Project Zomboid Lorebook

1. #1Louisville, Kentucky — July 1993

   Keys: Louisville, KY, city, downtown, Kentucky

   Enabled · After character · Order 1 · 100%

   Entry settings

   Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky, population roughly 270,000 in 1993. Known as the Gateway to the South, home of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs and the University of Louisville. The city sits on the south bank of the Ohio River, with bridges connecting it north to Indiana. Major areas: Downtown with the old financial district and city hall, the Highlands neighborhood known for bars and music venues, St. Matthews a suburban shopping hub, the West End a predominantly Black working-class neighborhood, and the NorthSide where Louis lives and works, an industrial and residential mix near the river. The city in July 1993 is normal: summer heat, Derby season long past, people going about their lives. There are rumors coming from Knox County to the south but nothing that has disrupted daily life yet.

2. #2North Louisville and the Police Precinct

   Keys: police station, Northside, precinct, North Louisville, station

   Enabled · After character · Order 2 · 100%

   Entry settings

   The North Louisville area is a mixed industrial and residential district along the Ohio River. Working class, mostly white, a few pockets of old money near the waterfront. Louis bought his small two-story house here around 1988 because it was affordable and close to the precinct. The North Louisville Police Precinct covers this district: a solid brick building with a parking lot, holding cells, a bullpen of desks, a break room that always smells like burned coffee, and a locker room. The precinct runs three shifts. Louis works days most weeks. The precinct has about forty active patrols per shift plus investigators, admin staff, and dispatch. Henry Williams runs the station with the warmth of a concrete wall.

3. #3The Knox Event Timeline

   Keys: illness, outbreak, Knox Infection, zombies, virus, infected, Knox Event

   Enabled · After character · Order 3 · 100%

   Entry settings

   The Knox Event is the name given to the zombie outbreak that begins in Knox County, Kentucky in summer 1993. Timeline: July 4 — a mysterious illness appears in Muldraugh and West Point, small towns south of Louisville. A foul smell reported in the air. July 6 — the US military erects blockades around Knox County without explanation. Hazmat teams spotted inside. Residents turned away at gunpoint. July 7 — phone lines inside the exclusion zone go dead. No information gets out. Louisville hears rumors but daily life continues. July 9 — game default start date, chaos spreading. July 11 — infection confirmed in multiple cities worldwide. July 14 — the Knox Infection breaches the exclusion zone and reaches Louisville. July 15 — airborne transmission confirmed. July 16 — the US Army demolishes the Ohio River bridges trapping everyone inside Knox Country. The current date in this roleplay is July 7, 1993. Louisville is still normal. The rumors from the south are just that: rumors.

4. #4Knox County and Surrounding Area

   Keys: Knox County, Knox Country, Muldraugh, exclusion zone, south of Louisville, West Point

   Enabled · After character · Order 4 · 100%

   Entry settings

   Knox County in this context refers to the area south of Louisville including the small towns of Muldraugh, West Point, Riverside, and Rosewood. West Point is notable as Louis Thompson's hometown, about 30 miles south of Louisville along the Ohio River. As of July 7, the military has established blockades around this area but no official explanation has been given. People driving in from the south report seeing military vehicles and being turned around at checkpoints. Fort Knox, the Army base, is in this region. The area is quiet farming and small-town Kentucky under normal circumstances.

5. #5Daily Life in 1993

   Keys: communication, radio, daily life, everyday, phone, TV, 1993, technology

   Enabled · After character · Order 5 · 100%

   Entry settings

   July 1993 in Louisville. No smartphones, no internet for ordinary people. The World Wide Web exists but is only used by universities and tech companies. AOL exists but barely. Communication: landline phones at home and at work, payphones on street corners, pagers for people who need to be reached on the go (Louis carries one for work). Television has four major channels plus cable. News comes from the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper in the morning and the evening TV news at 6 and 11. Music comes from the radio or cassette tapes. No streaming. No GPS — people use paper maps and ask for directions. Cars have no computer systems to speak of. Credit cards exist but cash is still king for most daily purchases. Long distance calls are expensive so people are careful about them. The biggest summer news stories are the ongoing aftermath of the 1992 LA riots and early speculation about NAFTA.

6. #6Spiffo's Fast Food Chain

   Keys: fast food, food, Spiffo's, Spiffo, restaurant, burger

   Enabled · After character · Order 6 · 100%

   Entry settings

   Spiffo's is a fast food chain spread throughout Kentucky and beyond, known for their burgers and their raccoon mascot Mr. Spiffo. Louis hates their burgers despite several colleagues swearing by them. There is a Spiffo's two blocks from the precinct that the night shift sometimes orders from. Conspiracy theorists in the game's lore believe Spiffo's experimental Secret Sauce shipment may have something to do with the Knox County situation — a batch was reportedly misdirected to the area around the time the illness started. Nobody takes this seriously in July 1993. Other food options in Louisville: diners, home cooking, the occasional Chinese or Italian restaurant, Kentucky Fried Chicken (a Louisville institution, founded there), barbecue joints, and the kind of doughnut shop Louis frequents for the chocolate glazed.

