Zombies In Montana? Emergency Alert In Great Falls Said So. Yikes

Imagine you're spending a quiet evening watching television when an emergency alert is broadcast saying Zombies are rising from the grave. Not exactly a relaxing evening, right?

Zombies have become such a cultural phenomenon in the last 15 or so years. From television shows like "The Walking Dead" to our own Missoula metal magicians, Zombie Tools, who design weapons specifically for the Zombie Apocalypse, these mindless flesh eaters aren't going anywhere.

Now, it's all good and fun to see them on television, the big screen, comic books, and more, but what would happen if they actually rose from the grave and started attacking humans? Well in 2013 on the local Great Falls television station, KRTV, that's exactly what the Emergency Broadcast message said.

Many Great Fall residents were alarmed to hear the EAS announcement:

Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from the grave and attacking the living...  Do not approach or apprehend these bodies as they are extremely dangerous. -EAS Zombie Alert

Now, I've been on the radio for a good long while, and I have only heard extreme weather alerts come through the emergency system. Nothing at all like this. I know how important this system is, and furthermore, I know how hard it would be to hack it to do a fake message like this. Honestly, I would have been pretty freaked out, except for the fact the Hackers didn't dump the other television audio. That was my first clue that this was a prank. And thankfully so. Can you imagine the mass hysteria that could have taken place?  In an article that Reuters covered on the event, the police department spokesman said they did receive a few calls, but everyone knew it was a hoax. 

You can watch the actual broadcast of the Zombie hoax below:

Not to defend the hackers/ pranksters, but picking Great Falls is a pretty smart move. Every zombie movie you see has to do with some sort of military snafu that kickstarts the zombie apocalypse, and with Malmstrom AFB located right there, that could definitely help the zombie narrative. Happy Halloween!