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Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Maybe the cave is shaped like [[BewareTheSkullBase a monstrous skull of a giant beast that is occupied by villains or other monsters]]. Perhaps the cave in question was once occupied by such horrors but now lies empty and devoid of life, only for travelers to get the creepy sensation of BeingWatched. Oh, and did we mention the possibility of slumbering [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], [[TheMaze getting lost in a labyrinth]] and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
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Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Maybe the cave is shaped like [[BewareTheSkullBase a the monstrous skull of a giant beast that is occupied by villains or other monsters]]. Perhaps the cave in question was once occupied by such horrors but now lies empty and devoid of life, only for travelers to get the creepy sensation of BeingWatched. Oh, and did we mention the possibility of slumbering [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], [[TheMaze getting lost in a labyrinth]] and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
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A PrimalFear. Subtrope of NatureIsNotNice and often ForbiddenZone. A staple setting of the DoomedExpedition. Supertrope to AbandonedMine, SinisterSubway, and DugTooDeep. Sometimes illustrated through CaveMouth, where the entrance to a cave resembles an engulfing maw, or CobwebJungle. May overlap with BeneathTheEarth, TheUnderworld, ElaborateUndergroundBase, SecretUndergroundPassage, EldritchLocation, [[BewareTheSkullBase Skull themed settings]].ThrownDownAWell, or even UndergroundCity. Often present in a video game's UndergroundLevel. Compare EldritchOceanAbyss, TheMaze, DontGoInTheWoods, HungryJungle, SwampsAreEvil, CreepyBasement, and AbsurdlySpaciousSewer. Contrast EvilTowerOfOminousness. See also AWayOutOfACaveIn.
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A PrimalFear. Subtrope of NatureIsNotNice and often ForbiddenZone. A staple setting of the DoomedExpedition. Supertrope to AbandonedMine, SinisterSubway, and DugTooDeep. Sometimes illustrated through CaveMouth, where the entrance to a cave resembles an engulfing maw, or CobwebJungle. May overlap with BewareTheSkullBase, BeneathTheEarth, TheUnderworld, ElaborateUndergroundBase, SecretUndergroundPassage, EldritchLocation, [[BewareTheSkullBase Skull themed settings]].ThrownDownAWell, or even UndergroundCity. Often present in a video game's UndergroundLevel. Compare EldritchOceanAbyss, TheMaze, DontGoInTheWoods, HungryJungle, SwampsAreEvil, CreepyBasement, and AbsurdlySpaciousSewer. Contrast EvilTowerOfOminousness. See also AWayOutOfACaveIn.
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A PrimalFear. Subtrope of NatureIsNotNice and often ForbiddenZone. A staple setting of the DoomedExpedition. Supertrope to AbandonedMine, SinisterSubway, and DugTooDeep. Sometimes illustrated through CaveMouth, where the entrance to a cave resembles an engulfing maw, or CobwebJungle. May overlap with BeneathTheEarth, TheUnderworld, ElaborateUndergroundBase, SecretUndergroundPassage, EldritchLocation, ThrownDownAWell, or even UndergroundCity. Often present in a video game's UndergroundLevel. Compare EldritchOceanAbyss, TheMaze, DontGoInTheWoods, HungryJungle, SwampsAreEvil, CreepyBasement, and AbsurdlySpaciousSewer. Contrast EvilTowerOfOminousness. See also AWayOutOfACaveIn.
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A PrimalFear. Subtrope of NatureIsNotNice and often ForbiddenZone. A staple setting of the DoomedExpedition. Supertrope to AbandonedMine, SinisterSubway, and DugTooDeep. Sometimes illustrated through CaveMouth, where the entrance to a cave resembles an engulfing maw, or CobwebJungle. May overlap with BeneathTheEarth, TheUnderworld, ElaborateUndergroundBase, SecretUndergroundPassage, EldritchLocation, [[BewareTheSkullBase Skull themed settings]].ThrownDownAWell, or even UndergroundCity. Often present in a video game's UndergroundLevel. Compare EldritchOceanAbyss, TheMaze, DontGoInTheWoods, HungryJungle, SwampsAreEvil, CreepyBasement, and AbsurdlySpaciousSewer. Contrast EvilTowerOfOminousness. See also AWayOutOfACaveIn.
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Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Maybe the cave is shaped like [[BewareTheSkullBase a monstrous skull of a giant beast that is occupied by villains or other monsters]]. Perhaps the cave in question was once occupied by such horrors but now lies empty and devoid of life, only for travelers to get the creepy sensation of BeingWatched. Oh, and did we mention the possibility of slumbering [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
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Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Maybe the cave is shaped like [[BewareTheSkullBase a monstrous skull of a giant beast that is occupied by villains or other monsters]]. Perhaps the cave in question was once occupied by such horrors but now lies empty and devoid of life, only for travelers to get the creepy sensation of BeingWatched. Oh, and did we mention the possibility of slumbering [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], [[TheMaze getting lost in a labyrinth]] and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
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Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Maybe the cave is shaped like [[BewareTheSkullBase a monstrous skull of a giant beast that is occupied by villains or other monsters]]. Oh, and did we mention [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
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Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Maybe the cave is shaped like [[BewareTheSkullBase a monstrous skull of a giant beast that is occupied by villains or other monsters]]. Perhaps the cave in question was once occupied by such horrors but now lies empty and devoid of life, only for travelers to get the creepy sensation of BeingWatched. Oh, and did we mention the possibility of slumbering [[DragonHoard dragons]]? dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
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Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Maybe the cave is shaped like [[BewareTheSkullCave a monstrous skull of a giant beast that is occupied by villains or other monsters]]. Oh, and did we mention [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
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Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Maybe the cave is shaped like [[BewareTheSkullCave [[BewareTheSkullBase a monstrous skull of a giant beast that is occupied by villains or other monsters]]. Oh, and did we mention [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
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Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Oh, and did we mention [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
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Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Maybe the cave is shaped like [[BewareTheSkullCave a monstrous skull of a giant beast that is occupied by villains or other monsters]]. Oh, and did we mention [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
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* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': The Pit of Doom is a volcanic cavern where the [[TheAntiGod Dark One]] can reach in from his [[SealedEvilInACan prison outside creation]], making it an EldritchLocation that's feared even by his most powerful followers. He often constricts the entrance tunnel to threaten people with its jagged stalactites, to say nothing of [[YourSoulIsMine what he can do to them]] in the Pit itself.
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* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': The Pit of Doom is a volcanic cavern where the [[TheAntiGod Dark One]] can reach in from his [[SealedEvilInACan prison outside creation]], making it an EldritchLocation that's feared even by his most powerful followers. He often constricts the entrance tunnel to threaten people with its jagged stalactites, to say nothing of [[YourSoulIsMine what he can do to them]] in the Pit itself.
