Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are types of science fiction stories where Earth (or another place) is falling apart or has already fallen apart. The event that causes the apocalypse can be due to extreme climate changes, a large object hitting Earth, nuclear war, or running out of resources. It can also be caused by a disease outbreak, religious events like the Last Judgment or Ragnarök, or other situations such as a zombie outbreak, artificial intelligence taking over, a sudden change in technology, genetic changes, natural disasters, or aliens attacking Earth.
These stories often focus on how people deal with the effects of the disaster, the emotions of those who survive, and how humans try to stay alive and united. Post-apocalyptic stories usually take place in a future world with little or no technology, or in a world where only small parts of society and technology remain.
Many ancient cultures, such as the Babylonian and Judaic, created stories and myths about the end of the world and human society. One example is the Epic of Gilgamesh, written around 2000–1500 BCE. Modern apocalyptic novels began appearing in the early 1800s, such as Mary Shelley’s The Last Man (1826). This type of story became more popular after World War II, when people became more aware of the possibility of global destruction from nuclear weapons.
Themes
An apocalypse event can be caused by many things. It might be due to extreme climate changes, such as very hot weather that lasts a long time. It could also be natural, like an asteroid or comet hitting Earth. It might be caused by humans, such as a nuclear war. It could be medical, like a deadly disease or virus, whether it happens naturally or is made by people. It might be religious, like events described in some beliefs, such as the Rapture or Great Tribulation. Or it could be imaginative, like a world filled with zombies or aliens invading Earth.
Stories about apocalypses can focus on trying to stop the event before it happens, dealing with the problems caused by the event, or showing life after the event has already occurred. These stories might take place right after the disaster, showing how people survive and try to stay together. They might also take place much later, when people no longer remember the old world or think of it as a legend. Many post-apocalyptic stories are set in a future without advanced technology or in a world where only small parts of society and technology remain.
Other themes in these stories include robots rebelling against humans, punishment from a higher power, problems with human genetics, the destruction of nature, the spread of deadly diseases, the loss of natural resources, strange events that cannot be explained by science, technology growing too fast, or other major disasters.
The remains of a technological past, such as old buildings or machines, appearing in a simple, natural world is a common image in science fiction stories. This idea is called the "ruined Earth" and is often seen as one of the most powerful symbols in science fiction.
Ancient predecessors
Ancient Mesopotamian writings, such as the Eridu Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh, are among the oldest surviving stories about the end of the world. These texts, written around 2000–1500 BCE, describe angry gods sending floods to punish humans. In the Gilgamesh story, a hero named Utnapishtim and his family are saved by the god Ea.
The Biblical story of Noah and the Ark describes the destruction of a corrupt civilization and the creation of a new world. Noah is instructed to build an Ark and save two of each animal species to help rebuild Earth after the flood.
The Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah also includes post-apocalyptic themes. Lot’s daughters, believing they were the only survivors of a worldwide disaster, thought it was necessary to have children with their father to ensure the survival of humanity. Similar dilemmas appear in modern post-apocalyptic stories.
The Biblical story of the flood is also told in the 71st chapter of the Quran.
In the Hindu Dharmasastra, a great flood is a key event. According to the Matsya Purana, the Matsya avatar of Lord Vishnu warned King Manu about an upcoming flood. Manu was told to build a large boat to save his family, nine types of seeds, pairs of all animals, and the Saptarishis. After the flood, Vishnu appeared as a horned fish, and Shesha became a rope to secure the boat. Similar stories appear in Buddhist and Jain texts.
During the 1st century CE, the Book of Revelation was written. This text, from which the word "apocalypse" comes (meaning "revelation" in Greek), includes visions of destruction and hope. The writer, St. John the Divine, is told to record what he sees, including future events. The story promises that justice will be achieved and suffering will end. It describes a new Heaven and Earth, inspiring hope in its Christian readers.
The Norse poem Völuspá from the Poetic Edda describes the creation, destruction, and rebirth of the world. The end of the world, called Ragnarök, involves fire and floods, as well as battles between mythic creatures and the Aesir gods. After Ragnarök, a man and woman survive, and the god Baldr is brought back to life.
