Parallel Earth: 262320

Examples of the living dead in popular culture: the symbols, terms, and overall aesthetic shown here are sometimes referred to as “lyv-culture”. The term is a play on words. It refers to the abbreviation for the virus responsible for the plague, LYV321.

In 1968, an epidemic swept through the United States. Within four months, over a million people fell victim to a disease the likes of which has never been seen before or since, a plague of biblical proportions.

Stage one: bloodshot eyes, burning fever, wracking muscle pain, convulsions, swelling of the brain, and sudden death. Stage two: reanimation. Once mobile, the infected exhibited the most radical behavioral change: an undeniable compulsion to feed on human flesh.

It was the stuff of nightmares.

The Parallel History Museum, with the generous support of the Pratchett Foundation, presents the Apocalypse: 50 Years On.

The exhibition showcases historical and contemporary cultural items, carefully assembled to catalog the horror and the hope of an era. Beginning with that fateful night in rural Pennsylvania, when the so-called living dead were first reported, to the modern obsession with what the media has controversially termed zombies, this presentation provides a critical examination of the darkest chapter in American history.

Click here to view items from the exhibition.