10 scariest plagues from sci-fi and fantasy

1. Captain Trips from The Stand

Of all the fictional plagues out there, the one that perhaps hits closest to home is Captain Trips, the “superflu” from Stephen King’s 1978 novel The Stand. Developed as a bioweapon in a secret U.S. laboratory, the deadly and massively contagious virus eventually gets loose in the facility. Fearing the worst, one of the scientists takes his family and flees as far from the lab as he can…and unknowingly brings the virus out into the wider world.

The mass infection of Captain Trips only covers the first section of The Stand — which is much more about how humanity struggles to rebuild and the fight between good and evil that ensues after society collapses…but the pages of Stephen King’s masterpiece that cover the spread of the virus are enough.

Over the course of a month, 99.4% of the world’s population is wiped out by this incredibly deadly strain of man-made influenza. Quarantining the town where the initial outbreak occurred doesn’t stop it. Martial law doesn’t stop it. Due to the fact that it constantly mutates and adapts, Captain Trips is not susceptible to modern medicine. Nor is there any vaccine.

In the end, the only thing that halts the rapid spread of Captain Trips is the immunity of the few people that survive. Everyone that the virus can kill…it does.

By the way, CBS All Access is airing a miniseries adaptation of The Stand this year, which is…interesting timing.