Spooky? Eh. It is a slightly morphed dude, and they moan and groan but they are pretty basic.

Danger? It’s decent. The infection will always be a danger, but the ability of a runner to spread that infection is not very high, as it has not yet broken from the body, and relies mostly on physical contact, and while they can run, they do not possess the inhuman strength of a basic zombie.

Transformation is nearly nonexistent, just some yucky lines on them.

And their name is pretty lame. Runners? If someone said “Look behind you, Runners!” I would just assume a group of WeightWatcher ladies are coming up behind me on the trail.

Stalkers take it up a notch in the spookiness, making not normal human noises but a croaking noise, not to mention their creepy movements of hiding behind debris and making their way to you, rather than just straight on.

Their danger though I would say stays the same. While they would most likely be better at spreading the infection as their fungus is now protruding, they are losing their eyesight, and haven't perfected the echolocation yet.

Their transformation is clearly more pronounced, and even causes a new ability, that of echolocation.

And their name is the height of The Infected. Stalkers are a creepy thing in reality. If someone said, “Look behind you, Stalkers!” I would genuinely have some fear in me, unlike their previous stage.

Clickers are the highest form of The Infected that still remains close to a basic zombie, and as such is the spookiest while still remaining close to the familiar sort of fear. Their clicking is beyond human, and so the fear is more alien, and in my opinion also stronger. These are some undead more people should know about.

Their danger is a step up from the previous as well, continuing the trend of the stages, but only slightly. It is mostly because of their increased armor, as the echolocation seems to be a tradeoff for it, as having working eyesight would most likely be more effective, but would at this point seem definitively stronger than a basic zombie.

Their transformation again steps it up, becoming further covered in fungus.

Finally I believe the name “Clickers” is a small step back from “Stalkers”. It holds a less visceral fear than something called a Stalker would.

The Infected plateau in spookiness after the clicker, as Bloaters become what looks like a fungal creature rather than a fungally infected human, losing that undead startling factor, but remaining a horrifying creature.

The danger is at its height with a Bloater, possessing the ability to create spore grenades, and dramatically improving their ways of infecting victims. They are hardened to the point of resisting heavy gunfire, but lose the acrobatic movements of past stages, becoming slower and bulky.

The transformation directly coincides with their danger, these heavily infected corpses are nearly unrecognisable from their original human state.

However, with all these high ratings, Bloaters have the silliest name by far. At least the name “Runners” holds that whatever it is, can approach you with some sort of speed. When I hear ”Bloaters” I just imagine someone who ate a little too much ice cream one day, and the lethargy that follows. A Bloater is not only a name that many would be unaware of, but also one that fails to bring any sort of danger through association.