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* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
** In the original territories, there is a cave that the cats call Mothermouth that, deep inside, contains the Moonstone, which is where the medicine cats and leaders speak to [=StarClan=], the spirits of their ancestors. The cave is often considered to be creepy, and the characters must conquer their fear in order to reach the Moonstone.
** In the lake territory, there is a small cave system beneath [=ThunderClan=] and [=WindClan=]'s territories. It was previously used in a coming-of-age initiation by an ancient community of cats who lived in the area, but not every cat made it out, since the tunnels would flood when it rained. In modern times it's haunted by the ghost of a young cat who died there, as well as a creepy all-seeing spirit-cat who has been around since the dawn of time.
** In the original territories, there is a cave that the cats call Mothermouth that, deep inside, contains the Moonstone, which is where the medicine cats and leaders speak to [=StarClan=], the spirits of their ancestors. The cave is often considered to be creepy, and the characters must conquer their fear in order to reach the Moonstone.
** In the lake territory, there is a small cave system beneath [=ThunderClan=] and [=WindClan=]'s territories. It was previously used in a coming-of-age initiation by an ancient community of cats who lived in the area, but not every cat made it out, since the tunnels would flood when it rained. In modern times it's haunted by the ghost of a young cat who died there, as well as a creepy all-seeing spirit-cat who has been around since the dawn of time.
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There is good reason for this, as caves in RealLife can be extremely hostile environments to humans. The [[DarknessEqualsDeath lack of light]] alone is enough to scare off many, and even the most intrepid explorer has to contend with hazards from [[HairTriggerAvalanche rock falls]] to [[DrowningPit flooded areas]] to plain old [[LifeWillKillYou hypothermia and exhaustion]]--not to mention the [[{{Claustrophobia}} twisting, turning,]] [[TheMaze often labyrinthine]] structure of the cave itself. Caves can be deadly, and we are not ideally evolved to inhabit them.
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[[TruthInTelevision There is good reason for this, this]], as caves in RealLife can be extremely hostile environments to humans. The [[DarknessEqualsDeath lack of light]] alone is enough to scare off many, and even the most intrepid explorer has to contend with hazards from [[HairTriggerAvalanche rock falls]] to [[DrowningPit flooded areas]] to plain old [[LifeWillKillYou hypothermia and exhaustion]]--not to mention the [[{{Claustrophobia}} twisting, turning,]] [[TheMaze often labyrinthine]] structure of the cave itself. Caves can be deadly, and we are not ideally evolved to inhabit them.
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* In the second ''Literature/AramintaSpooky'' book by Angie Sage, the main duo must traverse a series of cave-like underground passageways looking for a connection to a grotto on the beach. They are terrified the whole way, getting lost several times and mistaking a large mushroom for a dead body when one of them steps on it in the dark.
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* In the second ''Literature/AramintaSpooky'' ''Literature/AramintaSpookie'' book by Angie Sage, the main duo must traverse a series of cave-like underground passageways looking for a connection to a grotto on the beach. They are terrified the whole way, getting lost several times and mistaking a large mushroom for a dead body when one of them steps on it in the dark.
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* ''Literature/TedsCavingPage'' involves two experienced cavers attempting to explore an undiscovered portion of a local cave, and they wind up [[DugTooDeep digging into the lair]] of something terrifying [[NothingIsScarier that they never get a good look at]]. Even before the creature appears, the darkness of the cave and its claustrophobically tight passages are described in harrowing detail.
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* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' has a number of caves, with two standing out as particularly creepy. One is the underground swamp that connects the [[LostWoods Forbidden Woods]] to [[MadScientistLaboratory Iosefka's Clinic]] and contains a lake of poison and enough dead bodies to conclude that this is where Iosefka dumped her less fortunate patients for years. The other is the Altar of Despair, the well-hidden holy of holies of the [[PathOfInspiration Healing Church]], where the Choir hosts Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos -- the KeeperOfForbiddenKnowledge and a minor EldritchAbomination in her own right.
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A PrimalFear. Subtrope of NatureIsNotNice and often ForbiddenZone. A staple setting of the DoomedExpedition. Supertrope to AbandonedMine, SinisterSubway, and DugTooDeep. Sometimes illustrated through CaveMouth, where the entrance to a cave resembles an engulfing maw, or CobwebJungle. May overlap with BeneathTheEarth, TheUnderworld, ElaborateUndergroundBase, SecretUndergroundPassage, EldritchLocation, ThrownDownAWell, or even UndergroundCity. Often present in a video game's UndergroundLevel. Compare EldritchOceanAbyss, TheMaze, DontGoInTheWoods, HungryJungle, SwampsAreEvil, and CreepyBasement. Contrast EvilTowerOfOminousness. See also AWayOutOfACaveIn.
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A PrimalFear. Subtrope of NatureIsNotNice and often ForbiddenZone. A staple setting of the DoomedExpedition. Supertrope to AbandonedMine, SinisterSubway, and DugTooDeep. Sometimes illustrated through CaveMouth, where the entrance to a cave resembles an engulfing maw, or CobwebJungle. May overlap with BeneathTheEarth, TheUnderworld, ElaborateUndergroundBase, SecretUndergroundPassage, EldritchLocation, ThrownDownAWell, or even UndergroundCity. Often present in a video game's UndergroundLevel. Compare EldritchOceanAbyss, TheMaze, DontGoInTheWoods, HungryJungle, SwampsAreEvil, CreepyBasement, and CreepyBasement.AbsurdlySpaciousSewer. Contrast EvilTowerOfOminousness. See also AWayOutOfACaveIn.
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-->-- Jacob Geller, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MOKTU9tCbw "Fear of Depths"]]
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-->-- Jacob Geller, '''Jacob Geller''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MOKTU9tCbw "Fear of Depths"]]
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* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', Harry and Dumbledore visit a cave where a young Tom Riddle had done something to traumatize two of his fellow orphanage residents. The cave, now home to one of Voldemort's [[SoulJar Horcruxes]], requires a blood sacrifice to enter, requires crossing a pool filled with zombies to reach a fountain filled with a potion that must be drunk to retrieve the Horcrux. The potion greatly weakens the drinker, leaving them dehydrated, with no available water other than the zombie lake, and taking water from it disturbs the zombies. Dumbledore drinks the potion and is barely able to escape with Harry; years earlier, [[spoiler:Regulus Black died stealing the Horcrux and leaving a fake behind]].
