Q: Do all Zombies smell foul? What types of odors could one expect from being in close proximity to a zombie?
A: Zombies, regardless of the type, are odoriferous things. Type 1 Viral and Chemical Zombies smell worse than Type 2 Viral, but not by much, while Vodoun tend to be the least acrid of them all.
Vodoun Zombies often only suffer from being a bit “dusty”. They don’t actually crave Human flesh/brains, and due to their “living” status, they do not suffer from rot. But, with their minds mostly gone, cleanliness isn’t the at the forefront of their limited thoughts. With this type of Zombie, you’ll often get a whiff of something like a sweaty teenage boy that’s been rolling in the dirt.
Undead Zombies, like Type 1 Viral and Chemical, often carry the odors of not only their rot, but also the rot of the Human-parts they have consumed. These odors, combined with the loss of bowel control, and total lack of personal hygiene, make for a very unpleasant encounter. It’s likely that you could smell either of these Zombies from at least a few 100 yards away. Up close, the smell of these Zombies is likely to make you gag, and knock you back on your feet.
Like other Zombies, Type 2 Viral lack hygiene. They sweat, urinate, and defecate, but don’t stop to clean up along the way. They bite and claw into flesh and become covered in blood, dirt and grime. Even without the smell of rot, Type 2 Viral Zombies are nothing nice to get a whiff of.
To help keep the stench of Zombies at bay, try using a simple handkerchief, gas-mask, or spread a little mentholated petroleum-jelly under your nostrils.
As odd as it may seem, there is a plus side to having such odoriferous enemies. With the rank smell of Zombies in the air it might be a little easier to avoid them. Give a sniff before you run into a building, and you might save yourself the pain of being eaten alive.
Thanks for the information and the safety tip at the end!
Cheers for liking my post on surviving a zombie attack in a bathroom. It’s great cos otherwise i never would of come across your site. I love zombies and this is a fantastic site well done mate you’ve got loads of details it’s brilliant. Quality Nice.
Thanks back at you! By the way, I chose the toothbrush as the item I couldn’t live without.
Goog choice on the toothbrush. I went for the rubber duck as although a toothbrush is essential for physical health. The rubber duck would keep me mentally healthy, as it would make me happy when ever i managed to take a quick bath in a river or lake. Plus it would remind me abit of home when being in the middle of nowhere on the run.
Hello!
You know I had been wondering for some time about this whole topic of what kind of smells would there be with most zombies! Upon death, as often said, we lose control of our bowels and such… that’s one smell! Then I had more thoughts after watching Z-Land and TWD as to what our bodies “do” with all the gorging of the in-taken meals….which I guess goes back to the first thought! Not sure if there would be contents sitting and swelling the gut!
I do believe that if a zombie outbreak happens it would be from that of a virus and those zombie-like people would be infected living and dead-like, but not dead dead!
Thanks so much for the great reads and the extended imagination!