Before I ever heard or saw reports about the Florida incident where a man allegedly took a drug known as "bath salts" and chewed another man's face off, I heard the term "Zombie Drug." But it wasn't from your average news source...it was from an episode of the crime drama "Castle" (one of my favorite TV shows, actually).  Here's an excerpt of the show, titled "Undead Again:"

A chemical found on the bottom of the victim's shoe indicates he was near an abandoned factory in a dark, desolate alley. Castle and Beckett find two people running for their lives when they check out the scene. They are being pursued by a zombie hoard. No, really! As it turns out, it's just a bunch of people acting out their zombie fantasies. Castle can't believe he didn't know about this fantastic subculture. He also learns that if Beckett could be any supernatural creature, she would choose Van Helsing. Castle feels it's fitting that she would pick a monster slayer.

One of the zombie players recognizes the suspect as Kyle Jennings. The team finds him dead in his apartment. Then the guy is undead. Kyle Jennings freaks out everyone when he sits bolt upright at the morgue. He's eventually hospitalized. The teeth marks and blood on his clothes indicate that Jennings is the killer. The guy has no recollection of what happened the night David Locke died. Castle tells Beckett that people tend to remember life-altering events. Beckett acknowledges this but adds that sometimes people need time to deal with it. Somehow we know they're not talking about the case.

Perlmutter knows why Kyle has no memory of the murder. He was slipped a drug that promotes compliant and suggestible behavior. The product is known as the "zombie drug" on the streets. Castle and Beckett learn that the dealer who supplies this product is a smug Tom Williams, who knows the cops can't prove he had anything to do with the murder. Beckett has no choice but to release him from police custody, but she makes sure he knows that Kyle Jennings is out on bail, too.


If you want to watch the actual episode (which I found particularly fascinating), you can check that out here. I recommend watching it. It gave me a lot of insight before these cases started popping up all over the place.

More From News Radio 710 KEEL