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Lately I’ve been think about the difference between vampires and zombies.
The way I see it their original myth is the same. Vampires were zombies before they became romanticized – i.e. Rotting flesh and lack of fine motor skills. However the modern version of the myth is what holds my attention. The similarities are this:

Vampires dont have the rotted flesh and according to legend they arent dead.... they can die but arent dead. zombies are dead.... also vampires can talk, zombies groan like their gettin it in the pooper

I believe that we do love to entertain ourselves with fear. That's why so many of the most popular folklore horror films are based on Vampire and Zombie myth.

I guess we we needed to differ them from eachother, so we edited the myths over time to "romantisize" one of them, and since the drinking of blood is so personal and sensual, they chose the vampire, and left the zombies in the dust, no pun intended.

It's been suggested that Zombies have no soul and a Vampires soul returns to them at dark so they can rise.

Zombies aren't perfect nightime hunters. In fact, they aren't hunters at all. They shambol arount until they find, and devour you. The zombies ARE coming. It's time to prepare. I have some suggestions in my journal, but it's not finished yet.....

Zombies have no brain and can not feel any pain.
They are completely dead.
Vampires are not.

Zombies are not just night time hunters, they are hungry for flesh all the time during daylight hours as well. They are not hunters such as the term is used for vampires, as vampires pick and choose their prey, whereas zombies just bite whatever is closest to them as they are driven by instinct only. Vampires are driven to feed by the will to survive so this would suggest that vampires need to feed whereas feeding is the only need the zombies have. Vampires cannot die using conventional methods however zombies can. There is a huge difference between the two. Too many to list.

Yeah vampires arent really dead hence no roting flesh. They are the living dead because they have the motor skills that we have such as the walking talking and eating or in this case drinking!!!

Frankly zombies scare me but vampires do not...
I agree with Aridai,and others in this thread zombies are mindless flesh eaters..
while the vampire is a person that feeds and hunts they have minds, they don't just stumble into you and go ripping away at your flesh

I was thinking in terms of the original vampires, yellow or black flesh, bloated on blood and other classic signs of decay that lead people to dismember/burn exc. the corpse. They were not described as the paragon of grace.

Well, let me put it this way: Vampires = hunger for blood/energy, Zombies = hunger for brains and flesh. Big difference. Vampires = never dead only reborn and able thinkers, Zombies = dead and reanimated with most the most basic of skills (feeding and reproducing).

Regardless of where the myths or legends started, given the opportunity (situation or what ever), I'm going to buddy up to the Vamp vs. the nasty zombie. You just can't romantisize a zombie in the same way. There is nothing sexy about a zombie.

anywho i say vampires cause zombies have no perfect thinking and motor skills as the vampires seem more alive then zombies do

I think it's interesting what everyone has to say on this subject. me personally I don't think that Vampires and zombies at one time were the same thing. Vampires don't have rotting flesh, and they are not dead per se, plus they do not hunger for flesh, they hunger for blood. :P

I always thought I zombi were people who were revived from the dead by a houngan or mambo and were not supposed to be fed salt or sweet stuff or they'd return to the grave...infact, saw a book where people spoke of their experiences when they really didn't die but were drugged so that their relatives buried them, and then the practitioner who drugged them would dig them up and take them as slaves....did Hollywood add the flesh eating part or was it part of lore?

Hollywood ahs affected all the lore way too much, we're forgetting what these things used to look like, why people used to fear them, and most of all, what they really reprisent.

What do humans desire above most things?

Immortality. And although the zombies' "lives" arn't much to boast about, they do NOT have to leave our plain of existance.

Same with Vampires; they get to live for as long as they want, unless they are killed by special means.

That's something else we have to consider; how we can distroy them: maybe there are some differences and similarities there.

Vampires: Decapitation, stabbed through the heart with a wooden stake, engulfed in flames, ect...

Zombies: Decapitation, massive trauma to the head, etc...

