THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES #52 - Exceptional Risk

MAG052 - Case #0040904 - Phillip Brown
Statement regarding their time working at HMP Wakefield between 1990 and 2002.
The Magnus Archives tells the tale of prison services officer and the darkness that comes from supervising dangerous offenders, including one Robert Montauk.
Starring: The Archivist - Jonathan Sims; Basira Hussain - Frank Voss
Writer: Jonathan Sims
Director: Alexander J Newall
Editors: Alexander J Newall, Mike LeBeau
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[@aesynthi6884]

lmao i love that awkward conversation also "no, the hot one. he has scars like you but kind of manages to pull them off" im dying

[@starsixseven9259]

stop, you're murdering him!

[@nanahuatli2144]

She managed to throw shade on both Jon and Martin in different ways in the same sentence. Jeez.

[@gav1049]

7:54

[@frogonthebikeheh]

@@nanahuatli2144 She's the best

[@cordialChaos591]

"What's the name of your assistant?" Immediately "Oh, Martin." "No the hot one." Quiet little "oh"

[@table2.0]

Like “wait, Martin isn’t the hot one?” XD

[@kaitlynmorgan4613]

@@table2.0 LMFAOOOOO YEAH 😭😭

[@flying_pig_girl]

Me: * expects to see comments about Robert Montauk being an absolute unit* Comments: " *_the hot one_* "

[@ognjenivanovic7871]

*"the hot one"* = Tim

[@hamburgerdog25]

Ok I wasn't paying much attention but when he said this guy killed 40 people, it made me think of Jack the Ripper. I will be starting this episode over now just to be sure but am I right on that? I think he had around that many confirmed murders and he was never identified as well as the fact his actual name is not known to be Jack. Wait I take it back he only killed something like 5 women. I swear I recalledit being in the dozens. I guess I was wrong. Woops - edit

[@tossoutacc9241]

@@hamburgerdog25 I know John Wayne Gacey killed somewhere in the 30’s ? I believe of young boys/men and he sounds like he has the same build to this guy, I wonder if he’s loosely based off of him. Netflix has a good documentary about Gacey if you’re interested, I believe it’s recorded on tapes as well. Or at least the original audio files from when he was in prison sound like they are

[@sarajohnson6828]

fr. i was like damn 6'6? and go to the comments to so no one even mentions it XD

[@chasecollins3263]

Not to mention he was fast, big things should not allowed to be fast

[@Vi_Vi_1]

Hearing the difference between the way Julia spoke of her father vs how a guard speaks of one of the prisoners in his lockup is genuinely great writing. It's so realistic that Julia, despite knowing the technicals, would not associate her father with fear and therefore would not mention his size/intimidation factor. My dad's also a "big scary guy" but I never think of him that way because he's just...my dad. A little element of the writing I really appreciate.

[@JartinVartinJlackwood]

My dad's not tall but he is average height and has a gym bro figure so if I didn't know him he'd intimidate me too and I mentioned that he could look intimidating to a stranger once and he just gave me a disbelieving look. Now I'm just thinking of Robert Montauk not realising how scary he looks being like "ok first time in prison it's all cool just act normal" and immediately sets off the guards red flag bc of his height 😂

[@Vi_Vi_1]

@@JartinVartinJlackwood you're so right lol

[@toomany_bones]

Ah! Can't believe I just released he's the same guy from the murderer story🤦 Was listening on Spotify and didn't have any comments, I wonder how many more details I missed

[@minaashido7386]

I KNEW IT WAS THIS GUY WHEN THE DAUGHTER WAS MENTIONED!!!

[@DerpGnome]

​@@toomany_bonesI'm so dense, I only realized it after your comment lol

[@RainWelsh]

“He sort of smiled at me and gave me thumbs up” Tim gave her full finger-guns, and no one can tell me otherwise.

[@hamburgerdog25]

In the comment section for episode 39 I saw someone say that they only picture Tim wearing sunglasses all the time. Inside, outside, light, dark, _all_ the time. Like when he picks up the abandoned tape recorder and gets attacked, or when he busts through that wall. So now I'm doing the same thing and imo it makes his character 10x more hilarious

[@fevre_dream8542]

Very bi energy, the finger guns.

[@frogonthebikeheh]

@@fevre_dream8542 ikr? He's bi

[@frogonthebikeheh]

@@hamburgerdog25 Mr worldwide

[@Sosaparks]

@@hamburgerdog25I feel like Tim is the Kramer of the show

[@mothbat7]

Tim's gonna judge Jon's stamina so bad...

