History Podcast / TheWhiteVault

''The White Vault'' is a horror podcast by Fool and Scholar Productions. The podcast consists of audio recordings, notes, diary entries, reports, and radio transmissions, gathered by an anonymous documentarian voiced by Hem Cleveland.

Seasons 1 and 2 revolve around the uneasy tale of a repair team of five hired by the Sidja Group, an independent mining contractor operating in northern Europe, [[FrameStory as compiled by the Documentarian and her team]]. The repair team was sent to Outpost Fristed in Svalbard to investigate an apparent equipment malfunction. The team is composed as follows:

* '''Dr. Karina Schumacher-Weiß:''' A German geologist, hoping to use the repair mission to secure a job with the Sidja Group. Voiced by Kessi Riliniki.
* '''Walter Heath:''' An English IT specialist and recent divorcee. Voiced by David Ault.
* '''Jónas Þórirsson:''' An Icelandic father of two, and a representative of the Sidja Group. Voiced by Eyþór Viðarsson.
* '''Dr. Rosa de la Torre:''' A Mexican physician sent with the group in case of any medical emergencies. Voiced by Lani Minella.
* '''Graham Casner:''' A Russian-Canadian hunter and travel escort, whose job it is to ensure the team's safety. Voiced by Peter Lewis.

The equipment issue is fixed quickly, but the team becomes trapped by a storm. As they wait for the weather to clear up enough for them to make their way back to civilization, they find something ancient and inexplicable in the caves below the ice, and soon realize they are not quite alone here at the end of the earth...

Season 3 follows the Documentarian's efforts to compile information from a group of archeologists sent to Base Camp Piedra, in the Patagonian Andes. Though seemingly unrelated on the surface, events eerily similar to the Outpost Fristed incident rear their heads--especially with the information that the narrator has recieved in the first two seasons directing her attention there. The team in this season is composed as follows:

* '''Dr. Carito Ureta:''' An Argentinian professor from the university of La Plata [[spoiler: and the first to notice the presence of something spooky happening]]. Voiced by Alli Smalley.
* '''Lucas Criado:''' A field guide for a tourist association who discovered the petroglyphs the team was sent to investigate. Voiced by Danilo Battistini.
* '''Eva Olivia Moreno:''' A doctoral candidate working under Dr. Ureta. Voiced by Diane Casanova.
* '''Dr. Josefa Guerrero:''' A Chilean professor of archeology currently working at the university in Pittsburg. Voiced by Carla García.
* '''Simon Hall:''' A graduate student working under Dr. Guerrero. Voiced by Eric Nelson.
* '''Dr. Zhou Liu:''' A guest epigrapher from Beijing who investigated similar glyphs found in the Greater Khingan Mountains, and the epigrapher the Fristed glyphs were shown to. Voiced by Sophie Yang.

Season 4 follows immediately after Season 3, featuring a rescue team sent by the Documentarian to retrieve the survivors from the archeological team: [[spoiler:Simon Hall, Dr. Guerrero, and Dr. Liu]].

* [[spoiler: '''Eva Olivia Moreno:''' The only member of the Season 3 team to successfully escape the mountain, though she may be affected by the anomaly more than she lets on. Voiced by Diane Casanova.]]
* [[spoiler: '''Graham Casner:''' A Russian-Canadian hunter and travel escort, and the sole survivor of the Fristed incident. Voiced by Peter Lewis.]]
* '''Raimy Armstead:''' Simon's partner, who managed to get roped into the mission by pure chance. Voiced by L. Jeffrey Moore.
* '''Dragana Vuković''' A field guide brought onto the mission by [[spoiler: Graham]]. Voiced by Tanja Milojevic.
* '''Maheer Issa:''' An associate of the Documentarian and a veteran of such missions. Voiced by Haytham Alwan.

Season 5 follows the expedition team's return to Svalbard to investigate the source of the incidents and put a stop to them, presumably.

