Hip to the fascination of the abomination, a group of grim enthusiasts took their uncanny intrigue to the streets. The 2nd annual “You Have the Right to Remain Dead: Zombie Walk” trudged through downtown Austin on Sunday. This eerie spectacle sheds light on America’s love for zombies in popular culture, which has been recently rekindled, breathing new life into the living dead.

The Zombie Walk is exactly what it sounds like: a group of zombies lurching around Austin. Jessica Buie, a junior Art major at St. Edward’s University, is the co-creator of the ghoulish spectacle. Two years ago, Buie and her boyfriend, co-creator Nick Pena, attended a zombie walk hosted by the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. After discovering the cinema was not having the walk again, they decided to take the morbidly fun tradition into their own hands.

“We thought initially it would just end up being some friends of ours and us lurching around downtown, but the Drafthouse actually took notice and decided to sponsor us,”  Buie said.

Last year, the public’s reactions ranged from pleasantly surprised to mortified. When the gang of zombies reached the gates of the capital building, they caused an uproar that Buie calls the most awkward moment of her life. Regardless, the incident has become an unforgettable memory.

“When we arrived, our group of about 70-80 zombies lurched up to the main building and discovered that there was a rally of some sort going on and there was a woman making a very somber speech; it was an Anti-Death rally,” Buie said.

This year, the Zombie Walk aimed to up the ghoulish grandeur. Sponsored by Knuckle Rumbler and the ND Venue, the walk was followed by an after-party. Also sponsoring was Honest Tea, who guaranteed a supply of tea so the zombie army stayed refreshed.

“There was more blood, more zombies and more drinks,” said Pena.

Considering their controversial start, zombies have been getting a lot of attention in popular culture lately. “Night of the Living Dead,” the cult classic directed by George A. Romero, revolutionized the horror genre, depicting zombies as revitalized cannibals for the first time. Initially received as a censor-worthy travesty, it later became a milestone in film innovation and was added to the National Film Registry in 1999. Since the film first released its grisly havoc onto the world in 1968, the role of the zombie in modern film has become iconic. It is difficult to find an innocent soul who has not been subjected to the genre. Having a wide appeal, the zombie genre’s fondness for horrific scenes in ordinary settings resonates with many people today.

This fascination with zombies has increasingly become part of our pop culture, with various other movies such as “Shaun of the Dead” and “Zombieland.” It has also infiltrated television. “The Walking Dead,” AMC’s zombie series, made basic television history this year by gaining the highest ratings for any drama. Moreover, from the critically lauded “World War Z: The Zombie Survival Guide” to the frivolous gimmick of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” the undead are becoming relevant even in literature.

Zombies are once again becoming an A-list phenomena. Hungry zombie fanatics are challenging the reigning vampire trend for all it’s worth, and if the recent rise in zombie enthusiasts of “You Have the Right to Remain Dead: Zombie Walk” are any indication, the crown may soon be stolen.