History Main / EldritchOceanAbyss

This is TruthInTelevision because the living conditions (low or no light, high pressure, low temperature, low oxygen, and very little food or prey compared to shallow waters) in the midnight[[note]]"bathypelagic", around 1,000 to 4,000 meters below sea level[[/note]], abyssal[[note]]"abyssopelagic", about 4,000 to 6,000 meters below sea level; ocean floors are included in this zone[[/note]] and trench[[note]]"hadalpelagic", extending down to about 11,000 meters below sea level[[/note]] zones of the ocean would result in these organisms evolving traits we land-dwelling [[SonOfAnApe hairless apes]] would consider horrific. For example, many creatures do not have eyes or have evolved special eyes due to the lack of light, and are usually dark in color. The logistical difficulties of conducting deep-sea research only adds to these regions' mystery.

This is TruthInTelevision because the living conditions (low or no light, high pressure, low temperature, low oxygen, and very little food or prey compared to shallow waters) in the midnight[[note]]"bathypelagic", around 1,000 to 4,000 meters below sea level[[/note]], abyssal[[note]]"abyssopelagic", about 4,000 to 6,000 meters below sea level; ocean floors are included in this zone[[/note]] and trench[[note]]"hadalpelagic", extending down to about 11,000 meters below sea level[[/note]] zones of the ocean would result in these organisms evolving traits we land-dwellers would consider horrific. For example, many creatures do not have eyes or have evolved special eyes due to the lack of light, and are usually dark in color. The logistical difficulties of conducting deep-sea research only adds to these regions' mystery.

* In ''VideoGame/{{SOMA}}'', while most of the game takes place in the Pathos-II UnderwaterBase situated on a huge plateau, the last third of the game involves taking a 4000-meter elevator ride down into the Abyss. And to reach sites Tau and Phi, you have to follow a path of barely visible lights while enduring a powerful ocean current [[spoiler: and rabid sea creatures mutated by [[MisappliedPhlebotinum Structure Gel]], including a GiantSquid and an enormous angler fish.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:In his dwelling in R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu lies dreaming.[[note]]Artwork by [[https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xLq0R Armand Cabrera]]]]

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%%The examples on this page have been alphabetized. Please help us keep this page tidy by adding new examples alphabetically.

* ''Film/TheAbyss'' by James Cameron features a United States SEAL team trying to salvage a destroyed nuclear submarine in the deep ocean.

* Implied to be the case in ''VideoGame/SaltAndSanctuary''. The monsters of the world, referred to as Kraekan, all all believed to originate from the sea, and many even boast aquatic features even though they appear to be terrestrial. [[spoiler:The ending further implies that the island, itself an EldritchLocation, exists within the depths of the ocean.]]

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has this theme to the Forgotten Depths skin line.

* ''Barotrauma'' is an indie game involving a submarine navigating the abyssal depths an alien world's oceans, fending off attacks from often nightmarish deep-sea predators.

* The eponymous ''VideoGame/SunlessSea'' is this, naturally. Late-game dialogue crosses this with SpaceIsAnOcean, serving as a SequelHook for ''VideoGame/SunlessSkies''.

%%* Numerous biomes in ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'' count as this, but the Inactive Lava Zone, Active Lava Zone, and Lost River biomes fit this trope the best. '''NEEDS MORE CONTEXT'''

** Even Creator/HPLovecraft, creator of many an aquatic EldritchAbomination, [[http://chrisperridas.blogspot.com/2006/11/lovecraft-and-hatred-of-seafood.html had an irrational fear of the sea.]]

--> ''"A tiny deep sea fish investigated the probe from up close, startling Ami by filling the screen with a set of fangs that even Rabixtrel would have envied."''

[[folder:Films - Animated]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie'', Spongebob and Patrick make their way into a deep ocean trench with horrific monsters. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when the monsters [[DarkIsNotEvil take a liking to them]] after they show off their impressive dance skills.

