Top Ten Ways to Become a Zombie

Zombies aren’t just figments of horror movies and video games—they’re inspired by very real and very horrifying diseases. The world is teeming with ways to turn you (or something else) into the walking undead. Whether it’s a syndrome that convinces you you’re already dead or a virus that rewires you to bite your neighbors, this list has it all. Starting from the ground with insects like spiders and wasps and moving up to human diseases, we’ll go through all the possible ways zombies exist in this world.

Related: Ten Disease-Carrying Bugs and Creepy Crawlies That Cure Diseases

10 Cordyceps

Let’s start with the one we all know and love—and the reason you’re probably here. Cordyceps—The Last of Us’s favorite fungus. Officially known as Ophiocordyceps, it makes those infected wander away from their home, their body under someone else’s control. The only goal of the cordyceps is to find a good place to reproduce, after all.

But, of course, this is the notorious “zombie-ant fungus.” The parasitic fungus only infects carpenter ants—not humans—taking over their bodies while their minds stay eerily out of the picture. At least as far as we can tell. The infected ant eventually climbs a plant, bites down hard, and dies, leaving its corpse as a shower head for fungal spores to rain doom on the colony below.

What makes Cordyceps particularly horrifying is its intelligence. Instead of obliterating the ant’s brain, it wraps itself around it, hijacking the host’s muscles and releasing compounds to control its behavior. Once the ant has served its purpose, the fungus sprouts a stalk out of the victim’s head, completing its life cycle in full apocalyptic zombie glory.

While there’s no record of Cordyceps infecting humans (yet), after The Last of Us, it has inspired plenty of nightmares and fan art. For now, we’re safe—but if one day you see your friends with mushrooms growing out of their heads, shoot first and ask questions later.^[1]

9 Tongue-Eating Louse

Let’s get onto the stuff that’s not as famous. Let me introduce you to the tongue-eating louse! A parasite that makes you mind your tongue. Found in fish, this tiny terror swims into its host’s mouth, latches onto the base of the tongue, and slowly severs the blood supply. The tongue rots away and falls off, but don’t worry—the louse is happy to take its place.

Now, the fish has a literal parasite running its mouth, using its body as a vessel to consume whatever food comes its way. It’s not just a one-time meal ticket either; the louse thrives, feeding off the fish’s mucus lining and laying eggs to take even more advantage of the poor fish it bit into.

What’s scarier? There’s no cure for the fish. Once the tongue’s gone, the louse isn’t going anywhere. The bright side—or bad side—is that it doesn’t kill its host outright, so it just lives with it for the rest of its life.

What’s the matter? Louse got your tongue?^[2]

8 Zatypota Wasps

While a lot of people don’t like wasps, I don’t think anyone knows that they’re capable of mind control. Zatypota wasps are particularly fond of infecting spiders. After laying their eggs on the spider’s abdomen, the larva attaches itself and begins to feed on the spider’s organs, essentially becoming a part of the spider.

The spider is eventually overcome by the wasp larvae and soon abandons its colony and spins a strange, cocoon-like web. This cocoon will go on to serve as the spider’s prison for the rest of its very short lifespan. Once the spider finishes its cocoon, the larva consumes its host alive, growing strong enough to rip out of the spider’s ravaged body as a fully formed wasp. I’m getting The Thing and Alien flashbacks big time here.

It’s not known exactly how the wasps control their hosts, but researchers suspect hormones are involved, manipulating the spider’s brain into thinking it’s acting normally (Link 3). This kind of manipulation isn’t just creepy—it’s a terrifying concept. I might just write a book using it.

If this sounds like horror science fiction, I’m here to tell you it’s 100% real. While Zatypota only targets spiders, it leaves a great question: If the wasps can hijack spiders, how long before something else starts experimenting with bigger prey? Perhaps we’ll be getting a visit from an Asian giant hornet one day…^[3]

7 Cortard’s Syndrome

Now, we move on to the human diseases.

