Terraria Wiki:Sandbox

Zombies are common surface Enemies that appear at night, and are a primary reason newer players will want to build a shelter before night arrives. Along with Demon Eyes, they are generally among the first nighttime enemies a player will encounter, as they appear in areas a player first spawns. Multiple NPCs living in the area will reduce or prevent local enemy spawns, including Zombies.

Zombies follow the Fighter AI and walk towards the player in order to make contact and deal damage. They can jump and navigate Platforms. Zombies will "kick" closed Doors in their path repeatedly, and can successfully open them during a Blood Moon event, except Mushroom Zombies which can always successfully open doors.

In, some Zombies carry disembodied arms. These deal more damage on contact than other zombies and will stop to perform a 'slashing' animation when near the player, extending the range at which they can damage the player. These arm-wielding zombies are unable to open or interact with Doors.

Biome/Event variants

 * The name of Pixie Zombie is from here: http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/what-is-this-halloween-zombie-suposed-to-be.5803/#post-156346

Tips

 * While they may move slowly, they are surprisingly good jumpers. They also have a fair amount of health and cause significant damage to newer players. It is advisable that new players remain indoors at night until they gain better Weapons and Defenses.
 * The Swamp Zombie is the fastest zombie as well as having very high knockback resistance towards newer players.
 * A simple Wooden Sword swung repeatedly is enough to keep one or two zombies at bay. Three or more Zombies will likely be able to get past the sword and cause damage. Weapons that can hit multiple enemies work best. To kill zombies easily, build the Lava traps. The Spear or Vilethorn are ideal for this job. Ranged weapons also work well, like the Bow; Shuriken and Throwing Knives are ranged weapons that also pierce through multiple enemies, making them good candidates as well.
 * To increase the chance of Doctor Bones spawning, you can place a Water Candle, or you can hold a Water Candle and use a Battle Potion on the Jungle Surface during the Night. It will greatly increase the chance of him spawning. For better results, it is suggested that you do this during a Blood Moon. Doctor Bones has a higher spawn rate if the world has not entered Hardmode yet. This is because the new enemies spawning in larger amounts during Hardmode will decrease Doctor Bones' spawn chance, just like any other rare creatures.
 * Doctor Bones can spawn at any depth on Jungle Grass blocks, only during the night.

Blood Moon

 * If one wishes to avoid Zombies entirely during a Blood Moon, blockading doorways with any Block type will stop Zombies from entering your home. Placing a Wood Platform, Wooden Beam, or a piece of Furniture next to the door on the inside will prevent doors from swinging inward, which is the only way Zombies can enter.
 * Placing doors above ground level or digging a trench two blocks wide and deep forces Zombies to jump at the doors, during which they can't open these doors.
 * Another strategy is to place two doors parallel to each other, allowing NPC movement to be uninhibited by blockades. Doors won't open for Zombies during a Blood Moon, any Skeletons underground, or Hardmode enemies that can open up single doors by bashing on them, as the other door will block them from opening them inward. If the outer door is already open, though, this will not work.

Trivia

 * Doctor Bones is a parody of, also known as Doctor Jones, who is an archaeologist known to always retrieve his hat.
 * The Nurse Halloween variant is a possible reference to the Joker in The Dark Knight.
 * The achievement Til Death Is a reference to the phrase "Till death do us part" from the marriage liturgy.
 * An internal constant name that corresponds to the expert variant of the female zombie is called "ArmedZombieCenx", a reference to Cenx.
 * Occasionally, when a Pincushion Zombie takes damage, broken Wooden Arrow shafts will fall from their body which cannot be retrieved.
 * The Bald Zombie is the only regular zombie variant that doesn't carry an arm in expert mode.

History
Zombies Zombie 좀비 Zombie Zombie Зомби 僵尸