It appears the Emergency Zombie Alert System is working just fine in Great Falls, Montana. Last night, local television station KRTV interrupted regularly scheduled programming with the following emergency broadcast, accompanied by the jarring WONK-WONK-WONK of a televised crisis alert:

Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living. Follow the messages on-screen that will be updated as information becomes available. Do not attempt to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely dangerous. This warning applies to all areas receiving this broadcast.


Oh shit, guys. It's happening. It's happening, and it's unfolding — exactly like, deep down, we all suspected it would — during your regularly scheduled pancake infomercials. (Speaking of: happy Pancake Day to all the Shrovers out there.) Only it isn't. Apparently KRTV was hacked.

The station has since released the following statement on the incident:

Someone apparently hacked into the Emergency Alert System and announced on KRTV and the CW that "dead bodies are rising from their graves" in several Montana counties. This message did not originate from KRTV, and there is no emergency. Our engineers are investigating to determine what happened and if it affected other media outlets.


The Great Falls Tribune reports that at least four people placed calls to local police to see if the zombie apocalypse was, in fact, upon us. Which is just excellent.

H/T Cyriaque!