Written by Shaun Daniels and Edited by Sharon Wong
With the Apocalypse barreling down on us today, May 21st 2011, we at Horror Haven feel it’s only fitting to help our fellow brethren with a series of 
survival guides to different types of apocalypses. From Kaiju monsters to zombies, these tips will help you on your path to survival and to reclaim the Earth in a Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome society. The CDC recently published a good start to surviving a Zombie Apocalypse but everyone knows you need water and food but what about surviving past the first couple days. In our first survival guide, we look at a zombie apocalypse.
There are many types of zombies from the rage zombies of the 28 Days Later franchise to the marathon-speed zombies of Zack Synder’s Dawn of the Dead remake. For this particular survival guide, let’s look at the brain-eating, slow-moving zombies of George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead.
The first rule of surviving a zombie apocalypse is to have base of operations but not just any one. People think a mall or a sporting goods store are a good base of operations but unless either has a canned goods then it is a bad idea. Supermarkets are the way to go with its supply of Twinkies and other artificial foods that will expire in the next decade or century. Another excellent feature of supermarkets is that most will have a book section, and since tv programming will be wiped out, you’ll have a lots of trashy romance novels to keep you company. Hospitals also make a good base of operations but the problem with this locale is that the dying will enviably turn into the undead (equal more zombies). As seen in The Walking Dead, prisons make safe places but the current tenants leaves a bit to be desired especially if they survive. Lesson learned, go with the supermarket with its limited access points and a loading dock for a fast get away, if necessary (which it usually is). As for which supermarket locations are the best, well, there is only one place…the North, more importantly of the colder climes. Florida, although it sounds good on paper with the warm weather, is riddled with lots and lots of old vulnerable people who are easy targets for turning into more zombies. Just picture a large contingency of zombies on motorized scooters out for their early bird dinner. The one thing elderly zombies would be good for is fodder as the getaways woud be even
slower due to their already slower nature. The warm weather regions definitely are not a safe bet. We suggest the cold weather because zombies, like those in The Walking Dead, will slow down and freeze, making them easier pickings. Yes, the winter months are long and harsh but would you rather be fighting off zombies year round or for just six months of the year?
Weapons choice is always a tough one to figure out. Chainsaws make for great zombie killing machines but with the noise, they end up attracting more zombies. Flamethrowers are good shock weapons but what’s more dangerous, a brain-eating zombie or a brain-eating zombie that’s on fire. Before you go looking for a Kalashnikoff, let’s start simple. Shotguns work well to keep large packs of zombies back or to slow down a wave of them while pistols work well for close range. A favorite of ours is the MP5 which fires a 9mm round that is easily found at gun shops, doesn’t have much kick to it and is pretty accurate at close range. Bow and arrows are good too but for hunters and Robin Hood.
Here are some other tips to live by…
When trying to make an exit with zombies around, use the herd technique by putting the old and the slow-moving in the outskirts, effectively slowing them down.
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Feedback is always welcomed at shaun@horrorhaven.com and sharon@horrorhaven.com
