Zombi (Martinique)

Overview

When Hearn asks Adou what a zombi is, she distinguishes it from the dead people who remain in a cemetery and visit their families on All Souls' Night. Zombis instead move about and cause unexplained disturbances. She accepts an unusually tall woman entering a locked room as one possible example and gives an enormous dog as another. Her mother Théréza describes a three-legged horse and a fire that occupies the road but keeps retreating as a traveller approaches, leading followers toward dangerous chasms.

Théréza also tells of Baidaux, a Saint-Pierre man who repeatedly insists that he has a child. One night he brings a child home by the hand. His sister sees it growing taller and taller and calls the neighbours for help. The apparition tells Baidaux that his condition has protected him, then vanishes before the neighbours can see it. The source makes this a locally narrated encounter, rather than a story about an animated corpse under a sorcerer's control.

Origins & earliest records

Hearn records Adou and her mother Théréza in chapter IV, section II, of Two Years in the French West Indies, published in 1890. His preface dates his first Lesser Antilles visit to summer 1887 and describes a subsequent two-year stay. The conversation is not dated more precisely, nor presented as the word's first use.

Records & interpretation

The conversation and complete Baidaux episode were inspected directly. Adou's tall-woman example answers a scenario introduced by Hearn himself, while the dog example and Théréza's forms are explicitly attributed to them. The historical telling characterizes Baidaux's mental condition in dated language; the profile does not turn that narrative into a diagnosis.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Two Years in the French West Indies

   Lafcadio Hearn · 1890

   Martinique Sketches, chapter IV, section II; named Adou/Théréza conversation and complete Baidaux episode.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. ResearchHearn: Adou and Théréza's Martinique zombi accountsResearch access: 2026-10-05
2. ReferenceLibrary of Congress: Hearn's 1890 editionResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.