How to Approach The End of the World

Zombies top the chart as my Number One Worst Fear. I hate the way they slink towards their victims – slow and meandering, but never ceasing their approach. They look disgusting, with their open wounds and sickly skin; quite frankly, I see them as an abomination of everything good in the world. When I was younger, I found myself lying awake at night thinking about the zombie apocalypse. Was that thump from the radiator actually an undead monster tapping at my door? Did it already get to my sister, my parents? What if I was next?

With anxiety swirling through my mind at all times, I took to making my room as zombie-proof as possible. I plugged up the crack under my door, bought a Swiss Army knife, and made a paracord bracelet that I wore every single day without fail. In retrospect, the bracelet was probably overkill; when was I going to need to repel down a canyon with “extra strength, military-grade rope” woven into a little wristband? But that wasn’t really the point. It made me feel calmer. Maybe if something did happen, I would be ready.

The zombie apocalypse is just one among many doomsday scenarios that have proliferated within society over the course of human history. Perhaps one of the most famous examples of large-scale apocalyptic prognostication are the predictions made by William Miller in the early 1800s. Miller, a New England farmer who became obsessed with theology as it pertains to the end of the world, used mathematical calculations and studies of ancient literature to predict that the biblical Second Coming of Christ would occur between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844. With Miller’s talents as a public speaker and author, he quickly amassed a group of followers known as the Millerites. When those dates came and went without incident, another Millerite, Samuel Snow, predicted the End was actually scheduled for October 22, 1844. The date was again inconsequential. Those who predict the end of the world have an abysmally poor record for being accurate — after all, we’re all still here. However, failure has not stopped the expansion of this vein of dark speculation. According to journalist Tea Krulos, author of Apocalypse Any Day Now, potential world-ending catastrophes can be grouped into several categories: religious reckonings, monster attacks, alien invasions, takeovers by the artificially intelligent, natural disasters, pandemics, and civil unrest (Krulos, 24).

The term “doomsday prepper,” popularized by the mainstream docu-series Doomsday Preppers that aired from 2012 to 2014 on the National Geographic Channel, is being used in modern contexts to refer to those individuals who have taken measures, both big and small, to ready themselves for the apocalypse. As to be expected with an issue like the end of the world, something that quite literally involves everyone living across the entire globe, increased media coverage has caused more and more individuals to see doomsday prepping as an essential form of “life-insurance.” When taking into consideration the current volatile political climate, the rise of doomsday prepping seems an inherent byproduct of modernization. However, doomsday prepper is a title that can be misleading in its generality. Prepping behaviors can span from the relatively normal, like stockpiling backup food and water supplies, to the more radical, like wearing a tinfoil cap and living in a shipping container buried underground. The dominant narrative on doomsday prepping has materialized more on the side of the latter – a quick Google search of the topic will produce a myriad of images depicting gas-mask wearing individuals holding automatic rifles. While it is undeniable that there is a correlation between preparing for the end times and delusional hostility fueled by conspiracy theories, the broader view of prepping reveals a large group of people who denounce radicality, focusing instead on practical ways to protect their loved ones, build relationships, and apply proven survival skills to face realistic concerns about the future of humanity.

