So basically the Magnus Archives is a British horror podcast that revolves around the supernatural and the people who document other peoples paranormal encounters work at this archive called the Magnus Institute. (SPOILERS AHEAD)
The episode that I really liked was episode 111, because it's when some more things get explained a bit more and start making sense. I'll give a summary of basically all 110 episodes before this one; the idea is that all or most of the supernatural/ weird/ evil things all come from these great eldritch type beings, Entities, that each represent a different fear. The fear doesn't stay the same either, it shifts with time and with what people fear. There's no true way to get rid of them because fear is, you know, a biologically response that every living thing feels. They can only be stalled from completing their rituals to remake the world as they want it to be. So, its a never ending tug of war that just keeps going in circles. There's no "good" Entity trying to stop the end of the world, they just keep canceling each other out and trying again.
There are 14 of these entities that represent specific fears: (and they all have avatars that do the work for them)
The Eye/Beholding- being watched
Spiral/Distortion- lies and unreality
The Stranger- things that are not quite human (uncanny valley)
The End- death and what could be after death
The Lonely- isolation, feeling abandoned
The Desolation- destruction just for the love of the game (tied to fire)
The Slaughter- unpredictable/senseless violence (think war)
The Vast- open emptiness, being exposed in a large void
The Buried- claustrophobia, enclosed spaces
The Dark- fear of the unknown/unseen
The Corruption- disease/decay
The Web- being controlled, trapped without knowing
The Hunt- being prey/chased
The Flesh- being consumed (animals feel fear too)
This ended up being longer than I thought it would be but it's fun to watch horror movies and try to match the fear to one of the Entities. I was reminded of this when we were taking about Cohen's Monster Thesis, specifically the monster as a cultural body. The whole podcast is very interesting and I highly recommend it.
I love The Magnus Archives so, so much myself. I feel as though Episodes 19 and 20 go particularly well with this class; insofar as how they represent the traditional 'exorcism.' The 'demon' literally says to the protagonist: "I want your faith." As in, to take it.
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