Changes: Auditory hallucinations

Auditory hallucinations or disembodied voices are discussed in every Fallout game, often attributable to mental illness, psychoactive substances, or psychic mutation.

Fallout

• Should the Vault Dweller attempt to venture too far into the Corridor of Revulsion beneath the Cathedral without the psychic nullifier, they will violently hallucinate. This begins with the notion that they stand before a wall of human parts, which they "recognize" as it is "calling" to them. They then hear voices saying their name, and turn to see the face of "a forgotten friend, obviously dead." They are stabbed in the eye by a shard of bone, which instills in them "the thoughts of the dead and tortured." They feel the sins of others wash over their soul, which are answered by the sins of the Vault Dweller, in a process which tears their personality apart.^[1][2]
• Greg at the Boneyard constantly hears voices, which terrifies him. He has access to a medication which dulls the voices, but he distrusts it and refuses to take it.^[3]
• Slappy is a deranged resident of the Hub who talks to himself, often as if in conversation with someone only he can hear.
• Similarly, the cultist Dane raves at length as if in conversation with someone who is not there. He repeatedly attributes his affliction to the process of being conditioned as a Servitor.^[4][5][6] He also claims to hear the Nightkin crying.^[6]
• The Nightkin receive their orders telepathically through a mental link with the Master.
• On the ancient Brotherhood disk at the Glow, the author notes that a soldier named Camarillo has wandered away from the group "muttering something about Gehenna." Camarillo carried all the team's anti-rad medicine on him, leading to the deaths of the entire squad.^[7]

Fallout 2

• Sulik communicates with his ancestors through their remains.^[8]
• Hakunin appears in the Chosen One's dreams to deliver spoken messages.^[2]
• Harold claims the tree in his head speaks to him.^[9]

Fallout 3

• Harold, now rooted into the ground at Oasis, still speaks of hearing Bob talk to him in his head.
  • Branchtender Maple claims she traveled to Oasis because she "was brought here by His will" when she "heard his calling."^[10]
  • After drinking Harold's sap during the initiation ceremony at Oasis, the Lone Wanderer experiences auditory hallucinations, which sound like Tree Father Birch yelling unintelligibly.^[2] This audio can be isolated by pausing the game.
• The Preacher suffers from piercing headaches and disturbing invasive thoughts,^[11] which he attributes to the influence of an entity he calls "the worm."
• The Lone Wanderer experiences full sensory hallucinations at Vault 106, brought on by hallucinatory gas.^[2]
• In 2134, a ghoulifying person trapped in the Dunwich Building communed out loud with an entity they called Ug-Qualtoth. This term was accurately recorded by an automatic audio transcription terminal, at which point it stopped recording.^[12]
  • This person and Jaime Palabras both mention a place called Deep Temple while muttering or raving.
  • The Lone Wanderer hears a voice droning "Alhazared" and "G'yeth" in the virulent underchambers of the Dunwich Building.^[2] Palabras has heard this droning as well, and recites both terms in one of his recordings.^[13]
  • Similar auditory hallucinations can be heard in the CEO offices of the Red Racer factory, also saying "Alhazared" and "G'yeth."^[2]
  • Obadiah Blackhall also speaks of Ug-Qualtoth while praying at his altar under Blackhall Manor, corroborating the term.^[14]
• The quest Walking with Spirits involves the Lone Wanderer experiencing an extended psychedelic vision as they attempt to navigate their way out of the sacred bog, after inhaling a spore cloud produced by the Mother Punga.^[2]
  • It was intended that the player would hear Tobar speaking to them throughout the sequence as he performed their lobotomy, but the scripting is broken. In the final product, the Mr. Break NPC utters these lines while too far away to be heard.^{[Non-game 1]}
• The tribal people of Point Lookout directly worship the punga plant and believe it speaks with them. Croatoa has devoted his life to communing with the punga.^[15][16]
• The preserved brain of Professor Calvert is telepathic.

