Los Angeles Zombie Walk

Back in 2006, on the now ancient website that is LiveJournal, a random L.A. resident came up with the idea of bringing the zombie flash mob concept to L.A. That spark caught fire and spread to MySpace and other websites, and on Oct. 6, 2006, a herd of maybe 200 undead met outside the Pantages Theatre ready to lurch a planned out walk down Hollywood and Sunset boulevards.
I actually never knew the girl’s name, but we spoke a lot in messages in great anticipation of the very first L.A. Zombie Walk.
At the time, I was 21, and it was easily one of the most surreal events of my life at that point. Brandon D. and I met at a friend’s house, had prosthetics applied to our bodies, were painted up, and made ready for the apocalypse. To add to the effect, we bought black cake icing, filled our mouths with it and let it dribble from our lips. My teeth hurt for days, but oooh, it was worth it.
The lurch was great. I was mildly blinded with how many flashbulbs went off in my face. I love it. Seemed like it was easily forgotten that we were still living, breathing people since I’d have reporters and photographers gather around me and mumble to each other about how Bran and I looked or about others of our undead brethren.
Occasionally members of our large group would mob a business or people on the street. A couple of girls in a red convertible fell prey to the walkers when a bunch swarmed her car. She laughed and threw a bag of McDonald’s apple pies at them before speeding away.
The best part of the entire experience was the fact that most people in L.A., Hollywood even, had never seen anything like this. Most we passed on the sidewalks were completely confused by our multitude. In front of the Chinese Theater, the freaking costumed, celebrity impersonators were asking US for photos.
One of the more unreal moments was when word passed down the line that there was a singing group of Christians up ahead, and indeed, there was a group of Mennonites crooning about Jesus. Though some relished the thought of messing with them, most respectfully continued on, sometimes accepting their pamphlet from the children who were handing them out to our horde.
A lot of the walk can be seen in this video someone captured of the event:
Not visible, however, was another encounter that came later.
Keeping in character, the majority of us groaned, «Braaaaaains. braaaaaains…» Suddenly a smaller group from within the mass stopped in front of one of the Scientology testing facilities and chanted in their open door, «NO BRAINS! NO BRAINS! NO BRAINS!» The poor individuals within looked completely bewildered, frightened even, and headed to the back of the room in their own self-​defense.
Anyway, as a whole, the walk was pretty sweet. Although the original organizers, as far as I know, are no longer attached to this rather informal event, it’s continued through the years, even under other names. In fact it’s happening again next weekend (
) at Hollywood and Highland.
If you’re up for it, it’s a fun way to cut loose and be a part of something. No one judges for lack of resources, I mean one of the years I went the entirety of this one guy’s costume was having a fake eyeball dangling from a piece of duct tape on his face. Your costume’s gotta start somewhere.
A few tips when going for the zombie look:
— Don’t go all white with your make-​up. If you can afford the make-​up get yourself some green, purple, and gray. Blend it.
— When it comes to blood, the darker the better or go with the black icing I mentioned above.
— Consider going with a theme. Ragged street clothes work just as well, but it can be fun if you and your friends go as, say, cheerleaders or commandos or pirates or X-​Men or something.