By Matija Šerić
The concept of a zombie apocalypse has become incredibly popular over recent decades. It is undoubtedly the most popular depiction of the end of the world. The zombie world gained fame through movies, TV series, and video games. Some of the most popular films include “Night of the Living Dead” (1968), “Dawn of the Dead” (1978), “28 Days Later” (2002), “World War Z” (2013), and “Train to Busan” (2016). While these films sparked a “boom,” the renaissance of zombies on television screens was driven by the series “The Walking Dead,” which premiered in 2010, followed by “The Last of Us” in 2023.
These series offer a detailed look at a post-apocalyptic world with all its terrible flaws and occasional virtues. Although it’s utopian, many have wondered if a zombie apocalypse could happen in the real world and what it would look like if it did. Both questions provide interesting answers.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a zombie is “a frightening creature, a dead person brought back to life, but without human characteristics. Zombies cannot think and are often depicted attacking and eating humans.” Scientifically, the concept of zombies as we know them from movies and shows is largely unfounded. However, there are parasites and viruses in nature that can cause behavioral changes in hosts.
Zombies in Series
The creators of the series “The Last of Us” found inspiration for a zombie pandemic in the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which infects ants. Ants become infected when fungal spores (pollen-sized particles) fall from a tree or plant. The spores penetrate the ant’s body, and it stops communicating with other ants, wanders aimlessly, and becomes hyperactive. Eventually, the fungus causes the ant to climb onto a plant, where it consumes the ant’s organs, especially its brain. Although the show’s creators transferred this infection to humans, such an infection wouldn’t produce the same reaction in humans. The human body is very complex, and spreading such an infection would require an exceptionally sophisticated pathogen that could act on the human brain, muscles, and body.
In “The Walking Dead” series, the world quickly becomes apocalyptic, as the virus is highly contagious and spreads faster than any known disease. Although the virus theory is more plausible than fungal spores, the spread of a flu-like, coronavirus-like, or Ebola-like virus requires concrete contact between people and incubation time—something absent in the series. A viral pathogen would have to be extremely potent and resilient to spread efficiently and rapidly lead to the collapse of states in the 21st century. All in all, a zombie apocalypse in some form isn’t impossible, but it’s very unlikely. If it did happen, people would not return from the dead but would become irrational, disoriented, and aggressive, as seen in diseases like rabies and epilepsy.
28 Days Later Trailer
Kuru Disease
The disease that most resembles a zombie infection among humans is kuru, a prion disease of the human brain. It originated among cannibals in Papua New Guinea in the 1950s and 1960s. People, mainly women and children, ate the flesh of a deceased person (usually a relative), believing it would release the spirit of the deceased. The disease can appear 10 to 50 years after consuming human brain matter. Symptoms of kuru include uncontrollable laughter, loss of coordination, tremors, and limb spasms. Infected individuals may survive up to two years after symptoms appear, eventually dying from pneumonia or other infections. In recent decades, the disease has been largely eradicated as tribes in Papua New Guinea have mostly stopped consuming deceased individuals. While kuru resembles a zombie-like state, it’s far less appealing than portrayed in movies.
Initial Response of Society
Following the outbreak of a zombie pandemic, panic would ensue, and governments would react unpreparedly, as shown during the coronavirus pandemic. Due to a lack of information, false news, conspiracy theories, and massive global panic would spread. Since the infected become aggressive and attack other people, security forces would have to prepare to fight to bring the situation under control.
Given the resources of modern armies, there would be attempts at mass evacuation and quarantine to contain the virus within specific areas. This would lead to further social unrest and resistance from the civilian population, which would struggle with restrictions and interruptions in food and energy supply chains. In the hardest-hit areas, state structures would collapse, and chaos and anarchy would reign.
The Last of Us Season 1 Trailer
Economic Collapse
Major disruptions would occur in supply chains. The first economic sector to suffer significant losses would be transportation, as mass evacuation and blockades would prevent workers from performing their duties. Agriculture would also be affected as rural regions would remain isolated, and the workforce would be unavailable due to quarantine and the constant threat of attacks by the infected. Without accessible resources, economic collapse would ensue. People would turn to self-sufficiency and barter systems. Food, medicine, fuel, and water would become new forms of currency on the black market.
The Fall of Cities and Survival of Remote Settlements
In a zombie pandemic, cities would be the first to fall. The larger the city, the faster it would collapse, with the worst-case scenarios occurring in cities with millions of residents. The pandemic would unfold more slowly in rural areas. There’s no doubt that remote areas in mountains like the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, and Caucasus, as well as the Amazon rainforest, would remain “safe zones” free of infected for some time.
This makes sense, as rural areas have fewer inhabitants than cities, and the pandemic would spread more slowly. There’s a possibility that isolated areas could remain untouched if the pandemic lasted for several months. Over time, zombies would become vulnerable to weather conditions such as droughts, floods, rain, snow, ice, and attacks by wild animals.
Anarchy and a New World
Partial or complete collapse of state structures would be exploited by criminal groups like drug cartels, which would impose control over certain areas. In almost all TV series, the main problem in a post-apocalyptic world is not zombies but malicious people who have seized power. Groups possessing weapons and military equipment could create quasi-states within cities, villages, or provinces. Besides negative groups, there would be positive ones that adhered to established humanistic norms.
However, criminal groups would likely be more successful in conquering territory, at least in Western countries. Why? Because criminals are much more skilled with weapons than law-abiding citizens. Isolated communities would form, trying to be self-sufficient. Communities with sufficient firepower, food production, and access to drinking water would last longer. Wars over territory and resources would be a daily occurrence.
Train to Busan Trailer
Impact on Nature
A zombie apocalypse would leave an impact on nature, which would not necessarily be negative. As most people would leave cities, many buildings and roads would remain abandoned, allowing nature to reclaim its space. Without human presence, plants and animals would take over cities. This would lead to the revitalization of many natural habitats and an increase in biodiversity. However, if the infected retained certain instincts, they could endanger native species. Environmental pollution could also increase due to the decomposition of corpses and waste.
The Preppers Phenomenon
A group of people known as “preppers” seriously prepares for various end-of-the-world scenarios, including a zombie apocalypse. Many of them use the concept of zombies as a metaphor for other types of crises, such as natural disasters, nuclear attacks, or social unrest. Preppers build safe shelters where they store long-term supplies of food, water, medicine, and other essentials to survive prolonged isolation. For a zombie apocalypse scenario, many prepare weapons and tools for self-defense. They learn practical skills such as first aid, identifying edible plants, water filtration, and hunting. Some go a step further, mentally preparing for life under apocalyptic conditions, aware of the potential losses and stress that such a situation could bring.
Conclusion
Although a zombie apocalypse is an unlikely scenario, almost impossible in the literal form seen on TV screens, something similar could happen. The COVID-19 crisis was, in a way, an apocalypse without zombies. If a highly contagious virus emerged that drove people to aggressive madness, it would closely resemble a zombie scenario. In that case, life on Earth would change drastically, and nothing would ever be the same. That’s why it’s essential for states to be prepared to respond to internal security and health crises. The U.S. government agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), uses the “zombie apocalypse” as a fun way to raise awareness about the importance of emergency preparedness.
