Top 10 Creepiest Fallout Locations
#10: Andale
“Fallout 3” (2008)
You’ll find this all-American town far south in the Capital Wasteland, but not everything is as it seems. The people here are just too friendly, too chipper, welcoming you into Andale in a way you just can’t help but be suspicious of. And you’re right to be suspicious, because the town’s residents are cannibals. If you investigate the town, you’ll eventually find stashes of human flesh as part of an unmarked quest called “Our Little Secret”. But then, you have a choice. You can either wipe out the town, the good karma route, or agree with them, by either passing a speech skill check or making use of the perk “Cannibal” if you’ve taken it.
#9: Point Pleasant
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“Fallout 76” (2018)
This small town in West Virginia has one very famous resident, Mothman. This prophetic cryptid is speculated by some to be responsible for 1967’s tragic Silver Bridge collapse, and now stalks the wilderness of post-apocalyptic Appalachia. When you visit Point Pleasant in “Fallout”, you can explore the world-famous Mothman Museum, full of Mothman information and memorabilia. In 2021, things got much creepier, as the Cult of the Mothman arrived, bringing with them random encounters with the creature itself. He’s one of the most sinister beasts to ever grace the wasteland with his presence. Creepier yet, you can also collect and cook the eggs the Mothmen lay.
#8: The Dunwich Building
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“Fallout 3” (2008)
This sinister office building is miles away from anything else in the Capital Wasteland, meaning you’ll likely only find it if you’re going looking. Once inside, you’ll see various, ghostly flashbacks, doors will open of their own accord, and you’ll find a sacrificial obelisk. With the addition of the “Point Lookout” DLC, a side quest, “Dark Heart of Blackhall”, will give you a cursed book called the Krivbeknih. You must take it back to the Dunwich Building in the Capital Wasteland where it belongs to get good karma. All of this is one big reference to HP Lovecraft, with the name “Dunwich” coming from “The Dunwich Horror”, and the Krivbeknih standing in for the infamous Necronomicon.
#7: Pickman Gallery
“Fallout 4” (2015)
While Dunwich Borers LLC also returned in “Fallout 4” to be the subject of another creepy location, there’s a much more interesting Lovecraft reference found in the streets of Boston. Throughout the world, you’ll sometimes find the victims of violent murders, all with Pickman’s Calling Card on them – or maybe you were asked to investigate by Hancock. Either way, you can eventually find the Pickman Gallery, showcasing a dozen disturbing and gruesome paintings inside. Journey deep into the basement to find Pickman himself, getting the quest “Pickman’s Gift” which ends with you unlocking a rare weapon. This is an homage to the Lovecraft story “Pickman’s Model”, also set in Boston.
#6: Camp Searchlight
“Fallout: New Vegas” (2010)
You’re always going to have to go to the Fort to meet Caesar at some point, which requires taking a boat from Cottonwood Cove in the southeast of the Mojave. But to reach Cottonwood Cove, you can’t avoid passing through Camp Searchlight, a former NCR base that was irradiated by the Legion. It’s now infested with feral ghouls, highly dangerous, and has a green color filter. On a first playthrough, you’re probably just trying to make it through to the other side alive, not stopping to help the prospectors or find the rare weapons. You’ll learn the town’s backstory as you go, and will be relieved when you finally escape.
#5: The Crater of Atom
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“Fallout 4” (2015)
The entirety of the Glowing Sea is pretty creepy if we’re being honest. Highly radioactive and almost completely uninhabitable, it’s full of high-level super mutants, radscorpions, and deathclaws. But in the heart of the Glowing Sea, at ground zero for the atomic bomb we see dropped on Boston at the start of the game, is the Crater of Atom. This is the homebase of the Children of Atom, a disturbing, religious cult who worship radiation and believe the Great War was divine in nature. This group luckily isn’t hostile by default, but they’re definitely eerie – and if you encounter them elsewhere in the Commonwealth, they’ll attack on sight with devastating gamma guns.
#4: Torrance House
“Fallout 76” (2018)
Another pop culture reference now, this is, of course, one big homage to “The Shining”. The house is named for the Torrance family, who become caretakers of the Overlook Hotel, and you can find the aptly named Overlook Cabins nearby, too. As in the Dunwich Building, strange occurrences will begin to plague your Seventy-Sixer. Like the Overlook, the house has a maze containing a skeleton armed with an axe, referencing how Jack Torrance ultimately dies at the end of “The Shining”. You can also find blocks spelling out “redrum” and a tricycle like the one Danny rides through the hallways.
#3: The Museum of Witchcraft
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“Fallout 4” (2015)
While most of “Fallout 4” takes place in and around Boston, other famous towns in Massachusetts also appear – notably, Salem, which you’ll find in the northeast corner of the map. This ominous building is a one-to-one recreation of the real-life Salem Witch Museum, but it’s hiding a secret. A monster lives inside the museum, striking fear into the hearts of everybody who passes through the town. In a scripted horror sequence, the Sole Survivor is stalked by the creature throughout the museum, eventually discovering that the building is now a deathclaw nest. As a miniature horror level, it’s a fun but frightening breath of fresh air.
#2: The Cathedral
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“Fallout” (1997)
Undoubtedly, the Master is one of the most disturbing villains to ever appear in a video game, and this is where he resides. For the climax of the game, you’ll finally track him down to this imposing building in the ruins of Los Angeles, and will venture inside to find that, all this time, it was housing the remnants of a Vault-Tec demonstration vault, which is now the Master’s base. Your party members will drop like flies once you enter, and when you reach the mutant himself, it’s just you and him, in a confrontation for the ages, in which you need to persuade him that his plan won’t work. You’ll never forget the tense combat encounters and oppressive atmosphere down there.
#1: The Sierra Madre
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“Fallout: New Vegas” (2010)
The series went survival horror for “Dead Money”, the first DLC released for “New Vegas”. The Courier follows an ominous radio message and is brought to the Sierra Madre, a resort and casino that never opened because of the war. There are hazards everywhere. A toxic cloud covers the entire villa; the former workers are now Ghost People who won’t die unless they’re dismembered; there are radios that will trigger your bomb collar to explode if you stay in range of them; and there are deadly holograms stalking the halls of the casino itself. The Sierra Madre is one of the most frightening locations in the entire franchise, making the rest of “New Vegas” look like child’s play.
Let us know in the comments which of these locations fills you with dread.
