A Kentucky high school junior is sitting in prison right now for writing a story about zombies overrunning a high school. Note my use of the indefinite article: "a" high school. Not his high school. Also please note: the bad guys in the story are ZOMBIES. Not terrorists. Not disgruntled teens. ZOMBIES!
Zombies do not exist, unless you are planning to inform me that al-Qaeda has created and coopted a force of Muslim terror zombies. I wonder if human brains are halal.
Even more creepy: the kid's own grandparents turned him in.
"My story is based on fiction," said Poole, who faces a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. "It's a fake story. I made it up. I've been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran by zombies."
Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function it's a felony in the state of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven Caudill.
Beware, fiction writers of Kentucky! Tom Clancy may be arrested at the border the next time he signs books in Knoxville... The thought police have caught on to your devious schemes!
Article comments
1 - ClubhouseCancer
Shannon, do you think that when the zombies come they will spare you because you supported this creative kid?
No way.
They are zombies.
2 - Aaman
Did the zombies eat the principal?
3 - SFC SKI
Zombies that only eat kosher/halal, now that sounds like something Terry Pratchett would write. If it shows up in his next book, you'd better get a cut.
Zombie fiction is a pretty popular niche market, there was the "Books of the Dead" series that featured some twisted as well as some really well written tales set in a world where the dead walk the earth. To this day, zombie flicks are the only ones that really scare me at all, usually well after the movie is over.
Someone needs to tell the authorities to lighten up, and tell the journo that "overrran" is one word.
4 - Shannon
The journalist already got some very special grammar Nazi treatment over at MetaFilter, believe me...
5 - Eric Olsen
thanks Shannon, hilarious take on what sounds like a very serious matter at the border between absurdity and Columbine.
We just watched American Werewolf in London, in which the undead manage to be both hilarious and truly creepy
6 - Victor Plenty
As humans don't chew the cud or have cloven hoofs, we cannot be kosher. The Qur'anic definition of halal food specifically refers to the Jewish dietary restrictions, so it is unlikely our meat is halal, either.
Also, I have read, certain cultures which occasionally indulge in cannibalism refer to human meat as "long pig," and we all know pork is the exact opposite of halal.
So I guess what this means is, if we ever get attacked by zombies who happen to be observant Muslims, our brains will be safe from getting devoured.
Now if we could just keep the zombies from getting jobs as school administrators or law enforcement officers, we'd really be getting somewhere.
7 - Eric Olsen
I believe the very real danger of mob mentality lies behind the power of the zombie metaphor
8 - Victor Plenty
True enough. We can hope our lawmakers, police, and school administrators might someday, somehow manage to make themselves slightly less similar to the screaming barbarian hordes our cultural subconscious still dreads.
"We know this writing is harmless, but it's still a felony and we have to prosecute the author" is not sufficiently different from "We know this writing is harmless, but it's still heresy and we must burn the heretic."
Our society can do better than this.
9 - Eric Olsen
from the article it sounds like creative writing to me - how is it any different from Heathers?
10 - Tabitha
Now i am not so sure about why they put him in jail for that. If it is just fiction then why is he in jail? It is not like he wrote in there that he was going to bring this story to life (make it really happen).
At my school we are having a magizine be put together of everyone's ideas, stories, etc... and as long as he isn't making it out to be a story that is all about things that if you saw in a movie that would be rated "R" then they don't care. It is creative writting, and they shouldn't make this thing out to be a big deal.
11 - Dave Nalle
I think someone must have noticed the similarity between zombies and school teachers and administrators and turned the kid in for revealing the great unspoken truth.
Dave
12 - Shannon
Oh my God, I'm agreeing with Dave. The apocalypse is nigh. ;)
13 - bhw
We just watched American Werewolf in London, in which the undead manage to be both hilarious and truly creepy
The first time I saw this movie (as a teenager) it totally creeped me out. Then I watched it again about 10 years ago and laughed through the whole thing. Such an entertaining movie!
My 6-year-old has just discovered a book series called "The Bailey School Kids." The series centers around four elementary school children who keep finding all sorts of weird adults in the school and town. Their teacher is a vampire, the camp is run by a werewolf, the cafeteria lady is Cupid, zombies show up in one story, etc., etc.
Can the authors of these books get arrested for writing about schools being taken over by the undead and other dreaded "beings"? Can my kindergardener be arrested for taking these books out from the library? The fact that she absolutely loves them ["they're AWEsome!"] obviously means she has felonious *thoughts* about school, doesn't it?
14 - DrPat
If this is the whole story, the case ought to be laughed out of court.
More than half the guys in some of my high school classes carried notebooks adorned with doodles of the school building being blown up - I guess they were all terrorists in potentio. Hey! Maybe Ward Churchill was right! [end sarcasm]
15 - Eric Olsen
remember the old ditty about severe revenge on teachers and schools sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"? But remember what brought this on: Columbine and the other school shootings were almost as traumatic as 9/11
16 - bhw
I understand the Columbine concerns. But the broad-based application of this kind of post-Columbine law is ridiculous.
The entire "Buffy the Vampire" series was based on the theme that h.s. is hell, according to one of the writers. Thinking or even wishing that your h.s. would be taken over by zombies seems to be a common theme and should in no way be a crime, never mind a felony.
17 - Nick Jones
Actually, there are zombies, but they are nothing like their cinematic equivalent. Read Wade Davis' The Serpent and the Rainbow (and the customer reviews) for more information.