Z-day Journal Entry One

Entry One: Z-day

I guess today is the first day of the end. I mean, today is the end of life as we know it. It all changes from here on out. It is all surreal.

In case I don't make it and someone finds this, I guess I should give a back story, huh? Well there is this big pharmaceutical company here in Atlanta. Apparently they were trying to create a drug that would help regenerate cells in the human body so people who are paralyzed could walk again. Long story short, something went terribly wrong, and the drug started killing people and those people would come back to life and attack the living people. I know it sounds like something out of a horror movie, but I swear on my life that I am telling the truth.

So I was at work today, and my boss (who is a creepy perv, but that isn't the point) didn't look so hot. I told him he should go home and get some rest. He kept saying he was fine. Now I had watched a lot of horror movies and it is not like it happens in the movies. It all happened so slow. It is like I was watching everything in slow-motion. I walked into Joe's (that is my boss) office to give him some paperwork, and he was biting his secretary. I had seen enough to know that was not normal human behavior, so I high-tailed it out of there! On my way home, I noticed all kinds of people acting like that and while listening to the radio, got the scoop on what had happened with Benton Pharmaceutical. Apparently they were transporting the drug to the CDC (also in Atlanta if you did not know) when there had been a car accident and the drug was some how exposed to the victims. The ones who died started coming back to life.

I finally got home to my family, who thank the stars were safe and sound. Right now we are holed up in our home gathering somethings and getting some rest. We plan on heading out of Atlanta in the morning. Where we are going to go, I don't know yet.

H-2: Undead Smackdown

I received a phone call from my youngest brother yesterday. He posed the question, "If a zombie and a vampire were to get into a fight, who would win?" To me, someone who has studied vampires, zombies, or anything supernatural pretty much all my life, this seemed like a real easy and in-your-face question. When I actually sat down and thought about it, I realized that it was actually a question worth looking into and explaining a little more.
Anyone who knows anything about vampires, knows that they have amazing superhuman strength and speed. A millenia or two of evolution has created the ultimate killing machine. The vampire's only downfall is the fact that she can only hunt during the night. A vampire is deadly whether there is one or an entire group of them. Although she can be killed it is extremely difficult to kill one, let alone an entire group. However a human being can take solace in the fact that vampires rarely, if ever, tend to horde.
The zombie is much different. He is not confined to hunt during a specific time of day, and he is motivated by nothing but the hunger. His hunger is the only thing that drives him and therefore the only reason he "survives". Compared to a vampire, the zombie is extremely easy to kill. Technically all it would take is extreme damage to the head (hence my favorite zombie killing weapon, a barbed wire wrapped Louisville slugger). Zombies cannot run or even think on a complex level. Most of the time, closing a door, or climbing up something can deter one or two zombies at a time. The real danger ensues when they start to horde. When their numbers increase, so does the risk of injury or death to a human. Highly different from it's undead counterpart, a zombie can effect it's prey with just one bite. Technically speaking one zombie could start a pandemic of exponential proportions. This in it of itself, coupled with it's hording tendencies, make for a very formidable foe.
If I were to say right now with any certainty, I would have to say that the vampire has the zombie beat hands down. However, when I look a little deeper, I would have to start looking at the zombie a little bit more. Of course one on one the vampire could obliterate the zombie, no problem. But when you start looking at a species wide war, the zombie would not only stand a chance, but could actually come out on top. Why you ask? It all boils down to a numbers game. In absolutely no time, zombies would far outnumber vampires, thus creating a double-edged sword for the vampire. Not only would the numbers create a significant foe for the vampire, but the zombie's sheer hunger would significantly reduce the vampire's food source. That in it of itself could be enough to reduce the vampires numbers. The mindless hunger that drives the zombie could be very detrimental to the vampire. What is your opinion?

We take a break from our regularly scheduled programming...

First, I would like to say that I am very sorry for the lack of posts recently, but things have been real hectic around here. I promise that will be back and posting almost daily from now on! Check back later for a review of the first two episodes of the new hit AMC show "The Walking Dead" (based on the hit comic book!)

