Undead set to rise on Saturday as hordes of walkers descend on Hobart city for annual march

Blood, brains, guts and gore will once again fill Hobart streets during the annual Zombie Walk this weekend.

Geeveston labourer Steven Hore likes to get dressed up as a zombie.

He said the zombie genre had him hooked since the early 2000s because of the themes of a fight for survival against odds and the concept of humans as a predator.

On Saturday, you will find Mr Hore gathered at Princes Park with dozens of like-minded people dressed up in elaborate and gory costumes showcasing their love for the zombie genre.

Fake blood, gashes and zombie movie characters are popular each year the hordes of undead descend on the city.

Mr Hore participated in his first march in 2012, but has been fascinated by zombies since the early 2000s. The annual walk began in 2007.

Steven Hore and Daniel Cheeseman who will take part in the annual Hobart Zombie March. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

At the peak of the march there were more than 300 people. In 2023 numbers were slowly recovering post-Covid, with more than 50 zombies.

Mr Hore was hoping this year’s march would be even bigger.

He said the annual march is a great chance to hang out with a group of like minded people and inspect each other’s costumes.

“The make-up, costumes and b-grade acting are all a lot of fun too,” Mr Hore said.

Co-organiser Daniel Cheeseman said the march is a community building and inclusive event.

He looks forward to seeing the popular culture references people choose to zombie-fy in their costumes every year such as zombie Elvis, zombie Santa and Mrs Clause or zombie soldiers.

Zombies will gather at 1pm at Princes Park on Saturday, before marching through the streets and ending at The Hanging Garden.

Mr Hore said for those that don’t have time to create an elaborate costume, there will be a professional face painter on site.

People will be winning prizes for their costuming efforts with various prizes are on offer for the best dressed zombies.