Skyrim, Zombies, and Other Cultures

Ahh, Skyrim. I barely recall anything during the two weeks following the release of this game; it sucked me in like a black hole, infected me with some sort of obsessive zombie-ism, and kept me awake all hours of the night, wasting away and forgetting to eat. I became a sleepless, gaunt, starving zombie. Skyrim was the brains to my desires. Fortunately, I escaped its clinging hold and now have other games to occupy my time, but I'd like to bring everyone's attention to one particular Skyrim monster:

This charming fellow is called a draugr (or draugar, draugur, etc., there are many names), meaning something like "one who walks after death" (sound familiar?). Draugr are not monsters created specifically for Skyrim; they are part of Nordic mythology. In myth, draugr were said to live in the tombs, crypts, and graves of the dead, and their jobs mostly included guarding the graves of particularly important men -- and especially the particularly important men's treasure. In a way not unlike Haitian zombies, these draugr became undead slaves with only one purpose: to act as bodyguards for their lord, even after his (and their own) deaths. No retirement benefits for these dudes, no sir. 

But we aren't talking about some shambling, slow-moving, flesh-eating menace, here. At least in the world of Skyrim, draugr are armed to the teeth, still wearing the armor and weaponry they had on them when they died. They can range from mostly armorless and holding a measly toothpick-like dagger to wearing plate armor and hefting a huge, horrific battleaxe; this implies a hierarchy of draugr, from your average, everyday, zombie-like footsoldier to a strong, fast, monstrous warlord.

I can't even tell you how many times I got the shit killed out of me by one of these.

And by warlord, of course, I mean deathlord. Look at this guy! Would you want to meet a zombie like him at the end of a long, deserted alleyway? Hell no, not without a conveniently-placed Harrison or Casper family to throw as bait while you run for the hills. 

These deathlords also possess something that you, as Dragonborn in the land of Skyrim, are one of the very few left who possess: the Shout ability. It may sound silly, but this ability provides your voice with the power to, say, set shit on fire, stop time, or even to just shove somebody 500 feet away. Deathlords really, really like to shove you very far away, and they utilize this Shout -- called FusRohDah -- often and without restraint. There's nothing quite like trying to run away from a rampaging zombie beast only to find yourself flying into a wall and wasting precious time recovering before he catches up to you. 

If you squint, it almost looks like he's happy to see you and not getting ready to Shout in your face.

My question is, are draugr zombies? They're certainly undead, reanimated corpses who walk around and mindlessly attack anything that moves. But they don't eat flesh, and certainly don't infect anyone with "draugr" with a bite -- however, in some stories, it is said that anyone a draugr kills rises the next night as a draugr, regardless of bite-status. They are superpowerful, there are many of them, and some even have magic of their own. In Nordic mythology, draugr are said to be able to enter the dreams of the living, curse victims, and even be able to shape-shift, control the weather, and see into the future. 

However, we certainly can't forget the Raise Zombie spell, which brings back anything you've killed and binds it to your will for a short time. Interesting that it isn't called "Raise Draugr" -- then, in Skyrim, are the two not one in the same?

At the end of one Skyrim quest, I found myself locked into a room that filled to the brim with draugr. I had my own zombie horde to contend with, and it was truly one of the most difficult quests in the game for me. I died again and again, overwhelmed by the sheer number of draugr clawing at me on all sides. I only wished I had a tank to crawl into...

One last thing: I found a Skyrim mod that can be added to the computer version of the game that creates a zombie apocalypse in the world. Check it out, it's pretty awesome! And take a gander at the youtube comments, where you can see silly people arguing over whether or not draugr are zombies. Talk about meta.