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* The AlwaysChaoticEvil creatures who reside in the Trenches in ''Film/Aquaman2018'' are all horrific monsters. They actually evolved from original Atlanteans into what they are because of the natural environment of trenches.
* ''Film/Leviathan1989'' is about an underwater mining crew 15,000 feet below the surface that slowly dwindles due to attacks by a mutant creature.

** The ocean floors are inhabited by the Deep Ones: [[TheAgeless Ageless]], cultish FishPeople who worship {{Eldritch Abomination}}s from beyond the stars and receive strange powers in return. That said, it's the Deep Ones who come to land for mates who are the most troublesome...

--->''Within the darkness there are fish, and things that are not fish, and things that are not anything a land-dweller was ever meant to see. This is a school of one such creature, and it doesn't look friendly. It looks mostly like teeth and hiveminded appetite.''

[[folder:Webcomics]]

-->'''Black Mage:''' We have always lived in the ocean. There is no ''before''. There will be no after. There is no place for time here among the dark, among the alien things that crawl and swim in a sea without light. We are one of them now. [[CosmicHorrorStory We have]] ''[[CosmicHorrorStory always]]'' [[CosmicHorrorStory been one of them]].
-->'''Red Mage:''' Black Mage? You're narrating again.
-->'''Black Mage:''' My companions succumbed to sea madness weeks ago.
-->'''Thief:''' [[NotSoDire Dude, it's been two and]] ''[[NotSoDire a half]]'' [[NotSoDire hours]].
-->'''Black Mage:''' I alone maintain a gimmer of humanity. I fear it is fading fast.
-->'''Red Mage:''' What kind of dark wizard in league with nameless forces of primordial evil ''are'' you that you can't even make a successful sanity check versus ''boredom''?
-->'''Black Mage:''' I ignored the pitiable babbling that issued from their misshapen lips. Their wet gurgles, a noise that had once been words, came to and end when one of the ''things'' outside assaulted our craft. I welcome death.

* In the "Rock Bottom" episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'', the town of Rock Bottom is populated by numerous deformed-looking fish that terrify Spongebob and Patrick.

Not to be confused with TimeAbyss. Also compare SpaceIsAnOcean, as stories about exploring the deep sea may share genre conventions with space stories and portray sea life in a manner similar to aliens.

The ocean is mysterious. We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about our own oceans. The really deep, dark parts of the ocean are even ''more'' mysterious. When depicted in fiction, the ocean floors and trenches are generally populated by unrelenting horrors the likes of which we can't comprehend: [[AlluringAnglerfish anglerfish]], [[GiantSquid giant squids]], gulper eels, [[SeaMonster horrific leviathans]], you name it. Some works take it beyond known aquatic animals and put other fantastic creatures like aliens or gods down there. NothingIsScarier and DarkIsEvil may have something to do with this trope, as no light penetrates to the deep sea.

The ocean is mysterious. We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about our own oceans. The really deep, dark parts of the ocean are even ''more'' mysterious. When depicted in fiction, the ocean floors and trenches are generally populated by unrelenting horrors the likes of which we can't comprehend: [[AlluringAnglerfish anglerfish]], [[GiantSquid giant squids]], gulper eels, [[SeaMonster horrific leviathans]], you name it. NothingIsScarier and DarkIsEvil may have something to do with this trope, as no light penetrates to the deep sea.

* ''Film/PacificRim'': The Breach from which the monstrous {{kaiju}} come from is located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, and there is an extended underwater fight scene as the PPDC tries to get closer and close it.

--> A tiny deep sea fish investigated the probe from up close, startling Ami by filling the screen with a set of fangs that even Rabixtrel would have envied.

* In ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'', Marlin and Nemo accidentally swim into deep waters and encounter an anglerfish, which almost eats them.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie'', Spongebob and Patrick make their way into a deep ocean trench by horrific monsters. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when the monsters [[DarkIsNotEvil take a liking to them]] after they show off their impressive dance skills.