120 Zombie Trivia Questions & Answers

Check the exits, lace your running shoes, and stop arguing about who gets the last flashlight. These 120 zombie trivia questions shamble through Haitian folklore, Romero classics, television walkers, video-game outbreaks, survival rules, and fictional public-health responses that could use a group chat.

Keep the undead company with our horror movie trivia, video game trivia, and Halloween trivia.

Zombie Folklore, Origins & the First Screen Undead

The zombie began far from the modern brain-eating movie horde. Its roots involve enslavement, spiritual belief, colonial violence, and fears about losing control of one’s body, which deserve more care than a quick monster joke.

Q: Where does the word “zombie” have its strongest folklore association?
A: Haiti and the broader African diaspora in the Caribbean.

Q: What is a zonbi in Haitian tradition?
A: A person or spirit affected by supernatural power, with meanings that differ from movie zombies.

Q: Which religion is closely associated with Haitian zombie traditions?
A: Haitian Vodou.

Q: What is a bòkò in Haitian Vodou contexts?
A: A practitioner sometimes associated in folklore with harmful magic or creating a zonbi.

Q: How does the traditional zonbi differ from modern movie zombies?
A: It is often controlled or deprived of will rather than a flesh-eating contagious corpse.

Q: Which historical trauma shaped Haitian zombie symbolism?
A: Enslavement and the terror of losing autonomy even after death.

Q: Which 1929 book helped introduce American readers to Haitian zombie stories?
A: The Magic Island by William Seabrook.

Q: Who wrote The Magic Island?
A: William Seabrook.

Q: Which 1932 film is widely called the first feature-length zombie movie?
A: White Zombie.

Q: Who stars as the sinister Murder Legendre in White Zombie?
A: Bela Lugosi.

Q: Where is White Zombie set?
A: Haiti.

Q: How are the zombies controlled in White Zombie?
A: Through magic and the will of Murder Legendre.

Q: Which 1943 film follows a nurse to a Caribbean island?
A: I Walked with a Zombie.

Q: Who directed I Walked with a Zombie?
A: Jacques Tourneur.

Q: Which studio produced I Walked with a Zombie?
A: RKO Radio Pictures.

Q: What type of monster appears in early Hollywood zombie films?
A: A mindless person controlled through magic, drugs, or hypnosis.

Q: Which 1936 film features Boris Karloff and mechanically controlled corpses?
A: The Walking Dead.

Q: Which 1966 Hammer film brought zombies to a Cornish village?
A: The Plague of the Zombies.

Q: What causes the undead laborers in The Plague of the Zombies?
A: A squire uses voodoo-like magic to exploit them in a mine.

Q: When was the underwater-undead film Zombies of Mora Tau released?
A: 1957.

Q: What treasure do the zombies guard in Zombies of Mora Tau?
A: Diamonds from a sunken ship.

Q: Which Caribbean nation became independent after a successful slave revolution?
A: Haiti in 1804.

Q: Why is that history relevant to zombie folklore?
A: The zonbi can symbolize enslavement, stolen agency, and social death.

Q: What language supplies the spelling “zonbi”?
A: Haitian Creole.

Q: Which African language family contains words proposed as roots for “zombie”?
A: Kongo and related Central African language traditions are often cited.

Q: What ethical mistake should zombie fans avoid?
A: Treating Haitian Vodou as a fictional evil cult or simple movie prop.

Q: How does a revenant differ from a controlled zonbi?
A: A revenant returns from death, while a zonbi may be spiritually or physically enslaved.

Q: What broad fear connects many zombie stories?
A: Loss of identity, autonomy, and control over one’s body.

Q: Which medium transformed zombies into contagious hordes?
A: Modern horror cinema, especially films influenced by George Romero.

Q: What trait did early folklore zombies usually lack?
A: A contagious craving for human flesh.

George Romero, Living Dead Rules & Classic Movie Zombies

Romero’s dead do not sprint, negotiate, or respect doors. They do, however, expose every weakness in a group’s leadership, which may be the scariest part of the movies.

Q: Who directed Night of the Living Dead?
A: George A. Romero.

Q: When was Night of the Living Dead released?
A: 1968.