* [[spoiler: '''Graham Casner:''' A Russian-Canadian hunter and travel escort, and the sole survivor of the Fristed incident. Voiced by Peter Lewis.]]
* [[spoiler: '''Dragana Vuković;:''' A field guide brought onto the mission by Graham. Voiced by Tanja Milojevic.]]
* [[spoiler: '''Dr. Josefa Guerrero:''' A Chilean professor of archeology and one of two survivors of the Patagonia incident. She seems adamant about getting to the bottom of the mystery and finding out the truth. Voiced by Carla García.]]
* '''Dr. Amelia Murray''': An oceanographer working in Svalbard who lends the team her helicopter on the condition that she joins them on their journey to Ny-Ålesund. Voiced by Beth Eyre.

Every episode of the White Vault is narrated by '''The Documentarian''', voiced by Hem Cleveland, who offers her own commentary on events and in later seasons conducts her own investigations.

* TwentyMinutesIntoThePast: [[spoiler:The Season 2 finale reveals the bulk of the events regarding the repair team took place in 2010, seven years before the series was first released.]]
* AgonyOfTheFeet: Near the end of season 3, Simon is pushed over by Lucas and impales his ankle on a large bone. Eva pulls out the bone and is able to perform some degree of first aid, but [[spoiler:shortly afterwards, he is trapped alone in the antechamber cave for about a week. By the time he is rescued and brought back to where he can receive medical help, the wound has become so infected that his foot has to be amputated.]]

** Each of the miniseries deals with a different group or people encountering either an artifact or one of the strange locations, although two characters from the miniseries, [[spoiler:Dr. Zhou Liu, the narrator of ''Imperial'' and Amelia Murray, who was being interviewed about the incident in ''Iluka'',]] became characters in later seasons.

* BilingualBonus: Most of the non-English dialogue is translated for the audience's benefit, but some spats of it -- particularly bits of throwaway dialogue when the team is distressed or panicking -- are left untranslated (although translations are available on the transcripts).
* BrokenRecord:
** Walter makes the same {{distress call}} multiple times, hoping this time, ''someone'' will hear it and respond.
** [[spoiler:Karina starts fearfully babbling in German, eventually repeating, "When you see it, it sees you."]]
* CassandraTruth:

* ChekhovsGun: In the first episode, Graham mentions polar bears being a possible threat. In "Familiar", while [[spoiler: trying to walk to Ny-Ålesund]], the team is attacked by a polar bear.

* CreepyLongFingers: The creature has very long fingers, one of the few physical details confirmed by the team.

* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Jónas hurdles over it after Rosa is taken and he is left alone, accepting that he will either starve or freeze to death in the caves, or be found and killed by the creature.]] [[spoiler:His actual fate is much worse than that.]]

* DontTouchItYouIdiot: When [[spoiler:the black stone statues]] appear before the Season 1 finale, Jónas makes physical contact with it, cutting his hand through the glove material. [[spoiler:The resulting wound starts to spreadt across Jónas' arm, turning it into a limb similar to the monster's.]]
* DrivingQuestion: What ''did'' happen to the repair team sent to Outpost Fristed?
* DwindlingParty: Members of the team are picked off by the creature one by one.
* EerieArcticResearchStation: The first two seasons of the podcast take place in and around Outpost Fristed, a geological research station in the far north.
* EverybodyDiesEnding: [[spoiler:As implied by the Documentarian, the entire repair team is doomed. The horror lies in how each one meets their demise.]]
* FlareGun: One is repeatedly used as an improvised weapon.

* ForegoneConclusion: The team doesn't escape Outpost Fristed. The records of their trip have been compiled by an outside party, who acts as the narrator - clearly implying that they themselves are not here to tell the tale. [[spoiler:Even the one who ''is'' wants nothing to do with it anymore, and his team's story has been concluded previously.]]

* {{Ghostapo}}: Downplayed; the diary of a Finnish ex-soldier from World War 2 mentions that the Germans were investigating the weirdness in the vicinity of the future Outpost Fristed. [[spoiler:It's implied that they just wound up being another group of sacrifices like everyone else.]]
* GivenNameReveal: In the final episode, the Documentarian's and Mor's names are revealed to be [[spoiler:Linnea and Agnetta]], respectively.
* GoingInCircles: This happens twice. It's left ambiguous whether it's just human error due to poor visibility or an unfamiliar environment, or if it's part of the supernatural strangeness, although later seasons imply the latter.