7. #7PZ Universe Businesses

   Keys: GigaMart, stores, Gas 2 Go, shops, businesses, Knox Bank, Fossoil

   Enabled · After character · Order 7 · 100%

   Entry settings

   Businesses in the Project Zomboid universe of Louisville and Knox Country: Knox Bank is the dominant local banking chain, branches throughout Louisville and the county. Fossoil is the major fuel company, their refineries and gas stations visible across the industrial NorthWest. Gas 2 Go is the common convenience store chain. GigaMart is a large discount retailer, the equivalent of a Walmart, with a location in the Valley Station area south of the city. Hit Vids is the video rental chain where people get their VHS tapes. The Grand Ohio Mall is the largest shopping center in Louisville, a massive complex with every store imaginable. Seahorse Coffee is a small local chain Louis approves of.

8. #8Louisville Metro Police in 1993

   Keys: badge, patrol, police, law enforcement, squad car, officer, uniform, LMPD

   Enabled · After character · Order 8 · 100%

   Entry settings

   The Louisville Metro Police Department in 1993 operates out of multiple precincts across the city. The North Louisville precinct where Louis works handles the northern residential and industrial districts. Police radio communication is by two-way radio on the belt and in the squad car. No computers in the cars yet. Reports are typed on typewriters or early word processors and filed in physical folders. The squad cars are Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors, the standard American police vehicle of the era. Officers carry a service revolver or early semi-automatic pistol depending on precinct preference. The uniform is navy blue, badge on the chest. Louis has been with the department since 1986 and carries the quiet authority of someone who earned their position. The department has been doing image repair since the racial controversy of 1992 involving Officer Tommy McLean.

9. #9The Ohio River and Bridges

   Keys: Indiana, crossing, river, Second Street, bridge, Ohio River

   Enabled · After character · Order 9 · 100%

   Entry settings

   The Ohio River forms Louisville's northern border, separating Kentucky from Indiana. Multiple bridges cross it: the Second Street Bridge (where Louis plans to take Marceline for the July 4th 1998 proposal in the alternate timeline), the Clark Memorial Bridge, the Kennedy Bridge carrying Interstate 65. In normal times these bridges are busy commuter routes. In the Knox Event timeline, on July 16, 1993, the US Army will demolish these bridges to prevent the Knox Infection from spreading north into Indiana, trapping everyone in Louisville and Knox Country. As of July 7 the bridges are intact and normal.

10. #10Vehicles in 1993

    Keys: Camaro, Chevy, vehicle, car, automobile, truck, Crown Victoria, Ford

    Enabled · After character · Order 11 · 100%

    Entry settings

    Cars in 1993 are purely mechanical — no GPS, no backup cameras, no computer diagnostics beyond basic engine lights. Common vehicles: Ford Crown Victoria (the police interceptor), Chevrolet Camaro (what Louis is saving up to buy), Ford F-150 truck, Chevrolet Suburban, Dodge Ram. Gas is around a dollar a gallon. Seatbelts are legally required but compliance is inconsistent. No airbags in most vehicles. The police use Crown Victorias. Louis currently does not own a car, gets around by patrol car on duty and on foot or borrowed vehicles off duty. He has a piggy bank specifically for a Camaro.

11. #11West Point, Kentucky

    Keys: Louis hometown, small town, Kentucky, West Point, hometown

    Enabled · After character · Order 12 · 100%

    Entry settings

    West Point, Kentucky is a small town of a few thousand people about 30 miles south of Louisville along the Ohio River, in the area that will become the Knox Exclusion Zone. It is Louis Thompson's hometown. A quiet, conservative, predominantly white small town where everyone knows everyone. Louis's parents Jefferson and Winifred Thompson still live there. Louis has not spoken to them since he abandoned his baseball scholarship in 1985. West Point is currently inside the military blockade as of July 6, 1993. Louis does not yet know this means his parents are trapped inside the exclusion zone.

12. #12Music and Entertainment in 1993

    Keys: entertainment, country, radio, cassette, 1993 music, music, culture

    Enabled · After character · Order 10 · 100%

    Entry settings

    1993 is a significant year in music. Mainstream: country music is in a commercial boom with artists like Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Reba McEntire dominating the charts — Louis's territory. Rock is shifting toward grunge after Nirvana broke through. Hip hop is in its golden era. R&B is major. On the radio in Louisville you can find country stations, classic rock, and Top 40. Entertainment at home: VHS rental from Hit Vids or similar shops, network TV, cable if you have it. Movie theaters still the main way to see new films. At bars: jukeboxes, pool tables, live music on weekends. The Highlands neighborhood of Louisville has a thriving live music and bar scene.

13. #13Media and News Broadcasts

    Keys: radio, television, news, KnoxTalk, media, broadcast, WBLN

    Enabled · After character · Order 13 · 100%

    Entry settings

    Local Louisville media in 1993: the Louisville Courier-Journal is the major daily newspaper. WHAS-TV is the main local news channel. Radio stations include country, rock, and news-talk formats. In the Knox Event lore, WBLN News is the radio station that covers the Knox Event as it unfolds, with increasingly alarmed broadcasts. KnoxTalk is another radio station that broadcasts from inside the exclusion zone. As of July 7, Louisville news is covering the Knox County military situation as a minor story — a possible chemical spill or training exercise, authorities are not commenting. Nobody is calling it an outbreak yet.

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