What If Severance Is A Lovecraftian Horror?

Severance is unsettling, in fact the main goal of the Apple TV+ show seems to be to keep people on their back foot. The audience is often left wondering just what is going on. But more than that, the employees that work in and around Lumon are meant to be kept off guard. Thre are plenty of theories about just what is going on in Severance, but what if the eerie undertones of the series go beyond corporate dystopia and into something beyond what’s being done with implantable chips?

What if Severance is more than just a company that seems mildly corrupt and the series is actually taking a step into cosmic horror? From the unnatural way employees speak to their unwavering devotion to Kier Eagan, the series hints at something more than psychological conditioning. What if Lumon Industries isn’t just manipulating minds through technology but instead serving—or even embodying—an eldritch entity? Some elements in Severance align disturbingly well with the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The cryptic nature of “The Board,” Ms. Cobel’s terror at speaking to it, and the constant sense of detachment from reality all echo classic themes of Lovecraftian horror. Could it be that the severance chips aren’t merely devices, but fragments of a greater cosmic entity influencing the minds of Lumon’s employees?

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Lovecraft Comes To Severance

Lovecraft’s horror is built on the idea of forces beyond human comprehension—beings so immense and unfathomable that merely knowing about them causes insanity. Severance captures this sense of the unknown through its cryptic power structures, eerie rituals, and characters who act as though they are already under the influence of something beyond themselves. There’s also confusing additions and employees to the company like Ms. Huang an actual child who has somehow been promoted to assistant manager. There are indications that she is indeed simply a child (as little sense as that makes) but what if there’s something beneath the surface that is far more sinister?

Consider the unnerving way employees speak inside Lumon. Their language is often stilted, repetitive, or strangely reverent toward Kier Eagan. This could be seen as brainwashing, but it also mirrors how Lovecraftian protagonists describe their encounters with unknowable entities. Hints that Kier Eagan is everywhere an all-knowing is certainly in keeping with cult behavior, but he’s achieved a god-like status that could hint at him being an actual god. The whispers employees hear, the eerie presence of “The Board,” and the way people refer to it interchangeably as “they” or “it” all suggest something beyond human understanding—just as Lovecraft’s stories often feature beings that exist beyond conventional perception.

Even the setting plays into cosmic horror. In Severance, it is always night outside the office, a reality that feels wrong but is simply accepted. Both seasons have been set in the winter, and that certainly could be the explanation, that it gets dark early outside. Or there’s something more at play here. The constant night recalls Lovecraft’s vision of cosmic horror, where time and space do not function as they should, and those subjected to eldritch forces lose their ability to distinguish reality from illusion. If the severed employees are trapped in an existence controlled by something greater than they can perceive, then their experience may not just be dystopian—it may be supernatural.

The Eagans As Elder Gods

Kier Eagan is worshipped within Lumon, his teachings followed with religious fervor. Employees speak of him as though he is an omniscient being rather than a man who simply founded a company. This kind of devotion resembles the cults in Lovecraft’s fiction—followers who speak of ancient beings in hushed tones, fearing and venerating them in equal measure.

In Lovecraft’s mythos, Elder Gods influence human minds, bending them to their will. If Severance follows this template, then Kier Eagan may not have merely been a visionary leader. He—or his descendants—could be conduits for a greater, otherworldly force. If the severance chips aren’t just technology but pieces of something eldritch, then the employees aren’t just mentally separated from their outside lives—they’re puppets of a much older, more powerful entity.

Ms. Cobel’s behavior also supports this idea. She seems simultaneously devoted to Lumon and terrified of its leadership. In Season 2, Episode 3, her fear of speaking to The Board suggests that it is not merely a group of executives but something far more ominous. What if The Board is not a collection of human decision-makers but an extension of an Elder God, using its influence to control the company and its employees?

Ultimately, Severance thrives on ambiguity. It never fully explains the nature of Lumon’s power or the origins of severance technology. This leaves open the unsettling possibility that the company is not just a corporate nightmare but the domain of a cosmic horror. If so, the employees are not merely trapped by contracts and chips—they are pawns in a much older and darker game, serving something they can barely comprehend.

Severance

Release Date

February 18, 2022

Showrunner

Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman

Directors

Ben Stiller

Writers

Dan Erickson

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  Tramell Tillman

  Seth Milchick

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