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# The Magnus Institute

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ATTENTION! SPOILERS AHEAD!! This article contains information from later episodes of The Magnus Archives and may contain major spoilers for the setting and plot. Continue at your own risk.

## The Magnus Institute

### Location

Chelsea, London, UK

> “Audio. Opperior. Vigilo."
> ("I listen. I wait. I watch.")
> - motto of the Magnus Institute

The Magnus Institute is an academic institution dedicated to researching the esoteric and paranormal. They are not, and they would like to make this clear, paranormal investigators. They are researchers dedicated to revealing knowledge of the unknown. Nevertheless, there are many mysteries about the Institute itself.

The Institute is associated with the Entity known as The Eye. It is also patronised by other groups such as the Lukas Family.[1][2]

The Institute has at least two sister institutes; the Pu Songling Research Centre in China, and the Usher Foundation in America, and was preceded as a center for The Eye by the Serapeum of Alexandria, and the collection of Johann von Württemberg, among others.

## Building and History

The institute was established by Jonah Magnus, a noted researcher into the macabre and strange in 1818.[3] His interest in founding the institute was likely born of his association with Robert Smirke, who first taught him about certain mysterious powers. In 1816, Magnus learned of a library in the Schwartzwald from his friend Albrecht von Closen[4], who took the books[5]. Some time in 1830 von Closen had the books rebound to preserve them, but unbeknownst to him, Magnus had the new books returned empty, while he kept the originals. This deception -and the harm the books had done to von Closen- caused Magnus to lose the friendship of his long-term colleague Doctor Jonathan Fanshawe.

Before 1841, the Institute was located in Edinburgh.[6] At some point after 1841, Jonah Magnus moved the Institute to its current location in Chelsea, London,[7] near the Thames Embankment.

In 1999, many of the archived statements were leaked to the press, contributing to the Institute's negative reputation.[8]

It is a small building, old, and pillared,[9] with at least three floors[10] and the Archives in the basement.[11] It has a café or canteen.[12] The Institute is connected to the tunnels that were formerly below Millbank Prison. These tunnels are concealed behind trap doors and walls that range from stone to plasterboard.

The Institute possesses a well-organized library of books on the supernatural. The Institute also possesses a department called Artefact Storage, which houses the various strange and dangerous items collected from statement givers and other circumstances. Sasha originally worked in Artefact Storage, but she found the work unpleasant and terrifying and transferred after only three months.[13]

The Archives is a collection of statements on the supernatural taken (and researched when possible) at the Institute. It is, at present, horrendously disorganized due to the (in)action of Gertrude Robinson, the previous Head Archivist. At present, Jonathan Sims is the Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute. The Archives are kept in sealed, climate-controlled rooms to preserve the records.

The Institute's stationary was formerly provided by Paper Run Limited in the 1980s, but their association seems to have ended since then[14].

Following a request by Jonathan Sims, Elias had a CO2 fire extinguisher system installed throughout the building.

## Policy, Procedure, and Methods

The Magnus Institute doesn't label itself as an organization of "paranormal investigators", rather defining itself as an organization of researchers and scholars. The criteria for an individual to meet to give their statement to the Institute is laid out clearly:

  "Any supernatural or unexplainable experience or encounter occurring within the realms of apparent reality; no out-of-body experiences, visions, hallucinations, or dreams."

People who have experience with seemingly supernatural occurrences can schedule appointments to give their statements, previously in written form and increasingly using audio/visual recording media. According to Jonathan Sims, the Research Department[15] investigates statements first, with the Archivist reviewing after the fact and determining necessary follow-up, usually relying on Assistants and other members of the institute to check official records and attempt to contact the people mentioned in statements, and occasionally visiting the sites mentioned in said statements. However, since uncovering the statement of Antonio Blake, the Archivist is given access to all statements after they're made. The statements are given case numbers taken from the last three numbers of the year it was made in, followed by the day, then the month, thus the statement of MAG 1: Angler Fish is #0122204, having been recorded April 22nd, 2012. There is no clear system for statements that occur twice on the same date.[16]

The Institute has a variety of classifications statements can be placed under. As detailed in MAG 43: Section 31, statements marked "Internal Use Only" can't be referenced or requested by external agencies or authorities, including the police. This is due to the Institute's strict Non-Disclosure Agreement policy. This is used for sensitive information.

