The White Vault
The White Vault is a found footage[1] horror fiction podcast created by K.A. Statz. It features an international cast and crew,[2] with notable members including David Ault and Peter Lewis of The NoSleep Podcast, as well as Lani Minella.[3]
The White Vault | |
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Presentation | |
Genre | Horror Paranormal Short story |
Written by | K.A. Statz |
Language | English |
Updates | Bi-monthly |
Publication | |
Original release | October 3, 2017 – present |
Website | Official website |
Plot
Seasons 1 & 2
A repair team is sent to discover the source behind a mysterious signal coming from a remote Arctic research station in Svalbard, Norway,[4][5] documentation of which - including audio recordings, video recordings, unsent emails and written notes - are presented by the Documentarian, who narrates the series, in roughly chronological order to the listener.
Following the arrival of the team at the station, Outpost Fristed, and the suspiciously easy repair of the station's malfunctioning equipment, the team is trapped by a heavy blizzard that fails to subside. Realising that their situation is potentially more complicated than first thought, the team's situation begins to unravel following the discovery of a service hatch in the storage bunker, which leads, through a lengthy cave system, to an ancient village trapped underneath a glacier to the East of the station.
Following the village's discovery, the team is subjected to a number of mysterious horrors, including the fall and later abduction of their geologist, Dr. Karina Schumacher Weiß, the sabotage of the Outpost's generator, the appearance of deep, five-fingered scratch marks on the station's exterior, and the presence of a human heart and full set of teeth found inside one of the small stone boxes forming the floor of part of the village.[6][7] Forced to come up with a plan for escape, the team is eventually trapped inside the ancient village, and attempt to escape through the cave systems within and beneath it.
Season 3
An archaeological team is assembled to examine a new site recently discovered in the Patagonian Andes.[8]
Season 4
A new team is sent to rescue the stranded Patagonian archaeological team.
Spin-offs
- The White Vault: Artifact - Marion Sutton, doctoral student at the University of Oxford, is assigned to begin research on a mysterious artifact gifted to the university by an anonymous donor.[9]
- The White Vault: Imperial - In the early 1700s, a Jesuit cartographic team reaches the lands of China, and sets about plans to complete a map of Qing Dynasty China.[10]
- The White Vault: Iluka - An oceanography research vessel working to collect Antarctic deep-sea sediment cores pulls up something unexpected from the depths of the Southern Ocean.
Bonus episodes
- The White Vault: Summit - A young couple living in Rio de Janeiro get a call from work, informing them that they have won an all expenses paid hiking trip to Patagonia. However, their trip soon unravels, as the pair have no idea what awaits them in the heights of the mountains.[11]
Critical reception
The show has been praised for its diverse cast, immersive soundscape,[12][13] and use of different languages.[14][15] The podcast has been featured on the front pages of iTunes, Pandora Radio, Spotify, and Himalaya, on the top 10 charts for The Arts and Performing Arts on iTunes, on the top 50 chart for ‘All of iTunes’ in the US, and on numerous blogs for ‘Best Podcasts/Audio Dramas of 2017’.[16]
Awards and honors
Year | Award | Category | Citation |
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2018 | HEAR Now: Audio Fiction and Arts Festival | The Gold Listening Showcase Official Selection | [17] |
2018 | Mark Time Award | Silver Award, The Ogle For Horror | [18] |
2018 | Audio Verse Award | Finalist
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[19] |
2019 | Discover Pod Award | Finalist (Best Fiction Podcast) | [20] |
2019 & 2020 | Webby Award | Honoree (Best Original Music / Sound Design in Podcasting) | [21] |
2019 | Audio Verse Award |
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[22][23][24] |
2020 | HEAR Now: Audio Fiction and Arts Festival | The Platinum Listening Showcase Official Selection | [25] |
Production
The budget for the show comes entirely from its fans via crowdfunding through Patreon,[26] and its creators regularly host educational panels across the US on creating radio drama podcasts,[27] including: MAGFest 2020, NY Comciccon 2019, The Austin Film Festival 2019, PodX 2019 (Nashville), Podcon 2019 (Seattle), Podfest 2018-2020 (Orlando), Emerald City Comic Con (2020) Tampa Bay Comic Con (2016-2018), Rose City Comic Con (2017-2019), WW: Philadelphia (2017), and WW: St Louis (2017).[28] They also release exclusive content and episodes through their Patreon such as the spinoff stories Artifact, Imperial, Iluka, and The White Vault: A Musical.
Live performances
On December 2017, The White Vault announced that they would perform a live version of their show in New York City as a part of The NoSleep Podcast's 2018 Sleepless Tour.[29] They performed a prequel episode, 'Ashore', at the Highline Ballroom, flying cast members in from Iceland, Germany, and the UK for the event, which was sold out a month before the event. A second live show also took place on October 19th in Cambridge, MA, which also sold out. [30]
References
- "HorrorWriters.com Interviews K.A. Statz". Retrieved February 17, 2018.
- "Top 5 Fiction Podcasts of 2017 News". Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- "Creative Loafing – Halloween Debut". Retrieved October 30, 2017.
- "Svalbard Local News". Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- "Best of 2017 - Svalbard". Retrieved January 1, 2018.
- "Braintrust Bros Interviews Travis Vengroff". Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- "FearForever.com Interviews K.A. Statz". Retrieved March 11, 2018.
- "The White Vault: Episode 3.1". The White Vault. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- "The White Vault: Artifact - Full Version". The White Vault. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- "The White Vault: Imperial - Entry 1". Patreon. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- "The White Vault: Summit". The White Vault. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- "The White Vault on Page 22 - Top Podcast Recommendations by Pod Bible" (PDF). Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- "Willamette Week - Authenticity of Fool and Scholar Productions". Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- "The Comeback's Best Audio Dramas of 2017". Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- "Vox Special on Modern Radio Drama". Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- "The White Vault Opens to Rave Reviews". Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- "Hear Now Festival Listing". Retrieved August 1, 2018.
- "Mark Time Awards 2018". Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- "Audio Verse Award Finalists". Retrieved November 15, 2018.
- "Discover Pod Award Finalists". Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- "Webbie Awards 2019". Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- "Audio Verse Awards 2019 Forbes Article". Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- "Audio Verse Awards 2019". Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- "Audio Verse Awards 2019 Yahoo News Writeup". Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- "Hear Now Festival Listing". Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- "Found Footage Podcast Announcement". Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- "80th Anniversary of "War of the Worlds" by PR Newswire". Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- "Interview with Fangirl Radio". Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- "Nerdy Show Interview with Eyþór Viðarsson". Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- "KBOO Interview". Retrieved November 11, 2019.