A terror thought only to exist in nightmares, comic books and movies manifested itself physically Thursday, when hundreds of zombies stormed a packed Massachusetts Street.

They marched with with blood splatterings, missing limbs and ashen faces, snarling for human flesh.

J.P. and Sarah Tiemgo, along with their two kids, witnessed it all from their lawn chairs and had a great time.

“As always, we love it. Great people watching,” J.P. Tiemgo, of Lawrence, said of the eighth annual Zombie Walk, in which hundreds of zombie enthusiasts dress the part and walk up and down Massachusetts Street sidewalks for all to see.

The outbreak began near sundown in South Park, where The Granada Theater, which organized this year’s walk, provided makeup stands and T-shirt sales for participants. Proceeds will go to the Lawrence Humane Society.

Mike Logan, owner of the Granada, said about 1,000 zombies participated throughout Thursday.

“Everything went smashingly,” he said.

The zombies came in a variety of forms — soldiers, athletes and even the elderly. Hundreds of spectators lined the walkways with cameras to watch them pass by peacefully.

“It’s nice how nice the zombies can turn with children around,” Sarah Tiemgo joked.

Winifred Conard and Scott Swanson, of Baldwin City, were repeat zombie performers at Thursday’s festivities. Swanson had a fake wound to the neck, while Conard explained that her bloody hands and knees indicated she fell before an attacking zombie took a chunk out of her cheek, rendering her undead, too.

“I love zombies,” Conard said before the walk began. “It’s fun.”