Zombiephiles Love It When Things Get Freaky

If you’ve ever watched the relatively new animated show from FOX, Bob’s Burgers, it’s likely you’ve fallen in love with the character Tina Belcher. A hopeless romantic and socially awkward 13-year-old, she’s quickly become a fan favorite on the show, even earning the title of “The Best Character on TV” in a poll on Entertainment Weekly.

It’s her little quirks that make her so great. Not only is she boy-crazy, which is to be expected from most middle school girls, but she also has an interesting attraction that’s a bit… unorthodox, to say the least.

Tina really likes zombies. I mean really, likes zombies. As she says, “I’m not a zombiephile. I have a complicated relationship with zombies. They’re dangerous, but I love their swagger.”

In season 1, Tina explains that her love of zombies manifested itself from a point in her childhood. When she was 8 years old, her father (Bob) let her watch Night of the Living Dead, which gave her night terrors for years. But as she grew up, Tina created a unique way to combat the scary dreams.

“I think my subconscious fears and budding sexuality are getting all mixed up,” she says. “So I think I’m being attacked by zombies and I start screaming, ‘You want to make out?’ and I make out with it.”

Her coping mechanism led to a full-on zombie fetish, and it even inspired her to write “erotic friend fiction” in her downtime. It, of course, includes herself, her friends/crushes, and a zombie or two.

Sounds pretty odd right? Like something that only an animated show aimed at adults would come up with? Well apparently, it’s a more common occurrence than you might think.

Tina isn’t the only one out there who has similar fantasies, as zombies have go full-on porno more times than you may care to know. As can be seen on AdamEve.com, there are numerous erotic/horror-inspired films. These include a Night of the Living Dead parody named Night Of The Giving Head in addition to Creature Feature and the all-zombie sex fest in D2: Deviance. These are all full-length films, ready to go for the world’s zombiephiles whenever the mood catches them right.

There’s no denying that in the last few years, zombies have dominated the horror market. With recent successes like Zombieland, The Walking Dead, World War Z, Warm Bodies, and even hit games like Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, zombies have taken over. However, the availability of undead erotica is a bit of shock.

The spike in interest even inspired an article from PsychologyToday.com, which explains the possible root of a zombie attraction. Clinical psychologist Dr. Michael Friedman argues that our fascination with them stems from the fact that zombies lead a “lifeless life.” He says that “we all fear leading a monotonous existence filled with boredom, emptiness, and loneliness” while the consequences of these negative emotions can lead to us being “bored to death.” Friedman explains that in zombie movies, TV shows, and games, we’re attracted to the heroic and exciting life of the characters fighting against a life of boredom (the zombies).

It’s an interesting argument, especially the heroic aspects. But if Friedman’s analysis is correct, the sexual attraction to those he says represents a “lifeless life” (the negative in this case) could be explained in the same wheelhouse of reasoning for why some girls are attracted to “bad boys.” Every project shows zombies as the obvious antagonists who are just, um, a little colder than most.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a zombie flick, show, game, or even a good zombie crawl as much as the next person. However, it’s in a strictly platonic way. (Sorry zombies!). At least we can all agree that sexualized or not, I’d rather have the popularity of zombies inspiring fetishes than other supernatural creatures. I think we’ve all had our fill of vampires for a while.