The Magnus Archives, written by Jonathan Sims and directed by Alexander J. Newall, is a horror fiction podcast that takes place in London, in 2016. After working for the Magnus Institute for four years as a researcher, the main character – narrated by and also named Jonathan Sims – is appointed as the head archivist after the previous one, Gertrude Robinson, suddenly passes away. With at least two hundred years worth of case files, Jonathan takes on his new position by recording statements on tape while gaining intel on them from the assistance of his fellow researchers. Despite being familiar with the Institute, Jonathan is very skeptical of everything he reads, believing the majority of the statements are hoaxes and have perfectly reasonable explanations behind them. However, as Jon dives into the deep end of these statements, he slowly starts to piece together a mystery and discovers that Gertrude’s death, as well as the Magnus Institute, is not what it’s made out to be.
The show is made up of five seasons with two hundred episodes in total, and all include a statement. Every statement is a unique story on its own, whether or not it’s part of the overarching plot. Most are made by strangers, but some are also made by the main characters themselves. From a strange coffin arriving at someone’s door to a self-proclaimed vampire hunter, each episode is guaranteed to have a story that will leave you hooked and wanting more.
As the story progresses, listeners will be able to note that most statements and experiences are categorized into fifteen different manifestations, or entities, of fear. Some may solely fit into one while others may inhibit multiple. These entities relate to a fear that someone might have. For example, claustrophobia, or anything related to small, cramped spaces, is related to The Buried. The most common fear associated with the Buried is being buried alive, or essentially feeling like you’re trapped. Another common entity that appears in the statements from time to time is The End. The End will almost certainly tie itself to someone anxious over a loved one’s health or someone afraid of death and constantly worrying over their eventual demise. The End is an obvious but tricky entity because being afraid of death is not simple. It is much more complex because those with the fear aren’t just afraid of death, they’re afraid of knowing death. As much as I would love to go completely in-depth for each fear, I won’t to avoid any spoilers.
The Magnus Archives is an extraordinary listening experience. At first, it resembles any other horror podcast: a narrator reading a variety of eerie, supposedly true encounters with the supernatural. But it becomes increasingly more obvious further into the show that there is something else going on, especially when character interactions become more and more frequent. Despite the entire show being audio, the duality of the voice acting and the incredible sound design tell the listener exactly what is happening and invokes whatever the characters are feeling onto them. Another thing you can detect from the voice acting is character development and personality, with Jonathan being the prime example.
If you are interested in horror podcasts and want to find something new to listen to, I believe this may be the perfect option. You can find The Magnus Archives on Spotify or any other music streaming app that you use. If you’d like to read the transcripts of the episodes as you listen, you can look them up online as well. Now, it goes without saying that some, if not most episodes aren’t for the faint of heart. If you are triggered by anything that could potentially be included in the episode, there should always be a list of trigger warnings in the show notes, as well as at the beginning of each transcript. With Halloween steadily approaching, it would only be appropriate to listen to something fitting for the spooky season. I hope you consider listening, and if you do, I hope you enjoy it!