Interesting.. anyone else have any info on death?

I think they are both of similar origin. And most likely there entire appeal does revolve around our fear of death. They represent that fear, and also embody its defiance.

I agree with Aridain on this. Plus, I think most vampires would choose to continue on with their existence, and if zombies could think, they'd want to be put out of their misery. Who would want to just stagger around like that?!

I agree with scardpheonix... I think that if Zombies had any mind at all, they'D probably find the nearest shotgun and blow their own heads to pieces.. what a horrible existance.

Vampires don't feed off the flesh, just the blood. They drink what they need, never eating and eating like Zombies. Also, Zombies walk around searching for food, whereas Vampires usually wait for it to come to them. Unless of course they are childish immature ones.

im gonna agree with paradoxes hands down...zombies have no way of thinking they act off their "instinct" which is to kill and eat human flesh...vampires on the other hand can not only pick and choose our prey but we dont eat the skin and guts of a human...not only that we are stronger and more prepared then zombies...i.e. if you only have to face one zombie occording to myth all you have to do is bash it on the head and it will die...but if you face one vampire the vampire will win no doubt about it...so therefore vampires are better then zombies but yes people do like the taste of fear...

ok like other people have said yes they hav romaitsied the vampire myth bt what if they didnt and the did that to the zomies ...ohh yea i can see it now fabio is a freaknn zomie saying oi cant believe its not brains ...lol so its good to see that yes vampires a romantisied but when it comes down to it zomies are dead full fledge dead...vampires are not ...so there ....

ohh and another thing zombies are bases on voodoo they arebasically alive people who have been cursed and this is what has changed them in maby cases that personis still alive or has died and has beenbrought back to life using voodoo.....

now befoer anyone jumped to bite my head off that is what i have read in books so dont blame me lol ...

they are simillar but a zombie is motivated purely by the action side of the brain eat,live they are not capable of much more than basic thought centered around there need to consume human flesh. a vamp on the other hand retains most of his mind power thoght process emotion ect. unless you are not fully transformed then you may come out as a goul which is much like a zombie

Zombies are nasty they stink and fall apart LOL...Really now the idea behind zombies and vamp has changed so much Vamps have the advantage they can think Zombies go around not thinking and just have a lust for eating living flesh no thought behind it at all

i can understand how you beleive them to come from the same myths but you must realize that vampires arent by deffinition dead. they meet all requisets for even modern science to call them alive whereas zombies by all definition are dead

Both European versions of the zombie and the vampire are based partially in a religious context. Both are considered damned souls. Because of that, I think the idea of a never ending hunger is a metaphor for the spiritual emptiness that these creatures feel.

Notice that the thirst for flesh or the thirst for blood can't be sated. Any creature that was merely feeding would get 'full' once it had enough...but these creatures in their mythological state can't get enough...it's like an addiction. I think the idea is that the flesh or blood is an attempted substitute for humanity. Since they 'have no soul' and are kept from their spiritual sustenence, they eat of man in order to gain some proximity to that...to taste human if they can't be human.

Now all of this is based on the fact that early, early European myths of the supernatural were started or at least promoted by the christian church - so they helped shape the idea of what a zombie or vampire was...ie take it with a grain of salt.

this is just do to late night horror movies...both are rendered dead....both prey on the living...most of these are often misconcepted and blown way out of perportion

But the myths have been around much longer than 'horror movies' and while fear has it's entertainment value, these myths were originally promoted by the church which had other motivations beyond entertaining the people. There was almost always a lesson in the telling of these myths and it was usually religious at least partially in nature.

If we're going to refer to the vampires outside of mythology then perhaps we should look at the modern zombie.

The modern zombie is a human that has decided either conciously or subconsciously to stop living. They tend to be emotionaly dead and go from job to home, home to job without experiencing anything that could be called life. It's believed that these human zombies can actually start draining life or energy from those around them but without any joy or pleasure or even knowledge on their part. Something of an energy black hole.

