!['The Child of the Cavern' by Jules Férat 26](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/%27The_Child_of_the_Cavern%27_by_Jules_F%C3%A9rat_26.jpg)
Subterranean fiction is a
subgenre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
adventure fiction
Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction.
History
In the Introduction to the ''Encyclopedi ...
,
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
, or
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
which focuses on fictional underground settings, sometimes at the
center of the Earth or otherwise deep below the surface. The genre is based on, and has in turn influenced, the
Hollow Earth
The Hollow Earth is a concept proposing that the planet Earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. Notably suggested by Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, the notion was disproven, first tentatively by Pierre Bougue ...
theory.
The earliest works in the genre were
Enlightenment-era philosophical or allegorical works, in which the underground setting was often largely incidental. In the late 19th century, however, more
pseudoscientific or
proto-science-fictional motifs gained prevalence. Common themes have included a depiction of the underground world as more primitive than the surface, either culturally, technologically or biologically, or in some combination thereof. The former cases usually see the setting used as a venue for
sword-and-sorcery fiction, while the latter often features
cryptids or creatures extinct on the surface, such as
dinosaurs or
archaic humans. A less frequent theme has the underground world much more technologically advanced than the surface one, typically either as the
refugium of a lost civilization, or (more rarely) as a secret base for
space aliens
Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...
.
Literature
![Map_of_the_Interior_World](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Map_of_the_Interior_World.png)
* In
Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
's ''
Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature ...
'' poem ''
Inferno
Inferno may refer to:
* Hell, an afterlife place of suffering
* Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire
Film
* ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film
* Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker
* Inferno (1973 fi ...
'',
Hell is a vast cavern and the narrator travels through the center of the Earth and out the other side to
Purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
.
* In
Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...
's 1741 novel ''Nicolai Klimii iter subterraneum'' (''
Niels Klim's Underground Travels
''Niels Klim's Underground Travels'', originally published in Latin as ''Nicolai Klimii Iter Subterraneum'' (1741), is a satirical science-fiction/fantasy novel written by the Norwegian-Danish author Ludvig Holberg. His only novel, it describe ...
''), Nicolai Klim falls through a cave while spelunking and spends several years living on both a smaller globe within and the inside of the outer shell.
*
Giacomo Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...
's 1788 ''Icosaméron'' is a 5-volume, 1,800-page story of a brother and sister who fall into the Earth and discover the subterranean utopia of the Mégamicres, a race of multicolored, hermaphroditic dwarfs.
* An early science-fiction work called ''
Symzonia: A Voyage of Discovery'' by a "Captain Adam Seaborn" appeared in print in 1820. In the story, Captain Seaborn leads a group of travelers into the concave inner surface of the Earth. There, they discover an inner continent, which they name Symzonia after
John Cleves Symmes, Jr. The story obviously reflected the ideas of Symmes, and some have claimed Symmes as the real author. Other researchers say it deliberately satirized Symmes's ideas, and think they have identified the author as an early American author named
Nathaniel Ames
Nathaniel Ames (July 22, 1708 – July 11, 1764), a colonial American physician, published a popular series of annual almanacs. He was the son of Nathaniel Ames first (1677–1736) and the father of Nathaniel and Fisher Ames. The family was ...
(see Lang, Hans-Joachim and Benjamin Lease. "The Authorship of ''Symzonia'': The Case for Nathanial Ames" ''New England Quarterly'', June 1975, page 241–252).
*
Faddei Bulgarin
Thaddeus Venediktovich Bulgarin (russian: Фаддей Венедиктович Булгарин; Polish Jan Tadeusz Krzysztof Bułharyn, – ), was a Russian writer, journalist and publisher of Polish ancestry. In addition to his newspaper ...
's short satirical tale "Improbable Tall-Tale, or Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1825) describes three underworld countries: Ignorantia (populated by spiders), Beastland (populated by apes), and Lightonia (populated by humans, with a capital called Utopia).
*
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
seems to hint at the Symmesian idea of a hollow channel between the poles in his 1838 novel ''
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket'' (1838) is the only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the ''Grampus' ...
'' and his short story "
MS. Found in a Bottle".
* Although it is often suggested that
Jules Verne used the idea of a partially hollow Earth in his 1864 novel ''
Journey to the Center of the Earth
''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...
'', his characters actually descend only 87 miles beneath the surface, where they find an underground sea occupying a cavern roughly the size of Europe. There is no indication in the novel that Verne intended to suggest that the Earth was in any way hollow, partially or otherwise.
*
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...
's 1865 novel ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...
'' was originally titled ''Alice's Adventures Under Ground''.
*
Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1871 novel ''
The Coming Race
''The Coming Race'' is a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, published anonymously in 1871. It has also been published as ''Vril, the Power of the Coming Race''.
Some readers have believed the account of a superior subterranean master race and th ...
'' was an account of the
Vril-ya, an angelic subterranean master race.
*
Louis Jacolliot
Louis Jacolliot (31 October 1837 – 30 October 1890) was a French barrister, colonial judge, author and lecturer.
Biography
Born in Charolles, Saône-et-Loire, he lived several years in Tahiti and India during the period 1865-1869.
Jacoll ...
's novel ''God's Sons'' (1873) is credited as the origin of the word A(s)gartha.
* Mary Lane's ''
Mizora
''Mizora'' is a feminist science fiction utopian novel by Mary E. Bradley Lane, first published in 1880–81, when it was serialized in the ''Cincinnati Commercial'' newspaper. It appeared in book form in 1890. ''Mizora'' is "the first portr ...
'' (1880–81) combines the hollow-Earth theme with
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
.
*
James De Mille's novel ''
A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder'', published in 1888 but written prior to the author's death in 1880, depicts a subterranean land with inverted values.
[
]
* ''
Pantaletta: A Romance of Sheheland'' by
Mrs. J. Wood (1882)
*
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, bein ...
used the idea in her 1884 novel ''Laura, Voyage dans le Cristal'', in which grotesque monsters are found in the interior of the Earth.
* ''
Interior World: A Romance Illustrating a New Hypothesis of Terrestrial Organization'' by
Washington L. Tower
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
(1885)
*
Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre
Joseph Alexandre Saint-Yves, Marquis d’Alveydre (26 March 1842 – 5 February 1909) was a French occultist who adapted the works of Fabre d'Olivet (1767–1825) and, in turn, had his ideas adapted by Gérard Encausse ''alias'' Papus. His work ...
