Haitian Zombification

Strange Matters Podcast

Campfire Audio Productions

Science, History, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences

4.4 • 987 Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2017

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode we discuss some of the most convincing, interesting and disturbing reports of real-life zombies. The first story is about a Haitian man named Clairvius Narcisse. At the age of 40, Narcisse died under mysterious circumstances and was buried. 18 years later and much to his sister’s horror, he reappeared and greeted her in a marketplace. Most people believe he was cursed by a witch doctor who used tetrodotoxin to make him appear dead. Once buried, the witch doctor (known as a “bokor”) revived and enslaved Narcisse on his plantation. While far-fetched, this story is likely plausible as there exists a strong cultural belief in zombies in the Haitian culture. This in conjunction with the toxins he was exposed to could possible have created a placebo effect convincing Narcisse that he was a real-life zombie.
Rudy Eugene, also known as the Miami Cannibal is known for pouncing on an innocent, homeless man and gnawing 75% of his face off. Initially thought to be under the influence of some recreational hallucinogens, Eugene was shot and died at the scene of the crime. Later toxicology reports showed only trace amounts of marijuana in his body. This has gone down as one of the most disturbing and violent scenes in Miami as many witnesses report. But if not drugs, what could have caused Eugene to commit this horrific crime?

Transcript

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0:00.0	And the Oh, Hello everybody and welcome to the Strange Matters podcast.
0:37.0	Here at Strange Matters we discuss all that is bizarre, mysterious and unexplained.
0:42.0	In this episode we're going to be discussing some of the most convincing, interesting, and disturbing reports of real life zombies.
0:51.0	The concept zombies was originally brought to life in early Haitian culture, where
0:56.7	they believed that one could be cursed to walk the earth in a semi-living and semi-deceased state. Most of the zombie topics that we've discussed prior to this
1:07.0	episode were primarily based in fiction. However, the cases we'll be discussing today
1:11.6	are based more in the realm of reality.
1:14.0	And the first story we're going to talk about today is that of none other than
1:17.8	Clerview Narseis. Clerview Narseis was a Haitian man born in 1922.
1:23.7	While he has an extraordinary story that might lend one to have sympathy toward him,
1:28.0	Narsis was in fact no saint.
1:30.5	He was a difficult man to deal with, to say the least.
1:33.7	He regularly got into fights and disagreements with his family members, as well as fathering several
1:39.4	children out of wedlock.
1:41.4	However, he couldn't be bothered to provide for them or contribute to the family in any way.
1:46.3	He was excessively focused on money and would do anything to obtain it.
1:51.2	Usually at the expense of others others which caused much discontent from fellow villagers who
1:56.3	would look upon him with jealousy and hatred.
1:59.5	Now, Narseis, as the story goes, was cursed by a powerful baccore, which is a Haitian term for a voodoo
2:06.5	sorcerer.
2:08.2	And this curse is said to have turned Narsis into one of the earliest recorded accounts of a zombie.
2:14.0	So Narsi said the age of 40 years old became severely ill,
	...

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