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The Penumbra Podcast is a horror fiction podcast written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall and distributed by Rusty Quill. Sims narrates the podcast in-character as the main character, Jonathan Sims, the newly-appointed head archivist of the fictional Magnus Institute—an institution based in London centered on research into the paranormal. In 2018, BBC Sounds listed the show as one of the largest British dramatic podcasts, with an extensive fanbase on Tumblr having driven much of its success. As of April 2020, The Magnus Archives has reached a download rate of over 2.5 million downloads a month. The shows audience had grown to over 4 million downloads a month by July 23rd 2020 according to a press release first appearing on Podnews.net.

Production
The podcast is structured as a series of statements recorded or written and then recorded for internal research use within the Magnus Institute. At the beginning of each statement, the statement-taker (mainly John, the head archivist) provides a brief description of the statement and the name of the statement-maker. Those who give or record statements in the Magnus Institute tend to lapse into a trance-like state not unlike reliving the event.

Main cast

 * Jonathan Sims as Jonathan "John" Sims, the head archivist at the Magnus Institute, a title with which he announces himself at the beginning of each statement he records. He is described as ‘prematurely greying’ and ‘looking older than he is’ in “A Guest for Mr. Spider”, and he has many scars incurred from the hazards of his job. In conversation he is often rude and short-tempered at first, but meets kindness with kindness. After the events of "Eye Contact", John refers to himself only as ‘The Archivist’, having undergone a significant change. As of "Dwelling" and perhaps before, he is in a romantic relationship with Martin Blackwood. He is asexual.
 * Alexander J Newall as Martin Blackwood, an archival assistant at the Magnus Institute who obtained his job by lying about holding a degree in parapsychology. In "Colony" he is described as 'not exactly the smallest guy in the world' and in "The Masquerade" it is revealed that he looks exactly like his father. He is soft-spoken and generally gravitates away from social gatherings. As of "Dwelling" and perhaps before, he is in a romantic relationship with Jonathan Sims.
 * Lottie Broomhall as Sasha James, an archival assistant at the Magnus Institute, mainly locating records that could set standard of proof for statements. She is described as tall and having long hair and glasses. In "Human Remains" she is replaced with by an entity known as 'Not-Sasha', which wears her identity with a different body.
 * Mike LeBeau as Timothy "Tim" Stoker, an archival assistant at the Magnus Institute. He assumed the role when John was promoted to head archivist, having worked with him previously in the research department. He is continually described as being exceptionally attractive. He has been in relationships with men and women, as revealed in "Across the Street" when he courts two file clerks. At first, he is kind and cocksure, but comes to resent his position within the Institute, becoming more cynical and angry in interactions with his coworkers, mainly John.
 * Ben Meredith as Elias Bouchard, the Head of the Magnus Institute. The only notable visual description given has been his own assertion of having 'only two eyes'. He is initially dismissive of the concerns surrounding active paranormal activity within the Institute, but is quick to reveal some degree of intentionally withheld information when confronted.
 * Evelyn Hewitt as Not-Sasha, a paranormal entity that wears Sasha James' identity. It lives in the tunnels under the Institute when not performing administrative tasks, and has a significant role in drawing John's attention to the paranormal happenings within the Institute's walls. It has issues with using technology.
 * Sue Sims as Gertrude Robinson, the previous head archivist at the Magnus Institute. She was replaced by Jonathan Sims after going missing in March 2015. She is described as being 'in her fifties or sixties with reading glasses and grey hair in a tight bun'. She appears in some episodes in past recordings of statements as John and the other assistants work to understand her role at the Institute. Her demeanor is brusque and she is very serious about her work.
 * Frank Voss as Basira Hussain, an officer sectioned to work on 'weird' cases through Section 31. She becomes involved in an investigation surrounding a death in the Institute in "Section 31", and is quickly entangled in the Institute's mysterious happenings.
 * Fay Roberts as Alice "Daisy" Tonner, a detective also sectioned to work on 'weird' cases through Section 31.
 * Lydia Nicholas as Melanie King, the former host of the YouTube series Ghost Hunt UK. After some strange supernatural incidents, she comes to be employed by the Magnus Institute.
 * Sasha Sienna as Georgie Barker, the fearless host of the What The Ghost? podcast. She lives with her cat, The Admiral, and knew Jonathan Sims in university.
 * Alasdair Stuart as Peter Lukas, Captain of the Tundra and member of the Lukas Family, acting as the antagonist and temporary Institute Head in Season 4.

