Zombies, correctly spelled zombi, were "the living dead," creatures of the undead in different cultures. When discussing the idea of a "planet ruled by zombies", the Fourth Doctor remembered the quote that "the living are just the dead on vacation." He told Romana II that one could always identify a genuine zombie by the fact that their skin was cold to the touch, aiding in his discovery that the Movellans were robots. (DW: Destiny of the Daleks) Rose Tyler called the Gelth, while possessing dead human bodies, (DW: The Unquiet Dead) and people infected with the Empty Child virus, zombies. (DW: School Reunion)

While not truly being "undead," it was possible (and often done by occult tribes in Haiti) to trick a human into believing they were dead using the drug tetrodotoxin. In correct doses, it could lower the consciousness of a person and take away their sensory nerves. The person would then be burried and dug up, making them think they had been brought back to life. They would subsequently be turned into slaves. (NA: White Darkness)

Behind the Scenes

David A. McIntee, when writing White Darkness, took inspiration and facts from the novel The Serpent and the Rainbow, which detailed accounts of zombification that occurred in Haiti in the early 20th century. He advised to stay away from film version.