"What do we want? Brains! When do we want it? Brains!"
That was the call-to-arms for a horde of undead wannabes who descended on Melbourne this afternoon for the city's third annual "Zombie Shuffle".
Hundreds of people converged on the CBD in zombie paraphernalia, bringing lashings of fake blood, corpse-inspired make-up and elaborate prosthetics.
The huge turnout was the result of a viral invitation most prominently featured on Facebook, where 1334 people had confirmed their attendance and thousands more were listed as "maybe".
It was impossible to know how many really turned out, but the sea of undead grew as it stumbled and lurched through the city picking up a motley crew of stragglers and groupies.
The vocal shufflers, chanting "brains" at every turn, shocked many onlookers who clearly didn't know what to make of the bizarre spectacle.
"It's great, I think," one said. "They're cuckoo. They're Looney Tunes."
But most bystanders managed a laugh, even as they were set upon by wide-eyed and moaning participants dripping in "blood".
There were strict rules on the event invitation designed to keep the zombies in line:
"Obey the road rules! …we don't want any zombies getting killed (again) by cars/trams/etc.
"NO intentional frightening of children/the elderly/animals. Seriously. Just because you are a zombie, doesn't mean you must also be a d***head."
Many onlookers were curious to know if group had an agenda, but event organiser Clementine Bastow told ninemsn the zombies were marching because they could.
"Why not?" she said. "There's no real reason. I'd like it to happen every weekend."
"We've had a big response and there's a new edge thanks to Facebook. It's not just for zombie and horror enthusiasts. I've seen some kids here."
Many participants had gone to great lengths to perfect their look.
"I've got latex and toilet paper," said one participant, Richard. "It makes a wonderful corrupted skin look, you just rip a little bit and whack some more make-up over the top."
The horde was well behaved for most of the two-hour-long march, with the most serious incident coming when a small group jumped onto the side of a stationary tram and slammed its windows.
Police were earlier informed of the march route, which passed through Swanston St, Federation Square, Southbank and finally Crown Casino.
The only form of opposition came from a group of anti-Scientology protesters carrying placards poking fun at the religion's most famous devotee Tom Cruise.
"Scientology wants to steal your brains!" one protester shouted at the marchers.
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