Comment by ButlerianJihad

Zombies who eat brains are the mentally ill.

Bram Stoker’s vampire characters and stories are gay, as are their heirs (Anne Rice).

Sparkling Twilight vampires are Latter-Day Saints.

Zombies and vampires existed long before these novels and films got made, but pop culture has a way of wiping out and superseding local folk culture in the modern minds of new generations.