Fallout 4’s dystopian landscape is hard to top when it comes to the creepy aspect. In a nuclear wasteland, players go through the game as Sole Survivor, a character who witnessed the murder of their spouse and the kidnapping of their child and now must try to find them. Yet there is an Easter egg in the game that hints at even more violence and darkness beneath an already tumultuous surface, and it’s inspired by a great literary work from over 100 years ago.
The scene in reference takes place at The Castle, or more specifically, in the tunnels. Once players find the remains of General McGann, they also discover another body nearby, and it becomes clear the game took a lot of inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado. This story is a dark and twisted tale about two men and betrayal, with one of those men ending up being buried alive. Fallout 4 draws a lot of inspiration from that story for the visuals found in the game.
A Horrific Image Makes For Top-Tier World Building
Inspired By Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado
The visual references are spot on, as noted in the comments of this Reddit post by user TwinSong. In the original story, a man named Montresor invites his friend Fortunato down into the catacombs with the promise of amontillado. Instead, he chains Fortunato to a wall, builds another wall around him, and buries him alive. In Fallout 4, this is the exact image audiences are left with once they explore The Castle; there is a skeleton, with his hands chained above his head, buried behind another wall.
McGann is likely not directly tied to the body in the wall; his body is also found in the Castle tunnels after he became trapped there. This is a more subtle nod to the original story, but one that still notes being stuck in this place and unable to get out. McGann is also tied to wine, as this is his last beverage before he eventually loses his life. The ties to wine, being trapped, and literally being buried in the wall illustrate the strength of this story and how macabre it can still be.
These References Strengthen The World-Building
A Great Literary Work From Over 100 Years Ago
While a lot of people could make the connection to the reference with this scene alone, Fallout 4 is full of hidden quests and other small nods to The Cask of Amontillado. One of the junk items in the game is a bottle of amontillado. Players can find these bottles sprinkled throughout the game, particularly in the Castle tunnels. The bottles also have even further evidence of the reference on them, with the signature “P. Edgar.” The reference is clear and shows how much fun developers had when integrating it into the game.
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The Cask of Amontillado has been referenced countless times, but the additional mystery within Fallout 4 makes this reference one of the creepier. Players don’t know who this skeleton is or why they are there, allowing imagination to go wild with speculation. It’s a nice creepy element that elevates the atmosphere, making the threats seem even more intimidating as motivations aren’t known. Fallout 4 clearly uses literary references well to create a better atmosphere for the gamer.
Source: TwinSong/Reddit, Mitten Squad/Youtube