To understand how sweeping generalizations have skewed perceptions on doomsday prepping towards the radical, it must first be acknowledged that there is significant substance to the argument that some preppers and prepping behaviors foster extremely dangerous philosophies and are linked to high levels of hostility. The correlations between doomsday prepping and extremism are exemplified in the rhetoric of Larry Hall, mastermind behind the “Survival Condos.” In an article titled, “Doomsday preppers and the architecture of dread,” author Garret Bradley described Hall’s magnum opus: a series of Atlas F missile silos converted into “subterranean, sealed, self-sufficient luxury habitation[s],” in which “a community of up to 75 individuals can weather a maximum of five years.” These converted silo condos sell for $75,000+ a room (Bradley). Although this approach to the end times seems extreme, much more striking rhetoric was revealed in an interview of Hall conducted by the aforementioned journalist Tea Krulos. When prompted to discuss his beliefs on terrorist attacks as a potential doomsday scenario, Hall began to rant about ISIS, going as far as to say, “‘I want these people killed, I want them killed with extreme prejudice and don’t want any of their genetic stuff in the pool. Whatever makeup those people are, it’s evil and there is no place on this planet for them… they got no right to exist’” (Krulos, 148). While his concerns may appear to be coming from a place of fear about his fellow Americans’ safety, Hall’s rhetoric and word choice is incredibly concerning. He shows evidence of high levels of intolerance, refusal to negotiate, and acute defensiveness. It is clear that the Survival Condos were created by a man fueled by hate and fear. This phenomenon was corroborated by the findings of a study in which psychologists from several universities conducted experiments on the correlation of doomsday-prepping beliefs withvarious character traits. It was found that doomsday prepping was tied to high levels of paranoia. “One of the hallmarks of paranoid thought is the belief that others are out to get them… If a person believes that people will be competitive instead of cooperative, they may be particularly paranoid that others are coming to take their supplies and, perhaps, to harm them” (Fetterman et al., 21). On a fundamental level, those concerned with the End Times believe that they may have to put themselves before others in order to survive. They can be reclusive, uncooperative, and hostile. Additionally, as shown in the example of Larry Hall, this makes them more susceptible to dangerous conspiracy theories and delusion. Doomsday prepping is, by nature, an assumption of the worst; about the world, about people, and about the future. Compounding this cynicism is the fact that fears are often difficult to be contained on an individual level. In fact, small pockets of paranoia have begun to proliferate across America. State Reps. Josiah Magnuson, R–Campobello, and Jonathon Hill, R–Townville, two South Carolina lawmakers, have proposed the “Virtue Solutions Project” in response to claims that the “tyrannical federal government” will soon cause a full-scale societal collapse. In a local news article written by Andrew Brown, it was expressed that the project involves the creation of self-sufficient communities able to nullify laws they disagree with in combination with hubs of supplies, literature, and, of course, ammo. “It’s also at these ‘micro hubs’ that neighbors and fellow members of their ‘militia’ will be able to learn about spiritual leadership, first aid, farming techniques, renewable energy sources, and setting up ‘perimeters’ and other ‘tactical defense’ strategies” (Brown). The formation of militias is a huge threat to the social order and function of communities across the world. In the U.S., they have been the source of numerous right-wing terrorist attacks, and their members have propagated some of the most dangerous and harmful ideologies in the nation. Harmful ideologies stem from paranoia, breed intolerance, and have significant potential to cause pain and suffering. Doomsday prepping can, simply put, be taken too far.

Because of its volatile nature, prepping is at the mercy of its perceivers. It is hard to overlook the glaring ties to delusion and militancy. However, while many extremists may have found their ideological backing from the perspective of a doomsday prepper, preppers are not all extremists. In fact, the small minority of extremists within the community are relatively ostracized for their beliefs. The term “doomsday prepper” was adopted in the 1990s by a subsect of “survivalists” who refused to identify with domestic terrorists like the Oklahoma City bomber that shared the name (Krulos, 114). Although it may seem counter-intuitive, modern doomsday preppers most often find their motivations not from hate, but from love and concern for their dependents. Even in one of the most mainstream examples of doomsday preppers, the dramatized docu-series Doomsday Preppers by National Geographic that often portrays only the radical minority of preppers, viewers get the impression that these individuals often can trace their motivations to prep back to their love for their families. In one episode of the series, titled, “Bad Times All the Time,” the crew profiles Jay Blevins, a suburban doomsday prepper living near Washington DC. Amidst shots of his emergency preparedness drills and supplies checks, Blevins is quoted saying things like, “I love my kids so much. I love my wife so much. I don't want to ever see them hurt or to go without, and so if a crowd were ever to come to my house for whatever reason, I would defend my family” (Sharp). Even on Doomsday Preppers, a show inclined to portray the radical side of prepping for viewer engagement, Blevins’s behaviors seem to truly stem from a place of concern for his loved ones. This concept is quite at odds with the dominant narrative of the isolated, reserved, and unjustifiably hostile prepper. Wanting to protect one's family seems to be a noble cause by comparison. Taking into account that Blevins is an example of an individual tending towards the more radical side of the prepping spectrum, concern for others seems even more intrinsically tied to doomsday prepping. The vast majority of preppers engage more casually in emergency preparedness, but they too are often motivated by an urge to protect those they care about. Take, for example, middle-aged suburban mother of two Deb Wolkstein, a self-proclaimed, “mini-prepper.” When prompted to divulge how her prepping started, she said, “I think [it] was a way for me to kind of deal with my anxiety… And also with my thoughts like, ‘how am I going to keep my kids safe?’ It was a way for me to really, you know, kind of feel like I had some control and could hopefully keep them safe” (Wolkstein). Wolkstein, who shared that she was a modest prepper with some stored water, food, and emergency supplies, is clearly not motivated to prepare for the end times by hate. She is not feeding off of a conspiracy or proliferating harmful ideologies that threaten our social order. She is simply a mother concerned for her children in an increasingly volatile world.

