When I was a child the favorite bedtime prayer (of my family) was,

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I shall die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.

How is the notion of waking up dead an  incentive to sleep?

This 18th century prayer assumes that life is fragile, uncertain & dangerous. Science, technology & medical advances brought us expect that all things can be fixed. However, in the second decade of the new century there is a growing sense of foreboding, even dread.

I wonder if this is not one of the sources of the rise of the Zombie?

I confess I do not like zombies.  Their rising popularity is a mystery to me such that I wonder if a joke is being played at my expense. Vampires I get, werewolves I get and ghosts I get, zombies not so much. It is not that I am prejudiced, some of my best friends are dead and I plan to be dead myself. However, if you are dead it seems the decent thing to do would be to stay that way (at least until Jesus’ appearing in glory).

 The rise of the undead seems a creepy secular facsimile of resurrection (and not a very good one either).  Zombie movies may be entertaining but they are really very bad theology. Christians believe in the resurrection of the body, but those God raises are completely raised not living dead but living and not dead at all!

To him be glory now & forever.

JWS