Zombie movies and TV shows are taking over our society and zombies have also recently taken over our campus.

Entertainment this year has been chock-full of zombies, including movies like “Warm Bodies” and “World War Z,” which were both major box office successes. “The Walking Dead” is one of the most popular shows on television right now.

The annual Humans Vs. Zombies game kicked off on Sept. 30. Since then, it has not been an unusual occurrence to witness a zombie attack on your commute between classes. You may have spotted zombies lurking outside of dining halls, hiding in bushes, or even jumping out of trees.

The game has significantly grown in popularity compared to the previous year.  Ryan Tweedt, administrator of the Facebook page, spread the word this year by emailing every student. Last year’s page contained about 300 members, that number is miniscule compared to the over 1,000 who joined the group this year.

Tweedt thinks the game was not as popular last year because people did not hear about it quick enough, but other students think it is more popular because of our increasing obsession with zombie lore.

Kenyon Haverly thinks that the booming success of the game has everything to do with the zombie movies, TV shows, and video games.

Our society’s obsession with zombies keeps growing and growing. Freshman, Ryan Berk believes we are infatuated with zombies because we enjoy the “lost-cause mentality.”

Tweedt thinks that there is just some primal fear in all of us that fears the undead.  While sophomore, Alex Rinehart senses that it has something to do with our love of “survival of the fittest.”

Professor David Zimmerman, who teaches A Survey of Film History, does not believe that the Human Vs. Zombie game’s popularity is directly related to zombie entertainment.  He simply thinks it is a grown-up and more glorified game of tag.

“Even when we are adults we all still enjoy a good game,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman believes that the zombie fad is similar to the vampire craze we had a few years ago. Zombies have had a tendency of fading in and out of popularity in years passed.

It is the zombie name that attracts students’ attention, but people really enjoy the game because it is just fun. The game isn’t about winning. It is all just about having a good time. It’s a way for students to escape from the stress of classes and exams. The game comes to an end on Oct. 20.