Oldest known reference to zombies!?

Zombies can be found referenced to in the oldest written story on the planet – the Epic of Gilgamesh.  The Epic of Gilgamesh is actually an ancient poem that is so old  that the story was actually written on clay tablets!! But what is really interesting about this poem is that this ancient text references zombies!

What does the passage reference?
The passage talks about dead creatures that eat the living, leaving no dought it’s referencing zombies. But what’s even more interesting, is that this ancient literature seems to not just reference zombies, but perhaps a whole zombie apocalypse!

Here is a translation of a passage:

I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld,
I will smash the door posts, and leave the doors flat down,
and will let the dead go up to eat the living!
And the dead will outnumber the living

Where does the word zombie come from?
There are many that claim that the actual modern-day word “zombie” is actually merely a modern term for the living dead. Although there is some controversy about where and when the actual word “zombie” came into every-day language, some say that the word started to be used to refer to the living dead some time in the 1800s. Clearly however, zombies were talked about, referenced, and feared far far before the word came into our every-day vocabulary.