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Corpse
    Biological Infection
    Really? This one is pretty clear. It’s even got its own name,
mummy
, illustrating the point that if a monster is actually identified as something else in particular, it’s relatively safe to assume that it’s not a zombie.
    For the record, mummies are not zombies because they are not relentlessly aggressive and they do not come to be through a biological infection. A mummy is a corpse whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness, low humidity, or some combination thereof. In ancient mummy lore, they often protect specific places or sacred items, and this is also their driving desire in Hollywood depictions.
    Mummies are not revived through some scientific process but, rather, through the fulfillment of a curse or eternalmission. Once order is restored to the mummy’s world—meaning once you give it back its favorite ruby brooch or leave its sacred space—it will lie down again and wait for the next time someone disturbs its rest.
    Mummies may be creepy and cool, but they are not related to zombies in the least.
DEMONS
    Litmus Test:
    Relentlessly Aggressive
    Reanimated Human Corpse
    Biological Infection
    Like mummies, demons also have their own label, which suggests right away that they’re not zombies. What separates dramatic depictions of demons from those of the modern zombie is that demon aggression is a matter of choice and is often specifically targeted to a limited number of individuals.
    Demons are also driven by supernatural possession, not biological infection. A demon enters the body of its choosing, either living or dead, and asserts its will on that body to its own ends. Demonic possession isn’t contagious, although it’s difficult to overcome. But once the evil spirit leaves the possessed body it is returned to its natural state. There’s really nothing here that relates to zombies.
    Nevertheless, some filmmakers and critics have tried to tie them together. Sam Raimi’s 1981 romp,
The Evil Dead
, is the classic example of a demonic movie often mistaken to be a zombie movie. In it, demons are accidentally awakened in the woods surrounding an isolated cabin. They set abouttormenting the film’s lead, Bruce Campbell, and picking off his friends one by one.
    Though human corpses do stand up, dance about, and attack the living, the demonic force behind their actions also causes trees and plants to come alive; turns slight young women into flying, bug-eyed maniacs with superhuman strength; and makes windows and doors swing about wildly as if the demon is possessing the entire building. When’s the last time you saw a real zombie do that?
Evil Dead
(1981)
ASH:
Did something in the woods do this to you?
CHERYL:
No, it was the woods themselves! They’re alive, Ash! They’re alive.
LINDA:
Ash, why don’t I take her in the back room so she can lie down.
CHERYL:
I’m not lying down! I want to get out of here. I want to leave this place right now!
JESUS OF NAZARETH
    Litmus Test:
    Relentlessly Aggressive
    Reanimated Human Corpse
    Biological Infection
    OK, according to Christian belief, Jesus did rise from the dead. But by all accounts, he was just as much himself after coming back from the dead as he was before his crucifixion. Zombies, on the other hand, share nothing in common withthe human who once occupied their bodies, except for the physical body itself. Technically speaking, a zombie is not a person raised from the dead but, rather, a new creature animating the shell of what was once a living human being. The former person is gone, and something new has taken his or her place. Also, Jesus ascends to heaven after being resurrected, while zombies aren’t going anywhere. The verdict on Jesus? Not a zombie. Although the biblical prophet Zechariah does seem to prophesy a zombie pandemic, which ought to give us all something to think about:
    The Lord will send a plague to all the nations that fought