Second, I know this is way off topic, but I would like to set the record straight with all you "normies" out there who think all goths/emos/scene kids/vamp junkies/punks etc. are abnormal and have issues. Last night, I was watching the news ( like I do every night) when this story caught my eye. Wendy Salzman (a local investigative journalist in Atlanta) reported on a story about 16-year-old Shelby Ellis, a 10th-grader at McEachern High School in Cobb County who allegedly ran away from home and was found a few weeks later in the state of Washington. Her father and step-mother were afraid she had joined "some vampire cult" because she visited a website called Vampirefreaks.com a whole five days before she ran away. VF is a social networking site (similar to Myspace, Facebook, and the like) geared towards the gothic/punk/emo scene. On the home page it even states "Gothic Industrial Culture". The site was founded and created by jet in 1999 when he was about 20 and attending the University of Rochester. It basically started as a message board with a few personal pictures of jet and his friends and a couple of music reviews and in just 10 short years it has grown to a website for the gothic industrial culture with over 1 million members world wide. I am a user of the website and have been since 2006 when my husband introduced me to it. When I started using VF, I was on Myspace (I have since deleted my Myspace profile) and felt that VF had more of what I was looking for in a social site. VF not only had a friendlier (less pervy) atmosphere, I felt secure in the fact that if I found that someone I was talking to was a "fake" then they would not last long on the site. I found that finding friends was easier, and finding people that shared the same interests I do was also easier. Jet and the admin of VF take running the site and keeping its members safe very seriously. I remember just a few weeks ago, I was asked by someone for nude photos. I immediately reported the person to the VF admin and within hours (not days) the profile was deleted by the admin (on VF if you try to visit a deleted profile it tells you if it was deleted by admin and a general reason why). If it would have been Myspace, the matter never would have been handled, and if it would have been Facebook, it would have taken months for the matter to be handled. I have to say that of all the websites I have been on where you interact with other people VF is one of the best policed sites I have ever frequented.
Shelby's parents insist that she was obsessed with "vampires and a dark underworld". Do not ask me what they mean by "dark underworld", because I would only be able to speculate. Shoot I would consider watching "Hannah Montana" and enjoying it to be a "dark underworld". Her step-mother, Wendy, is quoted as saying "We don’t allow certain things of the Gothic lifestyle." My question for her is "why?" She obviously has never actually interacted with a majority member of the gothic community, because most people in the gothic community are well educated, intelligent, tolerant human beings that just happen to like dressing and being different as well has listening to music that most people would consider harsh (or as my mother would say "loud noisy garbage"). I have to say that I am a proud member of this community. While I may not dress to the extreme, other things within the gothic lifestyle are part of my life. It is not just about the dress, but about the music, way of life, and artistic nature. That is why it is referred to as a way of life, and not a fad. Fads come and go. The gothic subculture has been around for a few decades now and I don't think it is going anywhere any time soon. Before someone says they are "freaked out" by or "don't allow" things of the gothic nature, maybe they should do some research into the matter before hand. Shelby's father even had the audacity to say, "That particular website, VampireFreaks.com, is a deviant behavior website. I think it's abnormal. People who frequent that website frequent it because they have some other issue." I believe that Shelby's parents are under the mistaken impression that they can blame an entire community for their daughter's actions because they feel that the community is abnormal (which by the way is a subjective term anyway). What they really need to do is look at their own family and way of life and see what they could have done better. Usually when a teenage child runs away from home the issue is not those she met on the internet, it is an issue at home. Many parents seem to have forgotten what it was like to be a teenager. As a parent, remember the hormones racing, the need to fit in, how mean other kids can be. Remember all of that and look at your child and see how you can help her. Do not blame something that is not really to blame. Honestly, before you judge someone or their lifestyle actually do your research on it. Personally, I do not know how Shelby's father could even state that VF is a "deviant behavior website" without even taking time to understand the people or even get to know some of them first. I mean has he even visited Myspace or Facebook lately? They are not exactly the cream of the crop either. And how can he speculate as to the issues in any person's life that uses the site, without personally knowing anyone on the site or their past? I believe he is just trying to hide the fact that he is a bigot. He is not very good at it either.
Before you judge me or any person for that matter, try understanding them or researching before you speak out against them. Put yourself in their shoes. You wouldn't want someone judging you based on trivial things would you?
Not a member of VF? Give it a try! Click this banner and say CherryDarling (<---- check out my page on vf via that link as well) sent you!