* HellIsThatNoise: The responses that Jónas and Walter get from the receiver, [[spoiler:from the monster]].

* ILied: [[spoiler:In Season 2, Casner lied about intending to go only so far into the caves to find Karina and her killer. Then he reveals that he lied about the snowmobiles being a viable means to escape when he and Jónas checked in Season 1, if only to not rob the others of hope.]]
* IShallTauntYou: The monster clear gets a kick out of tormenting and taunting its prey, from [[spoiler:destroying their food supply to mimicking Walter's screams for help.]]
* ItCanThink: While the team is down in the village, the creature takes the opportunity to [[spoiler: destroy all the stored food in the bunker. It also disables all of the snowmobiles in exactly the same way, ensuring that they can't be repaired by swapping parts.]]
* LetsSplitUpGang: {{Defied}}. Once it becomes clear that they're dealing with more than bad weather, the group quickly adopts a policy that no one be left alone. [[spoiler:It doesn't save them.]]
* MonstrousHumanoid: The monster hunting the team is a tall, spindly humanoid, with wicked claws and extremely long fingers.
* MoodWhiplash: The utterly creepy scene where Walter and the team get the box open and discover it's filled with human teeth is immediately followed by the Documentarian, deadpan as ever, revealing that the audio file containing this information was titled "FUCK THAT BOX." [[SirSwearsALot Ah, Walter]]...

** The archaeological team sent to Base Camp Piedra in season 3 includes American Simon Hall, Colombian-American Eva Moreno, Argentinian Dr. Ureta, Chilean Dr. Guerrero, Chinese Dr. Liu, and Brazilian Lucas Criado. While they all know enough English to use it as a common language, much of the documentation and conversation is in Spanish, which Simon is comically bad at speaking.

** The Documentarian serves as one in the overarching narrative. The audience is given almost no personal information about her, but it's clear that she has the funds, resources and connections necessary to conduct this investigation [[spoiler:and later put together the Piedra rescue effort]], suggesting that she is in a very wealthy or at least powerful position. The little we do know about her--such as her [[spoiler:learning of her late half-sister]]--is only divulged for context regarding the investigation. Some people, like [[spoiler:Graham Casner]], have met her in person, so there's a chance they know who she is, but the audience is left in the dark.

* NoJustNoReaction:
** Everyone, especially Walter, very understandably has this reaction when [[spoiler:they get the box open, and find a human heart and several teeth inside. Walter even named the audio file of this event "FUCK THAT BOX."]]
** Played for laughs in the patreon-exclusive ''The White Vault: the Musical'' where Rosa, Jónas, and Graham find Walter's camcorder. Jónas comments that [[spoiler:Walter may still be alive]] only for everyone to declare some version of "Nope" upon checking the footage.

* OhCrap: ''Several'' from the team, as things go increasingly pear-shaped. Many of these are a MassOhCrap, as well.
** [[spoiler:The first big one is when Graham realizes their power was cut deliberately.]]
** [[spoiler:The collective reaction when Karina is taken... and later, when the team comes back to find their food destroyed.]]
** [[spoiler:Graham's reaction when he realizes they've gone in circles chasing the monster, which had taken Heath.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Two cases for Karina:
** First, Karina is very keen and enthusiastic on studying the geological makeup of Svalbard, especially in the under-ice village. But her encounter with the monster shakes her so badly that she insists that the team leave Fristed as soon as possible. In fact, her behavior following her escape from the monster is clouded by fear and anxiety. [[spoiler:By the time the team realizes that she really had encountered a monster, as her behavior post-jump points to, it's too late for her.]]
** Second, the team sees someone outside of the bunker. [[spoiler: It appears to be Karina in the snow, and Rosa's first thought is to let her in...but Casner and Heath realize that it's not Karina at all--the monster has taken her form, and taunts them to let it inside. "[[CreepyMonotone It's so cold...and you're so warm...]]"]]
* PerpetualStorm: Shortly after the repair team's arrival, a snowstorm rolls in and refuses to pass, keeping them trapped at Outpost Fristed. [[spoiler:By the end of the first season, everyone's pretty well convinced the storm is supernatural in nature, Jónas pointing out that even the worst winter storms don't last ''this'' long.]]