's "Mission de l'Inde en Europe" was published in 1886 as a "true" story about Agartha. He withdrew it from the print and it was released again by
Gérard Encausse
Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse (July 13, 1865 – 25 October 1916), whose esotericism, esoteric pseudonyms were Papus and Tau Vincent, was a French people, French physician, hypnotist, and popularizer of occultism, who founded the modern mar ...
in 1910.
* John O. Greene's utopia The Ke Whonkus People (1890) describes an 11,000 year-old subterranean civilization at the North Pole, circa 1886, with a "fine climate" and "highly civilized people."
*
's science fiction novel ''The Goddess of Atvatabar'' (1892) is a utopian fantasy set within the hollow Earth.
*
Will N. Harben's ''Land of the Changing Sun'' (1894) is a utopian fantasy set within a 100-mile wide cavern found below the Atlantic Ocean 200 years prior and settled. The settlers found the atmosphere very rejuvenating, and also build an artificial changing sun to light their world. Two balloonists, an American and an Englishman, discover this world.
* ''
Etidorhpa
''Etidorhpa, or, the end of the earth: the strange history of a mysterious being and the account of a remarkable journey'' is the title of a scientific allegory or science fiction novel by John Uri Lloyd, a pharmacognocist and pharmaceutical ma ...
'' (1895) by
John Uri Lloyd
John Uri Lloyd (April 19, 1849 – April 9, 1936) was an American pharmacist and leader of the eclectic medicine movement who was influential in the development of pharmacognosy, ethnobotany, economic botany, and herbalism.Michael A. Flannery, ' ...
is set within a hollow Earth.
* In the sociologist
Gabriel Tarde's only literary work, ''Underground Man'' (1896) (original French title ''Fragments d'Histoire Future''), Humanity escapes a second apocalyptic ice age by delving under the earth and reforming society with Art as its central value.
*
Charles Willing Beale's 1899 novel, ''The Secret of the Earth'' tells of the adventure of 2 brothers who build an anti-gravity airship and travel to the hollow earth. There they find several lost races, and learn that mankind originated in the hollow earth, but the unruly types were exiled from the hollow earth. They then exit via the South Pole opening and crash on an island in the South Pacific, from which they send off a log of their adventures which forms the novel.
* The concept was mentioned in
Wardon Allan Curtis
Vardon ( he, ורדון) is a community settlement in south-central Israel. Located north of Kiryat Gat and south of Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History
It was founded i ...
's 1899 short story "
The Monster of Lake LaMetrie "The Monster of Lake LaMetrie" is a short story by American writer Wardon Allan Curtis. It was originally published in September 1899 in'' Pearson's Magazine'' and collected in Sam Moskowitz's ''Science Fiction by Gaslight'' and Michael Moorcock's ...
".
* In ''
NEQUA or The Problem of the Ages
''NEQUA or The Problem of the Ages'' is one of the first feminist science fiction books published in the United States. It was first serialized in the newspaper ''Equity''. Two editions were published in Topeka, Kansas in 1900. The title page lis ...
'' a visit in a sailing ship is made to Altruria, a society inside the earth. This feminist utopian science fiction novel was published in 1900 in Topeka Kansas. Jack Adams listed as the author, was a pseudonym for A. O. Grigsby and Mary P. Lowe, both newspaper publishers.
* An underground
Nome Kingdom
The Nome Kingdom is a fictional region near the Land of Oz that is ruled by the Nome King. It is near the Land of Ev, Rinkitink, and the unnamed countries where Whimsies, Growleywogs and Phanfasms live. The Nome Kingdom is also known as the Domin ...
is featured in several of the
Oz books
The Oz books form a book series that begins with ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) and relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books. All of Baum's b ...
by
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...
, notably ''
Ozma of Oz
''Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Billina the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People Too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein'', p ...
'' (1907), ''
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
''Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz'' is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by John R. Neill. It was published on June 18, 1908 and reunites Dorothy Gale with the humbug Wizard from ''The Wonderful Wizard ...
'' (1908) and ''
Tik-Tok of Oz
''Tik-Tok of Oz'' is the eighth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man (introduced in ''The Road to Oz'') to rescue his brother, ...
'' (1914).
*
Willis George Emerson's science-fiction novel ''
The Smoky God'' (1908) recounts the adventures of one Olaf Jansen who traveled into the interior and found an advanced civilization.
*
Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote adventure stories (beginning with ''
At the Earth's Core'' in 1914) set in the inner world of
Pellucidar
Pellucidar is a fictional Hollow Earth invented by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. In a crossover event, Tarzan, who was also created by Burroughs, visits Pellucidar.
The stories initially involv ...
, including at one point a visit from his character
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
. Burroughs's Pellucidar has oceans on the outer surface corresponding to continents on the inner surface and vice versa. Pellucidar is lit by a miniature
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
suspended at the center of the hollow sphere, so it is perpetually overhead wherever one is in Pellucidar. The sole exception is the region directly under a tiny geostationary
moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
of the internal sun; that region as a result is under a perpetual
eclipse and is known as the Land of Awful Shadow. This moon has its own plant life and (presumably) animal life and hence either has its own atmosphere or shares that of Pellucidar.
* The Russian geologist
Vladimir Obruchev
Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (russian: Влади́мир Афана́сьевич О́бручев; , Klepenino near Rzhev, Tver Oblast, Russian Empire – June 19, 1956, Moscow, USSR) was a Russian and Soviet geologist who specialize ...
uses the concept of the hollow Earth in his 1915 scientific novel ''
Plutonia'' to take the reader through various geological epochs.
* ''
The World Below
''The World Below'' is a science fiction novel by British writer S. Fowler Wright. It was first published in 1929 by Collins. The novel was originally intended as a trilogy, but the third part was never written. The first part was originall ...
'' by British science fiction author S. Fowler Wright was a major novel of 1929, and important in the history of science-fiction as a bridge between the scientific romance and the pulp era. It is set in the far-future in which Earth's dominant race lives almost entirely underground.
* A deliberately tunneled-out Earth occurs in
Charles R. Tanner 1930's SF short story "
Tumithak of the Corridors".
* ''
Morgo the Mighty'' by
Sean O'Larkin was serialized in ''
The Popular Magazine
''The Popular Magazine'' was an early American literary magazine that ran for 612 issues from November 1903 to October 1931. It featured short fiction, novellas, serialized larger works, and even entire short novels. The magazine's subject matter ...
'' in 1930. It featured the adventures of a
Tarzanesque
Tarzanesque (in French: ''Tarzanide'') is a term created by Frenchman Francis Lacassin used to describe characters in comic books inspired by Tarzan. A tarzanesque character resembles Tarzan in his physical resourcefulness, within a line of actio ...
character in a network of giant caverns beneath the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
. The caves are ruled by a cowled magician and populated by primitive men, giant intelligent bats, giant warring ants and giant killer chickens.
