There are only a few instructions on pulling off a perfected zombie walk.
Start by slouching one shoulder towards the ground. Now do your best deadleg, and cock the foot of that leg sideways so that it ever so slowly drags behind the body as you lurch forward. All the while keep the eyes rolled tightly to the sky. Do the best guttural death moan the diaphragm allows. Good, just like that.
It also helps to have some friends (preferably ex-drama club ones that are big fans of flash mobs and good at applying gory make-up) to join you. Of course, if organizing from the ground up sounds overwhelming, there are plenty of area zombie walks already in existence to join in on.
Starting out in the early 2000s and mushrooming to mass popularity in the past few years, largely in part to films like Dawn of the Dead and World War Z and TV shows like AMC's The Walking Dead, Zombie Walks take place throughout October worldwide in an effort to shock pedestrians out of their daily existence and scare the absolute bejeezus out of passers-by who realize that the zombie apocalypse is finally upon us. In South Florida, there are a good selection of zombie walks and crawls taking place in the next two weeks. Here they are.
Fort Lauderdale Zombie Walk
8 p.m., for makeup and pre-walk celebrating, walk starts at 10 p.m., Saturday, October 18, at America's Backyard, 100 S.W. Third Ave. Fort Lauderdale. Visit facebook.com/FLZombieWalk.
Organizers will have spotters in the crowd to grab the best dressed and best performing zombies for awards later in the night at the Fort Lauderdale walk. Head to Stache for the post-walk party where winners will be announced.
Moonfest's Big Clematis Street Thriller Crawl
7:30 p.m., Thursday, October 23, meet downtown at the waterfront. Visit Facebook.
This zombie walk and choreographed traipse down Clematis Street will take place to the perfect theme song: Michael Jackson's "Thriller." There's even a rehearsal with practice times leading up to the event.
West Palm Beach Zombie Crawl
5 p.m. registration, 7 p.m. crawl, Friday, October 24, at Bar Louis, 200 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. Visit Facebook.
Show up at Bar Louie for zombie registration where you'll receive a complimentary zombie crawl T-shirt, souvenir cup for the night, $3 drink specials, and a bracelet that'll get you into all of the participating venues including Roxy's Pub, Off the Hookah, Grease Burger, and more. There's a $1,000 prize for the best-dressed, live music, and even an appearance by Michael Koske of The Walking Dead!
Delray Beach Zombie Crawl
6 p.m., Friday, October 24, Honey (formerly Delux Nightclub), 16 East Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach.
Further south on the same night, there's the Delray Beach Zombie Crawl. At 6, zombie hopefuls will spill into Honey, the area's newest nightclub, where a professional make-up artist will apply the zombie look for anyone who needs it, for a $20 donation. Every zombie will receive a "passport" that is good for complementary drink at a variety of spots along the walk including Honey, Union, Buddha Skybar, and iL Bacio. Prizes will be given out to the best dressed at the end of the night. Tickets for both zombie events are $40 and available at Wantickets.com.
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