In this episode of When Science Ruins Fiction, we take a look back at Backrooms and ask: what makes hazmat suits so horrifying?

Sources cited:

Muir, J. K. (2012). The Horror Lexicon #17: Bio-Hazard Suits. Reflections on Film and Television.

Kirby, D. A. (2011). Lab Coats in Hollywood: Science, Scientists, and Cinema. MIT Press.

(See also: Kirby, D. A. (2003). Scientists on the Set: Science Consultants and the Communication of Science in Visual Fiction. Public Understanding of Science).

Moodley, P., & Lesage, S. S. (2019). A discourse analysis of Ebola in South African newspapers (2014–2015). South African Journal of Psychology, 50(1)

Modern, M. (2019). Visualizing Ebola: Hazmat Suit Imagery, the Press, and the Production of Biosecurity. Canadian Journal of Communication, 44(2)

Jones, H., & Arnould, E. J. (2025). Mythologized Counter-Futures and Self-Protective Consumption: A Netnography of Doomsday Preppers. Journal of Consumer Research, 52(4)