Slang term for undead

lonewolfwanderer

lonewolfwanderer

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In my WIP, my character has woken up somewhere unfamiliar. It is a base of operations of the scavengers that saved him from the undead that were after him. I'm not entirely sure what class of undead they are yet (although it'll be on the lines of zombies, and draugr, or rather the pawns of the undead), but i need to find a slang term for scavengers to use to identify said undead.

Does anyone have an idea on what slang term my scavengers could use to identify the undead? Either a general term for all undead, or a term for each class of undead...? Although the former would be better as i don't know yet if anyone has encountered a higher class of undead...
 
Are they going to ooze? If they ooze you could call them squishies or squelchers.
 
There are various types of words you might use, some of them related to something distinctive about how the undead look, move or behave. As you are not entirely sure about the nature of your undead, you might want to use a temporary slang word in case a better one occurs to you later. (I say this because it's easy to become overly attached to one's initial choice, to the extent that it sometimes doesn't occur to one to change it later.)
 
How about "necros"?

The problem with slang terms for undead derived from how they move or look is that the different types are very different. A vampire could pass for human easily; a zombie or an animated skeleton not so much, and in different ways.
 
Haunted, Ridden, Possessed.
Gobbler, Slurper, Brain-diner.
Lurcher, Foot-dragger, Stumbler
Rotter, Putrid, The fetid.
Walking carrion, Mobile meat, Tomb (or grave) dodger.
Soulless, Set's souljer, Risen
Echo, Shadow, Memory
Husk, Shell, Hollowman.

I think my favourite would be tomb dodger as they would want something a little bit light hearted.
 
Is it a modern-day setting or a more traditional fantasy one? If it's modern-day, the question arises as to why "zombie" isn't being used. I read somewhere that The Walking Dead is set in a world where George Romero never existed, and so "zombie", while it exists in that setting, means something slightly different.

In a modern or futuristic setting, I'd go for something that describes what they do or what they are and can be shouted quickly: stalkers, walkers, stiffs, etc. In a fantasy setting, it could probably sound a bit more "fancy": undead, ghouls, liches etc. Personally, I wanted to avoid the implications of "vampire" and "zombie" - Eastern Europe is a long way away from my characters, and Haiti even further! - so I went with "mort" (from the French Mort Vivant, living dead) and "revenant" for the smarter ones.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, it's been a great help.

Toby Frost said:
Is it a modern-day setting or a more traditional fantasy one? If it's modern-day, the question arises as to why "zombie" isn't being used. I read somewhere that The Walking Dead is set in a world where George Romero never existed, and so "zombie", while it exists in that setting, means something slightly different.

In a modern or futuristic setting, I'd go for something that describes what they do or what they are and can be shouted quickly: stalkers, walkers, stiffs, etc. In a fantasy setting, it could probably sound a bit more "fancy": undead, ghouls, liches etc. Personally, I wanted to avoid the implications of "vampire" and "zombie" - Eastern Europe is a long way away from my characters, and Haiti even further! - so I went with "mort" (from the French Mort Vivant, living dead) and "revenant" for the smarter ones.
Click to expand...

Toby, its a more futuristic fantasy type setting.

The war between the living and the dead started in the year 2027 when a lich was accidentally discovered, but the story takes place about a decade after when humanity is stretched thin and battling to survive. Magic plays a major role in the resurrection of the dead, and the lich sits at the top of the loose hierarchy of the undead, controlling them. The higher up an undead is on the "hierarchy", the more powerful it is.

Using "Zombie" is okay, but i don't want the reader to see "zombie", and put the book down because its just another zombie story. It isn't, and zombies aren't the only undead to feature in this story. So i need a term that my minions can use that covers the broader range of the undead, indicating to the reader that there is more to it than just zombies. Of course, they will have different names for the individual types of undead that they have so far encountered, but at the moment i'm looking for the broader term to use in the meantime.
 
Risen (already mentioned but I'd vote for it)
Resurrected
Enchanted
Reanimated
Animated
Spelled
hexed
 
JonH said:
:) Are we supposed to be Grateful for that?
Click to expand...

Haha, didn't think of that until afterwards!:D But yeah, it's simple, it's snappy (I doubt people would use more than one word or two syllables) and plausible.

Come to think of it, creatures shuffling around mumbling incoherently and smelling like they've been buried for the last few years ; why not just call them teenagers?
 
i know i'm a bit late, but there's a show on the BBC at the moment with zombies that has the slang term "rotter", which i really like. not sure how it would translate outside of British English though.

if it's a slang term that the fighters on the ground are using, how about "jerks" - referring to their slightly stilted movements (if indeed your undead are slightly stilted)

as paranoid marvin said, i think it should be one word, two syllables max, and have a derogatory air..
 
Mr Orange said:
i know i'm a bit late, but there's a show on the BBC at the moment with zombies that has the slang term "rotter", which i really like. not sure how it would translate outside of British English though.

if it's a slang term that the fighters on the ground are using, how about "jerks" - referring to their slightly stilted movements (if indeed your undead are slightly stilted)

as paranoid marvin said, i think it should be one word, two syllables max, and have a derogatory air..
Click to expand...

rotters.. yeah that sounds good.
 
Mr Orange said:
i know i'm a bit late, but there's a show on the BBC at the moment with zombies that has the slang term "rotter", which i really like. not sure how it would translate outside of British English though.

if it's a slang term that the fighters on the ground are using, how about "jerks" - referring to their slightly stilted movements (if indeed your undead are slightly stilted)

as paranoid marvin said, i think it should be one word, two syllables max, and have a derogatory air..
Click to expand...

Ye it needs to be quick to say. But the term at the moment needs to be something to replace "undead". There are all types of undead prowling the streets and something that references just zombies won't work. I mean, there are zombies, but there are also Draugr, Revenants, Jiangshi (I like this one, but don't know where it fits yet) and Liches to give but a few examples. Oh and the undead won't include ghosts, it is only those that have physical bodies.

Also something that is light hearted, to help add a bit of humour into an otherwise gloomy tale.

I don't know, i'll have to put more thought into it and see what fits the best. I'll worry about the details once i have the first draft finished, but in the meantime thanks for the help. I really appreciate it:)
 
Grunters... because zombies usually don't talk... and they are pretty much the grunts of an army without rank.
 
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