Beneath The Earth

Basic Information

Beneath the Earth is both a setting and an Otherworld trope. This trope assumes that a large number of fantastic beings or societies live within tunnels and caves within the earth.

When used in the Horror Genre, "fantastic beings or societies" doesn't really capture the tone. In this version, the bowels of the earth are a scary place, full of monsters, or at least degenerative troglodyte hicks. In the Cosmic Horror subgenre, Eldritch Abominations may also be hidden or imprisoned within the earth. Another common variant in Cosmic Horror is for the horrible things to dwell At The Bottom Of The Sea.

List of Beneath The Earth Locales

London Underground
Moscow Underground
Pilatusstadt
Symmes' Hole

See Also

Absurdly Spacious Sewer
Elaborate Underground Base
Underground Level

Sources

TV Tropes Wiki entry

Game and Story Use

• This is now pretty much the default assumption in most fantasy RPG settings.
  • By which I assume you're referring to the more pulpy Lost Civilizations and Dungeon Denizen interpretations, not the horror version.