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“The Most Horrifying Apocalyptic Fiction Tropes (And Why I Love Them)”
Hey Survivor,
Welcome back to The Den, one of the last safe places in this wild apocalypse we call life. Here, we talk horror, apocalyptic fiction, and of course... zombies! I hope you’re surviving and thriving on your side of the wasteland.
I was scrolling Threads (Follow Me Here) the other day and saw an author posting about how high food prices have gotten, and I was shocked. People are still eating out here?! I thought we all just sat around pretending to have dinner like me and The Lost Boys.
Okay, jokes aside, I do hope you’re doing well. Around here, we’re fighting back against inflation by buying in bulk, planning meals and freezing them, cutting back on fast food, and my wife has started gardening again. We had a little garden back at the apartment, but now she’s aiming to grow a lot more. Got any apocalypse-approved money-saving tips? Hit reply or drop them in the comments. I’m always down to stretch a dollar.
Now, let’s shift from the apocalypse of our wallets to the fictional apocalypses we love because today I want to talk about tropes. You’ve seen them. You’ve probably used them. But let’s break down some of the most horrifying ones in apocalyptic fiction and why I live for them.
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1. The Infected Loved One
This one is a zombie genre staple. You’ve seen it in The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later (2002), and Shaun of the Dead (2004). I’ve even used it in Planet Dead 2 & 3. It’s heartbreaking. Your main character fights tooth and nail to survive, only to lose someone close to infection.
It leads to tough, gut-wrenching questions:
Can you kill someone you love?
Do you hide it from the group?
Was it your fault?
What now?
Sometimes, the answers come easy. Sometimes, you’re talking to your dead wife on a broken phone (Looking at you, Rick Grimes). I love this trope because it reminds you that in this world, hope is fragile, and loss is just around the corner.
2. Humanity Is the Real Monster
This is the cornerstone of Planet Dead. My original tagline was:
“When the world goes to hell in a zombie handbasket, you find out true evil hides among the living!”
Zombies are terrifying, sure, but the real horror often comes from the people left behind. Just look at Negan from The Walking Dead. In the comics, he was a bad guy before the fall. In the show, he was a loving husband whose grief pushed him into darkness. Either way? He became the guy who bashed someone’s head in with a bat wrapped in barbed wire.
Movies like It Stains the Sands Red (2016) show a single zombie as a constant threat. Army of the Dead (2021) shows a kingdom of smart, fast zombies. But it’s the twisted survivors, the warlords, the cult leaders, and the ringmasters that really scare me.
3. Cannibalism
My favorite apocalyptic flavor (pun intended) is when the cannibals show up, you know, things just hit a new low. It's horrifying because these people chose to be monsters. They’re not infected; they’re just hungry and unhinged.
Real-world events like the Donner Party (1846), Flight 571 (1972), and even Jeffrey Dahmer remind us that cannibalism isn’t just fiction. Fiction just amplifies it.
You’ve seen it in:
The Hills Have Eyes (1977/2006)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Soylent Green (1973) – surprise cannibalism!
Bones and All (2022) – romantic horror twist
Game of Thrones – shoutout to the Frey meat pies
Tender Is the Flesh – where cannibalism becomes industrialized
In Planet Dead, I use cannibalism to highlight the depravity of The Ringmaster. At first, you’re unsure if it was about survival, but then it becomes clear he enjoys it. That’s the true horror. I even explored accidental cannibalism in my short story Adam, a prequel about the Ringmaster’s early days.
4. The False Hope / Safe Haven Is a Lie
Nothing crushes a character like thinking they’re safe—only to find out they’re not. It’s like the horror movie jump scare that comes after the monster’s been defeated.
In 28 Days Later, the survivors are lured to a military base by a radio call. Turns out the “safe zone” is run by soldiers with very dark intentions.
In The Walking Dead, Terminus promises refuge, only to reveal itself as a cannibal trap (classic).
I played with this in Planet Dead with a church sanctuary that, shocker, is actually a cult. Because in the apocalypse, all churches might as well be cults. (No offense to the actual churches holding it down.)
5. A Mental Break From Reality
One of my absolute favorite horror tropes is when the character, and sometimes the reader, can’t tell what’s real anymore.
High Tension (2003) is a brilliant example of this done right.
In World War Z, there’s a moment where a crash survivor is guided to safety, possibly by the ghost of her mom. Is it supernatural or just trauma? You decide.
In Planet Dead, I play with this a lot:
Peter dreams of the dead.
Tennessee’s backstory (unreleased) involves a complete mental break.
Christian, in Planet Dead 2, speaks with his dead father throughout the book, who even helps him survive. Is it a ghost? Or is Christian losing his grip?
As someone who battles with mental illness, this trope really shakes me. When your own mind turns against you—when you become your own worst enemy—that’s a different kind of apocalypse.
What are your favorite apocalyptic tropes?
Hit reply/comment and let me know, or tell me which trope creeps you out the most. I’m always down to chat about the end of the world.
As Always…
Stay safe. Stay woke. Stay alive.
Until the Next Nightmare,
—Sylvester, Author of Planet Dead and More.