Recurring cast

 * Jon Gracey as Gerard Keay, the son of Mary Keay who works alongside Gertrude Robinson after she frees him from his mother.
 * Paul Sims as Jurgen Leitner, a collector of books affected by the paranormal forces the Institute researches. He went into hiding in 1994 after his library was burned down, and resided in the tunnels underneath of the Institute until his death in "The Librarian".
 * Luke Booys as Michael, a manifestation of a paranormal power. Its appearance is flexible, but its base humanoid version is that of Gertrude Robinson's assistant, Michael Shelley, who was a tall man with straw blonde hair and a round face. It was bound to Michael as a part of a ritual. Its distorted version, the same appearance but thin and limp with hands as large as its torso, can be seen in mirrors. It both resides in and is a realm accessible only by a door of its own conjuring. It preys on people by luring them into its door and trapping them within an inescapable labyrinth. It was killed by and became Helen in "Another Twist".
 * Hannah Brankin as Jane Prentiss, a previously ordinary woman turned into a living hive for silver worms after finding a wasps nest in her attic. She would often infect others, having the worms bury into their flesh, either killing them or turning them into hives. She was killed in the archives and cremated soon after.
 * Imogen Harris as Helen Richardson, a manifestation of paranormal power replacing Michael, who occasionally assists and disrupts the Archive's activities.
 * Guy Kelly as Michael Crew, avatar of a paranormal force who meets Jonathan Sims in "The Coming Storm".
 * Jessica Law as Nikola Orsinov, a plastic mannequin who was originally Joseph Grimaldi. Serves a paranormal power which she attempts, and fails, to summon in "Stranger and Stranger".
 * Hannah Walker as Jude Perry, a member of The Cult of the Lightless Flame, a group dedicated to destruction and suffering, who encounters Jonathan Sims in "Twice as Bright".
 * Russell Smith as Oliver Banks, an entity of death able to see people's life force in the form of red veins.

Plot
From the official website of the Magnus Archives

"Join Jonathan Sims, newly appointed head archivist of the Magnus Institute, as he attempts to bring a seemingly neglected collection of supernatural statements up to date by converting them to audio and supplementing them with follow-up work from his small but dedicated archival team.

Individually, the statements are unsettling. Together they begin to form a picture that is truly horrifying because as they look into the depths of the archives, something starts to look back…"

The podcast is initially presented as a horror anthology but slowly reveals a more complex metaplot over the course of 5 seasons.

Season 1
Season 1 of the Magnus Archives ran from March 24, 2016 to October 13, 2016.

The eponymous Jonathan Sims is installed as the new Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute's Archives, his predecessor Gertrude Robinson seemingly presumed dead. As he attempts to digitize the supernatural statements, he finds that some statements can only be recorded on tape recorder as opposed to the preferred digital recordings. Among these statements are mentions of paranormal books he calls "Leitners" because many of them seem to originate from a library that had belonged to a man called Jurgen Leitner. He also records statements live from subjects, including Melanie King, a paranormal investigator who hosts a YouTube series called Ghost Hunt UK.

Initially John is skeptical of the supernatural happenings detailed within each statement but eventually he begins to uncover connections between the statements suggesting that the dark forces and horrors described within them are real. Over the course of each recording, various characters make incidental appearances to speak to John, such as the Institute Head Elias Bouchard and the archival staff, Martin Blackwood, Tim Stoker, and Sasha James. In one particular episode, Sasha herself makes a statement regarding a supernatural being called Michael that seems at least slightly more benevolent than other supernatural beings that are mentioned.

In particular, a woman named Jane Prentiss, a former New Age shop assistant, has become the host for a mass of parasitic worms that seem intent on attacking members of the archival staff, particularly attacking Martin, and, eventually, attacking the Archives itself. In the chaos of Prentiss' final attack, Sasha dies at the hands of another supernatural being, but her death goes unnoticed as the supernatural being replaces her and assumes her identity. The body of Gertrude Robinson, the former Archive Head, is also found in one of the tunnels beneath the Institute, three bullet wounds in her chest.

Notable Episodes:


 * MAG - 1 - Angler Fish - Show debut streamed millions of times.

Season 2
Season 2 of the Magnus Archives ran from December 1, 2016, to August 31, 2017.

In the aftermath of Prentiss' attack and subsequent death, John finds himself with a growing sense of paranoia. John is convinced that there is a greater conspiracy behind the murder of his predecessor Gertrude Robinson, and he works alongside the police to investigate, most notably from Constable Basira Hussain. John also begins to explore the tunnels beneath the Archives, convinced that someone is down there. The other archival staff begin to worry for both John's safety and sanity, to which John only responds with suspicion. As John continues to distrust and investigate his coworkers, to the point of stalking and breaching of privacy, his archival assistants become more aggravated, Tim in particular though Martin shows more concern for John.

After taking a live statement from a woman named Helen Richardson, a real estate agent who claimed to be terrorized by a supernatural being, John finds himself confronted by the supernatural being in question, Michael. Michael implies that there are much greater forces at work and states that Sasha is "lying to him" before leaving and taking Helen with him.