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* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', Harry and Dumbledore visit a cave where a young Tom Riddle had done something to traumatize two of his fellow orphanage residents. The cave, now home to one of Voldemort's [[SoulJar Horcruxes]], requires a blood sacrifice to enter, requires then crossing a pool filled with zombies to reach a fountain filled with a potion that must be drunk to retrieve the Horcrux. The potion greatly weakens the drinker, leaving them dehydrated, with no available water other than the zombie lake, and taking water from it disturbs the zombies. Dumbledore drinks the potion and is barely able to escape with Harry; years earlier, [[spoiler:Regulus Black died stealing the Horcrux and leaving a fake behind]].
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* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', Harry and Dumbledore visit a cave where a young Tom Riddle had done something to traumatize two of his fellow orphanage residents. The cave, now home to one of Voldemort's [[SoulJar Horcruxes]], requires a blood sacrifice to enter, requires crossing a pool filled with zombies to reach a fountain filled with a potion that must be drunk to retrieve the Horcrux. The potion greatly weakens the drinker, leaving them dehydrated, with no available water other than the zombie lake, and taking water from it disturbs the zombies. Dumbledore drinks the potion and is barely able to escape with Harry; years earlier, [[spoiler:Regulus Black died stealing the Horcrux and leaving a fake behind]].
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* ''Literature/{{Narnia}}'' Book 5, ''Literature/TheSilverChair'': In search of the missing prince, the protagonists end up falling into "Underland," a civilization of MoleMen housed BeneathTheEarth in massive natural cave systems. The whole area is decidedly PlayedForHorror, with the initial journey to the central city making use of all the frightening elements of a real-life caving expedition such as crossing dark waters and crawling through small, tight tunnels. There is a sense of {{claustrophobia}} and [[DarknessEqualsDeath encroaching darkness]] throughout the Underland chapters, and to make matters worse, the whole place starts flooding after the climactic confrontation.
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* ''Literature/{{Narnia}}'' Book 5, 4, ''Literature/TheSilverChair'': In search of the missing prince, the protagonists end up falling into "Underland," a civilization of MoleMen housed BeneathTheEarth in massive natural cave systems. The whole area is decidedly PlayedForHorror, with the initial journey to the central city making use of all the frightening elements of a real-life caving expedition such as crossing dark waters and crawling through small, tight tunnels. There is a sense of {{claustrophobia}} and [[DarknessEqualsDeath encroaching darkness]] throughout the Underland chapters, and to make matters worse, the whole place starts flooding after the climactic confrontation.
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There is good reason for this, as caves in RealLife can be extremely hostile environments to humans. The [[DarknessEqualsDeath lack of light]] alone is enough to scare off most, and even the most intrepid explorer has to contend with hazards from [[HairTriggerAvalanche rock falls]] to [[DrowningPit flooded areas]] to plain old [[LifeWillKillYou hypothermia and exhaustion]]--not to mention the [[{{Claustrophobia}} twisting, turning,]] [[TheMaze often labyrinthine]] structure of the cave itself. Caves can be deadly, and we are not ideally evolved to inhabit them.
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There is good reason for this, as caves in RealLife can be extremely hostile environments to humans. The [[DarknessEqualsDeath lack of light]] alone is enough to scare off most, many, and even the most intrepid explorer has to contend with hazards from [[HairTriggerAvalanche rock falls]] to [[DrowningPit flooded areas]] to plain old [[LifeWillKillYou hypothermia and exhaustion]]--not to mention the [[{{Claustrophobia}} twisting, turning,]] [[TheMaze often labyrinthine]] structure of the cave itself. Caves can be deadly, and we are not ideally evolved to inhabit them.
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Alphabetizing.
* The "unofficial" ''Film/{{Alien}}'' sequel ''Film/Alien2OnEarth'' involves a group of cavers being hunted down by parasitic alien creatures disguised as rocks.
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* The "unofficial" ''Film/{{Alien}}'' sequel ''Film/Alien2OnEarth'' involves a group of cavers being hunted down by parasitic alien creatures disguised as rocks.
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* The "unofficial" ''Film/{{Alien}}'' sequel ''Film/Alien2OnEarth'' involves a group of cavers being hunted down by parasitic alien creatures disguised as rocks.
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Technically the Spiders that spawn in any caves in Minecraft are the "normal" kind; the only other variety are exclusive to the Mineshafts.
* Large caverns in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' are excellent sources of metals, jewels, and magma for fuel. They also contain large "evil-aligned" beasts like Voracious Cave Crawlers (even underneath "good-aligned" regions), web-spewing [[GiantSpider Giant Cave Spiders,]] randomly-generated Forgotten Beasts, and magma pools dwarves can be flung in to or accidentally dodge in to. Unless the player picked a nasty location to embark in, the creatures in the caves typically cause the most trouble when there isn't a seige going on. [[spoiler:Getting too greedy with Adamantine will result in digging in to Hell/the Underworld itself, which will cause a mob of demons to rush at the fortress.]]
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* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'': Caving is one of the most popular activities in survival mode, and every auto-generated world includes massive, blocky cave systems full of both precious ores and undue dangers. There are a few aspects that make caves particularly creepy as opposed to the rest of the game: The lack of sunlight allows monsters to spawn at all times of day, the [[GiantSpider spiders]] that spawn in caves are more dangerous than the aboveground variety, [[LavaPit lava]] is an ever-present danger, and to really drive home the atmosphere, a variety of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiJZkpEuecc extra creepy sounds]] are added to the game's ambiance--which tend to play at unexpected times, just to keep you from getting too comfortable.
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* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'': Caving is one of the most popular activities in survival mode, and every auto-generated world includes massive, blocky cave systems full of both precious ores and undue dangers. There are a few aspects that make caves particularly creepy as opposed to the rest of the game: The lack of sunlight allows monsters to spawn at all times of day, the [[GiantSpider spiders]] that spawn in caves the abandoned mineshafts are more dangerous than the aboveground variety, [[LavaPit lava]] is an ever-present danger, and to really drive home the atmosphere, a variety of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiJZkpEuecc extra creepy sounds]] are added to the game's ambiance--which tend to play at unexpected times, just to keep you from getting too comfortable.
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* ''VideoGame/Rayman2'' has The Cave of Bad Dreams, where Polokus's nightmares are imprisoned. It is full of bones, rivers of brambles or pink liquid, arms that come out of walls and will grab and kill Rayman, one-eyed fire-breathing monsters that try to eat Rayman and respawning black caterpillars that leap around all over the place.
