George A. Romero Dead At 77

[A Theist]

Actually, it was Richard Matheson's 1954
novel, "I Am Legend" which did that. Romero's, "Night Of The Living Dead" was influenced by "I Am Legend".

True, except that Matheson's zombies were vampires and smart. They could be repelled by garlic and crosses. They could be killed by driving stakes through their hearts. Since Romero zombies are cannibals and mindless.

If I remember correctly, I believe Matheson got the idea for his future I Am Legend novel when he went to a theatre as a teen and watched Dracula. He wondered what it would be like to be the lone survivor of a worldwide epidemic that wiped out and then resurrected the rest of the human race as vampires. When I was kid I remember going to a neighborhood theatre with my Grandmother and watching "The Last Man On Earth", with Vincent Price. That was the first movie based on Matheson's novel, and still worth watching. I Am Legend became the forerunner to future movies that featured worldwide epidemics which turned people to flesh eating zombies being fought off by small groups of survivors. "Omega Man" with Charlton Heston was another adaptation of "I Am Legend". Will Smith starred in the most recent adaptation bearing the novel's title.