The Fallout franchise is known for having set pieces with popular references to horror, particularly that of a Lovecraftian kind. Fallout 4 is no exception, and one of its most infamous areas is the marble quarry known as the Dunwich Borers. Despite looking like just another raider settlement, the Dunwich Borers houses cosmic secrets that existed long before the bombs fell — likely even longer than that.
The Dunwich Borers is an explorable area in Fallout 4. Should players opt to explore its depths, they’ll be met with strange flashbacks and eerie logs detailing what went on in the marble quarry. Piecing together the puzzle pieces, it’s clear that something sinister is going on beneath the surface.
Fallout 4: Something Isn’t Right
Before even setting foot in the Dunwich Borers, players can come across Hugo’s Hole, which is a marked location on Fallout 4's map where they’ll find Hugo, some lootable items, and a holotape. Hugo is already dead when the player arrives, though there are fresh blood splatters on the wall.
Playing the holotape reveals that Hugo was once affiliated with the raiders in the marble quarry, but now refuses to return as he might “kill them all” even though that isn’t “what it would want.” He then starts talking to an unknown entity, assuring it that he has his pistol and it’s loaded. This should give the player a good idea of what to expect from the quarry — there’s something strange going on there.
The Dunwich Borers — One of Fallout 4’s Most Unsettling Locations
Now, should the player journey into Dunwich Borers, there’ll be raiders, specifically, the Forged. A terminal entry by Bedlam, the raider in charge, reveals that some of the Forged from Saugus Ironworks traveled to the quarry to collect iron. However, shipments have stopped, so Bedlam had to step in and get things back on track. Her first two terminal entries are normal status reports, with her complaining that the workers aren’t doing their job and “whispering to themselves about the things down in the mine.” However, her third entry is strange with nothing but the sentence “I’m safe in the light” repeated over and over.
There are also other terminals scattered around that contain entries from pre-war operations, and these reveal that the management did not practice the safest protocols. One entry highlights the importance of wearing eye protection, citing that the team has had its fourth incident of someone losing an eye. Two other entries detail the company’s cost-cutting solutions to the need for support beams and railings within the quarry. Both simply warn the workers to be careful and assure them that the furnishings will be upgraded soon (though management doesn’t intend to).
One interesting thing to note about this is that the management’s flimsy support beams were likely implemented on purpose. As the player goes deeper into the quarry, the entire area will start rumbling and shaking due to an unknown force. If this was present during pre-war operations, it’s possible that the management wanted the workers to believe that the quakes were due to the weak support beams and not some sort of Eldritch entity. The relevant terminal entry reads, “if you or anyone you know reports rumblings or sees something that looks unstable, give it some time and see if it passes.”
Based on the entries, the management also holds social events for the workers, likely to keep the workforce from complaining too much. Lastly, there are messages to each of the four station’s project managers, alerting them that they need to head to Station 4. This is later revealed to be a trap as a holotape from Tim Shoots — another project manager — contains a message to the management, where he says that he’s worried that the other project managers will “figure out something's going on down here sooner than later.”
Though one of the most notable about this location is that the player will experience flashbacks as they traverse through the subterranean passages — a feature unique to the Dunwich Borers. The first flashback simply depicts employees from before the war, hard at work. Meanwhile, the second flashback is far more sinister, depicting a scene where ten or so people are on their knees, facing an altar where a man in a pastor’s cloak is making slicing motions with a knife.
At the furthest depths of the quarry, the player will find a large pool of water. Jumping in, they’ll find an underwater altar, a unique dagger called Kremvh’s Tooth, and what looks to be a partially buried face of a large statue peeking out from under the rubble.
The Dunwich Borers LLC, And Its Connection To The Occult
The name “Dunwich” has been around since Fallout 3, making an appearance through the game’s Dunwich Building. Unsurprisingly, that location also has a strange artifact. Underneath the building is a dark cave that houses a stone obelisk with what looks to be a human figure merging into it as well as a line of human skulls attached to its side. The obelisk was dedicated to a supernatural entity known as Ug-Qualtoth, whom Richard Dunwich and other members of his family allegedly worshipped, as hinted in the Fallout 3 quest, “The Dark Heart of Blackhall.”
Given the Dunwich family’s track record with the occult, it’s not a stretch to believe that their dealings in the marble quarry were of the same vein. It seems the company hired a crew to burrow down, thinking that it was a regular excavation. Though, in reality, the Dunwich corporation knew that there was an ancient sacrificial altar somewhere underground and intended to use for human sacrifice. This is further substantiated by the fact that Kremvh's Tooth possesses a unique modifier called “sacrificial blade,” which inflicts both the bleed and poison effect on enemies.
All this was likely done as a way of worshipping some occult entity, which is no doubt connected to the large statue buried in the depths of the quarry. It’s unclear whether the statue represents Ug-Qualtoth or some other entity. Though the statue clearly has some sort of effect on anyone who gets too close as shown by Hugo, Bedlam, and the rest of the raiders who were there.
The story behind Dunwich Borers is one steeped in occult horror, and it shows how much the infamous Dunwich corporation has done for the sake of a mysterious, Eldritch entity. Perhaps this cult-like company will make another appearance in the next Fallout game. Until then, fans can only speculate about their true intentions.
Fallout 4 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
