the basement        
                      
                                         
                                          
  the basement is a man-made subterranean 
  environment where you could find such   
  things as the furnace, the labyrinth,   
            reptiles or graves.           
                                          
  a small or rural basement is a cellar.  
                                          
                                   
                                          
  often created in good faith, a basement 
   is nevertheless a way to bring a cave  
   into your building, and cave things    
 with it. i've found that it's easier to  
   think of all caves as the same large   
    structure, it's just that all parts   
    might not be physically connected.    
      that's what you're inviting in.     
                                          
                                        
              usages              
                                        
                                          
   the purpose of a basement is often to  
    hide unsightly appliances, engines,   
  infrastructure (pipes and wells)... or  
  to hide the true weight (purpose?) of a 
                building.                 
                                          
  to draw from the earth around it, push  
         above ground, laundered.         
                                          
    a cellar is a more senseful affair,   
   less intense... made to store things   
    (food or brews, tools) in a colder    
 environment. perhaps to grow mushrooms.  
  perhaps to bury corrupt creatures (not  
                 advised)