Undead 101 Part Three: Ghoul Indentification

This post pertains to safe and humane identification and disposing of ghouls and soon-to-be ghouls. While the official Harvest Team protocol varies from this (more on that another time), this is what an ordinary civilian should do in case they believe someone in their area may be either a revenant or has been bitten.

Ways to tell a revenant from an ordinary human include (but are not limited to):

• Erratic shambling walk
• Noticeable limp
• Discolored skin and hair (from partial decomposition before turning)
• Head tilted to the side (not always, but usually at a degree between 20-45 degrees)
• Little to no arm movement during stride
• Tendency to overreact over everyday sounds/sights (such as a car passing by)
• Torn clothing
• Noticeable open wounds on the exposed areas that are NOT bleeding, likely including at least one bite wound.

If someone possess these symptoms, immediately:

• Notify the police of suspicious behavior
  
• Call all the neighbors whose phone numbers you know and warn them of the impending danger
• Collect a weapon and if you are not already wearing a long-sleeved shirt or jacket, full-length pants, shoes and gloves, put those on as well.
• Try to get the persons attention. Ask them to either say your name (if they know you that well) or simply if they are alright. A ghoul will not answer verbally or give any motion for help. They will let loose a moanlike scream and come at you with arms parallel to the ground.

If the ghoul does respond in the matter situated above, immediately run to your house and lock the door. This should keep you safe until the police arrive. DO NOT attempt to destroy the ghoul UNLESS it becomes an immediate threat to someone. Remember that revenants are not acknowledged by the government yet, so shooting the ghoul without good reason can end up with you in jail for murder!

Now, if someone you know may have been bitten, here are the immediate signs:

• Sharp, unexplained fever of 100-106 degrees Fahrenheit
• Dehydration
• Loss of appetite/thirst
• Dementia/hallucinations (these are too varied to diagnose by the nature of the hallucination alone)
• Dizziness

If someone displays these symptoms, the first and most important thing to do is to not panic. If they are still alive, that means you have time to confirm that they are bitten. Check their body for bite marks that have the following features:

• Human-like in shape and pattern
• Discolored (early stages blue, later stages black)
• No bleeding, but no signs of scabbing (Ghoul bites coagulate almost immediately but do not heal)
• No pain whatsoever if you press down on it (WARNING: Do NOT touch the wound without surgical gloves!)

The fever will last for ten to twenty hours after the infection (depending on a variety of factors but most importantly the condition of the victim and number of bites) before death. After death, the corpse will be reanimated for four to six hours before it rises.

Remember: Euthanasia is illegal. Don't kill the victim yourself. At any rate, unless you destroy the brain, reanimation will still occur.

Unfortunately, hospitals are not the answer either. Cremation can take days to occur even if expedited with a living will.

Therefore, you have two options.

One, tell the victim of what will happen, and leave them in the room with a gun and a single bullet. It's sad, and a little cruel, but suicide is the only way to keep the victim's loved ones completely safe from prosecution by the state or worse, being possible victims themselves.

If suicide isn't an option, disposal of the body is a very difficult as the human body is difficult to completely and utterly destroy. People have tried for years to find a 100% foolproof means of body disposal. Only one thing on Earth can leave a body impossible to identify one hundred percent of the time: A woodchipper. Unfortunately this author cannot in good conscience give a step-by-step method of disposal via woodchipper, in case a less than noble murderer tries to use it for his own misdeeds.

Naturally, if society does break down or martial law is declared, one can remove all worry of legal repercussions. Should such a scenario occur during a ghoul infestation, care must be given not to the corpse being unseen but safely eradicated. In such a case, a funeral pyre is the best scenario, preferable done in a pit to prevent such a fire from being seen by other ghouls.

Furthermore, should an infestation occur, one should always wear the following whenever possible:

• Denim pants
• Wool socks
• Iron-toe boots, preferably leather
• Hooded sweatshirt, preferably pre-shrunk cotton, OR a jacket, preferably leather with a long-sleeved shirt underneath
  
• Gloves, preferably leather

All sleeves and pant legs should be held close to the body by duct tape to prevent them catching (either on a piece of fence or a ghoul's fingers). Ghoul teeth are essentially human teeth, so these clothes should keep ghouls from biting through them.

Recommended defensive weaponry (in order from preference, based on effectiveness, reliability, durability, noise, weight, and civilian accessibility):

Ranged: Crossbows, Bolt- or Lever- Action Rifles, Pump-Action Shotguns, Handguns, Revolvers
Melee: Machete, Crowbar, Wooden baseball bat, Lead pipe, Rebar

NEXT: Glossary/Common Ghoul lingo and recommended reading/viewing.