THE WALKING DEAD is one of the biggest additions to the zombie genre alongside the likes of legendary director George A. Romero, who is considered to be the godfather of the onscreen undead. But what are the rules of becoming and killing Walkers in the AMC series?

AMC series The Walking Dead has become an institution on the small screen after debuting back in 2010. The drama takes its cue from Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comics and has come into its own and veered away from the source material. However, some viewers are wondering about the rules of zombie within this world.

Unlike the zombies of Charlie Brooker’s miniseries Dead Set, the creatures of The Walking Dead can’t run and simply amble along.

In The Walking Dead, zombies are seen feasting on the flesh of the living and also the carcasses of those who have recently departed.

They can also smell humans and hunt them in hordes – which is why Alpha (played by Samantha Morton) and the Whisperers clothe themselves in the flesh of the dead to disguise their scent.

In the show, the Walkers also seem like mindless beings incapable of thought and simply operate on the need to feed.

The Walking Dead has a set of rules on zombies (Image: FOX)

The Walking Dead zombies work on instinct (Image: FOX)

How do you become a zombie in The Walking Dead?

In The Walking Dead, people become Walkers after getting infected by a bite or a wound.

As fans will remember, Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) and many others perished after succumbing to wounds over the course of the series.

Once a person dies in this world, they reanimate as a Walker and it’s up to someone else to despatch them before they become a threat to the living.

Morgan Jones’ (Lenny James) weapon of choice is a Bo Staff which he uses in the series.

The Walking Dead has never revealed the source of the outbreak (Image: FOX)

How do you kill zombies in The Walking Dead?

Walkers have been killed in different and innovative ways on the show through the years.

But usually, Walkers have to be targeted at the source: their brain, which means decapitation or a blow to the head is the most effective way of dealing with an infestation.

Nevertheless, viewers have seen severed heads reanimate and become Walkers.

Back in season one, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) stumbled across a scientist who was trying to find a cure for the zombie outbreak.

The scientist had performed research on Walkers and found the infection targeted the brain.

Sadly, no cure has yet been found in The Walking Dead and it seems unlikely one will be found any time soon.

The Walking Dead’s creator Kirkman recently seemed to suggest the outbreak started due to space spores.

However, he’s previously ruled out exploring the source of the outbreak because the show is primarily about survival and the human condition.

He told a Tumblr Q&A back in 2018: “It couldn’t be less important to the story and the lives of these characters. It would be completely out of place in the story.

“Honestly if a scientist from Washington came to the character and told them what happened the characters would just shrug and say ‘Oh… okay…’ it wouldn’t change their lives at all… and… I’ve said too much’.”

Shortly before the show started, AMC shared a list of rules on zombies on the official Twitter page for The Walking dead.

The rules for how zombies work in The Walking Dead are as follows:

Zombie Rule #1: Ability to run is based on the amount of time a zombie has been undead, and how much decay has set in.

Zombie Rule #2: Zombies decay but at a much slower rate than humans, and it’s still possible to differentiate between young and old zombies.

Zombie Rule #3: Zombies are like lions: if they’ve eaten, you can walk by them without fear, but a pack of hungry zombies will attack you. (Good to know. Good to Know…)

Zombie Rule #4: The quickest speed of any zombie is a shambling run. see Night of the Living Dead. NO sprinters exist. (Also good to know…)

Zombie Rule #5: Zombies are not dexterous. They cannot pick up or use any items more complex than a rock or a stick.

Zombie Rule #6: Zombies have poor eyesight but they do have a strong sense of smell.

Zombie Rule #7: Zombies cannot speak but can communicate by pack mentality. The herd tends to move together if they sight food.

Zombie Rule #8: There is no overt recognition of people or places, there is a sense of familiarity that can dictate where a zombie moves.

Zombie Rule #9: There’s no known cause of the zombie mutation, but it’s suspected to be a virus or infection.

Zombie Rule #10: Once you’re bitten you’ll die and reanimate as a walker. How long it takes is related to the nature your bite.