Zombie

Zombies, also spelled zombi (PROSE: White Darkness), were "the living dead," creatures of the undead in different cultures.

Illusions
While not truly being "undead," it was possible (and often done by tribes in Haiti) to trick a human into believing they were one of the "living dead" using the drug tetrodotoxin. In correct doses, it could lower the consciousness of a person and take away their sensory nerves. The person would then be buried and dug up, making them think they had been brought back to life. They would subsequently be used as slaves. (PROSE: White Darkness)

Behind the scenes
David A. McIntee, when writing White Darkness, took inspiration and facts from the nonfiction book The Serpent and the Rainbow, which detailed accounts of zombification that occurred in Haiti in the early 20th century. He advised staying away from the film version.