Q: Who plays Ben in Night of the Living Dead?
A: Duane Jones.

Q: Who is the frightened woman Ben finds at the farmhouse?
A: Barbra.

Q: What happens to Barbra’s brother Johnny?
A: A cemetery attacker kills him, and he later returns as one of the dead.

Q: What line does Johnny tease Barbra with?
A: “They’re coming to get you, Barbra.”

Q: Where do the survivors shelter?
A: A rural Pennsylvania farmhouse.

Q: Where does Harry Cooper want everyone to hide?
A: In the cellar.

Q: What difficult choice divides Ben and Harry?
A: Whether the upstairs or the cellar offers better protection.

Q: What caused the dead to rise in Night of the Living Dead?
A: The film suggests radiation from a returning space probe, but never gives a certain explanation.

Q: How can Romero’s ghouls be stopped?
A: By destroying the brain or damaging the head.

Q: What happens to Ben at the film’s end?
A: A posse mistakes him for one of the dead and shoots him.

Q: Why was Duane Jones’s casting historically notable?
A: A Black actor played a capable lead in a major American horror film in 1968.

Q: Which 1978 sequel takes place mainly in a shopping mall?
A: Dawn of the Dead.

Q: Who directed the original Dawn of the Dead?
A: George A. Romero.

Q: Why do zombies gather at the mall?
A: A character suggests remembered habits draw them there.

Q: Who are the four main survivors in Dawn of the Dead?
A: Stephen, Francine, Peter, and Roger.

Q: What group invades the mall late in the film?
A: A motorcycle gang.

Q: Who created Dawn of the Dead’s famous makeup effects?
A: Tom Savini.

Q: Which 1985 Romero film occurs around an underground military bunker?
A: Day of the Dead.

Q: Who is the scientist studying zombie behavior in Day of the Dead?
A: Dr. Matthew Logan, nicknamed Frankenstein.

Q: What unusually teachable zombie does Logan study?
A: Bub.

Q: What objects does Bub remember how to use?
A: Items including a razor, book, telephone, and handgun.

Q: Who is the unstable military commander in Day of the Dead?
A: Captain Rhodes.

Q: What famous command does Rhodes shout before dying?
A: “Choke on ’em!”

Q: Which 2005 Romero film depicts a fortified city for wealthy survivors?
A: Land of the Dead.

Q: What is the fortified tower called?
A: Fiddler’s Green.

Q: Who is the evolving zombie leader in Land of the Dead?
A: Big Daddy.

Q: Which Romero film uses found-footage style?
A: Diary of the Dead.

Q: What was Romero’s final directed Living Dead feature?
A: Survival of the Dead.

Fast Zombies, Comedy Outbreaks & Modern Movies

Modern zombies learned to sprint, which I consider a breach of the original agreement. Horror comedy responded by adding pub crawls, amusement parks, and very specific survival rules.

Q: Which 2002 film helped popularize fast infected attackers?
A: 28 Days Later.

Q: Who directed 28 Days Later?
A: Danny Boyle.

Q: Who wrote 28 Days Later?
A: Alex Garland.

Q: What causes the outbreak in 28 Days Later?
A: The Rage virus.

Q: Who awakens from a coma after London has collapsed?
A: Jim.

Q: Who plays Jim?
A: Cillian Murphy.

Q: Which 2004 remake features fast-moving zombies at a mall?
A: Dawn of the Dead.

Q: Who directed the 2004 Dawn of the Dead?
A: Zack Snyder.

Q: Who wrote its screenplay?
A: James Gunn.

Q: Which 2004 comedy sends Shaun to the Winchester pub?
A: Shaun of the Dead.

Q: Who plays Shaun?
A: Simon Pegg.

Q: Who directs Shaun of the Dead?
A: Edgar Wright.

Q: Who is Shaun’s best friend?
A: Ed.

Q: What is Shaun’s chosen safe location?
A: The Winchester Tavern.

Q: Which record is reluctantly sacrificed against a zombie?
A: A Sade album is spared, while other records are thrown.

Q: What 2007 film is based on Richard Matheson’s novel?
A: I Am Legend.

