#the hilltop road one…..with the bleeding tree and that. the box he finds is that the centerpiece of the fractal table that gets sasha

[autoneurotic]

i love how much of a cunt series 1 and some of 2 Jon is. Lensik’s statement on Hilltop Rd, at the end Jon’s like latent schizophrenia and head trauma! what a SHOCK! the one with peter lukas’ dead kid or nephew or whoever, he goes to leave so she can make her statement privately and says as much with THE shittiest little tone in the world. one of the spider ones, the first one w Annabelle i think, he straight up mocks the guy for CRYING when martin interviews him later. almost makes him getting burnt and deribbed and vertigoed and almost skinned and buried etc etc so on and so forth feel warranted

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 8, MAG 8 Burned Out

Mag 8 analysis! I have listened to this episode twice and am okay mentally.

Haha Burned Out. Get it like- Burned Out like- get it it's like- get it- because. Burned out

Facts: Statement of Ivo Lensik regarding his experiences during construction at 105 Hilltop Road. Statement given March 13, 2007.

Statement Notes: HILLTOP ROAD MENTION HILLTOP ROAD MENTION

I am mentally okay.

If you're not thinking about the meta or the entities in this episode, this is a haunted house. Not a superstructure or cursed land or living space, but a house possessed by what once lived within it. Raymond Fielding lived in this house, and then he died in it, and he is going to make this everybody else's problem. He has unfinished business, he has a message he is trying to send. The issue is, it's another 102 episodes before you hear it.

Entity Alignment: This episode has some obvious Desolation and Web elements, but I have what might be a hot take:

This episode features every entity.

This episode introduces us to the Web's ritual.

Hilltop Road was both Agnes' and Annabelle's childhood home, so it is inherently associated with the Desolation and the Web. Lensik fears that he is developing schizophrenia like his father, who studied fractals and describes a man with "all the bones are in his hands." This man is likely Michael, and this associates the episode with the Spiral. The incessant pursuit of an explanation for the fractals which ultimately leads to his death incorporates the Hunt. The tree bleeds as Lensik becomes blinded by his need to destroy it, depicting the Flesh and Slaughter respectively. The apple he discovers is full of spiders, but also rots on contact, bringing in the Corruption. The box he finds the apple in is Buried beneath the tree. Lensik says he avoids working at night or by himself because that is when the visions would occur, incorporating the Dark and the Lonely. When he first meets Raymond Fielding, he says he was "keeping one eye on this stranger," bringing in fear of the unknown and the Stranger. The house is haunted by the dead Raymond Fielding, incorporating the End. Throughout the piece, he describes a feeling of unease that he is being watched. This brings in the Eye.

The inherent flaw in my theory is, of course, I can't find a solid element of the Vast in this episode. A part of me felt that the use of Father Edwin Burroughs might count as God, which could be a seismic eldritch horror, but that's kind of a stretch. Still, this statement takes place 13 years before Cane finishes her ritual, so who knows what could have been brought in during that time.

Character Notes: Another little part of me wants Annie to be Annabelle Cane in disguise. Annie is described as a very old woman, and there's no evidence that Annabelle Cane can shapeshift or use mirages or anything like that, so there's no reason for me to think so and this is probably just another "Jonny Sims knows four names and one is his own" moment. But still, wouldn't that just be wild?

I found Ivo to be a really compelling character. He had a positive demeanor, an interesting backstory, and a very strong approach to dealing with the supernatural. Overall a cool guy and awesome character I would have liked to hear more from.

An exploration of young Agnes would be incredible too. When she was at Hilltop Road, did she already know she was "the messiah?" This stint in the halfway house raises questions about her timeline and the progression of The Lightless Flame's plans. Additionally, the neighbors report that the children began going missing after Agnes was brought in. I (want to) assume Agnes isn't killing them, so is it Raymond? Are Lightless Flame members taking them? Where do they go?

Agnes' death is such a visceral image. It's a brief paragraph at the end of the statement. It's one of Jon's "And yet..." moments, intended to leave you with just a little bit of fear when you unplug the headphones. But that connection to the tree, to her childhood home. It's a simple section of text, but so vivid and full of imagery and meaning.

When the statement ended, the only thought going through my head was, "Mean Jon! Mean mean Jon!" He was foul with this one. First he goes on a tangent about schizophrenia and head trauma being second only to drug use as a means of seeing ghosts, then he immediately roasts Gertrude's filing system again.

