From Shades to Shoes - A Busy Zombie's Guide to Preparing for the Crawl

At the end of the busy workweek, I certainly feel like a zombie and enjoy winding down with my friends at the local pub to kick off the weekend. Despite being an eclectic mix of people from various backgrounds, we all agree that zombies are the next hot thing. We attend all the latest zombie movies together and have zombie-themed apps downloaded on our iPhones.
So you can imagine our delight when we saw the announcement for a zombie walk through a part of town that is home to several of our favorite pubs. We’d heard about zombie crawls, walks, shuffles, and even an undead flash mob in other parts of the country and were eager to prepare to help take over the pubs in our town. Now our biggest obstacle wasn’t only which bar had the best deals for the night, but also how to prepare our costumes and makeup.

English: Zombie walk in Pittsburgh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Release Your Alter Ego

Before you start planning your costume and makeup, what kind of zombie are you? Are you newly bitten with most of your features intact? Have you been dead so long that your skin is flaking off? Perhaps some irate farmer just missed slicing through your head with an axe and now part of your skull is exposed. Compound fractures, burnt skin, and bursting veins and arteries are all traits of single zombies looking to find their perfect undead mate during the zombie walk. Once you choose you can start applying your makeup accordingly.
However, the best part about being a zombie is that you were once a living, breathing person and a zombie walk is the perfect opportunity to release your alter ego. If you’re a mild-mannered college student by day then a zombie walk is a prime opportunity to explore your wild side. Here are some more popular roles you might consider if you’re planning to attend your town’s zombie walk.

• Firefighter – Jeans, a fire department t-shirt (sometimes volunteer fire departments will sell them during fundraisers), red suspenders, work boots, and a fire helmet make a great zombie walk costume. Plus it’s a great opportunity to practice creating fake burns with theatrical or Halloween skin paints.

• Biker – Check out your local thrift stores for a denim or faux-leather motorcycle jacket. Add a pair of black boots, jeans, and t-shirt and you’ve got a great foundation for a zombie biker look. Don’t forget to tie a bandana around the top of your head to help patch up that gaping flesh wound.

• Hospital patient – Pajamas, a hospital gown or bathrobe, and slippers are a great start. Use white duct tape and a black permanent marker to create a fake hospital bracelet. Raid the emergency kit for gauze, sterile tape, and other kinds of bandages to partially cover your beautiful new scratches.

• Fitness guru – Don your oldest, rattiest pair of yoga pants, an oversized t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers and you have a zombie outfit that is as comfortable as it is original. Unlike skinny jeans, those yoga pants won’t tighten around your midsection as you enjoy drinks and appetizers at every pub on the zombie walk route.

• Nerd – It’s a sad fact that people who spend most of their time behind a computer are not prepared to survive in a zombie apocalypse. Hike up your pants, put some duct tape on your glasses, and use face paints to tint your skin with a terribly undead shade of reanimated corpse green. And don’t forget your trusty pocket protector!

Zombie Walk, Halloween, Pelotas, Brazil. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Whether you dress as a cheerless corpse of a cheerleader or an undead union worker, if you don’t really get into the part nobody will believe you’re a zombie. Crowd reaction is part of the fun of a zombie walk, and one thing that always gets a reaction is Halloween or theatrical contact lenses. If you’re dressed in your zombie garb and turn your gaze on someone while wearing white, pale green, or yellow tinted contacts then you’ll get a much better response.

Do Your Homework

Since the first zombie pub crawl which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2005, zombie walk events have become something of an annual occurrence in major cities, mostly in North America. Whether it’s your first walk or your fifteenth, you’ll want to wear something that helps you stand out from the crowd during the zombie walk. If you’re at a loss try watching AMC’s The Walking Dead or any of the many movies that have hoards of zombies, like Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland. Take note of things that make certain zombies in those films stand out from the rest of the pack.

Tubeblogger Nicko caught this zombie walk in Hollywood:

Guest Author: Freelance blogger Jessica Martin is a huge fan of AMC’s The Walking Dead and enjoys writing about all the aspects of the show from the undead to the tough-as-nails survivors for the popular special effects contacts site www.colormecontacts.com. When attending her town’s inaugural zombie pub crawl she dressed the part including theatrical colored contacts tinted a supernatural shade of undead yellow. In her free time Jessica enjoys spending time indulging in her hobbies which include knitting, playing tennis with friends, and visiting the dog park with her puppy, an adopted terrier named Walker.