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Ahhhhhh! Real Zombies! Well, not exactly, but every Halloween the students of Allen Hall put on one of the most impressive flash mobs of the year with the annual “Zombie Mob.” The mob, consisting of several hundred students, usually stalks several different campus landmarks, including the Alma Mater, Green Street and the Union where they perform the infamous Michael Jackson “Thriller” dance. This year’s zombie mob coordinator, Heidi Tucker, a senior in LAS, shares some inside facts about this scaretacular event.

buzz: When did this tradition begin and how has it evolved?

Heidi Tucker: It started five years ago with less than 10 students, and they just did the zombie mob and a version of the dance, made up by a girl named Amy Swanson. It was an adapted version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance. This year we sent out invitations to almost all the other dorms we could contact. It’s usually between 200 to 300 zombies, but we’re hoping to break 300 this year.

buzz: What goes into creating a good zombie?

HT: Lots of ghoulishness. You have to look dead, stiff. Twitching is always good. Dragging your feet, tripping and asking people for brains. That’s what [zombies] love. It’s their favorite food.

buzz: What’s the greatest reaction you’ve ever gotten from a bystander watching the mob?

HT: I really like seeing people in their cars getting upset because they can’t go because we take over the street. Or just exclamations of surprise when people on Green Street aren’t expecting us when they’re drunk. Seeing a mob of 300 zombies can really take them by surprise.

buzz: Are you going to be doing any special tributes in light of Michael Jackson’s recent death?

HT: The whole thing is one big tribute each time we perform it. His “Thriller” dance song comes on and we rise as zombies. This year we’re adding more of his moves straight from his music video. Now you could recognize a bunch of moves from this dance and say, “Oh, I saw it from his music video!”

buzz: What’s your favorite part of being a zombie?

HT: That you own the zombieness. When you’re a zombie, you don’t want to go back to normalness. You want the night to last forever. You play pretend for a few hours. You’re stiff and dead, and for some reason that’s really fun. You kind of feel like you’re in some zombie movie. It’s the most fun thing I’ve ever done at Allen. I’m a huge advocate for Allen Hall programs, but this is by far the most fun. My mom comes down from Chicago and my brother comes up from Southern Illinois. It’s really enjoyable ... wait that’s not the word. Maybe if you said it was really sexy people would be like, “Okay, now I want do it!”