When players think back to Fallout 4, they’ll likely recall the high-octane shootouts, the vast open world, or the intriguing questlines. This isn’t at all surprising, given that it’s an action role-playing game. Despite its official genre, the world of Fallout 4 actually houses some pretty horrific set pieces as well — particularly those of a Lovecraftian kind.
Fallout 4's post-nuclear Commonwealth is already crawling with feral ghouls and huge, mishappen insects that plague the Sole Survivor as they wander the wasteland. These terrifying enemies pale in comparison to the game’s cosmic horrors, however.
The Fallout Series and Lovecraftian Horror
Lovecraftian horror (or cosmic horror) is a genre that highlights things that are beyond human comprehension. This type of horror is usually portrayed through otherworldly forces that mankind cannot control, or dangerous knowledge that can drive people to madness. It is named after the author H. P. Lovecraft, who popularized this genre of horror through stories about fictional beings, like Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep.
That said, the more recent Fallout titles don’t shy away from cosmic horror. Fallout3 had a few nods to Lovecraft, but it’s in Fallout 4 where the references really ramp up. In particular, the game has three locations for the player to explore that draw inspiration from some of the author’s stories.
The Pickman Gallery
Should the Sole Survivor wander north of Goodneighbor, they may come across an unassuming building registered as the Pickman Gallery. If the player enters, they’ll be greeted with mutilated corpses and a whole collection of unsettling paintings. This macabre setting is tied to the Fallout 4 side quest “Pickman’s Gift,” which has the player go deeper into the gallery until they find Pickman being attacked by raiders. The Sole Survivor can then choose to spare the murderous artist or kill him, along with the remaining raiders.
This location and its accompanying side quest are based on H. P. Lovecraft’s short story “Pickman’s Model.” It tells the strange tale of Richard Upton Pickman, a renowned painter who, incidentally, resides in Boston. The story explains that his artworks, though brilliant, were graphic and horrifying. This led to Pickman’s expulsion from his local art organization and his subsequent disappearance.
Realizing that Pickman has gone missing, two of his friends head to the artist’s personal gallery, where they find horrific paintings depicting humanoid creatures and other such monstrosities. At the end of the story, Pickman’s friend finds a photograph depicting a familiar humanoid beast from one of the paintings they saw in the gallery. It’s then revealed that Pickman was not simply pulling these abominations from his imagination, but that they are very much real.
The Cabot House
Another element of Fallout 4 that draws heavily from Lovecraftian horror is the Cabot family and their questline. Unlike the Pickman Gallery, this set piece presents multiple quests that ultimately lead the player to uncovering the secrets of Cabot House. After doing a few errands for Jack Cabot, the Sole Survivor will trigger the side quest “The Secret of Cabot House.”
In this quest, the player learns that the Cabot family — namely, Jack, his mother, and his sister — are nearly four hundred years old. Jack explains that he is able to create a serum that halts the aging process. And it’s concocted using the blood of their father — Lorenzo Cabot — whose physiology has been drastically altered by an ancient artifact that’s stuck itself to his head. At this point, the Sole Survivor can choose to assist Jack in killing his father or free Lorenzo and help him exact revenge on his family.
Regardless of how the questline ends, the player can learn more about Lorenzo Cabot and the strange headpiece by digging through journals and engaging in dialogue with the Cabots. The long and short of it is that Lorenzo worked as an archaeologist long before the bombs fell. He was primarily interested in ancient civilizations and managed to unearth one with his crew in the Arabian desert. This is where he found the ancient crown that he wears in Fallout 4, which has granted him otherworldly knowledge and mystical abilities. He’s been unable — or unwilling — to take it off since.
Unlike with “Pickman’s Gift,” the Cabot family’s story doesn’t have direct parallels to any of Lovecraft’s stories. However, it does follow the blueprint for what could be considered Lovecraftian horror. Lorenzo’s discovery of a long-forgotten city that is said to have housed alien residents, as well as the strange headpiece that grants the wearer with esoteric knowledge, both point to this. Additionally, the name “Cabot” could also be a subtle nod to Lovecraft’s mythos, as his short story “Out of the Aeons” features a place called the Cabot Museum in Boston - a city that just so happens to be the setting of Fallout 4.
The Dunwich Borers
Last but not least is arguably one of the scariest locations in Fallout 4 — the Dunwich Borers. It’s a huge, marble quarry owned by Dunwich Borers LLC. The name might sound familiar to long-time Fallout fans since it’s the same company that owned the Dunwich Building in Fallout 3. The pre-war quarry may seem straightforward at first, with the player having to mow down hordes of raiders and ghouls. But the deepest sections of the quarry reveal that it was more than just a digging operation.
By descending deeper into the depths, the Sole Survivor will find terminal entries detailing how the raiders are whispering to themselves about what lies below in this Fallout 4 location. There are also pre-war messages that reveal the site’s unsafe operations, resulting in the deaths of many employees. But the most chilling entry is from Bedlam, the raider running things, who simply repeats the phrase, “I’m safe in the light” over and over again.
At the very bottom of the quarry, the player will find what looks to be a ritual chamber with a marble platform at the center. A flashback will trigger, showing about ten or so people on their knees, their hands tied behind their back, as a man in pastoral clothing speaks atop the platform. By now the cavern will be rumbling and shaking violently, and the player will be facing feral ghouls rather than raiders. There is also a pool in this area, and should the player dive into it, they’ll find a unique Fallout 4 weapon on an underwater altar. Alongside the dagger, the face of a giant statue can be seen buried underneath the rubble.
The Dunwich Borers, as well as the Dunwich Building from Fallout 3, reference H. P. Lovecraft’s novella The Dunwich Horror. It tells the story of a family that lives in a farmhouse with an ethereal presence related to Yog-Sothoth. It is an all-knowing, all-seeing entity that offers otherworldly knowledge to those that seek to please it. Many players believe that the Fallout franchise drew inspiration from this entity when creating Ug-Qualthoth and its obelisk at the bottom of the Dunwich Building. Thus, the pre-war company’s dealings in the marble quarry could very well be linked to their worship of the Eldritch entity.
Bethesda’s Fallout titles may be known primarily for their action-oriented gameplay and story-driven nature, but the games aren’t afraid to tread on horror territory. By incorporating H. P. Lovecraft’s unique brand of fear to the wasteland, Fallout 4 is bound to unsettle any player that comes across the references.
Fallout 4 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