It is not only familial relationships that find themselves at the center of many doomsday preppers’ philosophies – many have adopted their behaviors in an effort to find a safe community in which to build connections and friendships. In an National Library of Medicine entry titled, “How to survive the end of the future: Preppers, pathology, and the everyday crisis of insecurity,” author Kezia Barker connects the “hoarding” behaviors of preppers not to delusion, but to relationship building. In reference of an interview with prepper “James,” she writes, “[He] spoke about the pleasure of being involved in this ‘maker community’: ‘You know, all of a sudden … you're surrounded by a community of really creative people, who are interested in solving problems, they're good at it, eh, and, yeah, some of them [are] just making beautiful stuff [laughing]’” (Barker). Again, although the loud but small minority of doomsday preppers make the community seem like a breeding ground for paranoia and delusion, it is actually dominantly used as a means for connection building. The “maker community” James references is a large, intertwined social media community that routinely shares and comments on doomsday prepping measures and ideas. This community is made up of friends, hobbyists, and those looking for an escape from their day-to-day lives. While they may not be actual familial relationships, the bonds built over these platforms serve as the motivation behind the doomsday prepping behaviors of individuals around the world. Although the apocalypse is dark, scary, and often the product of anxiety, apocalyptic preparations are, ironically, most often motivated by such bright things as family, friends, and the love humans naturally hold for each other.

These “normal” doomsday preppers, those that make up the majority of the community and modestly prepare for the end of the world, do not fit the mold of the out-of-touch, tin-foil-cap-wearing, right-wing conspiracy theorists that dominate the media. Not only are the vast majority of moderate preppers motivated by relationships – not violence and hate – their views are often much more aligned with reality than most people want to acknowledge. Although the world has not yet gone up in flames, doomsday preppers utilize practical survival methods and skills that have been shown to aid in numerous dangerous situations that have occurred in modern history. One of the most rudimentary forms of doomsday prepping is an emergency kit – affectionately called the “bug-out-bag” in the prepper community – that can serve families in a variety of different disaster situations. Keeping a form of the “bug-out-bag” is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and numerous government programs and organizations across the world. In fact, the CDC suggests that all families keep a kit filled with a “first-aid kit, fire extinguisher, battery-powered radio,” fresh water, and “nonperishable foods” (CDC). Government support of emergency kits vindicates the base efforts of doomsday preppers. Scientists, industry professionals, and the highest-level government workers have approved calls for increased emergency preparedness in recent history. Even though it may be frightening to acknowledge, doomsday preppers are not without realistic justification for their behaviors. Government PSAs for disaster prep have gone relatively unnoticed by many individuals, but for those who have not ignored them, emergency kits have saved numerous lives in dangerous situations like the aftermath of natural disasters and other severe weather events. In addition to emergency preparedness being government-sanctioned, the COVID-19 pandemic served as a major wakeup call for critics of the prepping community. In her interview, suburban prepper Wolksein recalled seeing empty grocery stores, sold out hand-sanitizer, and the distinct craze that led many people to buy up all the toilet paper they could find. She asserted that it was important to, “always have enough toilet paper for at least a year in the house, you know, because I think about what things are really going to go fast in a disaster. They're not like really glamorous things, but they're stuff that we could have ways of working around” (Wolkstein). Wolkstein had numerous “I-told-you-so” moments with the pandemic in 2020. While so many families felt trapped in their homes, afraid to go to the grocery store to search for already sold-out items and fearing for their futures, Wolkstein was able to keep her home running in almost perfect condition on her food and water supply in addition to her abundance of supplies. When disaster struck with the COVID-19 pandemic, the tables were turned – it was the general, unprepared population who seemed foolish and delusional, not the preppers. However, the practicality of doomsday prepping in the modern world is often downplayed in an effort to ease the consciences of the blissfully ignorant. CNN author and journalist Adriana LaPenne hypothesized that the portrayal of preppers as fringe radicalists was a coping mechanism, writing, “It’s very easy – and I believe comforting – to paint prepping as absurd. Then we don’t have to be scared about the concerns preppers raise” (LaPenne). This assertion makes perfect sense – after all, being faced with one’s own mortality is frightening. When applied to the preppers, refusal to acknowledge the validity of emergency preparedness has had an extremely negative effect on common depictions on their community. However, becoming a doomsday prepper is not as far-fetched as it seems. Especially when considering recent events, it seems unwise not to prep.

