In AMC’s The Walking Dead , the zombies — or walkers — amble slowly and appear emancipated as they shuffle along. Their washed-out skin and skeletal form creates iconic imagery when it comes to the series. However, a mortician has now described how these walkers should really look, according to Comic Book .
Melissa Unfred, a mortician based in Texas, spoke out about how a body decomposes after death and how this differs from what viewers see in The Walking Dead . In particular, she describes the pooling process of blood after a person dies.
“The part of the body that’s closest to the ground will turn dark red where the blood settles,” Unfred said.
“After about 24 hours, the lower right quadrant of the body will turn a bluish-green color as the bacteria in the pancreas are the first to start digesting tissues in the gut.”
Unfred then went on to describe the discoloration process of the skin.
“The skin takes on a really interesting marbled pattern which is actually really pretty, but to each their own,” she told Live Science .
Of course, there are other processes that occur after death that are also vastly different from that portrayed by the zombies in The Walking Dead . While the walkers are shown as skeletal in the series, the likelihood during a real zombie apocalypse is that these zombies would bloat up rather than lose weight.
This bloating is caused by a build-up of gasses within the body. These gasses are a result of bacteria that naturally occur in the human body as it starts to digest human tissue.
“Sometimes, the bloat is so severe that the body will burst,” Unfred explained further.
In addition, the skin of a deceased person becomes quite wet, rather than what is portrayed in the TV series. If this were to be shown in The Walking Dead , the walkers would show liquid coming out of their pores and the appearance of “dripping skin.” Although, Unfred did point out that this is replicated to a degree in AMC’s companion series, Fear the Walking Dead .
There is also something else that Unfred believes that AMC has gotten right. After death, a person’s mouth and eyes open and remain so unless embalming techniques are used to close and make the person look more at peace for those wishing to view the body. In the TV series, Unfred believes that the facial expressions shown on the walkers mimic this reaction quite closely.
AMC’s The Walking Dead is currently on hiatus. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , the network has confirmed that Season 10 will return in February of 2020.