Now if we're going to talk about zombies as the walking rotting dead that eat brains and shamble about in a state of rigormortis, then I think it's only fair that we talk about the same genre of vampires (ie mythological) otherwise we're comparing apples to oranges.

I'd also like to gently point out that when someone says to get the facts on something that is not scientifically accepted (ie vampirism) there is no place that one can go to get the completely accepted facts...there aren't even completely accepted facts among vampires on vampires.

The idea that one can go to the local library and 'get the facts' on real vampires is impossible. The only knowledge that someone can gain about this is what they pull from websites (not necessarily reliable that) or from conversations with real vampires (not necessarily reliable that either).

I've found zombies are simply bodies that are animated by an outside force not of the original owner of the body's conrol, much like if a parasite or virus of sorts were to control a body and use it to gather what it needed and to reproduce, aka kill and or infect

As a Garou i think they should be wiped off the face of the planet

Vampires are beings animated either by the vampiric curse, virus, spirits or other methods, but in any case are significantly different in that they turned into what they are before any decomposition/rotting could take place, they also retained their emotions self control and full mental awareness and function.

IMO

Some people may see that Vampires and Zombies are somewhat alike. But they aren't. There are many different types of vampires.

As in Nosferatu and then normal looking vamps and so on. Back in the day a lot of vampires were thought to look like Nosferatu so that is where they can put the reference to zombies.

Vampires drink blood from thier victims where Zombies need to feed on the flesh.

Zombies are just walking corpses who do not have any thoughts or feelings at all.

Where vampires who also are walking corpses but they think for themselves they have feelings and all that.

So i can see both parts but Vampires are much better

i agree with himwiththeravenwing.zombies are a bit more far fetched anyway.there dead but they still rise.Jesus did that. ain't shit holy about those damn things.vampires are easier to understand as far as their existance b/c they are not as complex as far as what they are, how they live, and what they do.zombies are just to damn complex to understand but if u study voodo it's still pretty damn hard to understand.

You're suggesting that it's more far fetched that a undead thing continue to rot than than it is for an undead thing somehow look even better after death (as in the case of modern vampire lore)?

I personaly see no resemblance between the two.

Zombies cannot think for themselves first and foremost. No higher brain functions, no ability for choice, no thought processes. If you forget "folly"wood movies, and go with lores, legends, and myths. Zombies were controlled by another being. Most having rotted flesh, they continued to decay until released back to the grave. Neither do most have the ability to articulate at all as their vocal chords are generaly rotted. And in may of the older lores (not all), they did not consume anything. Zombies - are the walking dead.

Vampires on the otherhand, are the Undead. (and for some people, quite living). They have thought capacity, the ability in most instance's to choose, manipulate, scheme, higher reasoning, the ability to articulate, and feed at all. In one lore, the vampire was/is always female, with the ability of flight, and to detach her upper torso, and feed at her leisure from a bite that automaticay numbed the recepient.

Given that the Vampire has the ability of strategry, plotting, callousness, higher thought and reasoning.. the Zombie is toast.

There are some lores where the Vampire functions during the day as a normal human counterpart, with no abilities at all.

However, I dont believe a Zombie would possess the thought process of tracking down a Vampire. It would require to much higher reasoning, thinking and problem solving.. unless the person controlling the zombie knew where the vampire dwelt during the day (if it was a day sleeper). I dont know about anyone else.. but if someone walks into my house reaking of rotted flesh and shambling towards me meaning to do harm.. my ass is waking up. I would like to think that vampires.. no matter the lore.. would possess the same intelligence. (I do)

And I cant think of a single vampire that wouldnt have safegaurds around their dwellings, crypt, etc. That a zombie would have the brain power to get around.

Just my thoughts.

I still find it amusing that when comparing the mythological vampire to the mythological zombie, that anyone would have the audacity to claim that in any way, one is more 'reasonable' to believe than the other.