* ''
Tam, Son of the Tiger'' by
Otis Adelbert Kline
Otis Adelbert Kline (July 1, 1891 – October 24, 1946) born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, was a songwriter, an adventure novelist and literary agent during the pulp era. Much of his work first appeared in the magazine ''Weird Tales''. Kline was an ...
from 1931 features the adventures of Tam (another Tarzanesque character) in a subterranean world beneath Asia.
* The novel ''
In Caverns Below'' (1935) by
Stanton A. Coblentz
Stanton Arthur Coblentz (August 24, 1896 – September 6, 1982) was an American literature, American writer and poet. He received a Master's Degree in English literature and then began publishing poetry during the early 1920s. His first publi ...
posits an extensive populated network of caverns underlying the
Basin and Range province
The Basin and Range Province is a vast physiographic region covering much of the inland Western United States and northwestern Mexico. It is defined by unique basin and range topography, characterized by abrupt changes in elevation, alternating ...
in the North American southwest.
* The novel ''
The Secret People'' (1935) by
John Wyndham
John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names ...
features prisoners held captive in a labyrinth of caves by an ancient race of pygmies dwelling beneath the
Sahara desert.
* In the
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...
books by
J.R.R. Tolkien, the kingdom of
Angband and its predecessor
Utumno are deep underground, under mountains called Ered Engrin; they are home to Orcs, monsters and Morgoth the Dark Lord. Also, the Dwarves and even elves live underground – the underground realms of
Moria and Erebor and cities like
Nargothrond
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle- ...
and
Menegroth
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle- ...
play a major role in the stories.
* While investigating a haunted mound in Oklahoma, the protagonist of
H. P. Lovecraft's novella ''
The Mound
The Mound is an artificial slope in central Edinburgh, Scotland, which connects Edinburgh's New and Old Towns. It was formed by dumping around 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated from the foundations of the New Town into Nor Loch which wa ...
'' discovers a Spanish explorer's account of his travels in a subterranean civilization named K’nyan.
*
Richard Sharpe Shaver's ''The Shaver Mystery'' stories are about ancient civilizations still living in caverns beneath the Earth surface
*
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
's 1953 novel ''
The Silver Chair
''The Silver Chair'' is a children's fantasy novel by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1953. It was the fourth published of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956); it is volume six in recent editions, which are seq ...
'' (part of
The Chronicles of Narnia
''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, tele ...
) takes place partly in
Underland, a subterranean kingdom plotting to conquer
Narnia
''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been Adaptations of The Chron ...
. At one point, the
Lady of the Green Kirtle
The Lady of the Green Kirtle, also called Queen of Underland and Queen of the Deep Realm, is the main antagonist in ''The Silver Chair'' by C. S. Lewis. She is sometimes called briefly the ''Green Lady'' (on analogy with Jadis, the ''White Lady ...
attempts to brainwash the protagonists into believing that the world above ground does not exist.
* ''
The Third Eye'' (1956) by
Tuesday Lobsang Rampa mentions contact with advanced beings living in the center of the Earth.
* ''
The End of the Tunnel'' (aka ''The Cave of Cornelius'') (1959), by
Paul Capon
Harry Paul Capon (18 December 1912, in Kenton, Suffolk – 24 November 1969) was a British author who wrote fiction in various genres. He also worked as an editor in three films for Maurice Elvey (1887–1967), as an administrator in film and TV ...
. Four boys in England get trapped in a cave by a landslide, and by following the cave, they encounter a forgotten civilization.
* ''
Dark Universe'' (1961) by
Daniel F. Galouye. A post-apocalyptic science fiction novel where two clans live deep underground and are descendants from humans who escaped an old war.
* ''
City of the First Time'' (1975) by
G.J. Barrett. British survivors of an atomic holocaust venture downward into the earth through a series of caves and encounter two other races, survivals of previous extinctions.
* ''
Visages Immobiles'' (1983) by
Raymond Abellio
Georges Soulès (11 November 1907 – 26 August 1986), known by his pen name Raymond Abellio, was a French writer.
Life
Abellio went to the École Polytechnique and then took part in the X-Crise Group. He advocated far-left ideas, but like man ...
. Having discovered that New York was built on top of a massive hollow cavity, an architect devises a plan to build an underground city below Manhattan. The underground setting then becomes the scenario of the apocalyptic battle between a clairvoyant and an international terrorist.
* A Hollow Earth featured in the children's
Choose Your Own Adventure
''Choose Your Own Adventure'' is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actio ...
novel ''The Underground Kingdom'' (1983).
* The history of the Hollow Earth theory is explored in
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of th ...
's 1988 novel ''
Foucault's Pendulum
''Foucault's Pendulum'' (original title: ''Il pendolo di Foucault'' ) is a novel by Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco. It was first published in 1988, and an English translation by William Weaver appeared a year later.
''Foucault's P ...
'', alongside a wide range of other pseudo-scientific and conspiracy theories.
*
Rudy Rucker
Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (; born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known f ...
's novel ''
The Hollow Earth'' (1990) features
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
and his ideas. Rucker claims in an afterword to have transcribed the novel from a manuscript in the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
library; the call number given is that of a copy of ''
Symzonia''.
* ''
The Dark Elf Trilogy
''The Dark Elf Trilogy'' is a prequel to the '' Icewind Dale Trilogy'' by R. A. Salvatore. Drizzt Do'Urden, a drow, or dark elf, was originally written as a supporting character in the ''Icewind Dale Trilogy'' to Wulfgar the barbarian. However ...
'' (1990–1991) by
R. A. Salvatore was the first of the
Forgotten Realms
''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as ...
books to describe the underground world of the Dark Elves called the
Underdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing campaigns and ''Dungeons & Dragons''-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterra ...
. This greatly helped popularize underground settings in fantasy RPGs.
* The novel ''
Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth'' by
Max McCoy
Max Allan McCoy (born October 30, 1958) is an American journalist and novelist.
He is the author of ten westerns, two thrillers, four original Indiana Jones adventures, the novelization of the mini-series '' Into the West'' and the first three vo ...
(1997) expands on the legend of an advanced civilization in the Earth's interior.
* ''
Reliquary'' (1997) by
Douglas Preston and
Lincoln Child
Lincoln Child (13 October 1957) is an American author of techno-thriller and horror novels. Though he is most well known for his collaborations with Douglas Preston (including the Agent Pendergast series and the Gideon Crew series, among other ...
features an underground civilization of humans beneath Manhattan.