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%% PLEASE NOTE: Examples on this page have been alphabetized. Please add yours in the
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%% PLEASE NOTE: Examples on this page have been alphabetized.ALPHABETIZED. Please add yours in the
* The climax of ''Literature/TheOutsider2018'' takes place in the Marysville Hole; a network of caves that are vast, dark, confusing and prone to collapse. Even before the titular [[HumanoidAbomination Outsider]] made the caves its home, they were still dangerous. An entire rescue party who had been looking for two children lost in the caves became trapped by a cave-in and slowly perished in the dark.
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* The climax of ''Literature/TheOutsider2018'' takes place in the Marysville Hole; a network of caves that are vast, dark, confusing and prone to collapse. Even before the titular [[HumanoidAbomination Outsider]] made the caves its home, they were still dangerous. An entire rescue party who had been looking for two children lost in the caves became trapped by a cave-in and slowly perished in the dark.
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* The climax of ''Literature/TheOutsider2018'' takes place in the Marysville Hole; a network of caves that are vast, dark, confusing and prone to collapse. Even before the titular [[HumanoidAbomination outsider]] made the caves its home, they were still dangerous. An entire rescue party who had been looking for two children lost in the caves became trapped by a cave-in and slowly perished in the dark.
to:
* The climax of ''Literature/TheOutsider2018'' takes place in the Marysville Hole; a network of caves that are vast, dark, confusing and prone to collapse. Even before the titular [[HumanoidAbomination outsider]] Outsider]] made the caves its home, they were still dangerous. An entire rescue party who had been looking for two children lost in the caves became trapped by a cave-in and slowly perished in the dark.
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* The climax of ''Literature/TheOutsider2018'' takes place in the Marysville Hole; a network of caves that are vast, dark, confusing and prone to collapse. Even before the titular [[HumanoidAbomination outsider]] made the caves its home, they were still dangerous. An entire rescue party who had been looking for two children lost in the caves became trapped by a cave-in and slowly perished in the dark.
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* ''WesternAnimation/PoohsGrandAdventure: The Search for Christopher Robin'': Following Owl's instructions, Pooh and company travel to a cavern referred to as "The Skull", which resembles a skull face from the exterior, to supposedly save Christopher Robin from the skull's eye. Upon finding Christopher Robin and learning that it was all a misunderstanding, they exist and find the cavern looks nowhere near as ominous as before.
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/PoohsGrandAdventure: The Search for Christopher Robin'': Following Owl's instructions, Pooh and company travel to a cavern referred to as "The Skull", which resembles a skull face from the exterior, to supposedly save Christopher Robin from the skull's eye. Upon finding Christopher Robin and learning that it was all a misunderstanding, they exist exit and find the cavern looks nowhere near as ominous as before.
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* ''WesternAnimation/PoohsGrandAdventure: The Search for Christopher Robin'': Following Owl's instructions, Pooh and company travel to a cavern referred to as "The Skull", which resembles a skull face from the exterior, to supposedly save Christopher Robin from the skull's eye. Upon finding Christopher Robin and learning that it was all a misunderstanding, they exist and find the cavern looks nowhere near as ominous as before.
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* Wiki/SCPFoundation: SCP-2935 is a space-time anomaly existing within a limestone cave leading to a parallel universe where all life, including both biological and non-biological, as well as any sentient entities, machines, computers and other "life-like" phenomena, ended.
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* Wiki/SCPFoundation: SCP-2935 is a space-time anomaly existing within a limestone cave leading to a parallel universe where all life, including both biological and non-biological, as well as any sentient entities, machines, computers and other "life-like" phenomena, ended. [[spoiler:The final log from the alternate Agent Keller implies that ''something'' in the cave itself caused the apocalyptic event. The alternate Keller went through an alternate version of the cave to a ''third'' parallel universe where the life-ending event happened earlier -- only to return to his own universe (the one described in the bulk of the SCP article) and find that the mass dying also happened there soon after he returned. Both he and the "prime" Keller encourage the Foundation to seal the cave up to prevent this from happening to our universe as well.]]
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[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tom_sawyer_cave.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Let's just hope those aren't [[BloodsuckingBats Vampire Bats]].]]
->''"The 'call of the void' is rarely more apt than when talking about the depths. I felt it well within that cave. And in fiction, too, the depths are consistently linked to that alluring feeling of self-destruction."''
-->-- Jacob Geller, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MOKTU9tCbw "Fear of Depths"]]
Caves in fiction are generally portrayed as unsettling at best, frightening as a rule, and [[PlayedForHorror downright horrifying]] at worst.
There is good reason for this, as caves in RealLife can be extremely hostile environments to humans. The [[DarknessEqualsDeath lack of light]] alone is enough to scare off most, and even the most intrepid explorer has to contend with hazards from [[HairTriggerAvalanche rock falls]] to [[DrowningPit flooded areas]] to plain old [[LifeWillKillYou hypothermia and exhaustion]]--not to mention the [[{{Claustrophobia}} twisting, turning,]] [[TheMaze often labyrinthine]] structure of the cave itself. Caves can be deadly, and we are not ideally evolved to inhabit them.
Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Oh, and did we mention [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
The milder version of this trope, common in children's media, is when caves are simply depicted as dark and spooky places inhabited by bats and with chilly winds blowing out of them. Entering a cave is a common [[StockVisualMetaphor visual shorthand]] for confronting one's fears.
A PrimalFear. Subtrope of NatureIsNotNice and often ForbiddenZone. A staple setting of the DoomedExpedition. Supertrope to AbandonedMine, SinisterSubway, and DugTooDeep. Sometimes illustrated through CaveMouth, where the entrance to a cave resembles an engulfing maw, or CobwebJungle. May overlap with BeneathTheEarth, TheUnderworld, ElaborateUndergroundBase, SecretUndergroundPassage, EldritchLocation, ThrownDownAWell, or even UndergroundCity. Often present in a video game's UndergroundLevel. Compare EldritchOceanAbyss, TheMaze, DontGoInTheWoods, HungryJungle, SwampsAreEvil, and CreepyBasement. Contrast EvilTowerOfOminousness. See also AWayOutOfACaveIn.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': The second lair of Keeper Arachne, a.k.a an EvilOverlord, is a cave that is entered vertically, and spider-infested, along with AllWebbedUp corpses.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': The Cave of Wonders, [[NonIndicativeName despite the title]]. It doesn't get any creepier than [[CaveMouth a cave shaped like a lion's head that can talk]]. The cavern will only allow entrance to a ChosenOne, automatically killing anyone else. For the one that it does let in, there is one rule: only touch [[GenieInABottle the lamp]], nothing else. Aladdin does adhere to this, but his pet monkey, Abu, grabs a [[ForbiddenFruit sparkly jewel]]. This angers the cave, and the whole place turns into a lava deathtrap that Aladdin and Abu barely escape. When they get out, Jafar betrays them and knocks them back down into the cave, which is now less lava-filled and more dark and gloomy.
* ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'': After falling down a waterfall, Anna and Olaf find themselves trapped in a dark, gloomy cave, paralleling Elsa's descent into the glacier at the same time. This is where [[spoiler:Olaf [[DisneyDeath dies]] and]] Anna has her near-DespairEventHorizon moment.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/TheCave'', an action-{{horror}} film [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin set in a cave]]. A team of expert cave divers sets out to explore a previously unmapped underwater cave system that starts out simply harrowing and creepy--with strange noises, large, hairless mole creatures, and of course the water itself--and becomes life-threatening when falling rocks block their exit and trap them inside with eldritch {{Humanoid Abomination}}s that attack them at every opportunity. The film's tagline:
-->''There are places man was never meant to go.''
* ''Film/{{Cave}}'' is a 2016 Norwegian PsychologicalHorror film where three ex-military friends explore a freezing uncharted cave together and the hostile environment brings their interpersonal difficulties to the forefront.
* ''Film/TheCavern'' is yet another horror film focused on a group exploring an uncharted cave system while being pursued by a supernatural threat. To make matters worse, the cavers' sanity rapidly deteriorates, and the film ends with [[spoiler:a graphic rape and murder scene]], implied to have been brought on by the setting.
* ''Film/TheDescent'' follows a group of women who go on a fun getaway and caving expedition. The trip quickly turns terrifying when a cave-in traps them inside and they are forced to proceed deeper in, encountering water hazards, dangerous falls, and a race of subterranean monsters with a taste for human flesh. [[spoiler:None of them make it out alive.]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'': As part of his [[WarriorMonk Jedi]] training on the [[SingleBiomePlanet swamp planet]] Dagobah, [[TheHero Luke]] must enter a small but dark and thickly overgrown cave beneath a giant, gnarled tree, which has the property of manifesting intruders' deepest fears. He encounters a mirage of [[TheHeavy Darth Vader]], [[spoiler:whose head he cuts off only to discover his own face inside the helmet]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* A massive cave, [[https://www.marktwaincave.com/mark-twain-cave/#:~:text=Traverse%20the%20labyrinth%20which%20inspired,and%20smooth%2C%20with%20no%20stairs based on a real cave system in Missouri]], lurks in the background of ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer''. In the book's climax, [[FreeRangeChildren Tom and Becky]] get lost in the cave and must find their way out, braving bats, darkness, and the man who turns out to be in there with them. Becky is so scared by the cave that she becomes basically nonfunctional, requiring Tom to get them out. [[spoiler:After their escape, the cave is sealed by local parents to prevent a similar incident, unknowingly trapping the main antagonist inside, where he is later discovered having died of hunger.]]
* In the second ''Literature/AramintaSpooky'' book by Angie Sage, the main duo must traverse a series of cave-like underground passageways looking for a connection to a grotto on the beach. They are terrified the whole way, getting lost several times and mistaking a large mushroom for a dead body when one of them steps on it in the dark.
* In the children's picture book "Aunt Isabel Tells a Good One," the [[DistressedDude prince]] is kidnapped and held in the lair of the villains Odious Mole and Bad-Egg Bat, which is a dank, creepy cave full of stalactites, mushrooms, and icky-looking bugs. The heroine has to face her fears by entering the cave to rescue him.
* ''Literature/EnchantedForestChronicles'':
** Downplayed in ''Dealing with Dragons''. The protagonist is gainfully employed by a dragon as a cook and housekeeper, and she does her best to make her employer's cave homey, but she still finds it rather gloomy at times. Later in the book, she has to traverse a large connected system of magical caves with their own peculiar rules and dangers. The journey is portrayed as harrowing, but not terrifying.
** In the scariest chapter of ''Talking to Dragons'', the main characters travel through the Caves of Chance, a large network of caves with peculiar properties. They are pursued throughout by a creepy, sapient, jelly-like lifeform called a "quozzel," which at one point causes a cave-in trying to kill them all.
* Bilbo and the dwarves learn the danger of caves the hard way in ''Literature/TheHobbit'': They take shelter from a storm in what seems to be a small cave in the mountainside, but turns out to be the vestibule to the vast caverns inhabited by the evil mountain [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]], who truss the entire party and carry them deep into their lair. Bilbo escapes and runs blindly into the depths of the caves, ending up at a subterranean lake where he meets Gollum, who wants very much to eat him. The chapter is also where he stumbles upon his magic ring, which will [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings later]] turn out to be [[ArtifactOfDoom the most evil object in the world]].
* ''Literature/{{Kane}}'': In "Two Suns Setting" Kane and Dwassllir, the last king of giants, enter a cave that is the the burial place of an ancient giant king Brotemllain. It turns out to be dangerously unstable, as well as inhabited by strange underground creatures including huge blind cockroaches and a sabretooth tiger. Kane barely gets out alive. [[spoiler: Dwassllir doesn't, and the cave becomes also his burial place]].
* ''Literature/{{Narnia}}'' Book 5, ''Literature/TheSilverChair'': In search of the missing prince, the protagonists end up falling into "Underland," a civilization of MoleMen housed BeneathTheEarth in massive natural cave systems. The whole area is decidedly PlayedForHorror, with the initial journey to the central city making use of all the frightening elements of a real-life caving expedition such as crossing dark waters and crawling through small, tight tunnels. There is a sense of {{claustrophobia}} and [[DarknessEqualsDeath encroaching darkness]] throughout the Underland chapters, and to make matters worse, the whole place starts flooding after the climactic confrontation.
* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': The Pit of Doom is a volcanic cavern where the [[TheAntiGod Dark One]] can reach in from his [[SealedEvilInACan prison outside creation]], making it an EldritchLocation that's feared even by his most powerful followers. He often constricts the entrance tunnel to threaten people with its jagged stalactites, to say nothing of [[YourSoulIsMine what he can do to them]] in the Pit itself.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Podcasts]]
* In the ''Podcast/{{Lore}}'' episode "The Cave," the host discusses a cult on the island of Chiloe and the rumors that circulated about a cave where the cult leaders kept their most precious objects, as well as chimeric beasts and deliberately disfigured humans.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The cooperative board game ''Caves & Claws'' is premised on exploring a series of spooky caves looking for MacGuffin pieces. Unfortunately, the caves are sometimes populated by [[HelpingHands massive disembodied hands]] [[BodyHorror with eyes and long, dirty nails]].