Sources: CBSAtlanta.com, Vampirefreaks.com

**You can find more information on the history of vampirefreaks.com [HERE]

W-1: History Lesson- Peter Stumpp

In 1564 and for 25 years after, the serene German town of Bedburg and surrounding areas, were terrorized by a werewolf. Peter Stumpp, also known as Peter Stubbe, was born in the village of Epprath, near Bedburg. The exact date of his birth is not known because the records were destroyed during the Thirty Years Wars. What little is known about him suggests that he was a widower with two children, on boy and one girl. Not much is known about the son, but the daughter appears to have been over the age of 15 and went by Beele (or Sybil). Stumpp also appears to have had an affair with a woman by the name of Katharina Trump (Trumpen) who may have been a distant relative. (In this time period it was not out of the ordinary for people to have intimate relations with members of their own family). Stumpp was a wealthy farmer and influential member of the community, which just made his accusation and subsequent confession to the horrific crimes attributed to him just that much more heinous.
During what is perhaps one of the most well-known werewolf murder trials in history, Stumpp was placed on the rack (a torture device used during the Dark Ages to get people to confess to crimes. The person was tied at the hands and feet and was stretched until they either died or confessed. Most confessed) and was presented with other tools meant to torture him. Presented with all of this, Stumpp promptly confessed to practicing black magic (since the age of 12). He also claimed that the Devil gave him a belt that allowed him to transform into "the likeness of a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkled like fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharp and cruel teeth, a huge body, and mighty paws" whenever he pleased by just putting the belt on and taking it off when he wanted to transform back into a human. During the twenty-five years before his capture, he gorged himself on not only goats, lambs, and sheep, but also men, women, and children. During his confession he claimed to have killed and eaten fourteen children, and two pregnant women and their fetuses. One of the fourteen children was purportedly his own son, whose brain he devoured. He along with his daughter were accused of having an incestuous relationship (relationships between immediate family members was strictly forbidden) together and were both sentenced to death. He also confessed to having sexual relations with a succubus sent to him by the devil.
Trial records tell of a few of the encounters between victims and Stumpp. One such story was that of two men and a woman that were walking along a road that went through the forest were Stumpp frequently hunted. Stumpp called out and one of the men went into the woods after him leaving the other man behind with the woman. When the man did not return after a while, the other man followed leaving the woman behind. When the second man did not return either, the woman ran for her life to no avail. Stumpp caught up with her and apparently devoured her entirely, because no trace of her body was ever found, but the two males bodies were found mangled almost beyond recognition. Stumpp frequently attacked young women who were milking in the fields, as they appeared to be his favorite victims.
After his trial, Stumpp was executed in what would become known as one of the most brutal executions on record. He was put on a wheel and the flesh was torn from his body in ten places with red-hot pincers, followed by his arms and legs. His limbs were then broken with the blunt side of an ax to prevent his return from the grave. He was then beheaded and burned upon a pyre. His daughter and mistress were burned alive with him after being raped and brutalized. As a warning for others, the townspeople erected a statue with a wolf on it and then placed Stumpp's severed head atop it.
Let Peter's story be a warning. Do not get caught. While today you may not face the same horrific death as Stumpp, you don't really want to take that chance do you? Learn from your ancestor's mistakes. Do not gorge yourself on human flesh, and do not confess under any circumstances!

*Sources:
Serial Killer Calendar
Wikipedia
Mysterious Things
Werewolves: The Myths and Truths

**Images:
All images were obtained from various internet sources. If any are your images, contact me for removal or credit.

***Disclaimer: Most of the evidence shows that Peter Stumpp was a mentally handicapped serial killer that suffered from a condition called lycanthropy, which is characterized by an individual that thinks he turns into a wolf and therefore acts like a wolf. These people, especially in that time period, would actually brutalize and even consume their victims. There were even some instances where the suspected victim's body was never even found. Many people who were suspected of the heinous crimes attributed to Werewolves in what is considered the Dark Ages, were not only tortured into confessing to these crimes, but were killed in horrific manners. It would have been similar to the execution of suspected witches during the Witch Hunts. Keep in mind that while writing this blog, I may use actual historical stories with a supernatural twist. I will use as much historical fact as possible, but I would not use me as a reference while discussing any history paper.***

VoW:Lego City Zombie Infection

This weeks video of the week is Lego City Zombie Infection.


Video courtesy of tomjoetwins@youtube.com

KoW: Left 4 Dead - Secret Witch Room

This week's Kill of the Week is a player on Left 4 Dead killing all the witches in a secret witch room.


Video courtesy of woodgnome999@youtube.com

SoW: Zombies on your Lawn (Plants v. Zombies Theme)

This weeks song of the week is Zombies on Your Lawn, the main theme for the hit game Plants vs. Zombies.