The running dead

Emily Wright, Hi-Times Staff Writer

Zombie movies. Zombie television shows. Zombie video games. Zombie apocalypse. You name it, and there’s more than likely been a zombie twist to it.

These past few years it has been out with the vampires and in with the zombies. Recently, zombies have become the topic of discussion among the younger generation. Although the trend’s popularity has risen, the concept of zombies goes as far back as 1968.

In 1968, George A. Romero produced the movie “Night of the Living Dead,” which contained zombies as some of the characters. Although zombie movies tend to bring low income and poor results in the box office, people still obsess over the idea of it. The most successful television show pertaining solely to zombies is “The Walking Dead.”

“The Walking Dead” is one of the most talked about television shows among youth and adults over the past few years. The show provokes talk of zombie apocalypses and possible scenarios of zombies taking over the world.

This year, Tupelo Parks and Rec hosted a Zombie Fun Run at the Ballard Park Cross Country Trail on Oct. 18.

“We started with the idea of the Halloween Egg Hunt and Trick or Treat, and then Neely Turner mentioned everyone doing runs,” said Shanta Eiland, Tupelo Parks and Rec program director. “We decided maybe we should do a run, so then we researched, and that’s when we came across the Zombie Run because it was very popular.”

The mile-long Zombie Fun Run was open to all ages, but they were also looking for volunteers to help with the run.

“We would like to have at least 30 or more volunteers just so we can have enough zombies, and then also for check-in, registration, taking the kids where they need to go to run, setting up and makeup,” Eiland said.

Although the run required $10 to participate in the event, the Parks and Rec office received little to no income from it.

“We put on events for the community, and most of the time, we very rarely make anything,” Eiland said. “It’s usually just something for the family to enjoy.”