Police say Mont. TV zombie hoax likely linked to others
Michael Beall, Great Falls (Mont.), Tribune
USA Today
February 13, 2013

Fake emergency alert warned of dead bodies walking the streets and attacking the living.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Zombies weren’t walking the streets here Monday, but a false alert that aired on two local TV stations went through the same channels on which true emergencies are aired, raising questions and concerns of how the hoax occurred.

The hoax reached around 10 stations in Montana, Michigan, California, Utah and New Mexico, said Greg MacDonald, the CEO of Montana Broadcasters Association.

The alert featured a scrolling warning for various Montana counties and a voice-over claimed there were “dead bodies rising from the grave and attacking the living” and urged people to use caution.

“Do not attempt to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are extremely dangerous,” it said.

MacDonald said the FBI and the FCC are investigating the cases, and initial findings have officials believing the hoax originated somewhere overseas. (more…)

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Aliens, zombies try to break ‘Thriller’ record
1010WINS
September 7, 2009

Atlanta (AP) — It wasn’t under the moonlight, and it wasn’t quite the funk of 40,000 years. But 900 zombies, aliens and Star Wars Stormtroopers boogeying to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” might be a sight that almost stops your heart.

The masquerade of sci-fi faithful performed Michael Jackson’s signature “Thriller” music video dance routine on Sunday. And if officials approve, they will have set a new Guinness World Record.

The crowd turned out in a downtown Atlanta hotel ballroom during Dragon Con, which is billed as the country’s largest convention dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, gaming, comics and more.

The iconic video played on a huge video screen as a Jackson lookalike channeled the pop star in red jeans, a red leather jacket, and white socks and black penny loafers. (more…)

Swine Flu + Zombies = Global Ghoul Pandemic!!!
by David Emery
Urban Legends Blog
May 4, 2009

A news story credited to the BBC reports that a new strain of the H1N1 flu virus has emerged, dubbed “H1Z1” by health authorities, or “zombie swine flu.”

“After death,” the article asserts, “this virus is able to restart the heart of it”™s [sic] victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believe to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during ‘resurrection.'”

Entertainment Weekly’s PopWatch blog labeled the story “hilarious but totally bogus,” an assessment with which I was inclined to concur until I learned that an electronic road sign was spotted over the weekend in Colchester, Vermont flashing the words, “EFF SWINE FLU. ZOMBIE INVASION!!!!! TURN BACK.”

Local authorities say that warning, too, is a hoax, but how do we know they aren’t just co-conspirators in a plot to zombify the entire population of the world?

photo: Burlington Free Press

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