He loves to go off about Martin and Tim being incompetent compared to Sasha, but who found a history of the house's ownership? Who interviewed Anna Kasuma? Who found Agnes' death report? Ya bois.

[artfulacrostic]

mag 8 burned out is literally insane. jonny sims slapped that episode on the roof and said "this bad boy can hold SO many plot points".

major points:

-Hilltop Road is connected most to the Web throughout the whole show. in this episode the apple in the box that Lensik finds rots in front of him and spiders pour out, and yet in this statement that's the main Web connection.

-conversely, it's Agnes Montague who grows up in the house and was supposed to be in it when it burnt down. obviously she wasn't, but she WAS connected even years later to the bleeding tree in the garden, which Lensik pulls down on the same day that she is found having hung herself. that gives Hilltop a BIG connection to the Desolation, without even getting into Raymond Fielding and his severed hand that was attached to Agnes and his ghost at the house with the scorched ground etc etc.

-Father Edwin shows up to try and perform blessings on the house. obviously we see him again later. he is connected most imo to the Flesh and the Spiral.

-Anna the nurse appears.

-AND. something that I completely glossed over the first time i listened bc the deluge of info was so overwhelming: Lensik's father was obviously being tormented by and was later killed by the Spiral; specifically the Distortion! the obsession with fractals, the descent into more and more severe schizophrenia, mention of a person with HANDS, and then finally the supposed self-unaliving where the mortician couldn't figure out what sliced his arms open. in hindsight? yeah. the Distortion.

fuck. i love this podcast so much but this episode is possibly one of the most dense in terms of the sheer amount of stuff happening and the amount of subtle connections being set up for later. INSANITY.

[spoondrifts]

you know the more you think about Hilltop Road the weirder it gets

like

Raymond Fielding uses it as a home for troubled youth. the kids live their lives not entirely in control of their own actions, indicating a strong presence of the Web

at some point Agnes Montague, a Desolation avatar, is sent to live there

every night Raymond makes them all eat dinner around the fractal table that we know has the NotThem bound to it, and none of the kids remember what happens

one of the kids discovers a fractal box in the basement along with the bodies of the other kids who'd "left". he only escapes because he feels a burning sensation and manages to run

then Raymond Fielding disappears and leaves the house to Agnes. a toddler in the neighborhood vanishes. the house burns down and the only body found is Raymond's

sometime later Gertrude conveniently finds a tin box with clippings of Agnes' hair in the ruins of the house

Ivo Lensik is consumed with hatred for the tree in the back and hacks it down, and it fucking bleeds??? he finds the fractal box under the tree with a green apple inside that rots and bursts into spiders before his eyes

Edwin Burroughs tries to exorcise the place only to become possessed??

then Anya Villette cleans the house and wakes up in an alternate reality where no one remembers her??

then we know Annabelle Cane has a definite interest in the place and leaves a statement there for Jon to find

literally what the fuck is up with that entire house

[ashes-in-a-jar]

Tma relisten Episodes 6-10

(Still really long)

Alot of really important details that are going to be very relevant later on. Very facinating how early on you find these out. Relistens are good.

Episode 6 squirm

It's a good thing tma doesn't do much of sexual encounters and their connection to entities. While I'm sure that's a thing that in any realistic universe would exist avoiding it was a good choice. This statement was *shudder*

Interesting that she had no visible mark on her. Also being repulsed by police stations because the sectioned officers could have helped.

Naked in the streets after lighting his apartment on fire. What an image.

So technically the worms were in the archives 3 times: when Jane made her first statement, when Timothy hodge made his and when Jane attacked. The worms are very familiar with the magnus institute.

"This story is concerning. Not because of Mr. Hodge’s experience, although I’m sure it was very upsetting." ace Jon talking very technical about "experiences"

" though obviously it’s a tragic loss of life, etcetera, etcetera." Jon being Jon.

Ecdc are aware of Jane and corruption typical attacks which is off the bat interesting world building.

He's skeptic here because of lack of evidence but does admit the existence of a threat in Jane Prentiss

Also! He knows of her from before probably when he was a researcher. This confused me on first listen because I was trying to remember if she was ever mentioned before this. But she wasn't.

Episode 7 the piper

Wilfred kind of sounds like martin in some way but maybe it's just me assigning poetry to anyone like him.

