The Pan-Tilt Time Capsule: How We Found HellVault’s Robotic Sentries

What We Actually Found

The discovery happened during a late work session when we finally had enough temporary lighting in place to study the upper corners of a cluster of redundant rooms. Mounted high on the wall, well above normal sightlines, was a commercial pan‑tilt camera system in a heavy housing.

It was not a loose relic on a shelf. It was firmly installed and in surprisingly good shape for its age. The unit is Pelco branded, built for industrial duty, with a robust motorized base and a sealed camera enclosure.

A few steps away, outside the neighboring room, we noticed a second control station. That led us to look up in the next room as well, where we spotted a matching pan‑tilt unit. Both were mounted, both looked intact, and both were positioned to watch their respective rooms from elevated angles. We later confirmed there is a third mount in the area, but most of that camera and its electronics are missing.

How We Realized They Still Work

It was just Mike and I on site when we tested the system. We powered the nearby control, toggled the joysticks, and heard a clean motor response overhead. The head moved, then settled, exactly the way a healthy pan‑tilt should. We repeated the test in the adjacent space and got the same result. Two mounted units, both responsive, both still capable of controlled movement after all these years.

We did not have to trace cable runs through the walls. These rooms are almost mirror images, with controls placed where an operator could manage each chamber without crossing inside. The design makes sense for monitoring sensitive work areas from a safe position.

Why These Matter To The Vault

Finds like this change how you read the building. The hardware is real, commercial grade, and built for precision. It confirms that this wing was designed for oversight and documentation, which fits the broader character of the facility: thick concrete, blast style doors, and specialized fixtures built to manage risk. From a creative point of view, the authenticity helps us ground both the haunt and the film. We do not have to fake surveillance tech when the walls already hold the real thing.

Repurposing Plan

We plan to remove both working units carefully and keep the third mount as a reference. The housings and pan‑tilt motors will be repurposed into show pieces that read as defensive optics or experimental energy devices. The motion alone is unnerving. A slow, deliberate track across a corridor or lab can make guests feel watched. If the original cameras are still inside the housings, we will extract them and reuse the glass and assemblies for separate builds. The motor bases will be cleaned, bench tested, and integrated with modern control so they can run on cues or by operator trigger.

Preservation And Documentation

Before removal, we will fully document each installation: photos of the mounts, measurements, wiring notes, and any labeling that helps future teams understand the original layout. The control stations will be cataloged and stored. If one unit ends up on display in a behind‑the‑scenes area, we want visitors to see how these systems were positioned and operated.

What This Discovery Says About The Building

The Vault keeps proving that it was engineered for serious work. Real hardware, still serviceable, mounted where only a careful inspection would find it. Discoveries like this connect the dots between what we see on the plans and what we feel in the rooms. They also give us ready‑made tools for storytelling, because nothing beats real mechanisms moving in the dark.

For more context on how small details shape the experience, see our posts Lighting the Darkness, First Strange Noises in the Vault, and First Weeks Inside the Vault. Each one captures another piece of how this facility reveals itself over time.