In society
These stories often show characters who are isolated and know little about the outside world. They also describe worlds without modern technology, where people struggle with changes that are hard to understand because human brains evolved to handle old problems, like physical dangers, not modern society. These stories focus on simple lives, direct interactions, and basic needs. Public interest in apocalyptic themes often comes from the idea of change, not just destruction.
These stories are studied by social sciences, which can help understand cultural fears and the imagined roles of public administration.
Since the late 20th century, many post-apocalyptic films have become popular. Christopher Schmidt points out that, while the world "goes to waste" for future generations, people avoid thinking about disasters by watching them as entertainment. Some people have noted that "it is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism."
Pre-1900 works
Lord Byron’s 1816 poem “Darkness,” part of The Prisoner of Chillon collection, describes the end of the world and one man’s survival. It was among the first English-language works to explore this theme. In the poem, the sun is blocked, causing darkness and cold. These conditions lead to famine and ice-age-like temperatures, killing most humans. The poem influenced later works that focus on the idea of “the last man,” such as The Last Man by Thomas Campbell (1824), Thomas Hood (1826), and Thomas Lovell Beddoes. The year 1816, called the Year Without a Summer, was caused by the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies. This event released sulfur into the atmosphere, lowering global temperatures and changing weather patterns. Byron’s poem was inspired by these events.
Mary Shelley’s novel The Last Man (1826) continues the theme of the end of the world in fiction. It is widely seen as the first major post-apocalyptic story. The plot follows a group of people trying to survive in a world infected by a deadly plague. The male main character struggles to protect his family but eventually becomes the last person alive.
Shelley’s novel came after Le Dernier Homme (1805) by Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville, a French work sometimes called the first modern depiction of the end of the world. The story follows a character named Omegarus, who is the last human. It mixes elements from the Book of Revelation and the story of Adam and Eve. Unlike many apocalyptic tales, de Grainville’s work does not present the end of the world as a warning or a survival story. Instead, it portrays it as an unavoidable and necessary step for humanity’s spiritual rebirth.
Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion (1839) describes a conversation between two souls in the afterlife. They discuss the destruction of Earth, caused by a comet that removed nitrogen from the atmosphere. This left only oxygen, leading to a worldwide fire. Similarly, Giacomo Leopardi’s short dialogue Dialogue between a Goblin and a Gnome (1824) imagines a world without humans. The story suggests humans may have disappeared because they broke natural laws and acted against their own well-being.
Richard Jefferies’ novel After London (1885) is considered true post-apocalyptic fiction. It describes England after an unspecified disaster that wiped out most people. Nature reclaims the land, with forests growing over fields, wild animals returning, and cities turning into swamps. The story later follows survivors living in a medieval-like society. The novel’s opening, which shows nature taking over, influenced many later science fiction stories.
H.G. Wells wrote several post-apocalyptic stories. In The Time Machine (1895), an unnamed character travels to the year 802,701 A.D., where civilization has collapsed. Humanity has split into two species: the gentle Eloi and the violent Morlocks. Later, the time traveler sees a dying Earth under a red, swollen sun. In The War of the Worlds (1898), aliens from Mars invade Earth, destroying Victorian England with advanced weapons. The novel became famous after a 1938 radio adaptation by Orson Welles. It has since been adapted into many forms, including comics, films, music, and video games.
Post-1900 works
Childhood's End is a 1953 science fiction novel by British author Arthur C. Clarke. In the story, aliens visit Earth, human children gain amazing powers, and Earth is destroyed.
In the comic series El Eternauta (1957–1959) by Argentine writer Héctor Germán Oesterheld, an alien race called "Them" by the characters invades Earth. The invasion begins with a deadly snowfall, followed by the use of other alien groups to defeat humans.
In Alice Sheldon's Nebula Award-winning novelette The Screwfly Solution (1977), aliens use an airborne substance that changes men's sexual desires into violent behavior, leading to the destruction of humanity.
Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide series (1979–2009) is a humorous story about aliens. In the series, Earth is repeatedly destroyed by a bureaucratic alien race called the Vogons to build a hyperspace bypass. The main character, Arthur Dent, is upset by these events.