* The short story "Black as the Pit, From Pole to Pole" by
Howard Waldrop
Howard Waldrop (born September 15, 1946) is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021.
Personal life
Though born in Houston, Mississippi, Waldrop has spent ...
and
Steven Utley
Steven Utley (November 10, 1948—January 12, 2013) was an American writer. He wrote poems, humorous essays and other non-fiction, and worked on comic books and cartoons, but was best known for his science fiction stories.
Biography
Utley was bor ...
continues the journey of
Frankenstein's creature through a hollow Earth.
* In
Jeff Long's 1999 novel ''
The Descent
''The Descent'' is a 2005 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall. The film follows six women who enter a cave system and struggle to survive against the humanoid creatures inside.
Filming took place in the United Kingdom. Ex ...
'' and its 2007 sequel ''
Deeper
Deeper may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Deeper'' (Delirious? album) or the title song (see below), 2001
* ''Deeper'' (Lisa Stansfield album) or the title song, 2018
* ''Deeper'' (Meredith Andrews album) or the title song, 2016
* ''Deeper'' (The Sof ...
'', a vast labyrinth of tunnels and passages underlying the Earth is inhabited by a brutal species of once-civilized but now degenerate
hominid, Homo Hadalis.
* The 2000 novel ''
Abduction'' by
Robin Cook
Robert Finlayson "Robin" Cook (28 February 19466 August 2005) was a British Labour politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 until his death in 2005 and served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001 wh ...
includes the concept of a third world under the sea called "Interterra."
*
Eoin Colfer
Eoin Colfer (; born 14 May 1965) is an Irish author of children's books. He worked as a primary school teacher before he became a full-time writer. He is best known for being the author of the ''Artemis Fowl'' series. In September 2008, Col ...
's ''
Artemis Fowl
''The Fowl Adventures'' is a series of eleven fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer revolving around various members of the Fowl family. The first cycle, ''Artemis Fowl'', follows elf LEP recon officer Holly Short as she faces t ...
'' series (2001–2012) focuses on crimes committed by or against the fairy-folk who live beneath the earth's crust in a technologically advanced society.
* ''
Underland'' (2002) by
Mick Farren
Michael Anthony Farren (3 September 1943 – 27 July 2013) was an English rock musician, singer, journalist, and author associated with counterculture and the UK underground.
Early life
Farren was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and aft ...
has the vampire hero
Victor Renquist traveling to a hollow Earth populated by Nazi scientists, subjugated proto-scientific lizard people, and a fungus addicted race of sub-vampires.
* ''
The City of Ember
''The City of Ember'' is a post-apocalyptic novel by Jeanne DuPrau that was published in 2003. The story is about Ember, a post-apocalyptic underground city threatened by aging infrastructure and corruption. The young protagonist, Lina Mayfle ...
'' (2003) and its sequels by
Jeanne DuPrau
Jeanne DuPrau (born 1944 in San Francisco, California) is an American writer, best known for ''The Books of Ember'', a series of science fiction novels for young people. She lives in Menlo Park, California.
Works
The Books of Ember
* ''The C ...
describe a city built underground to survive a
nuclear holocaust
A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...
.
* ''
The Underland Chronicles
''The Underland Chronicles'' is a series of five epic fantasy novels by Suzanne Collins, first published between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of a boy named Gregor and his adventures in the "Underland,” a subterranean world located under ...
'' (2003–2007) by
Suzanne Collins
Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer. She is known as the author of the book series '' The Underland Chronicles'' and ''The Hunger Games''.
Early life
Suzanne Collins was born on August 10, 1962, i ...
tells the story of a war between the humans and the
rats in a location under New York City called the Underland.
* ''
Tunnels
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A Pipeline transport, pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used ...
'' (2005) is the first of a series of books by
Roderick Gordon
Roderick Gordon (born November 1960) is the author of ''Tunnels'', a bestselling children's book and the first book in the ''Tunnels'' series by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.
Biography
Born in November 1960, Roderick grew up in Highgate ...
and Brian Williams, taking place in a hollow Earth with an interior sun, in which multiple civilisations exist within and beneath the crust.
* ''
Metro 2033 Metro 2033 may refer to:
* ''Metro 2033'' (novel), a 2002 novel by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky
* ''Metro 2033'' (video game), a 2010 first-person shooter video game based on the novel
See also
* ''Metro'' (franchise), originating from t ...
'' (2005) and ''
Metro 2034'' (2009) by
Dmitry Glukhovsky
Dmitry Alekseyevich Glukhovsky (russian: Дми́трий Алексе́евич Глухо́вский, born 12 June 1979) is a Russian author and journalist best known for the science fiction novel ''Metro 2033'' and its sequels. As a journal ...
are post-nuclear-apocalyptic novels which describe the last remaining humans fighting to survive in the metro system underneath Moscow with the surface being too irradiated for humans to survive.
* ''
Against the Day
''Against the Day'' is an epic historical novel by Thomas Pynchon, published in 2006. The narrative takes place between the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the time immediately following World War I and features more than a hundred characters spr ...
'' (2006) by
Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, scie ...
makes extensive mention of the Earth's interior as a place to be explored, positing inner-Earth seas. Pynchon's ''
Mason & Dixon'' (1997) also uses the idea of a Hollow Earth as the planet's final holdout for magic against the calculations of the surface's most eminent men of science.
* In
Geraldine McCaughrean
Geraldine McCaughrean ( ; born 6 June 1951) is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including ''Peter Pan in Scarlet'' (2004), the official sequel to ''Peter Pan'' commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, t ...
's ''
The White Darkness'' (2007), the characters undertake a journey to find a hole into the hollow Earth.
*
Neal Shusterman
Neal Shusterman (born November 12, 1962) is an American writer of young-adult fiction. He won the 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature for his book ''Challenger Deep'' and his novel, ''Scythe'', was a 2017 '' Michael L. Prin ...
's
Downsiders
''Downsiders'' is a 1999 novel by Neal Shusterman.
Plot summary
The Downsiders are a secret community of an unknown population (either native-born or "fallers" from the topside) dwelling underneath New York City. They are a proud, noble communit ...
(1999) is a story where a young boy living under New York City in a secret community becomes curious about the topside and adventure ensues.
*
John Hodgman
John Kellogg Hodgman (born June 3, 1971) is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as '' The Areas of My Expertise'', ''More Information Than You Require'', and '' That Is All'', he is known for ...
's 2008 book ''
More Information Than You Require
''More Information Than You Require'' is a 2008 satirical almanac by John Hodgman. It is the follow-up to Hodgman's 2005 book '' The Areas of My Expertise''. It was released October 21, 2008. The full title reads:
''More Information Than You ...
