for the record, Romero didn't use the word 'zombie' in his movies... I haven't seen the last two or three so I'm not sure if that's changed.

In Being Human, there's been no reference to silver...even in the context of Werewolves, actually, as far as I remember. What they did have reference to was other symbols of faiths(Star of David, but not always. Intention is key), and that the spoken words of scripture have some effect, as well (which raises whole other questions, but that's neither here nor there).

It's interesting that silver and iron are often vulnerabilities for supernatural entities. I know there's symbolism behind them, but those are ones that tend to be forgotten/ignored often as well...I'd bet that they're ignored more in visual media, as you have to be more careful in your prop and costume choices (see above conversation). However, I have few to no data points to back that up

Sure, but it was clearly a new kind of Zombie mythology. And yeah Zombie started as a religous mythic thing. But very early on zombies were cheap labor. When you say zombies were something that was done to that reinforces my point. The major fear of zombies was not being attacked by one but ending being one. Turning it into a disease gave that fear new life. And vampires and werewolves did not start out as a disease. But it was not an unknow variation even in the 19th century.(Of course both go back much further as I said in an earlier post, but the 19th century seems to be at much of the roots of modern U.S. horror.) Calling being a werewolf "Lyncanthropy" is itself treating it as a disease. But I think Romero invented the the wnole zombie pacalypse thing, even if he did not use the word zombie. I don't think he made it a disease - just that if everyone who died now comes back as zombie, and zombies kill pretty much any person they can find (mainly to eat their brains0 that means that zombies make more zombies. It was some of the imitations that decided to make it into a virus. And really a virus that brings people back from the dead, gives them a very specific form of insanity and superpowers is pretty much indistinguishable from magic. Ditto by the way for diseases for werewolves and vampires. Labeling those things diseases while including transformations, superstength and instant healing is not actually more of a scientific explaination than saying someone cast a spell.

(Some day I'd like the following dialog in a horror music.)

"You're saying he can fly and turning into mist and back and bend steel, and heal instantly from wounds that aren't made by wood, but burned by crosses because of a virus?"

"Well... I've been testing that blood sample quite extensively, and it turns out to be a magical virus."

I'm not sure of this, but I think iron is anathema to supernatural beasties because it's from the earth, with an added element that metallic iron was forced into that shape by man, thereby symbolically representing man's dominion over the things of earth.

(for generic definitions of man and mankind, etc. I have no idea how meteoric iron fits into this. And it may all be hooey.)

Right. Which is part of why meteoric iron is such A Thing when it appears in whatever story (Mists of Avalon comes to mind, but I'm sure there are others). Although, then, you still have the Saruman-esque machines of men implications if it has been forged

I'm not sure of this, but I think iron is anathema to supernatural beasties because it's from the earth, with an added element that metallic iron was forced into that shape by man, thereby symbolically representing man's dominion over the things of earth.

That's been my understanding of it, Connie.

Yay for the random thingies floating in the murky depths of my mind!

Why is silver the toxic metal for vampires? Why not gold, which is the metal of the sun? Silver represents the moon, which controls werewolves, so that makes sense.

"What do you mean, silver doesn't bother you?" "Sorry, it's weird, I know. Tungsten, now, that's a bitch."

I'm coming in a bit late in this conversation and I don't know if anyone has mentioned Ultraviolet the TV show not the movie.

The show had a few interesting concepts and plays on the no reflection thing to the point of no recordings at all, on video or through phones and the people fighting them use carbon bullets (since the carbon is wood based).

Currently I'm reading a book called Soulless (I'm blanking on the author) it's a alternate history kinda steampunk story set in Victorian times about a half - Italian spinster with no soul. Her lack of soul doesn't inheriently make her evil, the back story is that she taught her self a code of ethics. But her lack of a soul means that she is immune to supernatural creatures, to the point where vampires lose their fangs if they try to attract her.

The story also introduces vampire and werewolf concepts I hadn't seen before and I'm not sure I find that appealling. One is that it's very hard for anyone to be turned and so the largest wolf pack only has 11 members. Also werewolves can only eat raw meat, can't go out in the daylight (unless they are very old). It's very very hard for anyone to be turned to either a vampire or a werewolf so they are only 11 werewolves in the largest pack and the hive of vampires is much smaller. Also only female vampires can turn humans and it's the excess of soul the let's someone survive the change.

In a way it weakens the power of both vampires and werewolves but it does allow for them to be more integrated into the proper Victorian Society.

"Well... I've been testing that blood sample quite extensively, and it turns out to be a magical virus."

Well hopefully someone will have the mitochlorians to stop them.