But zombies. Oh man, zombies. Zombies are the anti-vampires. They are decay, and numbness, and perfect, consuming conformity. They are an inevitable slow threat, something that happens gradually and then suddenly. They look manageable at first, and by the time the situation is out of control, the situation is so out of control that there’s nothing you can do. And part of the horror of the “other” — part of what makes them so incomprehensible and appalling — is that zombies don’t want anything. You can’t negotiate with them, and you can’t appease them. They are coming for you, and you have to get out of the way — but you can’t stay out of the way, because they’re going to follow you, and they won’t stop until they get you.

Okay, she’s convinced me; I’m adding The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z to my reading list.