In Gene Wolfe's The Urth of the New Sun (1987), aliens or highly advanced humans create a white hole in the sun to counteract a black hole's dimming effect. This causes global warming, leading to rising sea levels that kill most people. However, this event may be seen as a chance for renewal, similar to Noah's Flood.
In Greg Bear's The Forge of God (1987), Earth is destroyed in an alien attack. Before this, another group of aliens saves samples of Earth's biosphere and a few people, resettling them on Mars. Some of these people later join a mission to find the attackers' home planet, as described in the sequel Anvil of Stars (1992).
In Al Sarrantonio's Moonbane (1989), werewolves are linked to the Moon. After an explosion on the Moon, fragments containing latent lycanthropes fall to Earth. These creatures thrive in Earth's oxygen-rich atmosphere. The story's tone is similar to H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds (1897).
In The Killing Star (1995) by Charles R. Pellegrino and George Zebrowski, aliens attack Earth in the late 21st century. They use missiles traveling at very high speeds to destroy humans, believing them to be a threat after watching episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
In the video game Chrono Trigger (1995), a giant alien creature named Lavos crashes into Earth in prehistoric times. It hibernates underground for millions of years, feeding on Earth's energy. It later emerges in 1999 to destroy Earth, humans, and all life with a deadly attack called "Day of Lavos."
In the video game Half-Life (1998), alien creatures arrive on Earth through a portal after a failed scientific experiment. In the sequel, Half-Life 2 (2004), players learn that these aliens are slaves to a powerful alien race called the Combine. The Combine take over Earth to harvest its resources after defeating all governments and military forces in seven hours.
In the 2000 animated film Titan A.E., Earth is destroyed by the Drej due to a human experiment called Project Titan. This experiment caused the Drej to fear what humanity might become.
The 2011 TV series Falling Skies, created by Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg, follows humans fighting to survive after aliens disable Earth's technology and destroy its military forces in a surprise attack. It is suggested that the aliens were once victims of an attack on their planet and are now controlled by another alien race.
The TV series Defiance (2013–2015) is set on Earth after a war with seven alien races called the Votan and a series of events called the Arkfalls, which drastically change Earth's environment. Unlike many apocalyptic stories, Earth remains habitable, and humans are not on the brink of extinction.
The World's End (2013) is a British-American comedy science fiction film directed by Edgar Wright. It follows friends who discover an alien invasion during a pub crawl in their hometown.
In the 2018 horror film A Quiet Place and its sequels (2021 and 2024), society collapses after deadly alien creatures attack Earth. These creatures have no eyesight and hunt humans using their highly sensitive hearing. Survivors live in near-silence to avoid detection.
In When Worlds Collide (1933) by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer, Earth is destroyed by a rogue planet called Bronson Alpha. A small group of people escape on a spaceship. In the sequel, After Worlds Collide (1934), these survivors begin a new life on Bronson Beta, a planet that has taken Earth's former orbit.
In One in Three Hundred (1954) by J. T. McIntosh, scientists predict the exact time the Sun will explode, boiling Earth's oceans and destroying all life within 24 hours. A race to build spaceships for evacuation to Mars begins. However, most of the spaceships fail, leaving many stranded.
In Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, the Moon is destroyed by an unknown force, creating a debris cloud that threatens Earth. A global effort is launched to build an ark around the International Space Station to save humanity.
In Hothouse (1961) by Brian Aldiss, Earth's population is reduced to one-fifth of its original size due to the Sun becoming much hotter and stronger.
In The Drowned World (1962) by J. G. Ballard, rising solar radiation causes worldwide flooding and rapid changes in plants and animals.
In Lucifer's Hammer (1977) by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven, a comet hits Earth, causing widespread destruction. People in southern California struggle to survive the aftermath.
In the 1951 film When Worlds Collide, based on the 1933 novel, Hollywood first explored the idea of Earth being destroyed by a collision with another celestial object. This theme returned in the late 1990s with projects like the NBC miniseries Asteroid (1997), and the films Deep Impact (1998) and *