Fallout: New Vegas

• Whispering can be heard at grave sites, including Goodsprings Cemetery, Chance's grave, the graveyard at Camp Forlorn Hope, the graveyard near the Bitter Springs refugee camp, and the Little Yangtze graveyard.^[2] The grave container object is scripted with a 2% chance to emit a ghostly whisper in its vicinity.
  • This can be heard reliably by waiting in the Courier's exhumed grave at night, with the game music turned off.
• Both No-bark Noonan and the Forecaster claim to hear voices which grant them insight, and their statements often convey accurate information about the world, albeit allegorically.
• The nightkin are depicted as suffering from auditory hallucinations in the absence of the Master.
  • Three specific nightkin are concerned with brahmin speaking:
    • Davison speaks with a brahmin skull he calls Antler, accepting orders from it and revering it as possessing wisdom greater than his own.
    • The "chupacabra nightkin" believes he hears brahmin screaming at him.
    • The Wind-Brahmin Wrangler blames the noises they hear on their "brahmin."
  • All nightkin can randomly say omens based on the player's past actions. These omens are spoken to them by "head voices," which do not always make sense.^[17]
    • This dialogue is implemented as Idle Chatter, which are lines that can be randomly spoken when an NPC is in an idle state outside of combat. As a result, while theoretically all nightkin are able to say these lines, most will not due to AI packages either disallowing said dialogue or giving them routines that make them leave the idle state.
    • The three generic nightkin in Black Rock cave are commonly regarded as the only nightkin who have this dialogue. This is because, under certain conditions, they will not have any package and will always stand around idle. They use the NightkinSandbox package, which was intended for Davison's nightkin in REPCONN and does not allow Idle Chatter. However, it is conditioned to stop working if Davison is convinced to leave. As a result, helping Davison means the three Black Rock cave nightkin will be able to say Idle Chatter (provided the player does not enter combat with them).
  • Lily Bowen hears a voice in her head she calls "Leo."

Fallout 4

• Strange rumbling and footsteps can be heard at several points as one descends into Dunwich Borers for the first time.^[2]
• At Listening Post Bravo, Sergeant J.P. Renkse was accused of suffering from auditory hallucinations by his comrades after hearing strange words on the radio which failed to be picked up by recordings. He also heard inexplicable banging sounds from a chamber he knew was locked and empty.^[18]
• Gunners affected by the gas release at HalluciGen, Inc. speak of multiple hallucinogenic delusions, including voices speaking to them.^[19]
• Lorenzo Cabot has spent his incarceration using his crown to "commune with the ancient minds that founded our civilization." He does not know if they reside within the crown, if it communicates with them through time and space, or merely contains their memories, entertaining all three possibilities.^[20]
• Mother Isolde claims to receive direct answers to her prayers from Atom, and her congregants believe her.^[21]
• The hostile Children of Atom in the north Commonwealth may ask "Do I hear whispers from the Glow?" when the Sole Survivor is sneaking around. They also attempt to call out to this noise, cautiously addressing it as "Atom."
• Generic Children of Atom on the Island wonder aloud if the Confessor physically speaks to talk with Atom, or communes with him through thought. They also frequently ask the Sole Survivor if they said something, without an audio or gameplay cue.
• During the quest Visions in the Fog, the Sole Survivor is guided through the woods by a spectral woman who will deliver individual omens when spoken to.^[2]
  • The music track that plays during the Mother of the Fog sequence begins with a woman singing the Fallout 3 death motif, followed by the Fallout: New Vegas death motif. This repeats once before the melody progresses. The track is called Atom's Whisper. It can be difficult to hear in-game, due to a competing ambient track consisting of muffled wailing and strange echoing noises.^[2]
  • The Sole Survivor can tell Grand Zealot Richter that they heard "haunting whispers."