[@davv6628]

When I tell you I *WHEEEZEEEEDDDD*

[@justalittlesleepy]

BHAAHHAHAHAHHAA

[@royalknight2808]

This comment wins HAHAHAA GODDAMNNN

[@broblerone413]

help i'm dying XD

[@solysnivy]

It took me a second, but I got there and OH. MY. GOOOOOD!

[@lemmetalkaboutthis]

I do love that Tim really went like "My boss might be stalking me, but that's no reason not to be his wingman." lmao

[@foxthemess518]

I absolutely love how Jon immediately says Martin when Basira asks about his assistants. Like he was saying how he doesn’t consider Martin useful in the first episode of season one but when his assistants are brought up the first one to spring to mind is still Martin. I see you Jon. I see you.

[@oreo625]

i like just finished season one so seeing the phrase "i see you" triggers my fight or flight

[@foxthemess518]

@@oreo625 Oh you poor soul- I just finished the entire series. Brace yourself my friend.

[@takeoats]

yes

[@dilophosaurussk4333]

Im not sure why but "Challenging her to produce said boyfriend" Is a hilarious phrase to me.

[@malaizze]

Not!Sasha going back to the others like “Alright strangers who wants to pretend to be my boyfriend? Please? Jon is getting suspicious!”

[@jadetheslime3140]

@@malaizze imagine they go all out and make it look like sasha has a harem XD

[@malaizze]

@@jadetheslime3140 evil fic writers give me the dark polyarchives

[@beestevens2644]

I try to prepare myself to feel uncomfortable before each episode but nothing could have prepared me for heading Basira calling Tim “the hot one”

[@samasaurus.rex_]

i mean, there’s a reason he’s dating both a man and woman at the same time

[@hamburgerdog25]

@@samasaurus.rex_ _"women want him, men also want him, everyone wants to be him, he wears his sunglasses at night, he's just a cool cat and-"_

[@TIGGYQUE]

@@samasaurus.rex_ wait WHAT how did I miss it? Or it will be mentioned later?

[@vantannie9291]

@@TIGGYQUE pretty sure his involvement with two police officers was talked about in the post-statement of MAG49 (the butcher's window)

[@marinao4412]

"oh no, you know I'm not-" "no, I know, me neither" lesbian/ace solidarity

[@screams6157]

B-But jonmartin

[@mimkyodar]

@@screams6157 You can be asexual and still be romantically involved. Ship on, my friend.

[@screams6157]

@@mimkyodar woah i am ashamed to say i did not know that. Thank you for this information

[@mimkyodar]

No dramas. Asexuals and aromantics are a misunderstood lot. Jon is ace but... well no spoilers

[@livepoultryfreshkilled]

girl he is gay

[@megalobsterface3552]

the real horror here is the reality of the prison industrial complex

[@Amandineattard45]

Real

[@rebelliousone6182]

Aaaa I knew there was something familiar about this one the moment he mentioned the lights going out! Robert Montauk is the guy that killed all those folks in A Father's Love. Guess he didn't escape that thing after all.

[@gayerthanyou42]

In the original statement they say he was stabbed several times in the back and that the lightbulb in his cell was blown out.

[@azulresendiz3359]

​@@gayerthanyou42 yeah, but I think that was most likely what the official record said to avoid putting "big supernatural being murdered him after inducing a blackout"

[@ze_Candlestick]

OMG i was trying to find a comment like this, i wasn't sure!!! he sounded familiar🤔🤔

[@fish3977]

Now I wonder if the man in black is what chased after Roberts daughter. Either way lights breaking and water going bad is what happened at Roberts house

[@nadiarey4196]

Ok. I know the prisoner is the one from A Father's Love but... Does anybody else is reminded of that student in the bookstore with the weird smell and the cursed book (altiora something)? All lightbulbs shattering and the pursuer being invisible unless lightning strikes? Jon did say something about long limbed but...

[@nemnyoom]

canonically assigned hot by basira...

[@sling4425]

"No, no. The hot one." MARTIN IS THE HOT ONE.

[@pianos4095]

Yea!!!!

[@nanahuatli2144]

No, Martin is the cute one.

[@bmann0843]

I love how we have no idea what they look like but we all band together to agree Martin is the cute one. That's why I love podcasts so much

[@FirstnameLastname-bn4gv]

She’s talking about Tim though

[@eliwhite6159]

I wholly admire the voice actor being able to embody both his character and the people giving testimony. It's particularly noticeable in the Prentiss episode and a lot of the other episodes with female characters, but I think it's very impressive that he's able to give a sense of other male characters such as this one and the Piecemeal dude. Just, really talented overall

[@letterinabottle3196]

jonny is such a talented voice actor and writer,, he is a treasure

[@eliwhite6159]

@@letterinabottle3196 i just remembered hes also the writer. this man is too powerful. im going to cry

[@nanahuatli2144]

He slips from one to another effortlessly too.

