Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Zombies, vampires find home in horror class

An outbreak of ghastly, flesh-eating creatures is headed directly toward Point Park University. Students must find ways to barricade the doors and create homemade weapons from the items in their backpacks to ward them off.            During the zombie section of the Literature, Film and Fear class, this is the scenario students are presented with to hone their zombie survival skills and learn more about the horror genre.            “The main thing that they learn is why zombie survival is so popular – the idea of it,” said Sean Elliot Martin, English professor and creator of the class. “In the post-apocalyptic zombie world that’s been envisioned by people and depicted in these movies, there are certain things that people have to gain … there are people, I’m convinced, that want a zombie apocalypse.”            Some find the idea of a world run by the undead appealing due to the anarchy and freedom to steal, indulge and release pent-up aggression by killing zombies without any repercussions. The Literature, Film and Fear class, which is held mainly during six-week summer terms, analyzes trends in popular culture through books and movies to understand the logic of why people are fascinated in something as gruesome as zombies.            Although Pittsburgh may be one of the top zombie capitals of the world, zombies are not the only undead creatures receiving the spotlight in the Literature, Film and Fear class. Another hot topic of discussion is vampires, which have evolved tremendously since their origin, due to popular trends such as the “Twilight” series.            “If you tried to tell somebody in the Middle Ages that you thought vampires were great, and they were sexy and mysterious and alluring … they would have either just killed you on the spot or locked you away,” Martin said. “Vampires were the most disgusting, vile, repulsive, evil [creatures] – they were just bags of rotting flesh and dust and blood.”            Martin believes it is important to teach the history and origin of monsters, such as vampires, to create understanding of their importance in film, literature and popular culture. Students in his class learn that in the Middle Ages, many people believed in vampires simply because they did not understand the natural decay process.            Bodies that have been dead for about a week and have not been embalmed often release a bodily liquid called “purge fluid” through the mouth or nose. Many people mistook this for blood and assumed the dead body was a vampire that had been feasting. Century-old skeletons across Europe have been found with bricks placed in their mouths, which some historians believe was a practice to stop the spread of the vampire plague.            In 1897, the idea of the vampire was transformed again when Bram Stoker wrote the book “Dracula.” In the novel, the main character, Count Dracula, is a descendant of Vlad Dracula, a real historical figure who is remembered for his brutal method of execution-impaling his enemies on sharpened stakes-during his rule as prince of Romania in the 15th century. It is also believed by many that Dracula’s character was inspired by Elizabeth Bathery, a Hungarian countess, and the most evil person to ever live, according to Martin.            “Elizabeth Bathery, the bloody countess, personally with her own hands, tortured and executed over 650 virgin girls and bathed in their blood, supposedly,” Martin said. “The legend goes that she accidentally got the blood of one of her virgin handmaids on her and that her skin started to youthen under the blood, and she believed that by bathing in their blood that she would stay young and beautiful forever.”            Although the historical origins of these tales are particularly violent, Martin said that those with a weak stomach would still be able to take his class.            “Most of the films that we watch in this class don’t have a lot of blood or a lot of gore in them,” Martin said. “But people are more disturbed by the psychological concepts. Some of these things screw with your head so badly.”            Instead, the literature and films that Martin focuses on in his class require more thought than the typical slasher flick. One psychological theme of the class deals with how “normal” people can turn into monsters overnight under certain circumstances, and to some, this concept is may seem more terrifying.            “The scary part isn’t that something is going to come and kill you,” Martin said. “The scary part is that nothing you ever thought about reality is real and that the history of this planet, that the entire nature of humankind, is different than you assumed it was and far less glamorous, and that you live in a cold, uncaring cosmos.”            Elizabeth Kiedis, a junior English major with a concentration in creative writing, took the class last summer, and said that watching the movie, “At the Mountains of Madness” was a mind-boggling experience.            “At the end of it, I did feel kind of mad, which was actually the premise of the movie was that everybody that read this book went insane,” Kiedis said. “So, by the end of the movie, you were feeling a little crazy yourself.”

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