5 Horrifying Vault Experiments

The Vaults in Fallout have always been a morbid fascination for many fans of the games, and now TV show. Made by Vault-Tec and marketed as self-sustaining doomsday bunkers, many people signed up for a spot in one of over 100 vaults in different locations. But what most people didn't know was that they were unknowingly signing up not to be saved, but to be used as a test subject (unless you were the lucky ones put into control vaults). Here are, in my opinion, 10 of the most horrifying vault experiments.


Vault 11

Vault 11 can be found in Fallout: New Vegas in the Mojave Wastelands, west of Boulder City. When the dwellers entered the vault and the door was locked behind them, they were told the unfortunate news by the Overseer (the Overseer is the person who runs the vault) that they were required to elect someone to sacrifice once a year, otherwise, the life support systems would shut down. Filled with the realization that they were trapped and the feeling of betrayal, they opted for the Overseer to be the first sacrifice, beginning the tradition of the Overseer being the sacrifice at the end of their first year. Many used this yearly vote for the Overseer (and therefore the sacrifice) as a way to "remove" people they had conflicts with in the vault and several voting blocs emerged to try and influence the other residents.

The demise of this vault began when one of the voting blocs (the Justice Bloc), blackmailed a woman called Katherine Stone. If she didn't agree to what they said, they would nominate her husband as the Overseer, so she complied, however they didn't keep their word and nominated him anyway. Out of fear that her husband was going to be the next sacrifice, she went on a killing spree to try to eradicate the Justice Bloc. When she was caught, she immediately confessed and was elected the Overseer.

Her first act as Overseer was the "Overseer Order 745". She explained that from now on, the Overseer would be chosen at random by a computer instead of being voted in. The Justice Bloc, worried they would lose all power (by means of election threats), began a coup that ended in Civil War which consequently killed all but 5 vault dwellers. As a last act of defiance against the vault, the survivors refused to elect a sacrifice. So the life support systems turned off right? Wrong.

Vault 11 was all just one elaborate experiment to see how far residents would go to ensure the safety of the majority. An "automated solution response" played congratulating them on their selflessness and they were granted freedom to come and go from the vault at will.

Vault 19

Vault 19 was also located in the Mojave Wastelands and was the only vault with 2 Overseers. The dwellers were divided into 2 groups, the red group and the blue group, and wore jumpsuits in their respective colours. They lived in separate sections of the vault and had limited contact. Once again, everyone but the Overseers were unaware of what they were about to endure.

Vault 19's experiment was to induce paranoia by "non-chemical and non-violent" means and simply watch what would happen. There were reports of subliminal messages being used as well as constant high-pitched noises and lights blinking seemingly in code. As expected, the residents quickly came paranoid and blamed the other faction for everything they were experiencing, not knowing it was their own Overseers creating these incidents on behalf of Vault-Tec. In game, you can find many patients' notes speaking of psychosis and aggression due to the events going on.

No one knows what became of the Vault 19 dwellers. When a group of escaped convicts discovered the vault in 2281, it had already been abandoned. It may forever remain a mystery but will always, in my opinion, be one of the worst Vault-Tec experiments.

Vault 112

Vault 112 was one of the last vaults to be built. It suspended 85 residents in virtual reality indefinitely and should have selected a few of the participants to live the perfect life forever. What the dwellers didn't realize is by stepping into the pods, they were essentially handing over full control to the Overseer, Dr Stanislaus Braun, and had no way of leaving on their own accord.

He used the dwellers as entertainment, and after becoming bored of witnessing multiple different virtual worlds, he began virtually "killing" them, resurrecting them and wiping their memory over... and over... and over... for all eternity...

Vault 75

Vault 75 is probably one of the saddest experiments by Vault-Tec. Located under Malden Middle School, it was portrayed as a quick and safe place for the local school children to hide if nuclear war began. However, it's main purpose was "the refinement of human genetics" using methods such as selective breeding, hormonal treatments and genetic modification.

When the bombs hit, all the parents and children entered into the vault, however upon arriving the adults were separated from the kids and executed. Any children refusing to be separated from their families were also executed. To help prevent running out of children, the doctors experimented and cultivated human embryos. They were raised on hearing horror stories about the "UpTopLand" (the wastelands) and trained to be strong enough to leave the vault on their 18th birthday to help the people rebuild the destroyed earth above. In reality, those who were deemed strong and intelligent enough were "harvested", those who weren't strong but were still smart were kept on as scientists and those who didn't seem to have either quality were executed.

At some point, junior test subjects as well as a "graduate" scientist began a rebellion and were able to lead people out of the vault to safety.

Vault 12

Vault 12 was meant to be one of the best vaults you could enter. It was described as "built with every amenity in mind for the prospective vault dweller" and had "been fitted with the newest in Vault Water Purification Systems, able to deliver 15,000 gallons of pure, refreshing drinking water every day". The real purpose of this vault though was to test how radiation affects the residents. To do this, the vault door was designed to never close.

Many people escaped into this vault when the bombs went off, relieved to be in what they thought was a safe place. But, as designed, the door never closed. Radiation poured into the vault, killing many instantly, and turning the remaining into Ghouls. After about 6 years of being confined to the shelter, the survivors left. Those who chose to stay founded Necropolis, also known as the City of Death.