Fallout 76

• Auditory hallucinations are a major element of the Cult of the Mothman plotline.
  • On the eve of the War, an unknown preacher proclaimed that Brother Charles had received a message from their benefactor, warning of an impending flood, and commanding the cult to seek high ground.
    • The preacher commanded that the faithful must stand on the rooftops of Point Pleasant as the flood came. However, the cult instead fled to the Lucky Hole Mine across the state.
  • Jeff Lane traveled to Appalachia after hearing legends of paranormal activity there.^[22] He remained in Point Pleasant after the War. He was told of a being called "the Interloper" waiting beneath the earth from a mad storyteller. He considered the Interloper to be a previous "false memory" made real.^[23] He was ultimately drawn to the Lucky Hole Mine, after the Interloper called to him in "visions more real to the senses." By the time he arrived, he was completely obsessed with this supposed unknowable power. Lane noted that "the signs are all around that I am not the only one to hear the call." He laid out a sleeping bag at the mouth of the mine, recorded the holotape "The Chosen," and disappeared from history.
    • A variety of bizarre noises can be heard throughout the lair of the Firstborn of the Wood within the Lucky Hole Mine. The specific nature of these noises depends on where the player character is standing. Distinct elements include insectoid buzzing, insectoid chirping, rumbling, a droning hum, a ringing chime, and a distant clattering of bells.^[2]
    • The Followers of the Winged One leave offerings to the "voices of the Woods."^[24]
    • The note His Priestess indicates that the cult first heard "His voice" through the First Priestess of the Wood.
  • The Enlightened are directly concerned with hallucinatory voices, and recognize different types.
    • Exodus asserts the following details about the ritual on the eve of the War:
      • Charles received a message of "fire and flood," not just flood.
      • His vision was granted by the amaranthine and mortal Wise Mothman, not the red-eyed Mothman icon which the pre-War cult was worshiping.
      • In addition to glimpsing the Mothman in the periphery of his senses, Charles heard His whispers.
      • Charles guided his brethren to safety within the Lucky Hole Mine across the state.
    • In Catechism of Hilary, the author draws a distinction between the voices granted by the Wise Mothman and the Interloper.
    • In Exodus, Interpreter Michaela records Wise Pearl the Augur's claim that the Dim Ones were frightened by the whispers of the Wise Mothman, but Charles and others attuned themselves to these whispers and became Wise.
    • In 2104, Wise Charles the Forewarned is no longer responsive to the world around him. He periodically groans short phrases in confusion. Interpreter Clarence believes Charles' mind has ascended in preparation for his coming death, and his cranium is visibly swollen.
    • Although lucid, Observer Marlon is in constant conversation with the voices he hears. He can almost always be seen placating or negotiating with them, obviously frustrated and frightened by what he is going through. Sometimes these voices leave Marlon to "talk to Him," granting him some temporary relief.
      • Observer Errol, jealous of Marlon's condition, wonders aloud why the voices did not choose him. He believes they can reveal "prey" to him.^[25]
      • Observer Johanna believes the neurotoxic dust may be harmful, because she trusts the voices, who told Marlon this.^[26]
        • Observer Johanna and the author of Didn't want to hurt them both refer to the voices as "THEY" emphatically.^[27][26] Her script notes specify that she is referring to the voices in Marlon's head.^[26]
    • The Enlightened hold a seasonal Equinox festival to summon the Wise Mothman. After the neurotoxic dust has been dispersed into the air, the weather will change to Equinox, and players will hear Interpreter Clarence's voice at full volume anywhere in the event, heavily distorted.^[2]
      • Brother Scarberry casts general doubt on the events depicted in the Mothman Equinox, given that all participants were hallucinating throughout the event.
  • Some spots within cultist locations are marked by a low, ominous ringing noise or hum, and the sudden absence of standard ambient sounds like wind and wildlife.
    • This occurs within the back parlor of the church at Kanawha, where a flayed body is displayed, with several fine chairs oriented towards the carnage. A stimpak and a camera are also found here.
• The strangler plants, known to the Enclave as Subject C-03, are known to evoke hallucinatory voices, as well as "a sense of euphoria," in nearby humans.^[28] The Enclave briefly had a field lab at Tanagra Town, which was destroyed when a scientist succumbed to the influence of the strangler, killed his cohorts, and destroyed their research.^[27][29]
  • According to a terminal that was once present in the game, this Enclave scientist was named Rhodes. However, the terminal was not physically accessible without exploits. At the time that the door to this room became unlocked, it contained one terminal infested by strangler vines, and one smashed terminal sitting on a cart. Which of these terminals contained the entries is not currently known.
  • A sample from Tanagra was brought to Research Site J, where its psychoactive properties were documented. Despite their attempts to contain the plant, it grew through the pipes of their bunker, and began infesting the Forest region from deep below the ground.
  • Massive stone faces emerging from the earth can be seen at Tanagra Town and in the lair of the Interloper. One was also visible at Dunwich Borers in Fallout 4.
• There are several phenomena associated with Harpers Ferry.
  • On September 24, 2077, the Truth Seekers investigated a specific abandoned home in the town. They listened for activity on an old General Atomics BS7 transistor radio, which Shawn called a "Ghost Phone." Within the house, they believed they heard messages from the spirit world through the device, including a voice saying "Church" over and over again. Scoot Conroy recorded these details in a report on the terminal at his shack.^[30]
  • A radio signal can be heard here while walking around at night, anchored to a specific area, but with no discernable source. It is accompanied by a looping record scratch, which will fade out after the radio signal when the player leaves the area.^[2]
  • The radios in this town play static if activated.
• An oppressive organ melody sometimes fills Haven Church at night.^[2][31]
• The note Ghosts? pertains to frightening noises heard underground.
• One section of the Shining Creek Caverns was used by scientists of the Vault 63 organics sector to pump waste gases. By 2105, it contains a mixture of twenty years' worth of runoff chemical gases, waste materials from the organics sector's power source, and pollens and spores from the plants grown in the sector.
  • These gases are highly hallucinogenic, and while exposed to them during The Powerhouse of the Cell, the Vault Dweller hears auditory hallucinations of people laughing, crying, gasping, and whispering, mainly a female voice but also others. A baby can also be heard, as well as cats meowing.
  • The dwellers also experience sensory and visual hallucinations, including blurred, tinted sight and visions of dark, shrouded figures which do not have a name when hovered over, though they can still be targeted in VATS and/or attacked and are dispelled in a single hit from any weapon. These figures include Scorched, super mutants, Mothmen, deathclaws, and more.
  • This effect persists until entering the sector's vat control room to administer Serum Omega to a Lost subject. Despite the hallucinations, the Vault Dwellers are shown to be otherwise unharmed by the gases and able to function well enough to talk normally with Hilda.

