Do you remember as a kid, when you were scared of the dark? If not, good for you, but let me let you in on my fears. I was scared of what the dark held. 

Walking down the stairs into my dark basement to get an ice cream cone from the fridge: what lay in that dark room? Would it be the fridge? Or would it be a serial killer lying in wait? Getting up from bed at night to go to the bathroom: would I be walking through the hallway alone, or was there a zombie somewhere in the stairwell? I am here to write this article today, so obviously there was no serial killer and no zombie, but the fear still plagued me every time I went down those stairs. 

But what if our world ended up descending into chaos, an apocalypse, so that there really might be someone lying in wait within your own house, or a zombie lurking on your doorstep? When we watch movies, our fear of this apocalypse comes to life; our childhood fears that once dominated our minds come back to haunt us, or thrill us, over the span of that movie. Or, at least, this is the goal. Of course, not all horror movies truly drum up these fears. But, in The Walking Dead, hopefully you can embrace and eventually enjoy the thrill of being scared.

Whether or not you are a fan of horror is not really relevant when it comes to The Walking Dead. To convince you of this point, let me share my own experience watching the show. It was a late night over spring break, I had just finished watching a movie with my parents and I looked back into Netflix to find another. I had heard of The Walking Dead before (haven’t we all), but never watched it before, until now. I had never really enjoyed horror movies before, but I thought that I might give the genre another go. Making the promise to myself that I would only watch one episode and not waste too much time on it, I clicked to watch the show. And to bring this story to a short end, by the end of spring break I had completed the first four seasons.

So, I plead you, even if you don’t normally watch horror, give the show a try. Allow yourself to be taken along on Rick’s journey. On the way, you will get to feel yourself falling into the show and feel what it is like to live in a world that had once been your childhood fears. In The Walking Dead, with excellent cinematography, acting, at times excruciating gore, and an unmatched ability to convey emotion and familial connection, the show will sweep you off your feet.

If you came here for a plot summary, you will not find one. The Walking Dead’s allurement will speak for itself as you find yourself binge watching, and you will soon have no need for a plot summary, because you have finished the show.