Tip #5: Don’t be a hero.

That said, while you shouldn’t be an a-hole, you don’t need to stick your neck out to try to be a hero, either. There are fine lines to walk throughout the “horror rules.” While abject cowardice is a kiss of death, heroism is also frequently a fatal flaw—particularly for Black characters. You’d think that striving to be a hero would be a desired trait, but since Black characters so rarely end up actually being the hero, chances are your valiant effort will fall flat, and at best, you’ll end up in a heroic death, awarded a posthumous medal that your significant other can pin to you charred remains. So, resist the urge to be a Good Samaritan; when that disheveled White woman runs up to your car saying that her friends have been eaten by a giant sewer pigeon, hit the gas and pretend you never saw her. Your conscience will forgive you . . . because you’ll be alive.