Written by Andrew K. Arnett

In the movie Weapons, creepy aunt Gladys Lilly (played by Amy Madigan) has a real neat trick—she can turn people into zombies. These zombies are under her total control, have no will of their own and exist only to do her bidding. She gets them to do things like kill her enemies, guard her house, etc. They make for the perfect weapon. And you just have to feed them soup once in a while. Thankfully, this is just a film. When the movie ends, you can shut off the tv and go to sleep. Nothing to worry about because it’s pure Hollywood fantasy. Am I right? Not so fast. Making zombies is in fact a science, and people have been doing it for centuries.

In Weapons, Gladys transforms here victims into zombies by procuring an object in their possession, like a lock of hair or a toy. She attaches this to a tree branch, proceeds to break the branch and throw in some of her own blood. It is an age old black magic ritual. But that, for the most part, is a diversion. A sleight of hand. The real magic lies in a potent set of psychoactive drugs that the Bokor (Haitian witchdoctor) uses to render his victim a mindless zombie. 

The dark art of creating a zombie can be traced back to Haiti. That at least is a good start. Further evidence suggests links to parts of Africa. One of the first books to expose the subject to a western audience is The Magic Island (1929) by W.B. Seabrook. Seabrook was a contemporary of Aleister Crowley and in fact, the two were friends. In his book, Seabrook narrates his encounters with voodoo witchdoctors in Haiti who were practiced at the art of raising the dead and turning them into zombie slaves. The practice is real, there is no doubt about that. In fact, there is a law on the Haitian books, Article 246 of the Haitian Penal Code, stating that “using substances used to create a prolonged sate of lethargy (zombification) is considered attempted murder.”

So how do we start? I would suggest you hire a professional. Such a person can be found in Haiti and is referred to as a Bokor, a sorcerer of Haitian Vodou dealing in black magic. This is distinct, mind you, from a Mambo (priestess) or Houngan (priest). A Bokor serves “with both hands,” that is they deal in both the right and the left hand path of magic.

The first thing a Bokor does to render a person a hapless zombie is to deliver the “strike,” or a First Powder. This is a secret potion administered to the bloodstream of the victim usually through an abrasion or open wound. The active ingredients that make up the First Powder are tetrodotoxin (TTX) from the pufferfish and bufotoxin from a toad. The effects of this vicious brew causes a slowing down of heart rate and breath to a near-fatal paralysis, mimicking death to the point of actual burial of the victim. 

After the “corpse” is exhumed, the witchdoctor administers the Second Powder, or “The Reanimation.” This contains Datura starmonium (thorn apple), a powerful hallucinogen that causes delirium and amnesia. It renders the victim zombie-like and subservient. At this point, the Bokor can get the “zombie” to do whatever he wants. 

The third step in this process, to maintain the zombie in this ghost-like mental state, is to steal the victims ti bon ange (part of the soul). A form of mind control is applied with more drugs, threats of physical punishment, and threats of sending the person back through the zombification process. 

Andrew K. Arnett is a writer for New Dawn Magazine and author of the book The Crowley Conspiracy available on Amazon.