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Motorists Beware! Zombies Ahead!

A Portland, Maine road sign is changed to a zombie warning on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012. It originally read "Night work 8 pm-6 am. Expect delays."
Jeff Peterson
/
AP
A Portland, Maine road sign is changed to a zombie warning on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012. It originally read "Night work 8 pm-6 am. Expect delays."

Unsuspecting motorists got either a shiver or a laugh yesterday morning in Portland, Maine as they drove by a construction site whose warning sign had been hacked: instead of the typical caution, they were told 'Warning Zombies Ahead!'

Portland authorities are not amused.

"These (signs) are deployed and used as a safety precaution. They're not a toy," Portland spokeswoman Nicole Clegg told the Portland Press Herald. She says the prank is a crime.

Perhaps the hacking prankster is elated about the new season of 'The Walking Dead'; after all, the third season featuring the never-say-die humans battling the creepy zombies begins Sunday evening on AMC. ( Sneak peek clip here.)

Maybe the miscreant recently registered for one of the four upcoming Zombie Buffet 5K runs in Columbus, Ohio, Phoenix, Ariz., Jacksonville, Fla, or Nashville, Tenn. You can choose to be a runner or a zombie. But if you run as a human and zombies snatch both the flags tied at your waist, you're 'infected'. You go over to the dark side and start searching for humans. .

Or perhaps the alleged imp is excited about ' Thrill the World', the upcoming tribute to the late Michael Jackson set for October 27. It's a global attempt to set a world record for the largest number of people performing the well known zombie dance to Jackson's 'Thriller" tune. There are .

Whatever his motivation, Portland authorities say they're looking for the hacker. If caught, the suspect could face up to a $1,000 and a year in jail.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Korva Coleman is a newscaster for NPR.