It was discovered that in a number of cases, digital recording devices fail to record statements, but analogue recording such as cassettes still function. It's believed that in cases where digital media fails, an actual supernatural event has occurred.[17] The process of researching and recording statements typically takes a week, and if the statement is supernatural in nature, it can be draining on anyone attempting to make a recording.[18] Melanie King reported that after making a statement she fell asleep for about twenty hours.[19]

While the entire institute is under the power of The Eye, the Archives department is most strongly affected. As such, those who work in the Archives are unable to quit or be fired, and any attempt to leave one's job results in sickness and possible death. The other departments are not under these restrictions and it's possible to quit them or be transferred to other departments. Generally the Archives is seen as "weird" by most employees and most leave the people there alone.[20]

Despite its supernatural affiliation, to most the Institute is a normal, if weird and unsettling, location in London. It's library is open to the public for research and is often used by students for research into the paranormal. The administrator Elias has regular meetings with the Library staff Tuesdays over the lunch hour,[21] and works on scheduling on Wednesdays.[22] In addition, the institute retains contracts to various government and law enforcement organizations,[23] likely called on when a case has a supernatural element. This is likely part of the source of Elias' contacts and influence with law enforcement, in addition to his other powers.

## Departments

### Administration

The leadership structure of the Magnus Institute. It is a small department that runs the affairs of the entire Institute, directing not just the research of the paranormal, but the mundane duties of employment, accounting, scheduling, and finance. It favours academia and the acquisition of new knowledge, and largely directs resources to its library (and whilst unconfirmed, possibly Research also).

### Archives

The repository of statements given by members of the general public and other resources not appropriate for the Library. It contains approximately 200 years of documented encounters with the paranormal, with many of the statements being genuine. It also takes new statements as well as dealing with previous statements. It is the most disorganised department in the Institute, as per Jonathan Sims' claim that the Institute is focused on "the ivory tower of academia" rather than correctly cataloguing existing knowledge for easy reference.

### Artefact Storage

Stores, catalogues, contains, and researches a variety of artefacts and physical items that have been left with the Magnus Institute. Mary Keay claimed this department was tiny and underwhelming, with few artefacts of interest.

### Library

The library is the centre of research and academic learning on the occult and paranormal in the Institute. It is a significantly more invested in department than the archives, and Jonathan Sims claims it is impeccably organised.

### Research

Researches the esoteric, occult, and the paranormal. They are not paranormal investigators, and do not resort to unverified forms of investigation such as performing seances or rituals. This department deals with academic research specifically.

## Personnel

Like many other academic organizations, the Institute has several departments. The Institute has a staff of approximately 80-100 people.[24] Current and former employees of the Magnus Institute are listed below by department, and further categorized by employment status when needed:

### Administration

- Jonah Magnus - Founder of the Institute
- Richard Mendelson – Former Head of the Institute, preceded James Wright
- James Wright - Former Head of the Institute (from 1973 – 1996)[25]
- Elias Bouchard - Former Head of the Institute (from 1996-2017)[25]
- Peter Lukas - Former Head of the Institute (from 2017-2018)[26]
- Martin Blackwood - Assistant to Head of Institute
- Rosie Zampano - Assistant to Head of Institute
- Alice "Daisy" Tonner - Former Institute and Archives Security (reported to Elias)[27]

### Archives

#### Archivists

- Angus Stacey – Former Head Archivist
- Gertrude Robinson - Former Head Archivist
- Jonathan Sims - Head Archivist

#### Assistants

- Basira Hussain - Assistant to Jonathan Sims[27]
- Alice "Daisy" Tonner - Assistant to Jonathan Sims[28]
- Michael Shelley - Former Assistant to Gertrude Robinson
- Eric Delano - Former Assistant to Gertrude Robinson[29]
- Emma Harvey[30] - Assistant to Gertrude Robinson[31]
- Sarah Carpenter - Assistant to Gertrude Robinson
- Fiona Law - Assistant to Angus Stacey and Gertrude Robinson
- Timothy Stoker - Former Assistant to Jonathan Sims
- Sasha James - Former Assistant to Jonathan Sims
- Martin Blackwood - Assistant to Jonathan Sims
- Melanie King - Former Assistant to Jonathan Sims[32][33]

### Artefact Storage

- Sonja[34]
- Sasha James - Formerly

### Library

- Diana - Head librarian ("runs the place")[35]
- Hannah - Librarian[36]
- Tom - Librarian[37]

### Research

- David - Researcher[38][39]
- Elsa von Closen - Former researcher[40]

## True Purpose

### Watcher's Crown

The Institute was moved from Edinburgh to London and constructed over the remains of Millbank Prison after 1867, after Jonah Magnus attempted the ritual The Watcher's Crown with the complex's central Panopticon and the prisoners in the surrounding cells fueling it. After the ritual's partial failure and the prison's destruction Magnus moved the Institute over the ruins, with the Panopticon serving as the resting place for his body, while he transferred his mind to subsequent heads of the Institute.

