For the first time ever, locals have witnessed zombies shambling around District 1 in in Ho Chi Minh City. Last Saturday more than 400 locals and expats dressed up as the walking dead as a part of this year’s Halloween celebrations.

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A majority of participants wore makeup and white costume with fake blood splattered all around while others showed a little more creativity by turning into police, priests, doctors, and Dracula. My Duc, who dressed up as a corpse bride with another girlfriend , said they got the inspiration from a movie they saw together a long time ago. The 18-year old student revealed that she bought a used wedding gown in a small shop near her house and had her sister do the make up for her.

“It’s fantastic. Everyone is so friendly and nice. This is one of the best Halloween parties that I've ever attended,” she said.

The zombies grunted and groaned as they walked past famous city landmarks like the Bitexco Tower, the Opera House and Ben Thanh market. While the adults were thrilled to see a hoard of zombies, several young children were actually crept out and cried.

“This is my first time to join a zombie walk. I had fun scaring people. It’s great to have a close-knit community like this in Saigon where people can go out and have fun together,” said Tony, a Beijing born engineer, who dressed up as a vampire and sometimes had to take off his fake fangs to talk.

Julian, one of the organizers of the event, said he was amazed to see such a big turnout as the number doubled what he expected. Although he had some difficulty in keeping control of the crowd, he hoped everyone had a blast during this free event.

“Saigon still doesn't really 'get' Halloween, so as long as Saigon is my home I'm going to do what I can to help remedy that. And with Wake Up Saigon, we like to let loose and be silly anyway, so this event was a natural fit,” he said.

Taking place for the first time in California in 2001, the zombie parade was initially an activity to promote a midnight film festival. It later spread to other cities where participants gathered, dressed up and make their way around the streets and public spaces. Sometimes, zombie walk takes on a charity purpose to raise funds and awareness on different social issues, especially world hunger. Currently, Chile holds the world record for having more than 12,000 zombies stagger through Santiago.

Here are a few shots from the Zombie Walk in Ho Chi Minh City:

Photo: Phuong Thuy

Photo: Phuong Thuy

Photo: Phuong Thuy

Photo: Phuong Thuy

Photo: Phuong Thuy

Photo: Phuong Thuy

Photo: Phuong Thuy

Photo: Phuong Thuy

 Photo: Phuong Thuy

Photo: Phuong Thuy