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
** "The Caves of Koilos" is a land showing the view from the mouth of a craggy desert cave. It has the unusual property of draining one life from the player each time it is used.
** "Cave of Temptation" shows a cracked, rather yonic rock formation around the entrance to a pitch-black cave.
** "Bloodfell Caves" shows a jagged, unsettling red- and black-toned cave.
* The sequel to ''TabletopGame/SmallWorld'', ''Small World: Underground'' is set in an expansive subterranean cavern. The overall tone and color palette are darker than the original game, the races are more malevolent (including [[OurLichesAreDifferent liches]], cultists, and {{spider people}}), and the gameplay is more difficult.
* The board game ''TabletopGame/{{Vast}}'' is set in a giant dark cave populated by a dragon, a horde of goblins, and an undead thief cursed to forever look for the dragon's hoard. What's more, the cave itself [[EldritchLocation can have an malevolent intelligence of its own]], as one player can take over its role, with the goal of collapsing and burying other players inside.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/CaveStory:'' As the title suggests, the majority of the game takes place in a massive cave system. But most of the caverns are spacious and well-lit, and some even feature vegetation and farmland. They'd probably be a nice place to live if [[EverythingTryingToKillYou the local wildlife weren't inexplicably out for your blood]]. But there are a few areas that are genuinely creepy. The Core Chamber is dark, partially flooded, and littered with the bodies of destroyed combat robots, serving as an ominous buildup to a ClimaxBoss fight. The Last Cave (particularly the [[BrutalBonusLevel the optional version you go through if you have the Boost 2.0]]) is not only dark but full of lava, SpikesOfDoom, tricky platforming, and aggressive enemies. And the [[BrutalBonusLevel secret final level]], Sacred Grounds (aka Bloodstained Sanctuary), has the spikes, platforming challenges, and aggressive enemies dialed up to 11, while the scenery looks like [[PlanetHeck you're descending into Hell itself]].
* In ''VideoGame/DearEsther'', the protagonist descends ever deeper into a series of increasingly dark, creepy caves, [[EmpathicEnvironment all meant to reflect his distraught emotional state]].
* Much of ''VideoGame/KentuckyRouteZero'' takes place on a dark, paranatural highway through a massive and seemingly endlessly looping cavern, which is an ambient metaphor for the crushing debt many of the characters are in. The game's themes explore folklore, and many sidequests involve ghost stories. Overall, the cave adds to the creepy, oppressive atmosphere of the game as a whole.
* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'': Caving is one of the most popular activities in survival mode, and every auto-generated world includes massive, blocky cave systems full of both precious ores and undue dangers. There are a few aspects that make caves particularly creepy as opposed to the rest of the game: The lack of sunlight allows monsters to spawn at all times of day, the [[GiantSpider spiders]] that spawn in caves are more dangerous than the aboveground variety, [[LavaPit lava]] is an ever-present danger, and to really drive home the atmosphere, a variety of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiJZkpEuecc extra creepy sounds]] are added to the game's ambiance--which tend to play at unexpected times, just to keep you from getting too comfortable.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'': Near the end of the game, the protagonists Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine explore a series of caves accessed from the courtyard of the Spencer Mansion, which are inhabited by both Hunters and Web Spinners. The largest of these spiders, the Black Tiger, is fought as a boss. Lisa Trevor is also encountered in the tunnels as an enemy to be avoided.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Original]]
* Jacob Geller [[DiscussedTrope discusses]] this trope at great length in his Website/YouTube video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MOKTU9tCbw "Fear of Depths'']], beginning with the RealLife example of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Collins Floyd Collins]], an American spelunker whose death after becoming trapped in a narrow passage of Mammoth Cave became a media sensation in 1925, igniting a public fervor for macabre caving stories.
-->It seems like everything about a cave is built to mess with how we usually take in the world. The light is gone, the sounds don't make sense, and the space itself is . . . ''[laughs]''.
* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'': The Cave of the Beast is described as being dark, cold, and silent. The rocks look like jagged spikes, and the further inside you get, the more you hear scratching noises. With each step your pet will beg to turn back, and if you keep going, you end up with a ScreamerPrank in the form of a roaring monster on a black screen.
* Wiki/SCPFoundation: SCP-2935 is a space-time anomaly existing within a limestone cave leading to a parallel universe where all life, including both biological and non-biological, as well as any sentient entities, machines, computers and other "life-like" phenomena, ended.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gigantosaurus}}'': Subverted. In "Don't Cave In", the kids are warned by Iggy to stay away from a certain cave [[CaveMouth resembling the jagged jaws of a big dino]], which is supposedly the lair of the terrifying "Shriekasaurus". When Giganto showing up forces them to take shelter, the kids face their fears, and discover that the cave is actually a pretty fun place. It turn out that "Shriekasaurus" was made up by Iggy so his favorite place wouldn't get overcrowded.
[[/folder]]
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%% PLEASE NOTE: Examples on this page have been alphabetized. Please add yours in the
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[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tom_sawyer_cave.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Let's just hope those aren't [[BloodsuckingBats Vampire Bats]].]]
->''"The 'call of the void' is rarely more apt than when talking about the depths. I felt it well within that cave. And in fiction, too, the depths are consistently linked to that alluring feeling of self-destruction."''
-->-- Jacob Geller, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MOKTU9tCbw "Fear of Depths"]]
Caves in fiction are generally portrayed as unsettling at best, frightening as a rule, and [[PlayedForHorror downright horrifying]] at worst.
There is good reason for this, as caves in RealLife can be extremely hostile environments to humans. The [[DarknessEqualsDeath lack of light]] alone is enough to scare off most, and even the most intrepid explorer has to contend with hazards from [[HairTriggerAvalanche rock falls]] to [[DrowningPit flooded areas]] to plain old [[LifeWillKillYou hypothermia and exhaustion]]--not to mention the [[{{Claustrophobia}} twisting, turning,]] [[TheMaze often labyrinthine]] structure of the cave itself. Caves can be deadly, and we are not ideally evolved to inhabit them.
Many works of fiction will take these already present dangers UpToEleven, often while adding in the threat of some sort of [[AnimalisticAbomination blind subterranean predator]] or [[GiantSpider other creepy creature]]. And possibly a connected AncientTomb full of [[CorpseLand skeletons]] and {{curse}}s. Oh, and did we mention [[DragonHoard dragons]]? Expect any character foolish enough to enter a cave who doesn't encounter one of these nasties to end up {{buried alive}}, [[StalactiteSpite skewered by a falling stalactite]], [[LavaPit burned by lava]], or driven mad by the [[NothingIsScarier darkness]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation isolation]], and [[EnclosedSpace impossibility of escape]]. The lucky ones who do see daylight again will be shaken and possibly scarred for life by the experience.
