Zombie survival expert Max Brooks gave students advice on surviving a zombie apocalypse Monday night in the Ohio Union Performance Hall.

The event was sponsored by the Ohio Union Activities Board and was organized in collaboration with the Ohio State Urban Gaming Club.

Brooks is the author of bestselling zombie novels “The Zombie Survival Guide” and “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.”

Brooks told the audience several zombie apocalypse survival tips, including making sure to have plenty of water and ammo, and tips on how to recruit a zombie survival team. Brooks said one way to recruit friends is to jokingly bring up the topic of zombies until they realize that they too need to plan for an attack.

“Softly and quietly, with a laugh and a smile just like scientology,” Brooks described the method.

After Brooks gave his stand-up-like speech about how to survive a zombie attack, the audience was invited to ask questions.

One student asked Brooks about the adaption of his novel “World War Z” into a motion picture starring Brad Pitt, which is set to hit theaters June 21.

“The truth is, I haven’t seen the movie yet,” Brooks said. “I wasn’t part of making the movie, because why would I be? What could I possible contribute?”

Another student asked the likelihood of the OSU community surviving a zombie apocalypse.

“50,000 people, at least 8 or 9 of you are going to survive,” Brooks said.

Brooks saved the most important zombie self-defense move for last.

“It’s going to save all of your lives,” Brooks said as he brought a student from the audience on stage.

As Brooks stretched and geared up for the student’s pretend zombie attack, he assumed a stance as the student started toward him with a slow walk and sluggish arms. Brooks then proceeded to run the other direction off stage.

The OSU Urban Gaming Club teamed up with OUAB to bring Brooks to Ohio State because of the organization’s love of zombies. The Urban Gaming Club hosts two “Infection” games each academic year in which students play in a week-long campus-wide game of tag, turning humans into zombies by hitting them with Nerf gun bullets.

“We personally didn’t have enough money to bring Max Brooks but OUAB was kind enough and wanting to help out,” said Carmen Dalton, vice president of the Urban Gaming Club. “A lot of people enjoyed it and it was really funny.”

Molly Ellender, the collaborative events chair of OUAB, said OUAB was very excited to bring Brooks to OSU at a time where zombies are so prevalent in today’s media.

“With zombies on the rise in public media, it seemed like the perfect time to bring an event that pertained to this topic,” Ellender said in an email. “Many students have witnessed the Humans vs. Zombie’s game that takes place on campus, so there is obviously an interest in the idea.”

After a short question and answer session, Brooks signed books for students who brought copies of his novel. Copies of “World War Z” and “The Zombie Survival Guide” were also for sale before and after the show. Around 130 students attended the event, according to Ellender.

 

 

Caitlin Essig contributed to this story.