10 Gruesome, Hilarious 'Walking Dead' Easter Eggs 

10 Gruesome, Hilarious 'Walking Dead' Easter Eggs

The best inside jokes, references, and rumors from the zombie apocalypse.

returns October 11 which means Sundays are about to get post-apocalyptic once again. What better time then to remember some of the series most fun moments? Like the best television shows,

makes constant genre references and inside jokes. But the show isn\'t afraid to have a little fun too. The proof is in the easter egg. Here are some of our favorites over the years:

1. Rick Grimes\' hometown of King County, Georgia is an homage to horror author Stephen King. Not only is King royalty in the horror genre, he\'s a close friend and colleague of

mastermind Frank Darabont, who\'s adapted a number of King stories and novels into movies (

Author Stephen King and writer/director Frank Darabont arrive at the premiere of

 at the Ziegfeld Theater on November 12, 2007 in New York City. (Getty Images)

producer and special effects supervisor Greg Nicotero has gotten into costume three times. He plays the zombie that bites Amy on the neck in Season One, a zombie eating a deer in the same season, and a walker in Woodberry in Season Four.

3. Anthrax member and horror fanatic Scott Ian was transformed into a zombie for a episode in 2011.

4. Also during Season One, a shot of Blue Sky appears in Daryl\'s bag of drugs, a nod to another AMC show,

Wolf Fight, perhaps alluding to Kirkman\'s The Astounding Wolf-Man

special effects crew certainly remember zombie history:

Horror\'s most famous zombie, Bub, from

in Season Four. The tribute brought Nicotero full circle: He assisted horror makeup legend Tom Savini on director George Romero\'s third

Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead

Nicotero also referenced the first zombie seen in

, Dr. Tongue, with his own gruesome version in Episode Four of Season One.

7. And TWD doesn\'t play favorites with George Romero movies. Here are some more references to other influential films:

A floating head in the Governor\'s aquarium is a replica of Ben Gardner’s severed head in 

. Nicotero has mentioned the Steven Spielberg blockbuster as one of his favorite movies.

Here\'s a walker with a strong resemblance to Jack from

doesn\'t just pay tribute to zombies themselves, but also to cinematic methods of dispatching them. Our favorite is this Season Five shot for shot redux of the machete head split from

Dawn of the Dead (United Film Distribution Company)

9. Is the Governor really a pirate? Actor David Morrissey told The Huffington Post, "There was one shot of the Governor, I think when he came back, and he was in his disheveled state with his beard and his hair when he was lying on the couch and a the cushion behind him has a parrot, which was by his shoulder, so that was always quite funny."

10. Father Gabriel’s church seems to portend good things for the walker population. The quote above the arched window reads “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” Plus, the hymn notice plaques reference biblical verses that all seem very relevant. Here they are:

Romans 6:4 — "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father."

Ezekiel 37:7 — "So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them."

Matthew 27:52 — "And the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life."

Revelation 9:6 — "During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them."

Luke 24:5 — "In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?"

Bonus: There\'s a zombie in the pilot episode that looks strikingly similar to Jim Carrey, a tantalizing possibility thanks to Carrey\'s connection to Darabont (

). But, alas, Kirkman refuted the rumor in an interview with

. And a close investigation of their facial features (hairline, nose) backs him up. Still fun though...

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I'm an Associate Editor at Zimbio. I spend a lot of time in movie theaters. Follow me: Twitter | Google

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