“Walking Corpse Syndrome” is a rare mental disorder that blurs the line between the living and the dead. Those who have it genuinely believe they’re dead, decomposing, or missing vital organs, even though their bodies are fully functional. This hallucination often leads to extreme withdrawal from society and/or neglect of basic needs, like eating or bathing. This lack of self-care furthers their delusions and causes their thoughts to become a reality.

The condition can occur after severe trauma, mental illness, or neurological damage, particularly in the parietal lobe, which processes sensory information and spatial awareness. What makes Cotard’s syndrome uniquely unsettling is how profoundly it alters self-perception. Some patients even insist on being taken to morgues, requesting autopsies to confirm their “dead” status.

Take the first documented case of Cotard’s syndrome: the story of Ms. L.

Ms. L was convinced that she had no brain, no nerves, no stomach, and no internal organs. Despite being alive and speaking to Dr. Cotard, she believed she was physically dead. She also felt that because she was already dead, she didn’t need to eat or drink. Ms. L became severely malnourished because she refused food, saying it was pointless for someone already dead. Her delusions didn’t stop there.

She also believed she was immortal because, in her mind, death had already occurred. Her condition ultimately worsened to the point where she became bedridden, emaciated, and weak. Her family, who were obviously very concerned about this, basically dragged her into a psychiatric ward for treatment (Link 5). After about a month of treatment, she was able to make a full recovery and live a normal life.

While treatments like antidepressants, antipsychotics, or electroconvulsive therapy can help some individuals, like Ms. L, Cotard’s syndrome remains an alternative zombie story, one where zombies don’t always act frenzied—sometimes, they simply rot away in silence.^[4]

6 Leprosy

Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, is the first known zombie-like virus in history. It’s from biblical times, for darn sake! While known for its disfiguring effects on the skin and nerves, this bacterial infection doesn’t just mimic the rotten look; it creates it. Today, it mainly exists in very hot and tropical regions of the world.

The disease can cause nerve damage so severe that victims lose feeling in their limbs, making them vulnerable to injuries that they don’t even notice. Their limb could literally fall off, and then they would shuffle away. A burned hand or a stubbed toe? No problem—until they can’t heal properly and end up needing to be brought to the hospital on a stretcher. The official name? Mycobacterium leprae. It spreads through prolonged contact, often through respiratory conditions. Coughing and sneezing from someone infected is probably scarier than someone with tuberculosis.

But interestingly, leprosy can also jump from armadillos to humans. That’s right—your local wildlife might just be holding the key to your undead transformation. Go get ’em and start an apocalypse today! However, the infection progresses slowly, sometimes taking years to show symptoms.

Thanks to modern medicine, multi-drug therapy can cure leprosy, and early treatment prevents most of its gruesome effects. But historically and biblically, the disease turned sufferers into outcasts, forcing them into colonies where myths of their “rotting flesh” and “zombie-like appearance.”.^[5]

5 Necrotizing Fasciitis

Staying on the topic of the rotting flesh look, enter necrotizing fasciitis, the “flesh-eating disease.” This condition starts innocently enough—a cut, a scrape—but when the bacteria infiltrate, they release toxins that destroy skin, fat, and even muscle tissue at an alarming rate. The bacteria are ubiquitous and can be found in all parts of the world, infecting anyone at any time. The only thing you need to do is cut your finger. This difference makes it scarier than leprosy.

This bacterium causes rapid decay throughout the body. In severe cases, limbs are amputated to stop the infection’s relentless spread, and survivors often bear prominent scars. The bacteria responsible is called Group A streptococcus, which can spread quickly and thrive on the destruction they left behind. While early medical intervention can save lives, even treated cases usually leave their victims permanently disfigured.

If a zombie outbreak were to occur in real life, this is the bacterial infection that’s fast enough to spread throughout the world in the blink of an eye.^[6]

4 Nodding Syndrome

Backing away from the gory body horror, let’s move on to nodding syndrome, a neurological condition rampant in East Africa. The worst part of this disease, in particular, is that it only affects children as young as three years old. Nodding syndrome causes uncontrollable head-nodding, seizures, and stunted physical and mental development and often leaves its victims physically wasted to a malnourished-like state and mentally detached. They end up becoming eerily similar to sleepwalkers.

