THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES #46 – Literary Heights

MAG046 – Case #9981221 – Herbert Knox
Statement regarding a repeat customer to their bookshop in Chichester.

The Magnus Archives tells the tale of an antiquarian bookshop owner who finds they have one particularly good student customer and references a number of familiar names.

Starring: The Archivist – Jonathan Sims
Writer: Jonathan Sims
Director: Alexander J Newall
Editors: Alexander J Newall, Mike LeBeau

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[Jake_Eyes]

Who would have thought that a British student with a lightning scar would be interested in books about mystical stuff.

[screech]

the way jon's voice changes immediately as he starts to read the statement never fails to make me giggle a little

[lisdumatin]

"I am yours" is the same thing that priest guy said he was forced to say in the house

[AshGreytree]

The idea of lanky, disjointed jagged beings made of pure energy that sound like crackling static, and that you can only see in the split seconds that lightning strikes is legitimately terrifying.

[b-blythe]

During the Bone Turner's Tale, it struck me as odd that the main character Sebastian was so ready to hang on to the cursed book. He knew it was sinister at that point, but when Jared, his former friend who'd been harassing him and whom he'd never stood up to before, demands the book, Sebastian punches him. After Jared got the book and ran Sebastian nearly chased after him but ultimately decided it wasn't his problem. I wasn't sure if the impulse to keep the book was reasonable or not, since on one hand it's clearly evil but on the other hand Sebastian is later killed via bone turning.
Here though, I think it's more obvious that the Leitners have some kind of compulsion on the reader. This old dude literally drags himself up a huge flight of stairs while he thinks he's having a heart attack trying to get one back, despite saying he didn't like having it.

[data]

yeah buddy we can't buy antique books bc we can't even pay our school debt

[laurengibbs]

“I had to stop Micheal Crew from stealing my Leitner” is so fucking funny to me for no reason.

[hermajestythewhat]

"I had to stop Michael Crew from stealing my Leitner" wtf this sounds like me when my roommate steals one of my pens or pencils lmfao

[poopilydoopily]

I like both Michael Crew and weird hand Michael so far. Crew for just staring at the dude like "wtf is a check" and weird hand Michael for being such a helpful creepy weirdo

[rebelliousone]

Ok I'm just typing this out for my understanding. Maybe it'll help someone else keep track of these books so far too.


- Sometime in the past, Dominic Swain and Michael Crew, while 8 years old, are outside playing in the rain. Micheal gets struck by lightning.
- 1998: Michael Crew gets Ex Altiora. He uses it to most likely defeat his lightning stalker thing. (Literary Heights)
- 1999: Micheal Crew sneaks The Boneturner's Tale into the library Sebastian Adekoya's library. Sebastian's friend, Jared Hopworth, takes the book, turns into a giant bony thing with ribs that bite people's hands and too many limbs and flees into the darkness with the book. There's a chance he's the one who kills Sebastian in the end. (The Boneturner's Tale)
- 2002: 11 year old Gerard Keay follows around Harold Silvana's crew as they explore a previously hidden corridor he reveals to them. He runs off a book originating from a room full of tiny animal bones. The room is directly under Jurgen Lietner's office. He'd been trying to dig down to get to it. (Old Passages)
- 2013: Dominic Swain finds Ex Altiora and takes it to Mary Keay, who is supposed to be dead by her son's hand. She also has a book that produces tiny animal bones. After doing something to his book, Dominic goes home with it smelling like ozone. It now has a lightning strike on the previously empty night sky page. Gerard Keay comes by, buys Ex Altiora from Dominic, and burns it. (Pageturner)
- 2016: Basira Hussian and her partner John Spencer arrest Jose Molina. He is carrying a red leather bound book with him. Spencer gets suspended for trying to burn the book with a Zippo lighter (which Jonathan might have right now). This book seems to have a heat theme to it seeing how a house burned down, Basira got burned, and Spencer 'suicided' by boiling himself to death.

[sandymcneish]

I love how Johnathan can make literally any title sound spooky when he's saying it.

[AngelAdorable]

ngl I would love to read Ex Altiora - it sounds like an interesting read. Y'know, without the horrific supernatural consequences and everything.

[flying_pig_girl]

Is this the guy who got struck by lightning?? The friend of the guy from Pageturner??

[nanahuatli]

Ok, so there were thirteen rooms, each one seemingly tied to one of these aspects (one of them was described as giving the feeling that you'd fall into it, much like we see here, so it could represent this evil sky thing), and I'm assuming each one containing a tome. But I don't think I can identify enough powers to make 13. What I have so far:
- Disease (Jane Prentiss, the care home, the mosquitos, maybe the spiders)
- Fire and heat (First Aid, the thing possessing the Hilltop house, the thing that got Basira burned, possibly the ritual in the forest)
- The sky (Pageturner, this one, the one with the skydiver)
- Shapeshifting (not!Graham, not!Sasha, the anatomy students)
- Bones (The Boneturner Tale, Mary Keay's book, which is the same Gerard Keay stole)

- Flesh (The Man Upstairs, maybe the slaughterhouse one)
- Darkness (A Father's Love, Going Dark)
Then there's a bunch of pieces I don't know if they coalesce into a power, like the evil music, fractals, at least two cults, the dreamer, vampires, and the entity possessing the priest. Not sure if Breekon and Hope are working for anyone in particular or are their own faction, but they worked at the same circus where the evil calliope organ, the clown that matched the doll and the body horror monstrosities were, so that points to some allegiances.

[cezar]

the change from Jon the Archivist to Jon the Statement Giver legit scared me lol

[bladehawk]

The spider on his desk, and now more in the tunnels...
Not liking that!

[kirk]

“the villagers surrender to despair”
makoto naegi: we don’t do that here

[elfarmy]

All first-time listeners: I think I heard this name somewhere but where... Welp, I'll just make notes I guess
The nth time listeners: Lemme just help you out. You're welcome.

[imacommenter]

Herbert: it usually involves the same student
Me: *ready to write down a new name*
Herbert: his name was Michael Krew
Me:

[trucetruce]

Is it just me or do the spiders feel like they’re gonna be benevolent or at the very least neutral or enemy-of-my-enemy kind of thing?