Q: Who plays Robert Neville in I Am Legend?
A: Will Smith.

Q: What city does Neville inhabit after the outbreak?
A: New York City.

Q: What are the infected called in the 2007 film?
A: Darkseekers.

Q: Which 2009 horror comedy lists numbered survival rules?
A: Zombieland.

Q: What is Columbus’s first stated rule?
A: Cardio.

Q: What rule warns against assuming a zombie is dead?
A: Double Tap.

Q: Which actor plays Tallahassee?
A: Woody Harrelson.

Q: What snack does Tallahassee desperately seek?
A: Twinkies.

Q: Which celebrity plays a fictionalized version of himself?
A: Bill Murray.

Q: Which 2013 film follows a worldwide outbreak and former investigator Gerry Lane?
A: World War Z.

Q: Who plays Gerry Lane?
A: Brad Pitt.

Q: Who wrote the World War Z novel?
A: Max Brooks.

Q: Which 2016 Korean film takes place mainly aboard a train?
A: Train to Busan.

Q: Who directs Train to Busan?
A: Yeon Sang-ho.

The Walking Dead, Video Games & Hard Zombie Trivia

Games and television turn one bad day into years of supply runs, faction politics, and suspicious canned food. The zombies remain dangerous, but somebody with a power complex usually becomes the larger scheduling problem.

Q: Who awakens from a coma in The Walking Dead television series?
A: Rick Grimes.

Q: Who plays Rick Grimes?
A: Andrew Lincoln.

Q: What job does Rick hold before the collapse?
A: Sheriff’s deputy.

Q: What does The Walking Dead usually call zombies?
A: Walkers.

Q: Who created The Walking Dead comic?
A: Robert Kirkman, with artist Tony Moore on the earliest issues.

Q: Which network premiered The Walking Dead television series?
A: AMC.

Q: Who is Rick’s son?
A: Carl Grimes.

Q: Who wields a katana and keeps chained walkers?
A: Michonne.

Q: Who carries a crossbow and was created for television?
A: Daryl Dixon.

Q: What weapon is associated with Negan?
A: A barbed-wire-wrapped baseball bat named Lucille.

Q: What does the CDC scientist whisper to Rick in Season 1?
A: Everyone is infected and will turn after death unless the brain is destroyed.

Q: Which game franchise features the Umbrella Corporation?
A: Resident Evil.

Q: What virus causes the original Resident Evil outbreak?
A: The T-virus.

Q: Which city is destroyed during the early Resident Evil storyline?
A: Raccoon City.

Q: Who are the two playable protagonists in the first Resident Evil?
A: Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine.

Q: How are Resident Evil characters Chris and Claire Redfield related?
A: They are brother and sister.

Q: Which game series features Clickers and a Cordyceps infection?
A: The Last of Us.

Q: Who are the central travelers in the first Last of Us game?
A: Joel Miller and Ellie Williams.

Q: What makes Ellie medically important?
A: She is immune to the Cordyceps brain infection.

Q: Which cooperative shooter features campaigns for four survivors?
A: Left 4 Dead.

Q: What name does Left 4 Dead give its powerful oversized infected?
A: The Tank.

Q: Which plant-defense game pits garden plants against zombies?
A: Plants vs. Zombies.

Q: Who created the Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z?
A: Max Brooks.

Q: Which Jane Austen parody adds undead attacks to courtship?
A: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Q: Who wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies with Austen credited?
A: Seth Grahame-Smith.

Q: Which music video features Michael Jackson dancing with the undead?
A: “Thriller.”

Q: Who directed the extended Thriller video?
A: John Landis.

Q: Which cranial target stops most modern fictional zombies?
A: The brain.

Q: Why are quarantines common in zombie stories?
A: They attempt to contain a bite-borne, airborne, or otherwise contagious outbreak.

Q: Why does zombie trivia keep mutating?
A: Every story changes the cause, speed, intelligence, transmission, and cure.

How Did You Score?

If zonbi history, Murder Legendre, Ben’s farmhouse, Bub, the Winchester, Cardio, walkers, Raccoon City, and Clickers all stayed safely contained, you made it through. My own survival plan still depends too heavily on finding a store with comfortable shoes.