John continues his investigation of the tunnels and finds evidence of Sasha and an old man he's never seen before going into the tunnels.

Later, Melanie returns to the Institute, stating that her YouTube crew has disbanded. She and John argue that the woman John knows as Sasha is actually "not Sasha". This eventually raises John's suspicions and he finds more statements connecting a strange being called the "NotThem" that can replace people and a strange table that is sitting in the Institute's artefact storage. He decides to take immediate action and destroy the table, but the creature impersonating Sasha explains that the table was actually "binding" them and then they directly attack John in their more monstrous form. John is eventually saved by the mysterious old man who'd been in and out of the tunnels: Jurgen Leitner, the previous owner of the library of paranormal books in various statements.

In John's office, Leitner explains he'd been hiding in the tunnels since the destruction of his library in 1994, evading various monsters and people who sought to do him harm. He then explains his understanding of the entities behind the books (and creatures such as "Michael" and the "NotThem"): that they are manifestations of vast, powerful entities based on primal fears that exist just outside of human perception. He also relates that he believes that the Institute's Head, Elias, is the one who killed Gertrude, who Leitner had been working with to destroy the Institute, itself a place of power for one of the entities known as The Eye.

John steps out, overwhelmed with these revelations, at which point, Elias himself steps in, surprised but pleased to discover with whom Gertrude had been working. Elias then murders Leitner brutally with a metal pipe and leaves, not wanting to leave any loose ends. When John returns, he immediately flees from the bloody scene. The body is then discovered by Tim and Martin.

Notable Episodes:


 * MAG - 43 - Section 31 — A fan favorite
 * MAG - 47 - A New Door

Season 3
Season 3 of the Magnus Archives ran from November 23, 2017, to September 27, 2018.

John is a now a wanted man, a person of interest not only as a suspect in the murder of his predecessor, but also in the murder of Jurgen Leitner (although the police cannot actually identify him). Tim and Martin struggle to hold themselves together following the disappearance of their friend Sasha. The newly hired Melanie is acting increasingly erratic, and it is beginning to dawn on the whole team that they are all far too involved with the Archives to leave now, if they ever or even could.

As a wanted man, John goes from hiding with his friends, to being kidnapped by a sinister circus, to traveling the world trying to piece together what information his predecessor had put together on the mysterious ritual of "Unknowing"...

Notable Episodes:


 * MAG - 81 - A Guest For Mister Spider — A statement from the Archivist's own childhood
 * MAG - 92 - Nothing Beside Remains

Season 4
Season 4 of the Magnus Archives ran from January 10, 2019, to October 31, 2019.

The Archivist awakes in the aftermath of the Unknowing to find a changed team. As the Archivist makes ever-greater sacrifices in the name of knowledge and those left behind, he finds himself concerned about Martin and his relationship with the strange new acting head of the Institute.

More is changing than just relationships within the archival team - Martin is convinced that a new power is coalescing. One which, if it gets its way, could spell the end of the world.

Notable Episodes:


 * MAG - 158 - Panopticon — Accompanied by a post-season special episode titled Building The Panopticon - The Making of Mag 158
 * MAG - 160 - The Eye Opens — Generated significant press, including The Podcast Dragon, SYFYWIRE, and Sueddeutsche Zeitung

Season 5
Season 5 debuted April 1, 2020, with excitement around the first episode rumored to be so large that a sudden influx of traffic on its release crashed Patreon.

The Archivist has changed. Martin is still by his side. They must come to grips with their horrifying new reality.

Season 5 will be split into three acts.

Critical reception
The Magnus Archives has been praised by critics and reviewers. The development of the lengthy metaplot and the voice acting by Jonathan Sims in his role as the archivist Jonathan Sims received particular praise. The Magnus Archives has appeared on numerous Top Horror Podcast and Top Fiction lists from publications such as The A.V. Club, GamesRadar, Cosmopolitan, The Verge and more since 2016.

Awards

 * 2019 Discover Pod Awards – Audio Drama or Fiction Podcast
 * 2019 AudioVerse Awards – Writing of an Audio Play Production – Jonathan Sims
 * 2019 AudioVerse Awards – Vocal Direction of a Production – Alexander J. Newall
 * 2019 AudioVerse Awards – Performance of a Leading Role in an Audio Play Production – Jonathan Sims as Jonathan Sims
 * 2019 AudioVerse Awards – Performance of a Supporting Role in an Audio Play Production – Alexander J Newall as Martin Blackwood
 * 2019 AudioVerse Awards – Audio Play Production
 * 2019 This Is Horror Awards - Runner Up – Fiction Podcast of The Year.