In the event of a zombie apocalypse, seek shelter in this Erie-area landmark

Jim Martin, Erie Times-News
·3 min read

Here's some rainy-day information to file away.

The Millcreek Mall has been ranked as the best mall in America to seek safe shelter in a zombie apocalypse.

Shoppers who are not zombies visit the Millcreek Mall.
Shoppers who are not zombies visit the Millcreek Mall.

That's according to a ranking, commissioned by JeffBet, an online casino based in the United Kingdom, of the 20 largest malls in the United States. Malls were evaluated based on demand, infection risk, shelter suitability, food provisions, weapon access, medicine access, mental stimulation, and the chance of rescue.

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To be clear, no immediate threat is posed by zombies — that we are aware of.

If you're not a student of zombie apocalypses or haven't been watching "The Last of Us" on HBO, Zombiepedia — a sort of Wikipedia for zombie-related matters — offers a definition of a zombie apocalypse.

According to the website, "In a zombie apocalypse, a widespread (usually global) rise of zombies hostile to human life engages in a general assault on civilization. Victims of zombies may become zombies themselves. This causes the outbreak to become an exponentially growing crisis."

In times like these, the Millcreek Mall is apparently the place to be.

"It's meant to be a bit of fun," said Emily Garner of Journo Research, a British research company commissioned by JeffBet, which issues reports on a variety of topics, including leisure, lifestyle and entertainment.

The analysis looks at real-world realities to come up with a score.

The Millcreek Mall earned a survival score of 7.7 out of 10. The lowest ranking for a major mall was Alana Moana Center in Honolulu, which scored 3.9 out of 10. The nation's largest mall, Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, ranked fourth with a score of 6.7.

"In the past 12 months, over 12 million people have visited. I wouldn't call that a low footfall," Cafaro Co. spokesman Joe Bell said of the Millcreek Mall.
"In the past 12 months, over 12 million people have visited. I wouldn't call that a low footfall," Cafaro Co. spokesman Joe Bell said of the Millcreek Mall.

According to JeffBet, "Millcreek Mall scored well across all eight factors, but came out particularly high for infection risk, access to medicine, and the chance of rescue."

The analysis also took into account the mall's daily footfall, or the number of people entering an area. A lower number means a lower chance that infection has been introduced.

According to this report, "Overall, Millcreek Mall has a low daily footfall despite its size, boasts an on-site pharmacy and is only a 13-minute walk away from a hospital — giving visitors a good chance of survival."

So what does the Cafaro Co., the Youngstown, Ohio-based owner of the mall, make of the findings?

"I feel so proud and honored that Millcreek Mall is rated No. 1 in America," said Joe Bell, a spokesman for Cafaro. "Those zombies won't have a chance there."

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Bell wondered aloud if the availability of weapons at Archery Encounters LLC, near Ollie's Bargain Outlet, might have been a feather in the mall's cap.

But Bell does question at least one of the findings and the suggestion that the mall, which includes Millcreek Marketplace and Millcreek Mall Pavilion, has a relatively low number of visitors.

"In the past 12 months, over 12 million people have visited. I wouldn't call that a low footfall," Bell said.

None of them were zombies, he said.

"But you never know. Sometimes in the wee hours of Black Friday, some of those people look a little like zombies themselves."

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie's Millcreek Mall is your best bet to survive zombies, survey says