* RadioVoice: When the creature speaks, they all hear it in a different language.
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:At the end of the first season, Karina is taken. Season 2 Episode 2 ends with a quick confirmation of Karina's death. Just in case you had any doubt that this monster is playing for keeps.]]
* SadisticChoice: In season 5, after discovering what is known of the truth behind the sites, the Documentarian must choose between sending [[spoiler:Graham]] to his death [[spoiler:to appease the vault]] or trying to save him, which would keep the storm on Svalbard from stopping and likely cause other natural disasters.
* SanitySlippage: Karina, after her first encounter with the monster, which the others at first chalk up to a concussion and stress. Walter, too, becomes irate and erratic, especially as he becomes increasingly stir-crazy.

* ShipTease: Although it's never explicitly confirmed, Graham and Rosa become very close during their time at Outpost Fristed (both emotionally and, it's heavily implied, physically) to the point that he is [[spoiler:affected enough by her death to agree to go to the Patagonian site once he discovers that her corpse is there when he'd previously adamantly refused]].

* SinisterGeometry: [[spoiler:The box that Jónas retrieves from the village is impossibly smooth save for a seam that implies that it can be opened. But when they do get it open, they find several human teeth and a shriveled human heart.]]
* SirSwearsALot: None of them are particularly shy about swearing, especially as the situation gets worse, but Walter in particular is prone to dropping F-bombs when he's scared or frustrated (i.e., half the show).
* SoundOnlyDeath: Walter manages to hang onto his camcorder [[spoiler: as he's abducted by the creature. When the camera is found by the rest of the team, they see Walter's perspective and hear his terrified screams as he's dragged through the caves, followed by the sounds of his evisceration as the creature removes his heart. While he's still alive. Due to the nature of the podcast, we only hear the video's audio track.]]
* SuicideBySea: Twice in the miniserieses
** In ''Artifact'' Marion is driven by the effects of the title artifact to walk into the ocean, where her body is later found.
** Dr. Flores in ''Iluka'' chooses to step off the boat into the ocean [[DyingAsYourself after it becomes evident that he is turning into one of the creatures.]]
* SuicidalSadisticChoice: [[spoiler:Would you rather stay in an isolated bunker to starve to death, knowing an intelligent, malicious monster knows you're there and how to cut your power? Or would you take your chances out there ''with'' the damned thing, trying to make it to civilization through a horrific storm in subzero temperatures?]]
* SuperpowerfulGenetics: According to Mor in season 5, [[spoiler:the connection to the sites]] is passed down the Families through mDNA from mother to daughter. While the full effects haven't been stated, they seem to include [[spoiler:immunity to the effects of the sites and artifacts and possibly an extended lifespan.]]
* SwitchToEnglish: Most of the conversation at Base Camp Piedra is in Spanish, but at one point as she's leaving a conversation, Dr. Ureta suggests that Eva and Dr. Guerrero switch to English for the sake of Simon, who struggles with Spanish and Dr. Liu, who doesn't speak it at all.

* TakingTheKids: In the miniseries ''Avrum'', it is eventually revealed that [[spoiler:Zelig abducted his daughter Rivka away from her mother, who was in charge of one of the sites (and thus also feeding people to it).]]
* TemptingFate:
** In the first episode, Walter comments that he won't return to Reading after the job at Outpost Fristed is completed, as there's nothing left for him there. Of course, the series' setup makes it clear he won't return at all.
** The musical has Jonas outright state that he is certain to live because he has children to come home to, but anyone who has listened to the series knows that is not the case.

* TokenReligiousTeammate: Rosa was raised Catholic, and is still devout enough to pray for guidance and protection, as well as the souls of the deceased, to Jónas' surprise.
* TragicDream: [[spoiler:Karina will never marry Rolf. Rosa will never be an oncologist. Jónas will never see his daughters again.]]

