Black Zombie Director Maya Annik Bedward Explores the Haitian Roots of the Zombie Myth

Zombies are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters that rise from the grave to devour the living, particularly their brains. This modern image was popularized by George A. Romero’s 1969 film Night of the Living Dead, which defined the zombie genre. However, director Maya Annik Bedward’s documentary Black Zombie seeks to uncover the myth’s true roots in Haitian culture.

Zombies in Haitian Vodou: A Cultural Perspective

Bedward emphasizes that zombies hold a far deeper meaning in Haiti than the Westernized version suggests. “In Haiti, everyone knows about the zombie, and what it represents for them,” she explains. “Stories of zombies and zombification are regularly talked about.”

During a discussion following the Black Zombie premiere at SXSW, Bedward clarified the connection between zombification and Vodou. “As I say in the film, zombification is adjacent to Vodou. Vodou is an everyday practice; zombification is related to stories about seeing zombies in the fields, very connected to ideas of enslavement,” she states. “So Haitians are very aware of what zombies mean to them, and the zombies that the rest of us know have nothing to do with it.”

Some Haitians understand how the concept was transformed, while others remain unaware of how Americans came to associate zombies with flesh-eating creatures. Bedward herself grew up with the Westernized image of the zombie. “When I was growing up, the zombie was just this flesh-eating monster, with no real purpose,” she admits. “It just kind of becomes a zombie and then starts biting other people, and they become zombies as part of this plague-like thing that happened.”

Rediscovering Cultural Roots

Bedward, who is Afro-Caribbean, became aware of the discrepancy in her late 20s. “I’m always interested in history, traditions, and cultures that predate colonialism,” she says. “I wanted to better understand where my people came from and our connection to West Africa, but not through a colonial lens.”

She challenges the notion that such history has been erased. “People often say that this history doesn’t exist anymore, that it’s been erased and everything on record is told from a Western lens, but that’s just not true,” she argues. “There are traces of our traditions in music, in food, and in our spiritual traditions, which exist throughout the Americas.”

Her interest in Vodou, Santería, and Candomblé led her to discover the Haitian origins of the zombie myth. “When I found out later in life that the zombie is actually connected to Haitian Vodou, I was shocked. I didn’t know that,” she reveals. “I’m always so interested in learning about these stories and traditions, and it just blew my mind. I had to make a film about it.”

The Influence of William Seabrook

Bedward’s documentary also examines the role of William Seabrook, an American travel author whose 1929 book The Magic Island introduced Haitian Vodou and zombies to Western audiences. “William Seabrook is a really interesting character,” she notes. “He claimed to have a lot of respect for the faith, but at the same time, he was about making money, selling books, and his whole ‘adventurer’ image.”

Bedward questions the authenticity of Seabrook’s accounts. “What he actually saw in Haiti, I don’t know,” she admits. “He also claimed in books that