Zombie Apocalypse 2012: The 'Walking Dead's' Vicious Attacks In Review

People have been speculating about zombies attacking the world for years, but 2012 was without a doubt the year of the zombies.

Movies like “28 Days Later” from 2002 and "I Am Legend" from 2007 depicted what the world would be like if a virus infected everyone, leaving only a few souls left to wander the Earth.

When the “Walking Dead” exploded on televisions in 2010, more and more people started talking about what they would do if their town was overrun with zombies.

But zombie fears exploded when Rudy Eugene ate into the face of a homeless man, Ronald Poppo, in Miami in May 2012. Eugene instantly began known as the “Miami Causeway Cannibal” after he was caught ruthlessly tearing Poppo’s face off with his teeth, not to mention he was completely naked.

"He attacked me. He ripped me to ribbons," Poppo said in an interview with Miami homicide detectives in July. “He chewed up my face. He plucked out my eyes. Basically that's all there is to say about it."

As people watched the footage taken from highway cameras in Miami, no one could believe what they were seeing. It was the start of the apocalypse right before their eyes, some thought.

When police finally arrived at the scene, they commanded Eugene to step away from Poppo and his now-mutilated face — but he didn’t. Even as bullets began to fly, eventually killing Eugene, he continued to gnaw on Poppo’s face like overcooked roast beef.

“He’s a zombie, he must be,” many thought after seeing the footage.

It was widely reported that the “Miami Causeway Cannibal” had been on bath salts, a synthetic hallucinogenic drug, during the attack, but an autopsy report later revealed he didn’t have any traces of the drug nor was there any flesh in Eugene’s stomach.

Instead detectives found undigested pills and traces of marijuana in his system.

The zombie apocalypse was upon us, many speculated. What's more, it was 2012, the year the ancient Mayans supposedly predicted the world would be ending.

As a result, a slew of “zombie attacks” began to go viral after the fascination with Rudy Eugene.

Just as the hysteria about the “Miami Causeway Cannibal” began to subside, another zombie-like attack made national news when Michael Daniel of Waco, Texas, allegedly ate his 40-pound pet dog at the end of June.

According to neighbors, Daniel, high on synthetic marijuana, beat and strangled the pup. Once his pet was dead, he started to eat him.

A slew of “zombie attacks" began to make national news almost every week after that, it seemed.

There was even one man who became nicknamed the “ninja zombie,” but none got the same type of attention as Daniel and Eugene.

All the “walking dead” talk was enough for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to release a "zombie survival guide," and the British recently revealed their zombie apocalypse plans.

Via the Telegraph:

“In the event of an apocalyptic incident (eg zombies), any plans to rebuild and return England to its pre-attack glory would be led by the Cabinet Office, and thus any pre-planning activity would also take place there. The Ministry of Defense's role in any such event would be to provide military support to the civil authorities, not take the lead. Consequently, the Ministry of Defense holds no information on this matter.”

Like the CDC’s survival guide, the British statement is said to be “tongue in cheek,” but since when did government start joking around?

Maybe the zombie apocalypse really is upon us. Best be prepared.