Blood, rotting flesh and moans come to the mind when people think of the horrid creatures known as zombies. But these “fake creatures” became a physical obsession recently as thousands of them roamed the streets of lower Bardstown Road.

This year more than 7,000 people covered in blood and latex attended Zombie Walk.

Pop culture today has given new life to the zombie hysteria of the ’60s and ’70s, with shows like “The Walking Dead,” movies like “Shaun of the Dead” and video games such as Resident Evil. During the months of September and October in Louisville, however, a rush of people start going to local haunted houses, the biggest ones being The Baxter Avenue Morgue, Asylum and Waverly.

These houses all have had a huge inspiration from the zombie culture, creating things like a zombie maze where people shoot zombies in order to reach the end of the maze.

People go out of their way to see and participate in Zombie Walk. People from Lexington and Elizabethtown come, and camera crews from local news stations flood the sidewalks.

Manual High School student Sera Waters said, “Everyone goes. I’ve been every year since I was a kid. The atmosphere is just so perfect.”

There are many meeting places to start the walk. This year’s began at Value Market, Mid City Mall and Nowhere bar. The walkers go all the way down to The Monkey Wrench before turning around and walking back.