So, we all know what zombies are, right? Slow, ugly, really stupid. But where did the origin of the zombie come from and why did they get very popular? I will explain where the origin of the zombie came from and why they got popular.
A very long time ago, when the first civilizations had emerged, the Ancient Greeks had been the first civilization (so far) that was afraid of the undead. Archaeologists have discovered in their graves that the skeletons have been pinned down by all sorts of stuff, including rocks, logs,and stabbed with nails. (History.com)
Another origin of zombies comes from Haiti. Presumably originating from the 17th century, African slaves came over and worked on the plantations. The slaves were in harsh conditions, and they dreamed of being free. The zombie represented the brutalities of slavery. (History.com)
Did you know that zombies may have came from voodoo?. Voodoo is a religion that believes in stuff like voodoo dolls, (dolls that represent somebody and if you were to stab the doll, the person that the doll represented would feel it) magic, potions, and all of that weird stuff. Some voodoo believers believe that there is someone that can reanimate the dead, and they are known as a bokor. Bokors use all sorts of stuff, like herbs, fish,and brought shells, animal parts, and a powder that is very toxic that can be found in marine animals, mainly pufferfish. Using a certain amount of the toxin can lead to zombie like symptoms, like strange walking, respiratory problems, and confusion. High doses can put someone in a coma, making them look dead, then they may appear they rose from the dead when the person wakes up. (History.com)
The first zombie movie was called The Undead Eighteenth Century, produced by Linda Troost. The film viewed the zombies as ghosts, not man eating creatures. A couple other zombie movies passed, but the zombie vibe really got started by George A. Romero’s film Night of the Living Dead. He also made 2 other zombie movies, each one of them getting more gruesome and horrifying. In 2013, the film World War Z was the film that made zombies of what they are today. Other zombie films and tv shows had been produced, but there was no other zombie show than The Walking Dead, which tells a tale of horror and jaw dropping action made fans unable to look away.
Another factor of making zombies really popular was video games. The game/movie Resident Evil was another big reason why zombies became popular. Left 4 Dead was another game that brought zombies a huge success features a story of survivors fighting for their lives, State of Decay told a story of 2 friends hiking trip be interrupted by zombies, and are soon put in the role of leading survivors and defending their safe haven. The Call of Duty franchise also brought popularity to zombies, which the zombie mode game-play has 4 survivors fighting endless waves of zombies, finding weapons on walls, setting traps on walls, and discover secrets as they survive.
So, this was the origins of zombies and how they got popular, here is the site that I got the research of the origins of zombies:

https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-zombies