zombies

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Zombies seem to be everywhere these days.

In the popular TV series "The Walking Dead," humans struggle to escape from a pack of zombies hungry for flesh. Prank alerts have warned of a zombie apocalypse on radio stations in a handful of states. And across the country, zombie wannabes in tattered clothes occasionally fill local parks, gurgling moans of the undead.

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- No, zombies aren't attacking northern Michigan.

Two local television stations say hackers broke into their Emergency Alert System with messages Monday warning of zombies. Along with a crawl strip, an audio message said "dead bodies are rising from their graves" and "attacking the living."

SUNSET — Sleek, sexy vampires had better watch out when it comes to the public’s monster of choice. Slow-footed, stumbling zombies appear to be gaining on them.

Carter Reid, a Sunset cartoonist, illustrator and owner of “The Zombie Nation,” is eating up all of the monsters’ popularity, similar to how a zombie devours its prey. Vampires are inherently more serious, the 38-year-old father of two said, while zombies tend to be less serious in lending themselves to humor.

“They are kind of the country cousins of vampires. It’s hard to think of a super-sexy vampire doing something humorous,” Reid said in explaining the surge in the popularity of zombies, and as a result, the surge his three-year-old side business is experiencing.

 LOGAN -- If a zombie apocalypse hit Cache County, 70 percent of the population would be devoured or infected within seven to 10 days.

Surveys say the darndest things.

Seems like not a week goes by that some organization or publication somewhere isn't declaring this place the most energy-efficient locale in the country, or that place the best spot for raising happy, healthy alpacas.

But the latest survey to make headlines beats them all. It's a comprehensive list of the most zombie-friendly states in the nation.

And believe it or not, Utah ranks No. 8.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Last Halloween, Ryan Murphy, the TV producer who helped bring "Glee" into the world, enjoyed what he calls "the greatest viewing experience" of his life. And it had nothing to do with bubbly song-and-dance numbers.

A passionate scary movie junkie, he cleared his schedule and rushed home to catch the premiere of "The Walking Dead," AMC's ghastly drama about a plague of flesh-eating zombies.

AMC's zombie sensation, "The Walking Dead," returns for Season 2 tonight, and we're pleased to report that it retains its hard-earned status as the TV show most likely to send shivers up your spine -- or, at the very least, make you lose your lunch.