Still, the track-record for predictions of the apocalypse is not a great one. Many may find themselves questioning the productivity of preparing for a truly world-ending event when no such disaster has yet struck. As soothing as this argument may be, a large number of doomsday preppers are unfortunately on the right track when it comes to the impending apocalypse — and they are backed by scientific and political trends. In a publication of the Fraser Research Institute’s Bulletin, titled, “Is Climate Catastrophe Really 10 Years Away?”, author Kenneth Brown utilizes a chart depicting the societal impacts of rising global temperatures; as it creeps closer to five degrees Celsius above the average temperature in 1999, the chart indicates that humanity could be faced with such severe consequences as “significant extinctions around the globe,” “increased morbidity and mortality from heat waves, floods, and droughts,” and strains on health services that may lead to an eventual societal collapse (Brown, 5). While Brown later concludes that a true climate crisis would likely occur at a date later than 10 years in the future, the Fraser Institute's findings are nonetheless concerning for the future of humanity. In the modern world, things like food deserts and a lack of fresh water are already plaguing numerous communities around the globe. Research has shown that these issues will only be exacerbated over time as global temperatures rise. Without intervention, which has thus far failed to make a substantial difference in the trajectory of global warming, the pressure on society will continue to grow. Perhaps having stockpiled food and water — in addition to an emergency kit for a potential natural disaster, which is an issue also made more dangerous with rising temperatures — is not such a radical idea after all. And, although it may take several more years for climate change to truly cause a breakdown of human social order, other apocalyptic events may not be so far in the future. One of the most common doomsday scenarios fixated on by preppers is that of a full-scale nuclear war, which, with arms races and political tensions on the rise, has the potential to cause a full apocalypse in a matter of minutes at any given moment. In a pair of photographs exhibited in the Torrance Art Museum’s “Prep School: Prepper and Survivalist Ideologies and Utopian/Dystopian Visions” gallery, an image of the looming, frighteningly large mushroom cloud from the U.S. Navy’s “Able” atomic bomb test and an image of a strange-looking underground “family-type shelter” with an “earth covering,” “escape hatch,” and various airpipes are shown in succession (Presneill). The gallery curators chose these depictions of extremities – both in disastrous capacity and strange methods of preparation – and this arrangement in order to show a logical progression of ideas, underscored by the details in the image captions: the images were taken by the U.S. Navy and National Nuclear Security Administration respectively, or in other words, there has been official, professional preparation for nuclear disasters. These official photographs clearly show that fatalist visions of the future are, to a certain degree, fundamentally cemented in reality. The “prepper and survivalist ideologies” that the gallery was named for have significant truth and productive thought behind them. The “Doomsday Clock,” created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, symbolizes how close humanity is to complete annihilation. When it strikes midnight, a mind-bending percentage of the population will perish. Those in the blast zones will be wiped out. Those around them will fall victim to shockwaves and deadly nuclear radiation. For those even further from the epicenter, earthquakes, natural disasters, a breakdown of global trade and communication, and so much more will cause all-encompassing social collapses – entailing looting, rioting, and general mayhem. Those who survive will be those who were prepared. Individuals with plans, with survival skills, and with communities they can rely on. Maybe, those who survive will be the doomsday preppers.

It seems dangerous to validate the doomsday preppers. Some doomsday preppers, the ones you most commonly see on T.V., are truly and undeniably irrational. They can be the harmless sort of lunatic, taking actions and holding beliefs that are unrealistic but do not hurt anyone. Others can be the dangerous sort – allowing their anxieties to spiral into harmful conspiracy theories and letting their fears breed hate and violence. Those who would hurt others without justification cannot be vindicated by the true potential for the apocalypse. While this radical minority may identify themselves as doomsday preppers, they are not symbolic of the whole. Radical people are often concerned with the end of the world, but doomsday preppers are, decisively, not usually the radically eccentric type. A square is a rectangle, but most rectangles are not squares. Doomsday preppers are most often just people who love their families and want to make friends. They have seen the trends in human history and concluded that it might be wise to be prepared. They see the news, the frightening reality of the modern volatility of society, and take steps to get ready for the future. They are nervous, but they have a right to be – although it may be frightening, apocalyptic scenarios stemming from climate change, natural disasters, viral pandemics, and nuclear war are not fictional. They are real, proven threats to the very fabric of the human experience.

