By: Christy Wolyniak

Brain-hungry and merciless, Seattle was determined to beat the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of zombies, previously held by New Jersey in 2010 counting 4,093 undead. Seattle zombies exploded in number as a sea of 4,522 bloody bodies scraped through Fremont on July 2 in ruthless victory.

“Our goal is to eradicate all of the zombies from the Fremont/Seattle area,” said Nerf Cop, Cashington Richworth.

Though some geared up to fight against the hundreds of undead, they were sorely outnumbered. Whether participants had a fascination with zombies and horror, of if they just wanted to take the family out and have fun with crazy makeup and costumes, all seemed to have a good time, though you could not tell by looking at them.

“I’m surprised how good [blood] tastes,” said zombie Steve Ringer who drove (or walked) 800 miles from San Francisco to spend the Fourth with friends and became a zombie in the process. Zesty mint-flavored blood made sure any dribbling zombies were breathing fresh.

Ex-zombie-turned-zombuster, Eli Davis said he has less blood over everything he owns since choosing to fight for the other side. He fashioned a baseball bat with nails coming out of it as his zombie weapon of choice.

A few squabbles broke out between zombie and ex-zombie, but no major casualties occurred aside from a few grazes and the low rumble of growls and moans sifting through the horror-stricken city.

“There’s nothing a zombie fears more than a rubber-tipped foam dart,” said Nerf Cop Jack Handy, who dutifully warned any zombie passersby to beware.

Seattle has seen a growing number of zombies in recent years. Some say the economy has something to do with this increase.

“Studies show that when there is economic distress, the number of zombie-related things (movies, books, etc.) increases,” said ZomBCon volunteer, Zack Peterson.

ZomBCon was started by President Ryan Reiter. The next event will be held in October.

For more information, visit http://www.zombcon.com/

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Previous coverage:

Fremont attempts to reclaim Guinness World record for most zombie walkers
By Anne-Marije Rook

Seattle will be a scary place on Saturday as thousands of zombies will scour the streets of Fremont in search of a new world record.

Saturday's Red, White & Dead Zombie Walk is an attempt for Seattle to take back their spot in the Guinness Book of Records by drawing the most zombie walkers.

Last year's Zombie Walk earned a Guinness World when 3,894 people participated in Fremont's event. But last October, New Jersey trumped that record with 4,093 costumed people. This year, Fremont organizers are aiming to reclaim the Guinness World record by drawing more than 6,000 people.

The event takes place at Fremont Outdoor Movies where makeup artists will be on site. There will also be two beer gardens, food trucks and live music. And at some point during the nine-hour event, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" will be performed.

The event kicks off at 2 p.m. July 2nd, at Fremont Outdoor Movies on 35th Street and Phinney Ave N.
Entrance is $3.
For more information, visit the Red, White & Dead Facebook page