On the one hand, we have a rotten walking corpse that eats brains and shuffles around like a 70 year old and still manages to catch it's 'prey'. It loses arms, legs and large sections of it's torso without slowing down, but a head shot or damage to it's obviously non-functioning brain, will put it to bed without fail.

On the other hand, we have a not so rotten living dead that depending on the myth, transforms into a bat, flies in the clouds, moves as a shadow, lives forever on the blood of a virgin and bursts into flames at the first touch of daylight.

I'd have to say that both are about as plausible as the Devil converting to catholicism, moving his way up through the clergy, getting elected pope and then absolving himself of sin...all while in the form of a rabid chihuahua.

Now when comparing modern vampires to modern zombies who are both human, both self aware but one absorbs energy and uses it whilst the other absorbs energy and disperses it unknowingly - at that point, we're talking about to very possible beings and one would have to argue that as a human, either one would have as much chance of winning in a fight as the other. Although modern zombies are typically a bit more depressed and perhaps lack the survival instinct.

a vampire with good swordsmanship. the deadheads have no chance.

Felix.. which legends (not movies) have zombies actualy eating brains? (no im not being smartass)

I am quite curious, as ive never come across that lore and would love to read about it.

vampires are immortal and r not dead according to some people, and zombies have already died and been summonds by someone to haunt the graveyard, ive been told that by my master

Xx Luna - Satana xX

GRRRRRRRR. I had this really nicely written comparison, that was witty, yet not overpowering. Then it was stolen by gremlins. O.o seriously. Com crash.

So now, I'll just keep it simple.

Vampires would/will win if it ever came down to legends and myths, or even the Romanticised era.

Vampires, are truly supernatural. Whether they are exhibiting Shapeshifting, detaching heads, mesmerism, making love to a lost one, or raging about a town, unstoppable till they dig you up, stake you, burn you, give you last rites, or some other Proper ritual of action till your dead dead.

Zombies, are either summoned, somehow biologically infected, some meandering corpse that is falling, and will continue to fall apart... Or a slightly smarter zombie(in movies mind you... Pumpkinhead, Tommyknockers[kinda], a few Living Dead movies) that will manage to survive for a while causing mayham, but is altimately put down soon after, because their still weak, and able to be killed by blaunt Trauma('scept Pumpkinhead).

On the supernatural Richter Scale, Vampires get a 9. They are truly supernatural creatures capable of feats far and beyond those of lesser beings.

Zombies get a 4. Mild mayham, rotting flesh(that would have to have a strrroooonngg smell), and unshakable one-mindedness... to the extreme.

Vampires win, hands down. If anyone has any questions or intense rebuttals, yah know where to find me.

i think zombies are just a metamorphosis for vampirez (or there related ) cuz if u think about it zombies eat flesh with flesh comes blood so ZOMBIE=BLOOD EATER
vampires drink =blood.....they both are undead and come out at night ....

Allgenre - your quite right of course. The movie brain eating vampire is the modern myth of Hollywood and not the original mythology of the zombie. I should have said so.

If we're talking about the original Haiti mythology where the houngans have stolen the soul and made a servant out of the recently dead, then we're still dealing with something magical, undead and really fairly unkillable so my point still stands that comparing two myths and pointing to one being more plausible is proposterous.

If you can see believing in the Haitian legends and myths simply because they involve ritual magic and a soul over a brain eating movie zombie, then it's just because your personal belief structure makes one more palatable not because of any proof or greater likelyhood.

Vampires and zombies are much alike yes, but zombies are flesh eaters and vampires are blood suckers.

Glad to have seen the Voodoo side of zombieism (is that a word?) and how a person can be alive but bound to their master as a zombie...

