A recent series of strange events -- from a horrific face-eating attack in Miami to the cannibalistic murder of a student by a Candaian porn actor -- has murmurs of the "Zombie Apocalypse" on everyone’s lips. So when fears of potentially brain-hungry living undead descend upon your home, how can you prepare? Stock up on weapons? Call George A. Romero for advice? Try plastering your lawn with zombie garden gnomes.
Yes, some sellers and designers are cashing in on zombie mania with gorily decorated gnomes that will guard your tomato plants or signal a truce to undead invaders. On Etsy, the shop Chris and Jane’s Place sells hand-painted and hand-casted zombie garden gnomes along with other zombie trinkets like key chains and car ornaments. They’ve even gone so far as to create a narrative that intertwines the characters depicted in their products in an apocalyptic garden.
Business has picked up for Chris Stever and Jane DeRosa, who run their shop out of Los Angeles. A disclaimer at the top of their page reads, "Please keep in mind that it will take 5-6 weeks for us to mail out items, due to the fact that we have had a sudden increase in orders." Their gnome creations run from $6 to $55.
The Dark Garden is another seller of zombie themed gnomes, creations they call "Gnombies." Their versions run 20 inches tall by 14 inches wide at a sinister price of $126.66 (with mini versions at $35), compared to the Chirs and Jane’s gnomes which are 6 inches tall.
"Over the last two years, our business has been steadily increasing, and has experienced growth after being featured on a lot of awesome sites," Stever said. "We love that zombie folklore has become more popular and hope that the trend continues. While we can't make comment on any correlations between the tragic incidents between the recent 'Zombie Apocalypse' and our business, we want to extend our sympathies to the victims and victim's families of the recent tragedies. Our only goal in making zombies gnomes is to make people laugh and not to cause harm."
Check out some of these bloody gnomes in action:
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