'' says the hollow interior of the Earth is the home of the subterranean Molemen. In the center of this Hollow Earth is a small, red sun.
* ''
The Battle of the Labyrinth
''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' is an American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology written by Rick Riordan. It is the fourth novel in the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. The novel was first published in the United States on ...
'' (2008), the fourth book in
Rick Riordan
Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million co ...
's ''
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' is a series of five fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the ''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles''. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st centur ...
'' series, revolves around the protagonists' attempts to navigate the Labyrinth, a confusing, supernatural maze under the United States.
* The
Silo series narrates post-apocalyptic human life in a subterranean city extending one hundred forty-four stories beneath the surface.
*
Kameron Hurley
Kameron Hurley is an American science fiction and fantasy writer.
Biography
Hurley was born in Washington state and has lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, Durban, South Africa, and Chicago. She currently resides in Dayton, Ohio.
Hurley has been publ ...
's 2017 novel ''The Stars Are Legion'' takes place on an alien world with various separate underground societies that the protagonist must work her way through on a long journey back to the surface.
Comics
* A
Scrooge McDuck comic book story by
Carl Barks called ''
Land Beneath the Ground!
"Land Beneath the Ground!" is a Scrooge McDuck comic book story that appeared in 1956 in the comic book ''Uncle Scrooge'', written by Carl Barks.
Plot
Worried about earthquakes damaging his money bin, Scrooge McDuck is determined to find out wha ...
'' (1956) describes an underground world populated by humanoid creatures who create earthquakes.
* The comics series ''Les Terres Creuses'' by Belgian comics writers Luc and
François Schuiten
François Schuiten (; born 26 April 1956) is a Belgian comic book artist. He is best known for drawing the series '' Les Cités Obscures''.
Biography
François Schuiten was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1956.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "François Sc ...
features several hollow-Earth settings.
* The
Hellboy Universe The Hellboy Universe is the fictional universe of the ''Hellboy'' comic and its various spinoffs, created by Mike Mignola. Its first appearance was in a black-and-white, four-page promotional comic by Mike Mignola with a script by John Byrne publis ...
features the Hollow Earth as a major part of its mythology. It was first introduced in the 2002
miniseries ''
B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth'', when the team journeyed into great caverns inside the Earth where they discovered a race of people that had been artificially created by the ancient Hyperboreans.
*One adventure of
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...
's Pulp-style hero
Tom Strong
''Tom Strong'' is a comic book created by writer Alan Moore and artist Chris Sprouse, initially published bi-monthly by America's Best Comics, an imprint of DC Comics' Wildstorm division. Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero", wi ...
involved a gateway into the Hollow Earth in the Arctic where Nazis had fled after World War Two only to be devoured by its inhabitants. Much of the story is spent discussing many of the varying Hollow Earth concepts mentioned above. (Tom Strong's Terrific Tales #1)
* In the 1970s, comic-book artist
Mike Grell
Mike Grell (born September 13, 1947) is an American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as '' Green Lantern/Green Arrow'', '' The Warlord'', and '' Jon Sable Freelance''.
Early life
Grell studied at the University of ...
produced the comic-book
''Warlord'', about a pilot who finds himself in
Skartaris
Skartaris is a fictional Hollow Earth fantasy setting created by Mike Grell for the sword and sorcery comic book '' The Warlord'', published by DC Comics. Skartaris debuted in ''1st Issue Special'' #8 (November 1975), where the character Travis M ...
, a
sword-and-sorcery world reached through an opening at the North Pole. First believed to be the hollow interior of the Earth, Skartaris was later revealed to be a parallel dimension.
* The
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
features several underground empires in
Subterranea with each one ruled by villains like the
Mole Man
The Mole Man (Harvey Rupert Elder) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Mole Man is a recurring foe of the Fantastic Four and was the first villain they ever faced. His schemes usually consist o ...
or
Tyrannus.
* The
webcomic
Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books.
Webcomics can be c ...
Overcompensating referenced Hollow Earth theories in an August 2006 strip.
*
Super Dinosaur
''Super Dinosaur'' is an American comic book series published by Image Comics' Skybound imprint beginning in 2011. The comic was created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Jason Howard, who had previously worked together on Image's ''The Astound ...
has shown Earth to be a planet with a planet on the inside.
* The
webcomic
Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books.
Webcomics can be c ...
Mare Internum
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the eas ...
follows the adventures of two scientists trapped in the underworld of Mars.
Film
* The 1935 serial ''
The Phantom Empire
''The Phantom Empire'' is a 1935 American Western serial film directed by Otto Brower and B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Frankie Darro, and Betsy King Ross.Magers 2007, p. 21. This 12-chapter Mascot Pictures serial combined the ...
'' combines a
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
musical with subterranean plot elements loosely adapted from Bulwer-Lytton's ''The Coming Race''.
* The 1951 short feature ''
Superman and the Mole Men
''Superman and the Mole Men'' is a 1951 American independent black-and-white superhero film released by Lippert Pictures. Produced by Barney A. Sarecky and directed by Lee Sholem, it stars George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane ...
'' postulated a race of little people living inside a hollow Earth. The film was later reconfigured into a two-part TV episode called ''
The Unknown People'', with most or all explicit references to "Mole Men" being excised.
* The 1951 film ''
Unknown World'' is the story of a small crew in a drilling vehicle exploring for a refuge from nuclear war, and finding great caverns at tremendous depths.
* The 1956 film ''
The Mole People
''The Mole People'' is a 1956 American science fiction adventure film distributed by Universal International, which was produced by William Alland, directed by Virgil W. Vogel, and stars John Agar, Hugh Beaumont, and Cynthia Patrick. The st ...
'' has an introduction by
Frank C. Baxter ("Dr. Research") explaining the history of Hollow Earth theories.
* The 1959 film ''
Journey to the Center of the Earth
''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...
'' is probably the most well known adaptation of Verne's novel.
* The 1960 film ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'' is based on the H.G. Wells novel and features underground-dwelling Morlocks.
* The 1970 film ''
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
''Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original ''Planet of the Apes'' series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. The film stars Ja ...
'' is the second film in the Planet of the Apes series and features an underground city inhabited by mutated humans with psychic powers.
* The 1971 film ''
THX 1138
''THX 1138'' is a 1971 American social science fiction film co-written and directed by George Lucas in his directorial debut. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Walter Murch, the film stars Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence, wi ...