But he hated apathy which might be very Martin like

Gentle sadness and creeping fear from the music. For violence of war... Is that what it means to immortalize it?

It's really cool that the concept of music in this podcast is associated specifically with war and unwarranted violence. There's a very strong statement in there somewhere that needs to be explored.

God this statement was intense. Lying for such a long time in that trench surrounded by violent death. But what's most interesting is that this statement doesn't feel like a supernatural one and yet... The piper was with Wilfred throughout the various battles and bouts of violence until the moment it was officially over. But in a very subtle way.

The description of the piper is really intense with the 3 faces. I think I missed it the first time but hearing that representation of war and fear is something I'm going to look for in artistic depictions now.

Wait. Who is Joseph Rayner? I know of Maxwell but never heard of Joseph.a victim instead of Wilfred? Collaborator with the Slaughter? Hmmm

I wonder how Accidental it was that the statement from 1922 was filed in the 2000s. Maybe to show that the piper never really leaves and the war never really ends. Ever.

Episode 8 burned out

Wow Hilltop Road already! I forgot how many of the first episodes were so important to the plot later on.

"That side of the road backed onto South Park with fences marking the bottom of each garden." this is wrong btw. Hilltop Road in Oxford does not run along Sount Park but is perpendicular to it, meeting it in the corner with Divinity Road which meets with Morrell Avenue which is the road running along South Park. Just FYI because I had to look this up to get a good picture. But I guess Morrell doesn't sound as exciting as Hilltop (which isn't even at the top of the hill smh)

Ivo lensik describes Raymond fielding as white which makes me automatically think he is not. Just a thought that popped in my mind.

Huh. His family had a history of schizophrenia. And his dad was obsessed with fractals. Being followed by The spiral (all the bones are in his hands) was also part of this story really interesting.

Agnes had mousy brown hair and looked like Raymond! Not red hair ( at least at first) like I pictured. Also she was a hell of a creepy child...

So did he time travel? Seeing the moments of Raymond's end? Seems like time doesn't work right in that place anyway.

Web person being devout church goer is also an interesting touch

Father Edwin Burroughs! I forgot he was here too! The knock reminded me of Mr Spider *shiver*

The priest explaining that the church exorcized demons but what not decisive if ghosts exist was hilarious. Jon dismisses paranormal but asks Martin if he's a ghost is opposite of the church.

Hmmm the web pushing him to cut the tree to uncover box from antique table...

Apple full of spiders ugh. Maybe something web was trapped in there by Desolation and ivo managed free it as Agnes was dying.

"We cannot prove any connection, but Martin unearthed a report on an Agnes Montague, who was found dead in her Sheffield flat on the evening of November 23rd 2006, the same day Mr. Lensik claims to have uprooted the tree." wow that's an obscure thing to find well done Martin!

Jon still looks for credence for this story despite the schizophrenia that could leave him skeptical.

"while I trust Mr. Lensik’s testimony of his own experiences about as far as I can throw a bleeding tree," again Jon with his special brand of jokes.

Episode 9 a Father's love

The Montauk's story! I always thought their family had one of the most tragic ones. The hunt is a really cruel patron with its forced hunger and having other entities use them as tools.

Julia telling the truth of the story to the Magnus Institute instead of the police is also heartbreaking. How desperate and alone she must have felt drowned in that awful literally unbelievable story. The magnus institute feeds off of those people too.

So many of the hunt end up in police it's just... Such a strong statement against that establishment. What do we do to make that less of a horrible, unjust, all consuming system? That feeds on the hunger of some and the abject fear of others? And it doesn't have to be supernatural. It's interesting how season five, of all seasons, is the one that gave us that perspective. The non supernatural one on the subject while the world itself is so far away from the natural. God everything about this idea is so heavy and painful.

I kind of hate Julia's fate because of her background and how much alot of its beginning was out of her control. It's like Daisy. The hunt can never be forgiven no matter how compulsive it is.

The dark that took her mother turned her into part of it? Like the dark liquid?

A dark room to develop his photos of his victims huh? A play on words here.

Oooh they put a heartbeats in the soundscape really cool actually.

So Montauk killed other dark members that tried to leave? For the ritual? Like Julia's mother?

The hunt compelled him to keep the hearts as trophies? which is very self destructive of the hunt to do. Or is it part of the dark ritual with the sacrifices that the heart had to be kept?

