Zombie Proms

Imagine that you're a parent, and your teenager comes home, excitedly talking about prom. You start thinking about the pretty girl your son might take, or how much you will have to spend on a dress. That is, right up until they inform you that they can get the dress at Goodwill. As you worry that they won't be in style and might feel out of place, you find out that they intend to cut holes in it anyway. And before long, they start talking about needing karo syrup and red food coloring for the fake blood. When you ask whether their school is putting on a production of Carrie, they roll their eyes and tell you it's for the zombie prom. Don't panic. These events have popped up all around the world as zombie pop culture has become the hot new thing.

Yes, zombie prom is exactly as it sounds. Take all the beauty, glitz, and glamor behind a normal prom, and then zombify it. These often take place around the same time as a zombie walk, and participants will spend hours getting ready for it, just like they would for a normal prom. Instead of getting beautiful, they spend the time destroying the look. Small holes or tears in the dress, and a perfect updo that's ruined by ratting it will complete the look.

Zombie pop culture has become very hot in the last few years. And this is a great way of letting people express themselves. Anyone who would take the time to get costumed up for a zombie walk will appreciate the work of getting ready for a prom, and it's a chance where they can go hang out with their friends, dress in a costume, and thumb their nose at the sacred institution of prom. And it's an idea that stretches back as far as the movie Carrie, which planted the idea of a prom that turned horribly wrong. Many horror movies ever since have played with the idea of having a very bloody dance, and this is a natural extension of that.

So take it easy on them if your kids ask to go. In fact, why not go with them? Paint a few bruises, put on a hideous dress from the 80's, and have fun.