The Graveyard

Technically, I don't make a distinction between zombies and the living dead -- they're both ambulatory corpses. The reanimated, however, are the dead brought back to life. Mummies probably fall into the same category as zombies, but they're distinct enough to be considered separately. Generally mummies are solitary, while zombies travel in swarms. And mummies usually have some kind of curse to go along with them. But all are usually imbued with preternatural strength.

Unlike vampires, the zombie's tale is usually meant to disgust and repulse. There's really nothing appealing about being a living dead. The zombie is like The Terminator, "...it can't be bargained with; it can't be reasoned with; it doesn't feel pity or remorse; and it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!" Their mindlessness helps to make them that much more inhuman. And then there's that whole smelly, messy, decaying thing happening. Yuk.

The tale of the reanimated is usually a bit different, though. It's usually more about the reanimator than the reanimated. This is generally not the same thing as resurrection or reincarnation -- it's about humans "playing God", typically with hilarious consequences.

Reincarnation is generally about someone coming back to life as someone (or something) else. It's the whole past-life intrusion thing.