If you saw a bloody-mouthed, limping zombie today wailing about brains and dragging entrails along Superior Street, don't worry: It wasn't the zombie apocalypse.
A group of about 80 young people in torn clothes and syrup-flavored blood were part of the second annual Duluth Zombie Walk. The gang of mostly teenagers gathered on the shore near Leif Erickson Park and planned to travel along the Lakewalk, up to Superior Street and back down to the lighthouse in Canal Park.
"We wanted to do something just for fun in the community," said Eric Rauvola, one of the event's organizers.
They put a call out to friends on Facebook and Rauvola said they consulted a law enforcement official about keeping the gathering polite. Zombie wannabes checked in at a small table on the rocks, provided emergency contact information and agreed to behave. No scaring kids. No messing with personal property. No wandering into the streets or businesses. No touching anyone.
While it might seem vampires and werewolves rule the monster genre, zombies have emerged as another favorite thing that goes bump in the night.
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October marks the seventh Zombie Pub Crawl in the Twin Cities, and Chicago and Philadelphia have similar events. Last season, AMC premiered "The Walking Dead," a television series about the survivors of a zombie breakout who must still stave off the undead.
A line formed in front of the makeup-savvy Cassandra Schick, who crafted pale skin tones and the appearance of sunken eyes on walkers. Another crew gathered around Chris Long, dubbed "the blood technician," who flung a mixture of maple syrup, lake water and red food coloring on fellow zombies.
"It's delicious," said Jenny Everett after dipping her hand into the blood barrel and pouring the thick liquid in her mouth. "How can you not love it?"
John Hoban sat on a rock in torn blue jeans with a bloody knee poking through the fabric. His costume included exposed innards and a 3-foot long tail of intestine. Half of his face looked mangled and bloody and he wore contact lenses that whitened his irises.
He said he grew up near a cemetery that bore a resemblance to the one in the movie "Night of the Living Dead" and has always liked zombies.
"It's like when you're a kid, there are monsters that scare you," he said. "You can either hide in the closet or join them. It's like facing your fears."
Hoban said zombies make for a good monster that has bucked the mainstream -- unlike some certain bloodsuckers.
"It's a good counterbalance to vampires," he said. "There is never going to be a zombie 'Twilight.' No zombie is every going to say, 'Oh, I love you. I'm going to eat everyone's brain but yours.'"
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