11. Voodoo Doctors Bring People Back From the Dead as Zombies
The Inferi of Harry Potter are beings who were once dead yet were brought back to life through the dark art of necromancy. Though they inhabit the bodies of the deceased, they are entirely under the control of the necromancer and therefore lack the will and personality of the body’s former inhabitant. The Inferi could be seen as J.K. Rowling’s take on zombies, dead people whose lives were restored by a Voodoo sorcerer known as a bokor.
Voodoo beliefs can often be traced back to African folk religions and superstitions; in this case, the word “zombie” probably originates from the Congolese word “nzambi,” which refers to a dead person’s spirit. Reported cases of zombism, particularly in Haiti, have been shown to be the result of poisoning combined with mental and physical torture. A bokor administers poison to an individual and then enters him or her as if he or she is dead. The bokor then revives the person, allegedly bringing him or her back to life, and beats and starves the individual into a state of complete submission. The person can now be said to have been brought back to life yet exists under the control of the “necromancer.”
