Zombie Research Society Founder Matt Mogk Talks Zombie Survival Tips

For help with our recent feature, Seven Zombie-Proof World Landmarks, we went straight to Matt Mogk, founder and head of the Zombie Research Society and the author of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Zombies. What he told us might just save you from becoming zombie food.

First, says Mogk, evaluate a shelter on the DSM scale, for Defensibility, Sustainbility, and Mobility. He also points out that dying of dehydration should be your biggest concern (aside from, you know, getting your limbs torn off by a zombie). If you get trapped somewhere without water, you could be dead within three days.

So where is Mogk heading when the zombies rise from the dead? Nipton, California, a small solar-powered town that can generate its own energy, produce food, and is isolated enough to defend.

If you can’t make it out to the Mojave Desert town, Mogk suggests heading to the nearest cemetery in an emergency: Zombies aren’t going to rise from graves (are they?), and no one thinks to go to a cemetery even on a normal day, so there won’t be many other people around.

Mogk says that “people make zombies,” so you should get away from crowds at all costs. In other words, your “brilliant” plan to head to the nearest mall or Costco is foolish because everyone else is going to go there. “People get trampled to death on Black Friday over saving money on flatscreen TVs,” notes Mogk, so imagine the panic during a zombie outbreak.

The Walking Dead may have been thoroughly mocked for sending its characters to an isolated farm for its second season, but Mogk says it’s actually a good spot to hide out since it’s far away from other people. Plus, you can grow food and have access to water.