One Man, and a Crate of Puppets

• After playing with puppets for some time, the lonely dweller of Vault 77 heard a voice coming from his PX13 puppet ration. He subsequently discovered a Vault Boy puppet which he had somehow initially overlooked.
• He was later awoken by cries of regicide, and emerged from his quarters to discover the King had been assassinated.
• The dweller is depicted conversing with the Vault Boy puppet, who convinced him to abandon the Vault or face justice at the hands of Reverend Hound.

Fallout Shelter Online

• Eventually, Pickman will approach the player, explaining that his murders were fueled by his proximity to Dunwich Borers.^[32] This event unlocks Dunwich's Whisper, a game mode in which the player descends into the Dunwich mine fighting groups of enemies. On each floor, one helpful voice and one hostile voice will apply certain buffs and debuffs to the player.

• 

  Lorenzo Cabot's Memory Den quest involves him exploring the Dunwich Mining pit after visiting Pickman, and hearing the whisper from within.

Fallout: The Roleplaying Game

• The Last Son of Atom causes psychic disturbances across the Green Sea throughout the events of Winter of Atom, affecting both player characters and NPCs. His unprecedented powers of hallucination extend to the senses and minds of robots.
  • The Buried City is littered with catatonic Children of Atom, lost in their hallucinations.
  • The end of the main quest involves each player character being immersed in a personalized psychedelic vision, which they must break free from. Player characters who fail to break this psychic influence become enemies to the player party.

Notes

• The hallucination sequence in Fallout is referred to as "ego_blast" internally.^[33] The text file is called REVULSE.MSG.
• Toward the end of Dane's monologue, he will say, "I think I'll call my first child Fallout. I had a son once, but the radiation ate him in his mommy's womb."^[6]
• Mama Murphy receives insight from mental powers, but her revelations are distinctly visual. She calls her power "the Sight."
• Piper Wright avoided a conflict with the Children of Atom by faking a religious vision.^[34]
• The unnamed music track which plays in the Nucleus includes indistinct whispering at several points.
  • There are people praying in this space. However, killing everyone does not change the audio.
• The voices heard by Observer Marlon tell him immature jokes.^[35]
• The Scorched develop a shared vocabulary as they lose their minds. When a scorchbeast is in danger, scorched creatures will travel from all around to protect it. Human Scorched are called "believers" and "zealots" for their inexplicable religious devotion.^[36][37] They also engage in suicide bombing.^[38] However, as they are not capable of conversation or testimony, the specific nature of this experience is not currently knowable.
• As the music at Haven Church is presented and described, it could plausibly be produced by an automated speaker system, set to activate at night. Some fans have purported this to be true. However, no textual or environmental evidence particularly seems to imply this explanation.
• Steven Scarberry, a cultist and CAMP ally, closely paraphrases a line about a recurring void-based nightmare from Sofia Daguerre, one of the original CAMP allies from Wastelanders.^[39][40] Both idle barks begin with the sentence "I just can't shake these nightmares."

Behind the scenes

• In Fallout, the character of Camarillo "mumbling about Gehenna" is a reference to the Camarilla organization and the event of Gehenna from the World of Darkness tabletop setting.
  • In this setting, the Malkavian clan are insane vampires who have access to information through a "madness network," which manifests as hallucinations which grant them insight. However, they struggle to communicate with others. This is a major mechanic in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, a later game directed by Fallout co-creators Jason Anderson and Leonard Boyarsky. Fallout creator Tim Cain was also a programmer on Bloodlines.
• In Fallout 3, Jaime invokes a figure called "Alhazred" by name. In the Lovecraft mythos, Alhazred is an eighth-century figure believed to be the author of the Necronomicon.
• The whispers used in Fallout: New Vegas are the same audio that plays near Dunmer ash pits in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

See also

• Psychic
• Nightkin
• Strangler plant
• Disability representation in the Fallout series

References

Non-game