Zombie season

If estimates are correct, this year's edition of Zombie Pub Crawl could smash the Guinness record for the "largest gathering of zombies." But getting credentials to record such a feat is apparently a lot of work. "It's impossible to get zombies to do anything," said co-organizer Chuck Terhark. Even so, participating zombies can expect the biggest bash yet, with more bars and bands than before. The following tips will help you have fun without losing a limb.

1. Try to stand out (be more original than Zombie Jesus). Terhark was impressed by a "zombie jogger" last year who "just ran around in place the whole time, checking to see if he had a pulse." Co-organizer Taylor Carik said he's less impressed with zombie gimmicks. He likes zombie realism: "Last year, a guy made a [fake] arm out of Rice Krispies bars and just walked around eating it," he said.

2. Don't show up as a human. Humans, especially zombie hunters (with their weapons and armor), tend to get mobbed by zombies. "If you wear your nice zombie-hunter outfit," Carik said, "you're probably going to have people throw up blood on you. [Zombie hunters] don't last very long."

3. Which brings us to: Dress accordingly. "I would really stress how messy it gets," Carik said. "I got fake blood spit on me 10 times last year."

4. Behave yourself. "[Zombies] are always lurching into traffic and peeing on themselves," Terhark said. "Hopefully, the Porta-Potties will help this year." The cold weather kept the horde indoors last year, which is what organizers want. "We don't want people running around and stopping traffic," Carik said.

5. Buy a wristband. For the first time, organizers will require participants to buy wristbands, which will get them into each bar. The horde's growing numbers demand it, Carik said. The wristbands might also help with the official count.

6. Bring cash. The West Bank's bars will be jam-packed. Paying for drinks with cash helps the flow of traffic. One more cautionary note: "Pace yourself," Carik said. "If you have three beers at the first bar, you're screwed." No one likes a totally drunk zombie.

7. Stop horde-ing and listen to the music. There will be live bands at several of the bars, plus a block party at the Acadia Cafe, Impaler at the 501 Club and Har Mar Superstar at the Cabooze. "It's almost like a full-on festival," Carik said.