Haitian Zombie

The Haitian Zombie is the folkloric origin of the modern zombie. They differ in many aspects to the zombies of popular culture and are much less popular, though some depictions of them have been seen in media (such as the Serpent and the Rainbow) - a vast majority of works surrounding the Haitian Zombie, however, remains firmly in their native folklore.

History
These are the origins of the more well-known zombies of popular culture, but are very different entities. For one, they do not feed on the living to survive and do not gather in packs of ravenous hordes; instead they are the cursed remains of an individual brought back to life by a bokor to do their bidding.

Voodoo zombies are thus servants who have been separated from their souls, becoming completely enthralled to the bokor as a result; however, eventually even zombies will be claimed by God and put to rest, making them temporary beings. A central theme of Voodoo zombies is a duality between body and soul, with the bokor often stealing the soul of a zombie and keeping it in a jar, thus a zombie is considered to be missing a vital part of itself (the body, minus the soul).

The Voodoo zombie has become much rarer in fiction due to the popularity of the fictional zombies (who are much more violent and akin to Ghouls); however, some notable works still exist that depict these more traditional undead creatures.

While mostly the work of bokors, some zombies could also be created by loa, such as Baron Samedi, often as punishment for offending them. It is implied those who are zombified by beings such as Baron Samedi suffer a far worse fate than those reanimated by bokors, since loa hold much greater authority over the afterlife and thus could keep a zombie enslaved for far, far longer than a bokor (who while powerful, is still a mortal).

It is also possible for Voodoo zombies to be forced into existence by a curse. In this scenario, they are not servants to the bokor but still lack a true existence, being miserable creatures that seek to end their curse. Often, in order to do so, the bokor must be killed or convinced to lift their curse, at which point the zombie may find rest.

Key Features

 * Do not feed on the living, existing either to serve the master or as part of a cursed existence.
 * Usually solitary beings.
 * Slow-moving and strong, limited in intelligence but once given a task will stop at nothing to achieve it.
 * Lack a soul (or have had their soul captured by mystic means), thus are considered neither fully alive nor dead.
 * Temporary beings that will cease to exist after their curse has been lifted, do not infect the living.