVA Magazine’s Halloweek 2012! What can I say that isn’t already summed up in the following poster? All I can think is that this year is going to be effin’ RAD! And it all starts next Wednesday, Oct.24th! See you there!

When we come for you, where will you go? You cannot hide forever. What chance do you have if you don’t know where “safe” is? If the internet survives long enough, you may be able to consult the Map of the Dead. This map will show you the locations for food, guns, police, hospitals and the danger zones to look out for.. HA! Police. You are all the same walking meals. With or without a badge.

Even WTVR News had the foresight to warn you all back in April. And as one of their reporters fled in horror, narrowly escaping my infectious clutches, I was heard speaking of this map’s futility.

“BWAAAHAHA! You humans..  you have spirit left in you, but not for long. When the struggle to keep order becomes futile, and all of the modern conveniences of life slip away, the locations on these maps will only serve as reminder of where our meals are taken. Even now, as you prepare for our inevitable return, do you not understand.. WE ARE COMING FOR YOU!”

Catch the rest of his report at wtvr.com here.

One word of caution. If you are anywhere near Carytown on Saturday, October 27th, may God help you!

Joining the zombie horde takes a little preparation. You’ve practiced your glazed stare, perfected your lurch, and memorized your lines (“Argh!” “BRAAAIINS!” and “Urghhhh.”) but you still need to look the part. Costume SuperCenter is sponsoring the Richmond Zombie Walk this year, and they’ve got some excellent zombie resources that we wanted to share with you.

Their Zombie Survival page has everything you need to begin your zombie transformation. Stumbling along in style is simple with one of their ready-to-wear costumes. Every zombie was somebody before the infection, and they have quite a selection of characters, from the creepy-sexy zombie nurses and beauty queens to hilariously horrible undead pirates, rock stars and rappers. There’s even a zombie chimpanzee! If old-school gore is more your style, some of the costumes feature gruesome 3D effects like jutting bones and tumbling intestines.

If you’re just looking for a few bits and pieces to finish off your look, you’ll find masks, prosthetics, properly grave-stained wigs, and other accessories. These glow-in-the-dark maggots are an especially nice touch. They also carry a huge range of make-up and special effect kits—torn skin, rotting flesh, oozing fluids—pretty much every nasty zombie affliction your undead little heart could desire. Best of all, there’s a detailed step-by-step video tutorial showing you how to use them to achieve a truly disgusting zombie face. All you need to add is drool.

Richmond Zombie Walk Makeup & Costuming Workshop

Expect to look properly gored and decomposed at this year’s event with the help of our talented guests speakers. We’ll show you basic techniques on ripped flesh, gouges, and all sorts of fun injuries and perhaps a few more advanced special fx tricks.

But a good complexion is nothing if you don’t dress the part as well. Learn how to get your clothes that “fresh out of the ground” look without the pesky maggoty stank.

We’ll show you how for FREE at the Richmond Fencing Club (3411 Carlton Street  Richmond, VA 23230) on Monday, October 22nd at 9:00 p.m. No previous experience is necessary. Just show up.

See you there!

Thats right  my undead friends I need to sleep. You would think all that time that I was laid to rest I could just keep dragging (my leg) on and on and on…. to keep you entertained here is some music to sooth the undead soul.

So, you’ve at least heard of the mayan calendar ending  Dec. 21,2012 and, althought it might not affect us zombies the same way as the living  it still sucks if it turns out to be true. I’ve just read an article that puts zombies right smack dab in the middle of the mayan calendar prophecy. Give it a read here and tell me what you think. Until then, I’m going to start stockpiling some brains.

Here’s a little recipe that I came across today and thought you all might like them.

Brain Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup very finely chopped walnuts, or pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 5 drops red food coloring
About 9 drops blue food coloring
Blood Glaze:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
35 to 40 drops red food coloring
2 to 4 tablespoons milk, as needed for thinning glaze

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Into a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Alternating with the eggs, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating well after the addition of each. Fold in the nuts, vanilla, and red and blue food coloring, being careful not to overmix the dough. (The food coloring will make the dough a grayish color, resembling the color of brains.)

Place the dough in batches in a potato ricer and push the dough out onto the prepared baking sheets in long tubes of dough. With your fingers, loosely pat and arrange the dough strands into clumps resembling brains, pushing to form 2 hemispheres and shaping into a walnut-like shape. Bake until golden brown on the bottom, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the “blood glaze,” in a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar with the food coloring to make a thick glaze, whisking together. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the glaze is a good consistency for drizzling. Drizzle the “blood” onto the cookies and serve either warm or at room temperature

ingenious…brain coolies for the little zombies in all of us!!

A short zombie story? You can be the judge, either way it is a good spooky story.

THE MONKEY’S PAW (1902)

from The lady of the barge (1906, 6th ed.)
London and New York
Harper & Brothers, Publishers

by W.W. Jacobs

I.

WITHOUT, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire.

A nice setting for a scarry story don’t you think? for the rest of this story follow this link  http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/mnkyspaw.htm

interesting read of the day:

      “The Bokor is a powerful, sinister figure in the Vodou religion. He is distinct from the houngan, or priest, in that he practises the black arts, which include the creation of ouangas and wangas-talismans and charms that house spirits:the ouanga, for the purpose of doing good; and the wanga, to bring bad luck.

                  There are many Hatian folk tails about the Bokor, whose doings are shrouded in mystery, and whose powers are respected and feared. The most disturbing of these is that the bokor can create zombies…”    from ” Zombies: the complete guide to the world of the living dead ” by Zachary Graves

      I thought it was interesting little tidbit into where the idea of a ”Zombie” came from. Stayed tuned for more Zombie intellect from the grave!

photo: Myk Meñez

I scream. You scream. We all scream for eyes cream, which we all know is blood. The wonderful gooey crap that keeps you meat bags’ tasty brains alive.

Since it is that time of year in which we all like to play pretend, I’d like to tell you about a couple of ways to make some blood using corn syrup, chocolate syrup, food coloring, chocolate powder and all kinds of other tasty things.

The most common recipe includes:

• 1 cup corn syrup (commonly sold as Karo Syrup)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons of red food coloring
• A few drops of green food coloring

Throw all of that in a blender, mix for a few seconds and presto! You’re good to go. Of course the amounts of each will vary to your preference in consistency or color. So don’t be afraid to experiment.

You can actually find a ton of blood recipes online, but we thing the ones here are the best.

If you’re interested in sprucing up your undead look for the big event, then stay tuned this week for information on our annual zombie make up workshop, where we’ll go over how to make things like fake blood, torn flesh and proper zombie attire.

Have fun and remember, WE’RE COMING TO GET YOU!

The 13 greatest zombie films ever made!

From Shaun of the Dead to the classic Night of the Living Dead, io9 puts their 2 bits in about our favorite hungry ground fillers. Some you may love, others you may not even agree that they should qualify. Either way, take a break and walk down the bloody memory lane.

See clips from all 13 films here!