Why the Zombie Apocalypse Is Black TikTok’s Ultimate Stress Relief
Just in time for the spookiest season of the year, TikTok’s latest viral obsession has us all plotting our doomsday survival strategy. But this zombie apocalypse trend is more than just jokes and giggles. Everyone knows the unwritten rules of Black survival horror: if you see another Black person running, you run first and ask questions later, and if there’s a mysterious noise in the dark, you won’t investigate it because you’re already three miles down the road! Now, TikTok is having a field day turning those instincts into elite comedy.
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, the AI zombie apocalypse trend is TikTok’s latest phenomenon where users drop stick figures into cinematic scenarios as they navigate a surprise zombie takeover. In one instance, a routine trip to Costco for a single rotisserie chicken turns into a horror story after the user gets trapped for 30 days inside the big-box retailer.
Within an hour, the doors are chained shut by hungry zombies ready for dinner—and you’re on the menu. Inside Costco, the main character is forced to dodge panicked store employees, hunker down in the dark with their rotisserie chicken, and figure out how to survive.
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In another sub-genre, the setting is a shopping mall. Zombies stare at you through steel gates, and your phone alerts you to lock yourself in wherever you are as water, peanut butter, and a half-eaten birthday cake in the employee’s break room must be rationed out. But that’s not all. Other mundane locations we visit in real life are included in these scenarios.
Inside the farmhouse, characters watch zombies head straight toward them before locking down for safety. Soon enough, the power goes out—triggering water outages and the mandatory ritual of filling the bathtub. “If it holds water, it gets filled,” the AI voice instructs.
The clip goes on to highlight the farmhouse’s flaws: windows built at exact zombie height and three wide-open barn doors. And if you think you’re escaping town, think again—not even the airport is safe.
Standing at Gate 14 with a paper boarding pass in your hand, your flight is delayed yet again—just as everyone’s phones go off in unison with an urgent alert: “Stay where you are. Do not approach anyone who is injured or unresponsive.” Planes taxiing on the runway sit idle, TSA shuts down, and cell service and Wi-Fi instantly go dark.
Although the AI skits are hilarious, they just might be created to make us laugh to keep us from crying; living through daily economic and social instability already feels like an ongoing survival test in itself.
Grocery prices surged roughly 33%, marking the steepest multi-year food price jump in about half a century, according to the NBC News Grocery Price Tracker. Gas prices have increased over 34% in the last year alone, while Black unemployment hovers at 7.0%—nearly double the rate for white workers.
While scrolling, these AI videos provide quick comedic relief. In real life, zombies aren’t the culprit, but the rising cost of living, job market uncertainty, and the effects it could have on one’s mental health have converted real-world frustration into content about non-existent monsters we can at least laugh at…for now.
After all, if doomsday sounds far-fetched, consider that the Pentagon released “never-before-seen” files relating to unidentified flying objects (UFOs) that the government held onto for decades, NBC News reported in May. The files continue to fuel conspiracy theories and fascination for skeptical Americans who wonder if we’re truly alone in the universe—proving that in today’s world, an apocalypse doesn’t sound as crazy as it used to.
