Читать книгу The Zombie Book - Nick Redfern - Страница 64

Paranormal authority Brad Steiger notes: “Perhaps of all the classic monsters that have terrified theater audiences and groups gathered around campfires, the two most likely to be confused with one another are the mummy and the zombie. One thinks of curses and spells associated with both of these beings. Of course, the principle difference is that the mummies pronounce curses upon those who disturb their elegant tombs, while zombies lie for a time in crude graves because a curse has been placed upon them.”

Steiger is not wrong when he refers to mummies and zombies causing confusion due to the somewhat similar territory they inhabit. His words are made all the more significant by the fact that in 2011 startling rumors began to circulate that a zombified mummy was roaming around the Texas town of Cypress, which is located northwest of the city of Houston. The quickly escalating atmosphere of terror and menace led Houston’s KPRC news to home-in on the controversy. In semi-comic tones, they reported on how whole swathes of the population of Cypress were “living in fear,” as a result of the bandaged nightmare said to be walking the streets, specifically in the town’s Fairfield area.

While jokes and comments were made about a looming zombie apocalypse, not everyone was laughing. In fact, in Cypress itself, hardly anyone saw the joke. “It’s scary not knowing what this man is up to or what he wants,” said one of the town’s residents, Jon Hill, who saw the creature moving around in his front yard. Another of the townsfolk, Steven Scheiffele, added: “It’s creepy, especially since he’s here in the neighborhood with the kids and stuff.”

Harris County police officers tried their very best to diffuse the anxiety by asserting that it was all the work of a prankster—albeit a slightly warped one—that enjoyed scaring the living daylights out of people, and nothing else. Others were not quite so sure, however, and noted that the person responsible might well suffer severely, given that Texas is very well known for its “shoot first and ask questions later” attitude towards dealing with potentially violent individuals. In view of that, would someone really have been so stupid as to invade private land in the Lone Star State, while swathed in bandages, staggering around like the living dead, and all without thinking of the potentially fatal consequences of doing so? If not, perhaps the real culprit was one of the dead. To date, the mystery of the zombie/mummy of Cypress, Texas remains exactly that: a mystery.