- "My need to feed on brains is weird, but how many people can say that satisfying their munchies could potentially help solve a murder case? This is my contribution to society. I'm just a fake, psychic zombie trying to do her part."
- ―Olivia Moore
Eating brains is a disgusting habit. Seriously, don't do it. If you're looking for "brain food", I suggest eating more fish. Unless of course, you're a zombie, in which case it is perfectly acceptable to hunker down on someone's medulla oblongata.
In the 1957 sci-fi/horror movie Attack of the Crab Monsters, a race of radioactive mutant crab developed that harvested brains from living people, thereby absorbing their memories. The leader of this brain-eating crustacean conclave was named Hoolar.
In zombie fiction, the notion of eating brains did not originate with George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, as some might think. Rather, its origins go back to the slightly less-known 1985 film Return of the Living Dead, as well as its numerous sequels.
On the CW Network television series iZombie, the main character, Olivia Moore, is a zombie who requires the consumption of brain tissue at least once every thirty days or else her body will begin to decay. As she is undead, her taste buds are not quite what they used to be, so they only way she can actually enjoy the taste of brains is by dousing them with hot sauce. In addition to deriving nourishment from eating warm brains (she usually nukes them in a microwave), Olivia also gains temporary traits possessed by the deceased, including some of their memories, their talents, and even personality quirks. These are temporary developments, and usually fade away after consuming the brain of a different person, whereby she will then obtain that individual's knowledge and abilities.