I think Montauk was trying to slow down the ritual as revenge that night, rendering the sacrifices he helped create useless. Which is why pitch came after them that night and dissappeared once Montauk finished his ritual.

Sourcing the Serial killer enthusiast community. Love that the archives use whatever source of info they can access.

So Maxwell dissappeared in 1994 from public eye land yet the cult kept working towards a ritual. But now in secret? Their timeline always confused me.

Episode 10 vampire killer

I never noticed Trevor came right after Julia! Oooh this is so much connecting the dots so early on!

Vampires are so disturbing here makes you ever wonder how the hell media like twilight were ever created. But hehe the monster ****er community has always been a vibrant one. Not these vampires tho.

Trevor is so sassy I love his statements. Like Julia it really makes me sad how consumed he became at the end and how awful his death was. Once again the tragedy of the Hunt.

"I taught myself to read, I read as much on the subject as I could, and it isn’t covered often or clearly in those books I have found." can you imagine what kinds of books he might have found during the sexy vampire Era? This is a hilarious picture to paint.

So vampires feed off of blood and not fear which is an interesting creature to have in this kind of universe. Although hunters are also like that but there is still alot of fear and awareness involved with that while the vampires try to conceal themselves until the last moment.

There's alot of mosquito imagery in these vampires which is... Ugh

Also interesting how many time Trevor just uses the vampire's full name. Never shortened and never talked about in another title. Sylvia McDonald this Sylvia McDonald that. Also the other vampire. They always had a name that was psychicly imposed on the victims to be remembered fully. Very Stranger behavior.

Ahhhh the one vampire weakness... Drrrugs.

It's also very flammable which sets interesting precedence to setting unnatural things on fire to make them disappear.

Alard dupont comes in a later statement right? Yeah in 56

Martin was there when the statement was given which was 2010 and in 2016 he's 29 so he worked there for a while! At least since age 23 perhaps we'll find out even earlier. And he was still scared to be found under qualified after all this time! Oof...

I wonder how draining it is to give a statement that it kills someone who is sick.

The government is in on this! Looking for the teeth Trevor gave the institute... Somehow that strikes me as hilarious in the world building of this podcast. And it really leaves Jon no choice but to concede that there is something to the statement even if he refuses to use the term vampire like Trevor did so freely.

[magnusmusings]

Mag 8: Burned out

Ivo Lensik, 13.04.2007, Hilltop rd, Oxford

Ivo Lensik is a builder who was doing work on the house at hilltop road in November 2006. He notes that his father and great-uncle both had schizophrenia - his father being obsessed with fractals and claimed that someone who had “all the bones in his hands” was following him - his death was ruled as a suicide but method of death was never found. Ivo meets a man who claims to be the owner of the house - Raymond Fielding, who enters and checks a few things out. Throughout his time working at the house, Ivo becomes uneasy by the tree in the front yard and believes he is experiencing sensory hallucinations around temperature and the smell of burning. A nurse tells him of the story of Raymond and his children - that he ran a halfway house in the 1960s, but eventually went missing, only leaving his “daughter” Agnes behind. A local boy eventually went missing, and the neighbourhood secretly blamed Agnes. Eventually, the house went up in flames, and though Agnes’ remains weren’t found, Raymond’s were - and he was missing his right hand. 

Later, Father Edwin Burroughs visits the house and performs an “exorcism” on the house. While he does that, Ivo becomes distressed and uproots the tree, noting that it bleeds when struck. He finds a small 6x6 inch box under the roots with an intricate pattern on it. Inside is a fresh apple, which quickly rots and thousands of spiders leave it when he touches it. 

Agnes Montague, 26, was also found hanged in her home with a human hand tied to her wrist - which “died” at the same time she did - the same day the tree was uprooted. 

Notes: Spider table mentioned again, first mention of the Fielding family, first mention of Father Burroughs, first mention of Anika - ties in with Mag 19/20 and generally all those that mention the house at hilltop rd. First direct mention of Michael. Tim and Martin worked on this one.

Entities: The spider, the spiral, the desolation

Names mentioned:

Agnes Montague

Sam (Lensik?) - Fiance of Ivo

Anika Suma (religious nurse)

Father Edwin Burroughs

Walter Fielding (grandfather of Ramond)

Alfred Fielding (father of Raymond)

Raymond Fielding

Henry White (goes missing and Agnes is blamed)