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I'm not a fan of horror genres in general - the world we live in is full of nasty things as it is. That being said, I do find some value in zombie books and movies because zombies are the hypothetical "worst case scenario". I've heard it phrased before (possibly here on this forum, but I don't know who to attribute it to) that if you're ready for zombies, you're basically ready for anything. Power outage, food shortage, loss of employment, social unrest, civil war, natural disaster... you name it, and if you've prepped for zombies, you'll probably be able to deal with anything lesser that comes your way. Most zombie content has a few good bits of info in it. Some of the things I've taken note of include (some already mentioned above):
"No, Deborah! Don't open that door! There's a zombie in the closet, and he's gonna kill ya!"
*groan* - *scream* - *crash* - *gurgle*
I mean really, who doesn't see that coming?
- Quarantine / isolation measures (particularly for defending against aerosolized dispersal of the pathogen in question)
- Fortifying the home (barricades, early warning signals, traps, etc.)
- The gamut of behaviors that the "uninfected" characters exhibit (denial, indecisiveness, emotional outbursts, fear-driven violence, stubbornness in the face of impending doom, etc.)
- Contamination, spoilage, or loss of supplies due to improper storage, carelessness, or just bad luck
- Bad guys (not zombies, other survivors) using ploys and schemes to take supplies from other survivors
- The appearance of multiple conflicting "authorities" (state government vs federal government vs local militia vs roving gangs)
- Random circumstances where you might need specific tools or equipment (utility & gas keys, breaching bars, etc.)
- The importance of sound attenuation and noise discipline (gunshots get everyone's attention, not just the zombies)
- The fact that standing and fighting is generally a losing strategy unless in a well-fortified position, and even then it can be tenuous against an adversary with sufficient numbers and a will to fight
- Setbacks happen, and survival often hinges on adapting to and overcoming those setbacks
- The varying social dynamics within a survivor group, and the stresses a crisis puts them through (survivor's guilt / remorse / PTSD / strained relationships)
- Caring for the elderly, pregnant women, children, and pets (it often doesn't end well for any of them in the books and movies, which makes me focus more on how to make sure they are covered in my prep efforts)
- Treating injuries (an infected minor wound can become deadly)
- Improvised weapons - some really creative ways to defend one's self can be found in the zombie genre
- It's not just the zombies that kill. The Stand had a chapter or two dedicated to characters who died from random causes unrelated to the illness. Replace zombies with "pandemic", "hurricane", "masked bad guys"... the chaos of a major event will cause death and destruction all on its own.
"No, Deborah! Don't open that door! There's a zombie in the closet, and he's gonna kill ya!"
*groan* - *scream* - *crash* - *gurgle*
I mean really, who doesn't see that coming?
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