I do not really see a connection between the two; however, have thoroughly enjoyed all the viewpoints stated in this thread.....good stuff

vampires do not hunger for flesh they hunger for the blood under the flesh

As for the origins of these predators…there are many different opinions and types. Some of the vampire mythos I found were very similar to zombies. However…having a look through lots of crap I can only come to one conclusion…vamps would win hands down. A zombie is an undead person in the Afro-Caribbean and Creole spiritual belief system of voodoo. These folkloric zombies are human bodies re-animated by supernatural means and shamanistic medicine to create dread among the living. Other more macabre versions of zombies have become a staple of modern horror fiction, where they usually engage in human cannibalism. In the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed that the souls of the dead could return to earth and haunt the living. The belief in revenants (someone who has returned from the dead) is well documented by contemporary European writers of the time. According to the "Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were," particularly in France during the Middle Ages, the revenant rises from the dead usually to avenge some crime committed against the entity, most likely a murder. The revenant usually took on the form of an emaciated corpse or skeletal human figure, and wandered around graveyards at night. The "draugr" of medieval Norse mythology were also believed to be the corpses of warriors returned from the dead to attack the living. The zombie appears in several other cultures worldwide, including Japan, China, the Pacific, India, and the Native Americans. (from wikipedia)
Scoffern in his Stray Leaves of Science and Folk Lore writes: "The best definition I can give of a vampire is a living, mischievous and murderous dead body. A living dead body! The words are idle, contradictory, incomprehensible, but so are vampires." Horst defines a vampire as "a dead body which continues to live in the grave, which it leaves, however, by night for the purpose of sucking the blood of the living, whereby it is nourished and preserved in good condition, instead of becoming decomposed like other dead bodies." (from www.unicorngarden.com/vamp1.htm)

Vampires Vs. Zombies.....well I can explain this quickly....Vampires I know are real....there are real documentations....goverment cover-ups...Vampires are the #1 monster on the planet, loved and feared by all....I have seen real vampires....I see one everyday in the mirror (yes the mirror, this ain't hollywood), I have never seen a Zombie, I have never read any non-fictional reports or books on Zombies....And if they were real no one...and I mean no one would ever romantize about one....the vampire population is growing everyday....one of these days it will no longer be fiction in most peoples eyes....The governmet will cover up anything that they fear or can't understand....ex: They still say that ghosts aren't real....Government Sucks


Diego

technically, vampires are the "undead", but zombies on the other hand are all dead and still decaying! Save to say that we're talking about the mystical vampire!

They only thing I can see that the two really have in common is they must feed on some part of a living host.

As has been mentioned, zombies are reanimated corpses of the dead, brought back by a practitioner of voodoo to do their bidding. Movie-wise if you look back at the oldest ones you will see that they follow this. Zombies are brought back by magic. It just so happens that the bidding involves eating brains. Personally, if I had reanimated corpse slaves, I'd have them doing something cooler. Like mowing the lawn, and voting at federal elections. Either way, the rising from the dead killing people thing caght on like wild fire, and here we are. Among other things, zombies are capable of functioning during the day, eating flesh, and shambling about without major portions of their anatomy. They feel no pain, need no food to survive (they eat for fun, not neccessity), are not senient/thinking creatures, cannot regenerate/heal themselves, and traditionally, can be banished with salt. Salt, of course, is a well know defense against evil. Much like vampires however, the legends mutate, making for cooler movies and awesome special effects. I have said my piece.

Vampires will own zombies any day of the week. Zombies don't have the intelligence we do.

Goemas - that answer confuses me because you're saying 'we' but this thread has so far been really heavily laced with legend and myth. Again if the vampires and zombies in question are real, then you have two humans still alive and concious. Though the zombie is not completely defined in the modern sense the way an awakened vampire is, we're still just talking about two people.

Now in the mythological sense, we've got plenty of arguement about intellect vs shambling, moaning...well...zombies...but if they were in fact the original Haitian mythological zombie, then they are under the control of someone with intelligence: the houngan ('witch doctor' or magician, etc) and so the intelligence arguement kinda goes out the window.