The milder version of this trope, common in children's media, is when caves are simply depicted as dark and spooky places inhabited by bats and with chilly winds blowing out of them. Entering a cave is a common [[StockVisualMetaphor visual shorthand]] for confronting one's fears.
A PrimalFear. Subtrope of NatureIsNotNice and often ForbiddenZone. A staple setting of the DoomedExpedition. Supertrope to AbandonedMine, SinisterSubway, and DugTooDeep. Sometimes illustrated through CaveMouth, where the entrance to a cave resembles an engulfing maw, or CobwebJungle. May overlap with BeneathTheEarth, TheUnderworld, ElaborateUndergroundBase, SecretUndergroundPassage, EldritchLocation, ThrownDownAWell, or even UndergroundCity. Often present in a video game's UndergroundLevel. Compare EldritchOceanAbyss, TheMaze, DontGoInTheWoods, HungryJungle, SwampsAreEvil, and CreepyBasement. Contrast EvilTowerOfOminousness. See also AWayOutOfACaveIn.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': The second lair of Keeper Arachne, a.k.a an EvilOverlord, is a cave that is entered vertically, and spider-infested, along with AllWebbedUp corpses.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': The Cave of Wonders, [[NonIndicativeName despite the title]]. It doesn't get any creepier than [[CaveMouth a cave shaped like a lion's head that can talk]]. The cavern will only allow entrance to a ChosenOne, automatically killing anyone else. For the one that it does let in, there is one rule: only touch [[GenieInABottle the lamp]], nothing else. Aladdin does adhere to this, but his pet monkey, Abu, grabs a [[ForbiddenFruit sparkly jewel]]. This angers the cave, and the whole place turns into a lava deathtrap that Aladdin and Abu barely escape. When they get out, Jafar betrays them and knocks them back down into the cave, which is now less lava-filled and more dark and gloomy.
* ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'': After falling down a waterfall, Anna and Olaf find themselves trapped in a dark, gloomy cave, paralleling Elsa's descent into the glacier at the same time. This is where [[spoiler:Olaf [[DisneyDeath dies]] and]] Anna has her near-DespairEventHorizon moment.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/TheCave'', an action-{{horror}} film [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin set in a cave]]. A team of expert cave divers sets out to explore a previously unmapped underwater cave system that starts out simply harrowing and creepy--with strange noises, large, hairless mole creatures, and of course the water itself--and becomes life-threatening when falling rocks block their exit and trap them inside with eldritch {{Humanoid Abomination}}s that attack them at every opportunity. The film's tagline:
-->''There are places man was never meant to go.''
* ''Film/{{Cave}}'' is a 2016 Norwegian PsychologicalHorror film where three ex-military friends explore a freezing uncharted cave together and the hostile environment brings their interpersonal difficulties to the forefront.
* ''Film/TheCavern'' is yet another horror film focused on a group exploring an uncharted cave system while being pursued by a supernatural threat. To make matters worse, the cavers' sanity rapidly deteriorates, and the film ends with [[spoiler:a graphic rape and murder scene]], implied to have been brought on by the setting.
* ''Film/TheDescent'' follows a group of women who go on a fun getaway and caving expedition. The trip quickly turns terrifying when a cave-in traps them inside and they are forced to proceed deeper in, encountering water hazards, dangerous falls, and a race of subterranean monsters with a taste for human flesh. [[spoiler:None of them make it out alive.]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'': As part of his [[WarriorMonk Jedi]] training on the [[SingleBiomePlanet swamp planet]] Dagobah, [[TheHero Luke]] must enter a small but dark and thickly overgrown cave beneath a giant, gnarled tree, which has the property of manifesting intruders' deepest fears. He encounters a mirage of [[TheHeavy Darth Vader]], [[spoiler:whose head he cuts off only to discover his own face inside the helmet]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* A massive cave, [[https://www.marktwaincave.com/mark-twain-cave/#:~:text=Traverse%20the%20labyrinth%20which%20inspired,and%20smooth%2C%20with%20no%20stairs based on a real cave system in Missouri]], lurks in the background of ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer''. In the book's climax, [[FreeRangeChildren Tom and Becky]] get lost in the cave and must find their way out, braving bats, darkness, and the man who turns out to be in there with them. Becky is so scared by the cave that she becomes basically nonfunctional, requiring Tom to get them out. [[spoiler:After their escape, the cave is sealed by local parents to prevent a similar incident, unknowingly trapping the main antagonist inside, where he is later discovered having died of hunger.]]
* In the second ''Literature/AramintaSpooky'' book by Angie Sage, the main duo must traverse a series of cave-like underground passageways looking for a connection to a grotto on the beach. They are terrified the whole way, getting lost several times and mistaking a large mushroom for a dead body when one of them steps on it in the dark.
* In the children's picture book "Aunt Isabel Tells a Good One," the [[DistressedDude prince]] is kidnapped and held in the lair of the villains Odious Mole and Bad-Egg Bat, which is a dank, creepy cave full of stalactites, mushrooms, and icky-looking bugs. The heroine has to face her fears by entering the cave to rescue him.
* ''Literature/EnchantedForestChronicles'':
** Downplayed in ''Dealing with Dragons''. The protagonist is gainfully employed by a dragon as a cook and housekeeper, and she does her best to make her employer's cave homey, but she still finds it rather gloomy at times. Later in the book, she has to traverse a large connected system of magical caves with their own peculiar rules and dangers. The journey is portrayed as harrowing, but not terrifying.
** In the scariest chapter of ''Talking to Dragons'', the main characters travel through the Caves of Chance, a large network of caves with peculiar properties. They are pursued throughout by a creepy, sapient, jelly-like lifeform called a "quozzel," which at one point causes a cave-in trying to kill them all.
* Bilbo and the dwarves learn the danger of caves the hard way in ''Literature/TheHobbit'': They take shelter from a storm in what seems to be a small cave in the mountainside, but turns out to be the vestibule to the vast caverns inhabited by the evil mountain [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]], who truss the entire party and carry them deep into their lair. Bilbo escapes and runs blindly into the depths of the caves, ending up at a subterranean lake where he meets Gollum, who wants very much to eat him. The chapter is also where he stumbles upon his magic ring, which will [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings later]] turn out to be [[ArtifactOfDoom the most evil object in the world]].