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Technically, we never hear any of the team's deaths besides Walter's, and the team members don't actually ''see'' any of their companions die--they see them get dragged off, and sometimes find evidence later on. However, there is basically no reason to believe any of them survived.]]
** Season 3 [[spoiler:reveals that of the five members of the Fristed team, ''one'' survived, is now with the Documentarian and is ''not'' happy about being dragged back into it: Graham Casner.]]
* UnnaturallyBlueLighting: The underground village is lit by blue light. Given that the events take place in the middle of the polar night, it is not clear where the light is coming from.
* WhamEpisode: Season 3, episode 5 reveals that the Documentarian has brought a guest when he interrupts her outroduction: [[spoiler:Graham Casner. He is still alive after he disappeared into the cavern waters, and he is clearly ''not'' happy to be dragged back into the mystery of what happened to his team and the team of Season 3.]]

** The last line of Goshawk both re-introduces a character from the previous arc and reveals that [[spoiler:Iffy is Graham's estranged daughter]]

** The Season 3 finale [[spoiler:shows that not only was Casner finally convinced to lead the Piedra rescue effort, but that the thing that convinced him to do it was a picture of Rosa's dead body, sent by the narrator.]]

''The White Vault'' can be listened to on [[https://whitevault.libsyn.com its website]]. The show is complete, with the fifth and final season having ended in March 2022. It also has multiple mini-serieses set in the same universe: ''Artifact'', ''Imperial'', ''Iluka'', ''Avrum'', and ''Echoes''.

** Heath's movie collection on his laptop includes ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', ''Film/TheVillage'', and ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' ("''The Return of the King'', to be specific").

* ForTheEvulz: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted.]] Early on [[spoiler:Graham comes to the conclusion that the monster isn't torturing and killing them for food--it just ''likes'' this,]] but in Season 5 Mor specifically states to the Documentarian that [[spoiler:the guardians are not toying with the people that come to the sites for fun]], although she doesn't elaborate beyond stating that people have to die to keep the sites inactive.

* DefiantToTheEnd: [[spoiler:Heath's last words to the monster before it [[IncrediblyLamePun fatally disheartens]] him are, "Kill me then, [[PrecisionFStrike you]] [[CountryMatters cunt!]] Do it!"]]

* FromBadToWorse: In general, any time you catch yourself thinking things can't get any worse for the team, brace yourself--it's about to get worse, ''quickly''.

* EerieArcticResearchStation: The podcast takes place in and around Outpost Fristed, a geological research station in the far north.

''The White Vault'' can be listened to on [[https://whitevault.libsyn.com its website]]. The show is complete, with the fifth and final season having ended in March 2022. It also has multiple mini-serieses set in the same universe: ''Artifact'', ''Imperial'', ''Iluka'', and ''Avrum''.

* AgonyOfTheFeet: Near the end of season 3, Simon is pushed over by Lucas and impales his ankle on a guanaco bone. Eva pulls out the bone and is able to perform some degree of first aid, but [[spoiler:shortly afterwards, he is trapped alone in the antechamber cave for about a week. By the time he is rescued and brought back to where he can receive medical help, the wound has become so infected that his foot has to be amputated.]]

* ApocalypticLog: The whole series is one for the repair team.

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:As implied by the Documentarian, the entire repair team is doomed. The horror lies in how each one meets their demise.]]

** In a phone conversation at the beginning of Season 3, Eva alludes to some sort of conflict between her and Dr. Ureta that her relatives seemed concerned would lead to her being removed from the expedition, but no further detail is given regarding it (aside from Eva commenting that Dr. Ureta has "some ill-informed ideas").

* {{Foil}}:
** Jónas and Walter. Jónas is HappilyMarried with two kids, while Walter is a recent divorcee. Casner is in the latter camp, but has a daughter that he's willing to give his inheritance to in case he dies.

''The White Vault'' can be listened to on [[https://whitevault.libsyn.com its website]]. Four seasons have been released, at ten episodes per season, with the fifth and final season in progress. It also has multiple mini-serieses set in the same universe: ''Artifact'', ''Imperial'', ''Iluka'', and ''Avrum''.

