I decided that given the holiday I would put off the future of Haiti post for next week and look at something a little more topical: Spirits of the dead, death, and zombies.

Ever wonder who that Voodoo priest in Live and Let Die is supposed to be dressed as? Or the villain from Princess and the Frog? Curious as to the Haitian idea of death and souls after all the media coverage of the earthquake? Have you been to New Orleans and wondered about the skeleton in a top hat you see everywhere? Ever wondered where the idea of zombies comes from and what they actually are? Want to impress your friends and coworkers with your zombie knowledge?

Well hopefully this post will answer those questions and provide some context. I've built it upon my own fieldwork as well as the work on zombies from anthropologists such as Elizabeth McAlister. If you have any questions or comments feel free to post below. If you've missed the previous posts you can see links to the other lessons to your right on the sidebar. And as usual, I've also uploaded some related photos for you and you can browse them here.