Halloween’s just around the corner, which is why it’s the perfect time to discuss monsters and other things that go bump in the night.

A creature that is currently in vogue is the zombie, which is enjoying a surge in popularity, evidenced by “The Walking Dead,” a series about a small band of survivors who are, essentially, trying to remain uneaten.  It also happens to be one one of the most successful series on cable, with ratings comparable to, and in some cases better, than network television shows.  This is a remarkable when you consider that network television is available to anyone with a television able to pick up the signal, which channels like AMC–which airs “The Walking Dead”–are generally part to pay cable packages, and not as widely available.

By the way, zombies actually exist.  There are documented cases, in Haiti, of people being dead and buried, only to rise from their graves.  The process of zombification was the subject of Wes Craven’s 1988 film, “The Serpent And The Rainbow,” one of his better movies.

I think the idea of zombies is so interesting that a few months ago I signed for  “Run For Your Lives,” an obstacle race made all the more interesting because there are “zombies” there to avoid, as well as obstacles to overcome.