'' is an American science fiction film set in a dystopian future in which the populace lives underground and is controlled through android police officers and mandatory use of drugs that suppress emotion, including outlawed sexual desire.
* The 1973 film ''
Godzilla vs. Megalon
is a 1973 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, written by Fukuda and Shinichi Sekizawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects subsidiary Toho ...
'' involves the seatopians.
* The 1976 film ''
At the Earth's Core'' is based on Burroughs' novel.
* The 1984 film ''
What Waits Below'' depicts the discovery of a lost race of albino-skinned beings.
* The 2001 animated film ''
Atlantis: The Lost Empire'', has the protagonists discovering the survived ancient civilization of Atlantis in the depths of the Earth.
* The 2003 film ''
The Core
''The Core'' is a 2003 American science fiction disaster film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, D. J. Qualls, Richard Jenkins, Tcheky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, and Alfre Woodard. The f ...
'' in which a team has the mission to drill to the center of the Earth in order to restart the rotation of the Earth's core.
* The 2004 Japanese horror film ''
Marebito'', directed by
Takashi Shimizu
Takashi Shimizu (清水 崇 ''Shimizu Takashi'', born 27 July 1972) is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for being the creator of the ''Ju-On'' franchise, and directing four of its films, internationally, in both Japan and the U.S. Accor ...
, references the Hollow Earth hypothesis.
* The 2005 film ''
The Island'' is an American science fiction-thriller film directed by Michael Bay, starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.
* The 2008 film ''
Journey to the Center of the Earth
''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...
''
* The 2008 film from
The Asylum
The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...
called ''
Journey to the Center of the Earth
''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...
'' (also called ''Journey to Middle Earth'') features an underground prehistoric ecosystem.
* The 2008 film ''
City of Ember
''City of Ember'' is a 2008 American science fantasy adventure film based on the 2003 novel '' The City of Ember'' by Jeanne DuPrau. Directed by Gil Kenan in his live-action directorial debut, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, B ...
'' is the survival story of a fantasy underground city.
* The 2009 film ''
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs'' features an underground world where dinosaurs have survived into the Holocene.
* The 2011 anime film ''
Children Who Chase Lost Voices
, also known as ''Journey to Agartha'', is a 2011 Japanese anime film created and directed by Makoto Shinkai, following his previous work ''5 Centimeters per Second''. This film is described as a "lively" animated film with adventure, action, an ...
'' features a party's journey to
Agartha
Agartha (sometimes Agartta, Agharti, Agarath, Agarta, Agharta, or Agarttha) is a legendary kingdom that is said to be located in the Earth's core. It is related to the belief in a hollow Earth and is a popular subject in esotericism.
History
T ...
.
* The 2013 anime film ''
Patema Inverted
is a 2013 Japanese animated science fiction film written and directed by Yasuhiro Yoshiura. It was released in Japan on November 9, 2013. A four-episode original net animation (ONA) series, ''Patema Inverted: Beginning of the Day'', streamed in ...
'' features a civilization that lives in a system of tunnels and caverns deep underground.
* The 2019 animated film ''
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'' features the "hidden world," an underground world inhabited by
Dragons and accessible by a
caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
in the ocean.
* Hollow Earth is a major plot element of the
MonsterVerse
The MonsterVerse is an American multimedia franchise and shared fictional universe featuring Godzilla, King Kong, and other monster characters owned and created by Toho Co., Ltd. The franchise is produced by Legendary Pictures and co-produced ...
film franchise. The 2017 film ''
Kong: Skull Island'' places Skull Island atop an entryway into Hollow Earth that is responsible for its population of giant monsters and plant/animal hybrids. The 2019 film ''
Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' reveals the existence of a Hollow Earth with portals that Godzilla uses as shortcuts to move faster around the globe. The 2021 film ''
Godzilla vs Kong
''Godzilla vs. Kong'' is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to '' Kong: Skull Island'' (2017) and '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019); it is the fourth film in Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, the 36th film ...
'' features an expedition into Hollow Earth to harness a mysterious energy source and find Kong's ancestral home. Due to a strong reverse-gravitational effect, Apex Cybernetics has developed HEAVs which are specialized crafts able to withstand the pressure exerted by the gravity field.
* The 2019 film ''
Iron Sky: The Coming Race'' is a Finnish-German
comic science fiction
Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science-fiction (SF) genre's conventions for comedy, comedic effect. Comic science fiction often mocks or satirize ...
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...
directed by
Timo Vuorensola
Timo Vuorensola (; born 29 November 1979) is a Finnish film director, singer and actor. He has directed '' Star Wreck'' movies ''Star Wreck V: Lost Contact'', and '' Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning'', created by Samuli Torssonen. Vuorensola plays ...
.
TV
* In the ''
Tiny Toon Adventures
''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation ...
'' episode "
Journey to the Center of Acme Acres", a series of earthquakes shake up the city, causing
Plucky and
Hamton to fall into a crater in the ground. They fall for hours before finally reaching the center, which is hollow.
* In the
1987–1996 animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series episode "
Turtles at the Earth's Core", the turtles discover a cavern on Earth where dinosaurs still roam.
* The ''
Spider Riders
is a series of science fiction novels first published in December 2004, published by Newmarket Press written by Tedd Anasti, Patsy Cameron-Anasti and Stephen D. Sullivan (books 2–3). The series was adapted into an anime series, produced by ...
'' series of books and anime take place in an "Inner World" inhabited by humans, cybernetic battle spiders, and intelligent insects.
*
Cleopatra 2525
''Cleopatra 2525'' is an American science fiction television series that aired in syndication for two seasons, from January 2000 to March 2001. Produced by Renaissance Pictures and distributed by Studios USA, many stations aired it as part of th ...
* The anime series ''
Gurren Lagann
''Gurren Lagann'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and September 2007. It was directed by Hiroyu ...
'' is initially set in an underground civilization due to the surface of the world being ruled by Lordgenome.
* The ''
Transformers: Cybertron'' cartoon series features a character, Professor Lucy Suzuki, who believes in the Hollow Earth Theory.
* The Japanese anime ''
Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu'' has the protagonists spend much of their time in a hollow Earth called Darius, home of an empire of humanoids that are currently amassing a force to invade and conquer the surface world.
* The French cartoon ''
Les Mondes Engloutis'' (known in English as ''
Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea
''Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea'' ( French: ''Les Mondes Engloutis'', "The Engulfed Worlds") is a 1985-1987 French animated series created by Nina Wolmark. The series consists of 52 episodes, each between 20 and 25 minutes in length, div ...
'') involves protagonists descending through a maze of caves into a subterranean world of different space and time, inhabited by various peoples.