* TitleDrop: Every episode sees the narrator use the podcast title to end her introductions and the episodes as a whole, but it's not until [[spoiler:Season 4 Episode 10 that a "Vault" is referenced by "Mor"]].

* ShoutOut: Heath's movie collection on his laptop include ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', ''Film/TheVillage'', and ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' ("''The Return of the King'', to be specific").

* ShipTease: It's pretty clear early on that Rosa and Graham are attracted to one another. Not that they get much chance to do anything about it, given the circumstances.

Seasons 1 and 2 revolve around the uneasy tale of a repair team of five hired by the Sidja Group, an independent mining contractor operating in northern Europe, [[FrameStory as compiled by the documentarian and her team]]. The repair team was sent to Outpost Fristed in Svalbard to investigate an apparent equipment malfunction. The team is composed as follows:

Season 3 follows the documentarian's efforts to compile information from a group of archeologists sent to Base Camp Piedra, in the Patagonian Andes. Though seemingly unrelated on the surface, events eerily similar to the Outpost Fristed incident rear their heads--especially with the information that the narrator has recieved in the first two seasons directing her attention there. The team in this season is composed as follows:

* '''Maheer Issa:''' An associate of the documentarian and a veteran of such missions. Voiced by Haytham Alwan.

* ConnectedAllAlong: [[spoiler:The Season 2 finale reveals that the documentarian is investigating the disappearances of the team because she received a mysterious package--among its contents was a message revealing she had a recently deceased half-sister whose death was connected to the events at Outpost Fristed. The package points to both Fristed and another location (the setting for Season 3).]]

* FoundFootage: Much of the narrative is made up of video and audio recordings of the team that the documentarian received. With ''The White Vault'' being an audio podcast, we only get the audio part.

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:As implied by the documentarian, the entire repair team is doomed. The horror lies in how each one meets their demise.]]

** The documentarian serves as one in the overarching narrative. The audience is given almost no personal information about her, but it's clear that she has the funds, resources and connections necessary to conduct this investigation [[spoiler:and later put together the Piedra rescue effort]], suggesting that she is in a very wealthy or at least powerful position. The little we do know about her--such as her [[spoiler:learning of her late half-sister]]--is only divulged for context regarding the investigation. Some people, like [[spoiler:Graham Casner]], have met her in person, so there's a chance they know who she is, but the audience is left in the dark.

** Eventually {{subverted}} in Season 3: [[spoiler:First, Graham Casner is alive. He was dragged into the cavern waters, yes, but he freed himself and resurfaced, separated from Rosa and Jónas. Tired and afraid, he eventually got out of the caves and onto the Svalbard shore, where a Russian ship discovered him and picked him up.]] [[spoiler:The Season 3 finale reveals that the documentarian's teams had discovered Dr. Rosa de la Torre's body--and that...''whatever'' had happened to her finally convinced a reluctant Casner to lead the Piedra rescue efforts.]]

* ScrapbookStory: The aural version of this. Much of the narrative is put together from emails, reports, diary entries, and notes written by the team. For our listening pleasure, we hear them fully voice-acted by the cast. Presumably, in-universe, the documentarian is simply reading them herself on her records.

** Season 3 [[spoiler:reveals that of the five members of the Fristed team, ''one'' survived, is now with the documentarian and is ''not'' happy about being dragged back into it: Graham Casner.]]

* WhamEpisode: Season 3, episode 5 reveals that the documentarian has brought a guest when he interrupts her outroduction: [[spoiler:Graham Casner. He is still alive after he disappeared into the cavern waters, and he is clearly ''not'' happy to be dragged back into the mystery of what happened to his team and the team of Season 3.]]

** From the same episode: [[spoiler:"Sister dead. Come home." The documentarian's sister--half-sister, to be precise.]]

* '''Dragana Vukovi&#263:''' A field guide brought onto the mission by [[spoiler: Graham]]. Voiced by Tanja Milojevic.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:''ALL OF THEM''. Whether you have your heart removed while you're still conscious, or slowly turn into one of the creatures terrorizing the team, absolutely none of the deaths in this story are a fun way to go.]]