is it reasonable to be afraid of zombies to some degree

Depends on definition of zombies, but in many cases yes

Original meaning, zombies as people enslaved by witches through vodou magic– i mean if that’s not the religion you believe in, I don’t see being scared of that literally.. but I can still see it being a scary concept because it evokes thoughts of real things like slavery and coercion that are scary to us all

Modern American cinematic meaning: an infection spread by biting, which causes your brain to die and your body to go on shambling around mindlessly and spreading the infection as much as it can before it collapses– That’s rabies. Yes, for godsakes be scared of rabies, be fucking terrified of it. That’ll save your life.