* ''
Sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...
'' has a Season 3 storyline that deals with Helen Magnus and her team finding and visiting Hollow Earth.
* In ''
Detentionaire
''Detentionaire'' is a Canadian mystery thriller animated series produced by Nelvana and aired on Teletoon from September 12, 2011, to January 29, 2015, for total of 53 episodes, spanning 4 seasons. It was created by Daniel Bryan Franklin and Ch ...
'', the main antagonist of the series known as "His Eminence" is from a long lost race of ancient reptilian humanoids who retreated beneath the earth and lay dormant for thousands of years.
* In ''
Doctor Who'' Series 5 (2010), episodes 8 and 9 ''
The Hungry Earth
"The Hungry Earth" is the eighth episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on 22 May 2010 on BBC One. It was written by Chris Chibnall, who had previously written fo ...
'' and ''
Cold Blood'' take place in an underground city populated by Silurians, a humanoid reptilian race who have been hibernating for millions of years and want to have their planet back from the "ape descended primitives" who have evolved and taken over (i.e. humankind). The Silurians and their aquatic cousins the Sea Devils also appeared in the original run of Doctor Who - in ''
Doctor Who and the Silurians'' (1970), ''
The Sea Devils
''The Sea Devils'' is the third serial of the ninth season of the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 1 April 1972. It was written by M ...
'' (1972) and ''
Warriors of the Deep
''Warriors of the Deep'' is the first serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 5 to 13 January 1984.
In the serial, two human power b ...
'' (1984).
* The ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe ...
'', featured the location Skartaris.
* The animated television series ''
Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer'' takes place in an underground world called Subterranea-Tania, which the main characters get trapped due to a science project gone awry.
Games
* The video game ''
Final Fantasy IV
known as ''Final Fantasy II'' for its initial North American release, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1991, it is the fourth main insta ...
'' for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Released as "Final Fantasy II" in the United States) features a subterranean world that is inhabited by dwarves.
* The video game ''
Terranigma
is a 1995 action role-playing game developed by Quintet for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), with manga artist Kamui Fujiwara acting as the character designer. The game tells the story of the Earth's resurrection by the hands of ...
'' for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System features both a hollow and normal Earth.
* A pulp roleplaying game, ''
Hollow Earth Expedition
''Hollow Earth Expedition'' is a pulp fiction role-playing game set in the fictitious Hollow Earth (see Hollow Earth theory), published by Exile Game Studio. The game has been nominated for several Origins and ENnie awards since its release i ...
''.
* The ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...
'' role-playing game's
Mystara
Mystara is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role playing game. It was the default setting for the "Basic" version of the game throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Most adventures published for the "Basic" edition of ''D&D'' ...
campaign setting included a ''
Hollow World
The flexibility of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') game rules means that Dungeon Masters (DM) are free to create their own fantasy campaign settings. For those who wanted a pre-packaged setting in which to play, TSR, Wizards of the Coast ...
'' expansion, featured in the ''
Hollow World Campaign Set
The ''Hollow World Campaign Set'' is an accessory for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game.
Contents
''Hollow World'' is a campaign setting boxed set detailing the enormous hollow inside of the planet of Mystara, and the peopl ...
''.
* The tabletop ''
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
The ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game'' is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition ''Dungeon ...
s main setting, Golarion, features an extensive underworld known as the Darklands. The deepest region of the Darklands, known as Orv, consists of a series of caverns (referred to as Vaults) roughly the size of surface nations, home to a variety of alien environments, creatures and cultures.
* In ''
Mage: The Ascension'', the Hollow Earth exists as an alternate reality, but virtually all ways of accessing without magic have ceased to exist in the modern age because people no longer believe the Earth could be hollow.
* In ''
Aion: Tower of Eternity'', the world of Atreia used to be a hollow planet with the Tower inside it, connecting the northern and southern hemispheres together, providing light and heat to the creatures living inside of the planet.
* The video games ''
Dragon Age: Origins'' and ''
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' both feature a subterranean city, along with other caves.
* ''
Arx Fatalis
''Arx Fatalis'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Arkane Studios and released for Microsoft Windows in 2002 and Xbox in 2003. The game is played from a first-person perspective and is set on a world whose sun has failed, forcing t ...
'' takes place almost entirely in an underground setting.
* ''
Avernum'', and its predecessor, ''
Exile'', are set in a nation based in a cavern system originally used as a
penal colony
A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...
.
* The role-playing game ''
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter'' for the
PlayStation 2 console is set entirely in an underground world, where the main characters try to reach the surface.
* The browser-based game ''
Fallen London'', as well as its roguelike spin-off ''
Sunless Sea
''Sunless Sea'' is a survival/exploration role-playing video game with roguelike elements developed by Failbetter Games. The game was released on 6 February 2015 for Windows and OS X following a successful Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund the ...
'', are set in an alternate history in which Victorian London is now located a mile beneath the surface, in an enormous cavern colloquially referred to as the "Neath" dominated by a large subterranean ocean.
* In the adventure video game series ''
Myst
''Myst'' is a graphic adventure/puzzle video game designed by the Miller brothers, Robyn and Rand. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., published by Broderbund, and initially released for the Macintosh in 1993. In the game, the player's charact ...
'', the D'ni civilization lies in a large cavern under the U.S. state of
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
.
* In the roleplaying game ''
Undertale
''Undertale'' is a 2015 2D role-playing video game created by American indie developer Toby Fox. The player controls a child who has fallen into the Underground: a large, secluded region under the surface of the Earth, separated by a magical ...
'', the character falls into the Underground, a subterranean realm which serves as the setting for the game. The Underground is populated with a society of monsters which were banished there by humans.
* In the MMORPG ''
The Secret World
''The Secret World'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing video game set in a modern-day real world under attack from occult forces. Ragnar Tørnquist led development of the initial game for Funcom. ''The Secret World'' uses a subsc ...
'', the Hollow Earth serves as a central hub allowing the player to travel between the different area of the outer world. In its reboot
Secret World Legends, it has been redesigned for being the central place for trade, meetup and services
* The interactive fiction computer games in the ''
Zork
''Zork'' is a text-based adventure game first released in 1977 by developers Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. The original developers and others, as the company Infocom, expanded a ...
'' series are set in the Great Underground Empire.
* The role-playing game ''
Underrail'' is set in a distant future, where life on Earth's surface has long since been made impossible and the remnants of humanity now dwell in a vast system of metro station-states.
* The 1992 video game ''
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss'' is set in a large cave system that contains the remnants of a failed utopian civilization.