This is not all to say you should dig a hole in your backyard, jump in, and seal the top. The world is not doomed. There is still hope. And perhaps no group understands this better than the doomsday preppers. Taking the time to invest in your future, to prepare yourself for anything and everything that may come your way, is not only logical, but is an approach to life that is filled with hope. To be a prepper, you don’t need to buy an underground bunker or equip your home with semi-automatic weapons and tear gas. You could maybe begin to collect survival supplies – flashlights, extra batteries, blankets, and the like. You could steadily build up a store of nonperishable food and backup sources of water. You could make a plan for what you would do in a disaster – what you would do to protect your family and those things that you care about. Just little things would make all the difference in a life-or-death situation. At the end of the day, it almost seems more crazy not to doomsday prep and ignore things that could save your life or the lives of the people you love.

My room is no longer zombie-proofed. I no longer sleep with a Swiss army knife on my bedside table, jumping at every little noise I hear. I stopped wearing my survival bracelet – I do not actually think a couple feet of paracord could save me if I was being chased by a nasty group of the undead. However, I do keep a backpack in my closet. It’s my very own “bug-out-bag.” Inside is an old Minion-themed first-aid-kit that I got in middle school. It has a hypothermia blanket that I found at a garage sale – just in case. It has a couple of those granola bars that are so processed I am willing to bet they will never spoil. My family has an emergency plan that outlines what we would do, where we would go, and how we would approach the aftermath of a major disaster. That disaster probably will not end up being a zombie attack, but it might be something equally as formidable. It doesn’t make me feel anxious to prepare for this cataclysm. In fact, it is almost calming. I know I haven’t done a lot to prepare myself for the apocalypse, and calling myself a full-out doomsday prepper seems extreme. However, it is not something that people, myself included, should necessarily be afraid of aspiring towards. Doomsday prepping is not only not bad, it might actually be good. It might actually save your life.

Works Cited

Barker, Kezia. “How to survive the end of the future: Preppers, pathology, and the everydaycrisis of insecurity.” The National Library of Medicine. 23 Dec. 2019. The National Library of Medicine, National Library for Biotechnology Information.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7319408/

Brown, Andrew. “Two South Carolina lawmakers prepping survivalist communities to ‘restore the fabric of America.’” The Post and Courier. 17 Mar. 2017. Web. 29 Mar. 2022. The Post and Courier.https://www.postandcourier.com/news/two-south-carolina-lawmakers-prepping-survivalist-communities-to-restore-the/article_c05b9fe8-08ec-11e7-8f13-37304d77cf3b.html

Fetterman, Adam. Rutjens, Bastiaan. Landkammer, Florian. Wilkowski, Benjamin. “On Post-Apocalyptic & Doomsday Prepping Beliefs: A New Measure, its Correlates, and theMotivation to Prep.” European Journal of Personality. 16 Jul. 2019.

Garrett, Bradley. “Doomsday preppers and the architecture of dread.” The National Library of Medicine. 10 Apr. 2020. The National Library of Medicine, National Library for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7151311/

Green, Kenneth. “Is Climate Change Really 10 Years Away.” The Fraser Research Bulletin. Jan.2022.The Fraser Institute: Fraser Research Bulletin.https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/is-climate-catastrophe-really-10-years-away.pdf

Krulos, Tea. Apocalypse Any Day Now: Deep Underground with America’s Doomsday Preppers. 2 Apr. 2019. Chicago Review Press Incorporated. https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/apocalypse-any-day-now-products-9781613736418.php

LaPenne, Adiranna. “Opinion: What a community of preppers taught me about survival.” CNN. 7 Aug. 2021 CNN.https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/07/opinions/the-bunker-boom-cnn-films-short-arianna-lapenne/index.html

Presneill, Max. “Prep School: Prepper and Survivalist Ideologies and Utopian/DystopianVisions.” Torrance Art Museum. 15 May 2014. Torrance Art Museum. https://www.torranceartmuseum.com/prepschool

Sharp, Matt. “Bad Times All The Time.” Doomsday Preppers S2E3. 20 Nov. 2012. Web. 17 Mar. 2017. National Geographic.https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/shows/doomsday-preppers/episode-guide/season-02/episode-03-bad-times-all-the-time/vdka17796764

University of Houston, University of Texas at El Paso, University of Amsterdam, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, University of Wyoming.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IrQ7MENpQkTmVQnYq88WFD3rkdSj45a5/view?userstoinvite =%22%22

Wolkstein, Deb. “Emergency Preparedness Zoom Interview.” Conducted by Maxine Gimbel. 26 Feb 2023.