Haiti
In Haitian culure, zombies were believed to be the work of bokor(a witch or sorcerer). The zombie would be a slave to the bokor. The legend of zombies was spread widely throughout America when the United States occupied Haiti. This was between 1915 and 1934. In 1929, William Seabrook wrote "The Magic Island" which was about zombies in Haitian culture.
Greek Lore
In Greek culture, necromancy was widely used. This was the practice of calling on the dead to communicate with them. The Greeks also would weigh down bodies of the recently deceased with bolders. They would do this on the head, torso, and feet. The reason for this was for fear that the bodies would reanimate themselves. There was also a belief that the dead would leave their graves at night the kill or harm the living.
Other Cultures
While the term "zombie" actually comes from Haiti, there were many other ancient cultures around the would that had a belief in the undead. From the Norse believing that draugr lived in tombs but would escape to find victims to the Jiang Shi of China which were thought to be people that had died of suicide or murder that would come back to life. Their bodies would often be decaying or moldy. Even Romanian lore has zombies which have similar traits to vampires.