*The video game ''
EarthBound'' for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System features the so called "Lost Underworld" which resembles a prehistoric jungle in which dinosaurs live.
*The plot of
Subterranean Animism, the 11th video game in the
Touhou Project series, revolves around the main character descending underground into the depths of Hell in order to stop a possible apocalyptic event from occurring.
*The 2017 Metroidvania game
Hollow Knight
''Hollow Knight'' is a 2017 Metroidvania video game developed and published by independent developer Team Cherry. In the game, the player controls the Knight, a nameless insectoid warrior, who explores Hallownest, a fallen kingdom plagued by ...
takes place on Hallownest, a ruined kingdom built inside a vast series of inter-connected caverns, presenting lakes, lush caves and forgotten cities, among other various areas.
*The 2011 sandbox video game
Minecraft
''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java (programming language), Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made pub ...
features remnants of forgotten civilizations hidden deep within the earth, such as the Stronghold and the Ancient City. Furthermore, there exists a dimension in the game called the Nether, largely considered to be located below the Overworld. Here, there exist derelict structures such as Bastion Remnants and Nether Fortresses, along with the Piglins, a race of sentient, humanoid pig creatures.
Music
* Japanese psychedelic rock band Far East Family Band named their 1975 debut album ''Chikyu Kudo Setsu'', (''Hollow Earth Theory''), although the official English title was ''The Cave Down to Earth''. The album's sleeve notes refer to familiar stories of entrances at the north and south poles, and of an ancient civilisation dwelling inside the Earth with connections to UFOs.
[Reported in Julian Cope's ]Japrocksampler
''Japrocksampler: How the Post-war Japanese Blew Their Minds on Rock 'n' Roll'' is a book written by author and musician Julian Cope and published by Bloomsbury on 3 September 2007.
Overview
The 304-page hardcover book is a companion piece to Co ...
, pp. 246–7.
* The band
Bal-Sagoth
Bal-Sagoth ( /baʊl 'sægɑθ/ ''b-owl SA-goth'') were a symphonic black metal band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, formed in 1993.
Originally formed as an epic symphonic black metal band with strong death metal elements, vocalist/lyrici ...
has, on their album ''
The Chthonic Chronicles'' (2006), a song about the hollow Earth called "Invocations Beyond the Outer-World Night".
*
Sunn O))) on their album ''
Monoliths & Dimensions
''Monoliths & Dimensions'' is the sixth studio album by drone metal band Sunn O))). The album was created and recorded over a period of two years and features the collaborations of composer Eyvind Kang, Australian guitar player Oren Ambarchi, Hun ...
'' has a song called
Aghartha
Agartha (sometimes Agartta, Agharti, Agarath, Agarta, Agharta, or Agarttha) is a legendary kingdom that is said to be located in the Earth's core. It is related to the belief in a hollow Earth and is a popular subject in esotericism.
History
The ...
.
* In ''
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
s first full album ''
Parachutes
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
'' there's a song called Spies. It may refer to a subterranean location, but the lyrics themselves are ambiguous.
* Science Babble, on their album ''Membrane"'' has a song ''"Rock Bottom"'' revolving around hollow earth theory
Other celestial bodies
Subsurface fiction may also be set on other planetary bodies:
* The most common example of a hollow body other than Earth has historically been a
hollow Moon
The Hollow Moon hypothesis and the closely related Spaceship Moon hypothesis propose that Earth's Moon is either wholly hollow or otherwise contains a substantial interior space. No scientific evidence exists to support the idea; seismic observat ...
. A breathable interior atmosphere allowed various SF writers to postulate lunar life (including intelligent life) in spite of scientific observations of the uninhabitability of the Lunar surface. The subgenre largely died out following the actual
Moon landings
A Moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2, on 13 September 1959.
The United S ...
.
* The console Strategy/RPG series
Super Robot Wars
''Super Robot Wars'', known in Japan as is a series of tactical role-playing video games produced by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Banpresto. Starting out as a spinoff of the '' Compati Hero'' series, the main feature of the franchise ...
features a Hollow Earth world named La Gias.
* The
role-playing video game Septerra Core
''Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator'' is a role-playing video game developed by Valkyrie Studios and published by Monolith Productions. It was originally released in 1999 for Windows; since then, it has been re-released via GOG.com for Windows ...
takes place on an eponymous world with seven separate layers, similar to the theory of
Edmund Halley
Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720.
From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, Hal ...
.
* The PC Adventure game
Torin's Passage
''Torin's Passage'' is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1995. The game was designed by Al Lowe, author of the ''Leisure Suit Larry'' series.
Gameplay
The player interacts with Torin and the in-game e ...
features a depiction of the hollow fictional planet Strata, similar to the one described by Edmund Halley.
* The planet
Naboo
Naboo is a fictional planet in the '' Star Wars'' universe. A bountiful world with a mostly green terrain, the planet was the homeworld of two independent societies: the native Gungans, who dwelt in underwater cities, and the human Naboo, who l ...
in ''
Star Wars'' has a "hollow core," but it is filled with water.
* In the ''
Star Trek: The Original Series
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...
'' episode "
For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
"For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Rik Vollaerts and directed by Tony Leader, it was first broadcast on Novem ...
", there is a hollow, artificially created, planet-shaped spaceship whose inhabitants falsely believe that they are living on the surface of a planet.
* "
World Without Stars", the third volume of the French graphic space novel series "Valérian – spatiotemporal agent" takes place mainly inside a hollow planet inhabited by a matriarchal and a patriarchal culture continuously at war with each other.
See also
*
Dyson sphere
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that completely encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its solar power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to explain how a spacefaring civilization would meet ...
*
Gravity train
A gravity train is a theoretical means of transportation for purposes of commuting between two points on the surface of a sphere, by following a straight tunnel connecting the two points through the interior of the sphere.
In a large body such ...
*
Travel to the Earth's center
Travelling to the Earth's center is a popular theme in science fiction. Some subterranean fiction involves traveling to the Earth's center and finding either a Hollow Earth or Earth's molten core. Planetary scientist David J. Stevenson sugges ...
References
External links
Subterranea MiscellaniaStories of a Hollow Earth– article by Peter Fitting on subterranean fiction, including comprehensive links to public domain copies of works – published in ''
The Public Domain Review
''The Public Domain Review'' is an online journal showcasing works which have entered the public domain. It was co-founded by Jonathan Gray and Adam Green. It was launched on January 1, 2011 to coincide with Public Domain Day.
The ''Review'' ...
'', 2011.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subterranean Fiction
Adventure fiction
Fantasy tropes
Historical fiction
Speculative fiction