🕳️ The Screaming Vaults World Bible
Tagline: Something ancient stirs beneath the city…
🕯️ Concept Overview
Beneath the surface of a long-forgotten city lies something older than time itself.
A network of ancient vaults, carved by hands that no longer exist — sealed not to protect them from the world, but to protect the world from them.
For centuries, the vaults have slept. But now, as the earth shifts and time decays their prison walls, the creatures within begin to awaken.
Each book in The Screaming Vaults shared world explores one vault, one ancient horror, and one desperate attempt to contain it. Whether through science, faith, or madness, every protagonist faces the same truth:
Some things were never meant to be unearthed.
🌒 Tone & Atmosphere
A blend of cosmic horror, psychological thriller, and modern-day nightmare, this world balances creeping dread with the weight of discovery.
Every author brings their own voice — but the shared world ties together through the ancient vault network and its horrifying influence spreading across the globe.
Genre Fusion: Horror • Thriller • Urban Fantasy • Dark Academia • Supernatural Mystery
Setting: Modern-day (anywhere on Earth)
Season: Fall or Halloween (required)
Mood: Claustrophobic, eerie, intelligent, and haunting
🏛 The Setting: The Forgotten City
The stories can take place in different locations, but all connect through the same ancient civilization that built the vaults.
Each vault was part of a vast underground labyrinth system, rumored to span continents — connected by inscriptions, cult symbols, and eerie architectural parallels.
Some vaults are newly discovered beneath bustling cities. Others are unearthed in rural ruins, crumbling cathedrals, or beneath oceanic depths.
Common Traits Across All Vaults:
Carved with impossible geometry (angles that shouldn’t exist, hallways that distort perception)
Inscribed in an undecipherable pre-human language
Sealed with symbols of protection — wards long since broken
Contain artifacts, corpses, or relics linked to the creature’s origin
Emit low-frequency vibrations or whispers that drive people to madness
📜 World Requirements
Requirement Details Trope Horror / Thriller (psychological, supernatural, or cosmic horror elements) POV Single or dual POV allowed Word Count 30,000–50,000 words Darkness & Heat Level Author’s choice (from slow-burn dread to violent terror; optional romantic subplots allowed) Ending Must be a completed story (no cliffhangers) Setting Must take place during Fall or Halloween Core Element Each book must include an ancient vault, an eldritch creature, and the chaos its awakening causes Release Window March 2026 – February 2028 Entry Fee Non-refundable Editing All works must be professionally edited before release
👁 The Mythos: The Vaults
No one knows who built them — only that the builders feared what they were sealing away.
The Vault Network:
Each vault houses an eldritch entity, unique to that author’s story.
Vaults can be discovered by archaeologists, urban explorers, construction crews, or supernatural investigators.
All vaults are tied by a recurring sigil: a circle within a spiral — known as The Mark of the Devourer.
The more vaults that are opened across the world, the stronger the creatures’ influence becomes. News reports, strange storms, mass hallucinations, and power failures are recurring motifs that signal the vaults’ awakening.
🧠 Thematic Focus
Each story explores human fragility when faced with incomprehensible terror.
It’s less about gore — and more about psychological unraveling, existential dread, and the price of curiosity.
Core Themes:
Curiosity vs. consequence
Knowledge as corruption
Madness as enlightenment
Humanity’s insignificance in a vast, uncaring universe
The futility of control
Recurring Tone Markers:
The feeling of being watched when alone
The scent of decay or brine
Strange whispers echoing from below
Static interference and flickering lights
Dreams of drowning, rot, or endless corridors
🧩 The Vaulted Creatures (Eldritch Entities)
Each author creates one unique creature, tied to their vault. It should embody the unknowable.
Examples of interpretation:
A shadow that devours memories instead of flesh
A being that feeds on faith, growing stronger the more people pray
A parasite that mimics the voices of loved ones
A god whose name cannot be spoken without summoning nightmares
A swarm of whispers that infect the living
Creature Guidelines:
Must be ancient (older than civilization)
Must influence human behavior (directly or through madness/dreams)
Can’t be easily destroyed — only contained, escaped, or survived
Must have at least one connection to the recurring sigil (The Mark of the Devourer)
🏙️ Recurring World Elements (Crossovers)
While each book stands alone, subtle references create a cohesive mythos.
Shared Threads:
The Order of the Obsidian Sun – a secret society that’s tracked the vaults for centuries
Dr. Ezra Vale – an occult archaeologist who appears in multiple stories, warning that “the seals are breaking”
The Mark of the Devourer – a circular sigil seen carved, burned, or branded wherever vaults awaken
The Screaming Broadcast – a mysterious shortwave radio frequency that transmits untraceable screams and coordinates tied to new vault sites
The Black Rain Event – an unexplained weather phenomenon that begins after the fifth vault opens
💀 Tone & Style
Stories should balance atmospheric dread with human depth.
Each author may choose to emphasize:
Psychological horror (madness, obsession, guilt)
Supernatural terror (creatures, possession, hauntings)
Apocalyptic mystery (global unraveling as vaults open)
Inspiration Sources:
The Mist • Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu • The Descent • Annihilation • The Ritual • Cabin in the Woods • Event Horizon
🔥 Hook & Tagline Examples
Something ancient has awakened. It remembers your name.
The seal was never meant to be broken.
It’s not what’s inside the vault you should fear — it’s what’s listening outside it.
The walls breathe. The whispers beg. The vault waits.
He dug for answers. He found the end of the world.
Once you open it… it opens you.
📚 Optional Tropes for Blending Genres
Even though it’s primarily horror/thriller, authors may blend other elements:
Romantic Subplots: Forbidden attraction in the face of death or madness
Dark Academia: Archaeological or university-based exploration of forbidden knowledge
Apocalyptic Horror: Vault opening triggers citywide disaster
Survival Thriller: Small group trapped underground or isolated
Found Footage / Epistolary Format: Journal entries, voice recordings, or research logs
📖 Examples of Story Hooks
Hook Idea Tone An archaeology student uncovers a sealed vault beneath the university’s library, only to discover her research mentor opened one before—and went mad. Psychological Horror A construction team in New Orleans accidentally cracks open a vault beneath Bourbon Street during renovations. The haunting spreads through the city’s nightlife. Urban Horror A priest in Rome finds ancient scripture describing a vault beneath the Vatican—and the creature that once fed on saints. Religious / Supernatural Horror A deep-sea research team descends to investigate a mysterious structure on the ocean floor that hums with whispers. Sci-Fi / Existential Horror A podcast crew exploring local legends in Detroit finds a man-made tunnel system—and the vault that should have stayed closed. Found Footage / Survival Horror
🩸 Series Branding & Release
Release Dates: March 2026 – February 2028
Each novella or novel will be professionally edited and individually branded with The Screaming Vaults insignia — a black-and-red logo featuring The Mark of the Devourer.
Covers will share a cinematic, moody aesthetic:
Dark stone textures, sigils, runes, and vault imagery
Limited color palette (black, crimson, rust, gold)
Optional creature silhouette or shadow motif
⚰️ Purpose & Reader Appeal
This world was built for horror lovers, myth-builders, and dark fiction authors who crave intelligent, interconnected terror.
Readers will love:
The shared mythos and subtle crossovers
The escalating dread as more vaults open
The blend of modern-day realism and ancient horror
The diverse voices bringing new terrors to life
👁 Are you brave enough to open the vault?
👉 Join The Screaming Vaults Today and unleash your nightmare upon the world.