Zombies take to streets, fill pantry
By GAYLE WEBER
Hays residents, primarily living along Eighth and 11th streets, peeked out from behind curtains and cracked open their doors Friday night to get a glimpse at the ruckus passing by their houses.
People driving along the route slowed down and even stuck cameras out car windows to capture the spectacle.
About 40 zombies trekked from Coffee Rules down 11th Street to the Community Assistance Center and back via the busier Main and Eighth streets as part of the first Hays Zombie Walk.
"It's just being different and having fun," Hays High School junior Oliver Henry said.
The group moaned and groaned and even screamed along the way. Most were covered in fake blood, but Nick Renard ended the walk with more blood on him than he started with.
"The blood on my foot -- that's not fake blood," the Fort Hays State University freshman said.
Inspired by a character from "Dawn of the Dead," Renard dragged his right foot nearly the entire route and his canvas shoes didn't hold up.
"I love zombie movies, so I had to do it," Renard said.
Walter Wilson, Hays, also just had to do it. He'd never participated in a zombie walk before, but had seen YouTube clips of it.
"They even have survivors and zombies and they run after each other," Wilson said.
That's not a part of the Hays Zombie Walk yet, but creativity was. Wilson showed up as the Billy Mays zombie, using a slow, gravelly voice to try to sell many things throughout the night including his prize for best zombie costume.
Along with getting to look and walk like zombies, the event was intended to stock shelves at the Community Assistance Center with non-perishable food items.
"We get to have fun and we get to help other people out," said Skylar Kuntzsch, a Russell resident who participated in the walk.
Steven Kite, the event's organizer, was hoping to get a dozen people to participate, so for about 40 to show up as zombies with canned food for the assistance center was a pleasant surprise.
"We wanted to have some kind of philanthropic angle to it rather than just walk," Kite said. "That added a little bit bigger aspect to it."
A wide range of people participated in the walk including 5-year-old Destiny Grgurich.
"They're scary," Grgurich said of zombies. Still, she made the entire trek with her father, Isaac North.
Kite said the event was thrown together in about seven days and took off via word-of-mouth and Facebook.
"I think based on participation, there would be a second year for sure," Kite said.