Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Magnus Archives: Season 1

The Magnus Archives is a horror anthology podcast/ audio drama that delves episode by episode into short-form tales of horror that feel like they can happen to just about anyone through their beginnings in mundanity. Some of the stories are striking and bone chilling, while others just don't meet the mark for me. The meta plot, that at least some of these stories are tied to the work of the archives themselves in a much more tangible manner, is the real reason to keep on listening. Connecting the dots along with Jonathan as the season goes on is fun and gives the stories more weight, but I can't help but feel occasionally like the connections were a little contrived, hopefully a function of the freshman season.

Overall I've enjoyed it thus far and am interested to see how season 2 works out.

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msradiosilence's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

TLDR; 5 rating, scared the shit out of me, and I’m very much hooked.
Content warnings at the bottom. :)

Listen, I don’t want to hear that these don’t count. I listened to all 80+ hours of this story podcast, and I will count it goddammit. This is the hill I choose to die on. Fight me.

Anyway, I am DEVASTATED that I didn’t find this podcast before it ended. Literally months after the last episode, I finally gave into the TikTok recommendation and BOY HOWDY. I was hooked after the first episode, which properly helped me stay awake on a 12 hour drive to Florida by myself.

This show is unhinged, beautifully performed, the characters are so compelling, and since the bare bones are anthology-esque, there’s an episode for everyone. I think my one regret is that I had my first Buccee’s brisket sandwich while listening to MAG 18: The Man Upstairs (DO NOT listen to this one while eating anything. DO NOT listen to it after eating anything. BEWARE).

Favorite episodes: MAG 12: First Aid, MAG 15: Lost John’s Cave, MAG 22: Colony, MAG 26: Distortion, MAG 29: Cheating Death, MAG 31: First Hunt (Note: I’m from Virginia, and this one is just so funny with how simply wrong it is. We don’t have elk, for one, lmao), MAG 32: Hive, and MAG 34: Anatomy Class.

Rating: 5
Would I recommend? Yes, especially if you enjoy the work of Eric LaRocca, or horror podcasts.

Content warnings: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Self harm, Violence, War, Car accident, Cannibalism, Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Drug use, Grief, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit

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moonyleo's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

to say im not obsessed would be like saying jon is not a skeptic
i love that asshole
and martin my golden retriever i wanna give him a big hug

favourite episodes:
#2 do not open
#5 thrown away
#7 the piper
#9 fathers love
#11 dreamer
#12 first aid
#14 piecemail
#15 lost johns cave
#17 the bone turners tale
#18 the man upstairs
#20 desecrated host II
#22 colony
#25 growing dark
#26 a distortion
#29 cheating death
#30 killing floor
#32 hive
#34 anatomy class
#39 investation
#40 human remains

quite the list i know

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krisalexcole's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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blueberry0531's review

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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max_vampire's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

i really like the theory that you are the archivist unfortunately I'm pretty sure it won't happen

i like the fact there's cannonically queer characters and i headcannon the archivist as autistic.

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anton13's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I loved listening to it. The stories where the perfect length to sit down and listen on the bus or while working at home. It gives such an eerie feeling and I love how it’s creepy but not too creepy.

2nd listen:
Listening to it again I still absolutely love it. I also love how I now make the connections even more between episodes and I’ve already started on season two. It’s absolutely amazing in all it’s eerie goodness

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