* ''Literature/{{Kane}}'': In "Two Suns Setting" Kane and Dwassllir, the last king of giants, enter a cave that is the the burial place of an ancient giant king Brotemllain. It turns out to be dangerously unstable, as well as inhabited by strange underground creatures including huge blind cockroaches and a sabretooth tiger. Kane barely gets out alive. [[spoiler: Dwassllir doesn't, and the cave becomes also his burial place]].
* ''Literature/{{Narnia}}'' Book 5, ''Literature/TheSilverChair'': In search of the missing prince, the protagonists end up falling into "Underland," a civilization of MoleMen housed BeneathTheEarth in massive natural cave systems. The whole area is decidedly PlayedForHorror, with the initial journey to the central city making use of all the frightening elements of a real-life caving expedition such as crossing dark waters and crawling through small, tight tunnels. There is a sense of {{claustrophobia}} and [[DarknessEqualsDeath encroaching darkness]] throughout the Underland chapters, and to make matters worse, the whole place starts flooding after the climactic confrontation.
* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': The Pit of Doom is a volcanic cavern where the [[TheAntiGod Dark One]] can reach in from his [[SealedEvilInACan prison outside creation]], making it an EldritchLocation that's feared even by his most powerful followers. He often constricts the entrance tunnel to threaten people with its jagged stalactites, to say nothing of [[YourSoulIsMine what he can do to them]] in the Pit itself.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Podcasts]]
* In the ''Podcast/{{Lore}}'' episode "The Cave," the host discusses a cult on the island of Chiloe and the rumors that circulated about a cave where the cult leaders kept their most precious objects, as well as chimeric beasts and deliberately disfigured humans.
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[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The cooperative board game ''Caves & Claws'' is premised on exploring a series of spooky caves looking for MacGuffin pieces. Unfortunately, the caves are sometimes populated by [[HelpingHands massive disembodied hands]] [[BodyHorror with eyes and long, dirty nails]].
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
** "The Caves of Koilos" is a land showing the view from the mouth of a craggy desert cave. It has the unusual property of draining one life from the player each time it is used.
** "Cave of Temptation" shows a cracked, rather yonic rock formation around the entrance to a pitch-black cave.
** "Bloodfell Caves" shows a jagged, unsettling red- and black-toned cave.
* The sequel to ''TabletopGame/SmallWorld'', ''Small World: Underground'' is set in an expansive subterranean cavern. The overall tone and color palette are darker than the original game, the races are more malevolent (including [[OurLichesAreDifferent liches]], cultists, and {{spider people}}), and the gameplay is more difficult.
* The board game ''TabletopGame/{{Vast}}'' is set in a giant dark cave populated by a dragon, a horde of goblins, and an undead thief cursed to forever look for the dragon's hoard. What's more, the cave itself [[EldritchLocation can have an malevolent intelligence of its own]], as one player can take over its role, with the goal of collapsing and burying other players inside.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/CaveStory:'' As the title suggests, the majority of the game takes place in a massive cave system. But most of the caverns are spacious and well-lit, and some even feature vegetation and farmland. They'd probably be a nice place to live if [[EverythingTryingToKillYou the local wildlife weren't inexplicably out for your blood]]. But there are a few areas that are genuinely creepy. The Core Chamber is dark, partially flooded, and littered with the bodies of destroyed combat robots, serving as an ominous buildup to a ClimaxBoss fight. The Last Cave (particularly the [[BrutalBonusLevel the optional version you go through if you have the Boost 2.0]]) is not only dark but full of lava, SpikesOfDoom, tricky platforming, and aggressive enemies. And the [[BrutalBonusLevel secret final level]], Sacred Grounds (aka Bloodstained Sanctuary), has the spikes, platforming challenges, and aggressive enemies dialed up to 11, while the scenery looks like [[PlanetHeck you're descending into Hell itself]].
* In ''VideoGame/DearEsther'', the protagonist descends ever deeper into a series of increasingly dark, creepy caves, [[EmpathicEnvironment all meant to reflect his distraught emotional state]].
* Much of ''VideoGame/KentuckyRouteZero'' takes place on a dark, paranatural highway through a massive and seemingly endlessly looping cavern, which is an ambient metaphor for the crushing debt many of the characters are in. The game's themes explore folklore, and many sidequests involve ghost stories. Overall, the cave adds to the creepy, oppressive atmosphere of the game as a whole.
* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'': Caving is one of the most popular activities in survival mode, and every auto-generated world includes massive, blocky cave systems full of both precious ores and undue dangers. There are a few aspects that make caves particularly creepy as opposed to the rest of the game: The lack of sunlight allows monsters to spawn at all times of day, the [[GiantSpider spiders]] that spawn in caves are more dangerous than the aboveground variety, [[LavaPit lava]] is an ever-present danger, and to really drive home the atmosphere, a variety of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiJZkpEuecc extra creepy sounds]] are added to the game's ambiance--which tend to play at unexpected times, just to keep you from getting too comfortable.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'': Near the end of the game, the protagonists Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine explore a series of caves accessed from the courtyard of the Spencer Mansion, which are inhabited by both Hunters and Web Spinners. The largest of these spiders, the Black Tiger, is fought as a boss. Lisa Trevor is also encountered in the tunnels as an enemy to be avoided.
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[[folder:Web Original]]
* Jacob Geller [[DiscussedTrope discusses]] this trope at great length in his Website/YouTube video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MOKTU9tCbw "Fear of Depths'']], beginning with the RealLife example of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Collins Floyd Collins]], an American spelunker whose death after becoming trapped in a narrow passage of Mammoth Cave became a media sensation in 1925, igniting a public fervor for macabre caving stories.
-->It seems like everything about a cave is built to mess with how we usually take in the world. The light is gone, the sounds don't make sense, and the space itself is . . . ''[laughs]''.
* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'': The Cave of the Beast is described as being dark, cold, and silent. The rocks look like jagged spikes, and the further inside you get, the more you hear scratching noises. With each step your pet will beg to turn back, and if you keep going, you end up with a ScreamerPrank in the form of a roaring monster on a black screen.
* Wiki/SCPFoundation: SCP-2935 is a space-time anomaly existing within a limestone cave leading to a parallel universe where all life, including both biological and non-biological, as well as any sentient entities, machines, computers and other "life-like" phenomena, ended.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gigantosaurus}}'': Subverted. In "Don't Cave In", the kids are warned by Iggy to stay away from a certain cave [[CaveMouth resembling the jagged jaws of a big dino]], which is supposedly the lair of the terrifying "Shriekasaurus". When Giganto showing up forces them to take shelter, the kids face their fears, and discover that the cave is actually a pretty fun place. It turn out that "Shriekasaurus" was made up by Iggy so his favorite place wouldn't get overcrowded.
[[/folder]]
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