Along with stunted mental development, the disease can also cause behavioral issues. Cases have reported many disruptive and dangerous actions, such as children lighting things on fire or wandering aimlessly, lost and alone, and entirely unaware of their surroundings.

The cause remains unknown, though there is speculation that it’s connected to Onchocerca volvulus, the parasitic worm that causes river blindness. The current theory suggests molecular mimicry—where the immune system, in its zeal to attack the worm, mistakenly destroys healthy brain cells. This immune system betrayal leaves the brain ravaged, turning kids into living shells of their former selves.

There is no found cure.^[7]

3 Running Amok

It’s not just a phrase. amok syndrome has been a real and documented disease since the early 15th century and is a recognized psychiatric condition in Southeast Asia. The syndrome describes people—often men—who suddenly erupt in violent, frenzied attacks, indiscriminately assaulting people or animals. It’s like flipping a switch that turns a mild-mannered person into Nemesis from Resident Evil.

Historically, amok episodes were attributed to demonic possession or supernatural forces like the hantu belian, an evil tiger spirit believed to inhabit its victims. Today, psychologists see it as a mix of stress, mental illness, and cultural factors, with some likening it to a psychotic break. Episodes are often followed by exhaustion or even suicide, bringing the zombie arc to an abrupt and tragic halt.

The condition’s name comes from the Malay word “amuk,” meaning “a furious attack.” Though rare, its violent, mindless rampages evoke terrifying parallels to the modern concept of rage zombies. If you’re in Southeast Asia and someone starts muttering about tiger spirits, maybe give them some space.^[8]

2 Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

This is the human version of mad cow disease. Resulting from a simple misfolding of tiny little proteins in the brain, this mistake will cost you your life. Victims experience rapidly progressing dementia, hallucinations, jerky movements, and eventual death—all within a year of symptoms appearing.

Take, for instance, the story of a 26-year-old woman, the first case of human mad cow disease. The woman was fond of consuming meat. Specifically, she enjoyed eating raw meat. Simply based on that fact, you can probably figure out how she got the disease.

Now, this case developed in November 2003, so this disease is still very real and very contractable today. The woman began to express anxious and aggressive behavior first, which eventually led to forgetfulness. It was only a few months later that she started having panic attacks and visual hallucinations of animals. By September 2004, she had partially lost motor control and was experiencing involuntary and jerky movements. She also began losing her sight. By 2005, she had lost all motor control, remained in a state of rigidity, and could no longer see, though she still responded to auditory cues. By May, she had died.

This disease also has no cure. No one will be able to help you.^[9]

1 Rabies

Of course, rabies is at the top of the list. While Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease lasts a lot longer before killing you, making it more likely to be the real zombie virus, rabies fits the bill much more!

See, rabies spreads through biting—like actual zombies do. Then, your voice changes so that you no longer sound entirely human. Next, you become aggressive and lash out at people with the intent to bite them. Ready to experience hypersalivation, foaming at the mouth, and a loss of motor control or have involuntary and jerky movements? Good! Those will soon follow. The disease literally eats your brain one piece at a time, which ties in with zombies’ desire for brains quite well, if you ask me.

And it happens all within 2-14 days… Is what you thought?

Rabies can actually stay dormant in a human body for around a year before suddenly deciding to kill you! The longest exposure case actually took five years before the girl died. So imagine a smarter version of rabies activating everyone at the same time. Considering that there is no cure after you start experiencing symptoms, the world will probably end very, very quickly.

However, there is one person who survived rabies! Jeanne Giese-Frassetto was the first person to ever go up against rabies without a vaccine and win back her life in 2004. So there is hope! But based on what happened with Ellie in The Last of Us, I don’t think we should bet on her saving us. It’s even crazier that Jeanne looks a lot like Ellie, too. Don’t believe me? Look it up, I dare you.^[10]