After Gertrude posited that no ritual could summon a single Entity separate from the others, Magnus resolved to summon all of them at once, manipulating events so the current Archivist would be marked by each Entity, serving as the linchpin for a new ritual. After killing Gertrude to prevent her destroying his body, Magnus set his focus on a new Archivist and found a perfect candidate in Jonathan Sims who had already been marked by The Web. Over his tenure as Head Archivist Magnus exposed John to each of the Fears, allowing them to mark him in some way, even if only from being in their proximity.

### After The Change

After Magnus' plan succeeded and the Entities seized the world for themselves, the Institute transformed into a massive tower resembling the Panopticon and covered in one-way mirrors. The base of the tower still sat above the tunnels of Millbank Prison and was guarded by creatures similar to the former Archivists seen in MAG 53: Crusader, and at the top Magnus was joined with The Eye and observed all the horrors of the world in a dreamlike state, hovering above the floor, while his secretary Rosie served as his liaison with the outside.

Jonathan Sims, together with his allies, enacted a plan to kill Elias and banish all the Entities to another world in an attempt to save their own. To this end, Sims knocked Elias out of his dream state by telling The Eye to release him, and beat Elias to death, and Sims briefly became The Eye's avatar, learning the Fears' history as part of a final statement. Following this, the gas main under the building was destroyed and the tower collapsed as the Fears are pulled through The Gap in Reality by the combined power of all the recorded statements, leaving only ruins and a single running tape recorder.

## Trivia

- MAG 33: Boatswain's Call features the names of fans and Patreon supporters Josh Cole and Samantha Emery in cameos as students who discover inconsistencies in statements. Both listeners had found errors in past episodes and their names were included as tributes.
- According to MAG 55: Pest Control the Research Department gets flooded with reports and statements around Halloween. Most statements are false but the sheer volume often necessitates calling in help to sort them out, such as the Archives.
- The Institute and its affiliates are all named after notable horror stories and authors:
  - Martin Blackwood is a reference to horror and fantasy author Algernon Blackwood.
  - Tim Stoker is a reference to Bram Stoker, most famous for writing Dracula.
  - Michael Shelley is named after Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.
  - Melanie King is named for prolific horror author Stephen King.
  - Sarah Carpenter is likely named for horror filmmaker John Carpenter, best known for films They Live, and The Thing.
  - Georgie Barker is likely named for novelist and filmmaker Clive Barker, best known for the Hellraiser series.
  - The Pu Songling Research Centre is named for Pu Songling, a Qing dynasty author of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (聊齋誌異), a collection of nearly five-hundred supernatural tales.
  - The Usher Foundation is named for the short story The Fall of the House of Usher, by famous American horror author Edgar Allan Poe
    - The Institute shares many features in common with the House of Usher. Both are old buildings inhabited by twisted individuals and home to dark, supernatural events, and both collapse killing their eponymous inhabitants by the end.

## References

1. ↑ MAG 17: The Boneturner's Tale
2. ↑ MAG 33: Boatswain's Call
3. ↑ MAG 11: Dreamer
4. ↑ MAG 23: Schwartzwald
5. ↑ MAG 127: Remains to be Seen
6. ↑ MAG 50: Foundations
7. ↑ MAG 26: A Distortion
8. ↑ MAG 68: The Tale of a Field Hospital
9. ↑ MAG 11: Dreamer
10. ↑ MAG 123: Web Development
11. ↑ MAG 106: A Matter Of Perspective
12. ↑ MAG 53: Crusader
13. ↑ MAG 39: Infestation
14. ↑ MAG 60: Observer Effect
15. ↑ MAG 11: Dreamer
16. ↑ MAG 33: Boatswain's Call
17. ↑ MAG 39: Infestation
18. ↑ MAG 92: Nothing Beside Remains
19. ↑ MAG 98: Lights Out
20. ↑ MAG 102: Nesting Instinct
21. ↑ MAG 98: Lights Out
22. ↑ MAG 103: Cruelty Free
23. ↑ MAG 10: Vampire Killer
24. ↑ Season 1 Q&A
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 MAG 49: The Butcher’s Window
26. ↑ MAG 120: Eye Contact
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 MAG 92: Nothing Beside Remains
28. ↑ MAG 136: The Puppeteer
29. ↑ MAG 85: Upon the Stair
30. ↑ MAG 154: Bloody Mary
31. ↑ MAG 80: The Librarian
32. ↑ MAG 84: Possessive
33. ↑ MAG 157: Rotten Core
34. ↑ MAG 88: Dig
35. ↑ MAG 63: The End of the Tunnel
36. ↑ MAG 102: Nesting Instinct
37. ↑ MAG 104: Sneak Preview
38. ↑ MAG Fluff - Epiphany
39. ↑ MAG 160.2: Season 4 Q&A Part 2
40. ↑ MAG 62: First Edition

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