[@TransilvanianHunger1334]

It's more of a writing skill than a voice acting one. He is generally using the same "voice" and tone for all of them but you can see their different wording choices and distinct personality, especially the over-the-top ones (like the piecemeal guy)

[@TransilvanianHunger1334]

@@nanahuatli2144 He doesn't "slip", what you are hearing is not a read without any cuts. He probably takes a break several times between the lines.

[@tiramachuuu]

When she said "No, the hot one." I immediately thought of Sasha 🙄

[@upakramanikabishnu3690]

me too T-T

[@merlin_ambrosius4470]

Same 🤣

[@V3xxe]

She'd be the "angular one"

[@MasterMagikarp]

same

[@waferreal]

same 😭😭 exposed

[@TangledInYarn]

"What's the name of that helper of yours?" "Martin" "No, no, the hot one" "...Martin"

[@mackenziedillon295]

Tim is doing rather well for himself isn't he.

[@vivkaupish7621]

You're shipping the wrong couple, Timothy!!

[@TheJuliana0901]

basira and John's interaction had "I Guess We're Doing This" by spies are forever playing on the background in my head

[@riverunderhilll2018]

yeah (on another note, woo, starkid/tcb!!)

[@katiebagdon5329]

YOU’RE SO RIGHT

[@tearez13]

YES!!! I love that show!!!

[@samasaurus.rex_]

FBSJFBJSFNNDFNDNG THE ACCURACY

[@jhumurroy6130]

So true!

[@ilovebooks49]

wasn't this guy just trying to protect his daughter from way back in like. episode ~9? :(

[@rileymichael2694]

yep :( still lowkey feel bad for the both of them, daughter especially

[@ftgihf467]

riley michael I feel awful for the daughter but not the father

[@simavolodina]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH

[@DonutToast]

Wait what happened again?

[@liladoemn6699]

Wait is this the father’s love one? :o

[@skippiefritz]

I wish when she said, "No, the hot one." Jon would have replied "Yes, you mean Martin." cause that would have been so awkward/perfect

[@aimeejenesse116]

Way too early

[@Dunedien]

He’s asexual, so I doubt he would describe anyone as “hot” as their main identifier.

[@wynnt1]

@@Dunedien Does he actually state that in a episode or is that just some q&a trivia?

[@Dunedien]

Jon is implied to be asexual in MAG 106 and he has shown romantic interest in both men[37] and women.[8] Writer Jonny Sims has confirmed that the Archivist was written as asexual in the Season 4 Q+A Part 1 and on Twitter, according to the wiki. I couldn't remember where I'd learned it from so I looked it up lol.

[@Casesucks]

@@Dunedien he would still call them hot lmao

[@sandymcneish7820]

I think my only complaint with this franchise is that it's sometimes really hard to remember where the characters have appeared before, especially when Johnathan refers to each case using the case numbers. But hey, that's my only one so good job anyway 😀

[@patrickbailey2799]

True, they list the case numbers at the beginning of the comments section. It's always a vague recollection when I remember things Jonathan mentions them.

[@Doginatie]

When he mentioned that two cases got damaged or taken away in the MAG40 I had to open almost every previous episode to see what they were (Strange Music and A Distortion)

[@falahl8781]

Tvtropes lists the case numbers on the recap page and blocks spoilers!!!

[@Darkrose517]

the-magnus-archives.fandom.com/wiki/Characters/Episode You can ctrl f to search a specific name on the page.

[@frostpersonal3758]

@@Darkrose517 thank you you're a godsend

[@lamp2556]

I love how everyone agrees that Jon is ace.

[@jasonschuler2256]

I mean, Jonny literally confirmed in a Q&A that he wrote the character as ace.

[@lamp2556]

@@jasonschuler2256 I actually didn't know that. Thanks for telling me!

[@leomorris7573]

everyone mentioning "no the hot one" but not one comment bringing up that immediately after that jon very quietly goes "oh." (isolated at 7:59)

[@hamburgerdog25]

7:58 "no no, the hot one. Has scars like you but actually manages to pull them off" _"yeah, Tim"_ I'm sorry, is Jon jealous that Tim can pull off the scars while he can't?

[@linkguist6861]

Tim is a himbo and i adore him.

[@rosemarycat5]

If anybody found the descriptions of abuse against the inmates to be very yikes, there is a charity, Just Detention International, that is working to stop abuse against prison inmates (they have a focus on sexual abuse).

[@mistydevillier2197]

If they're in a place with that level of security then, they fking deserve it!!!!

[@XFizzlepop-Berrytwist]

Rap ists , I wouldnt lose any sleep on them if they got some just desserts.

[@bookend2002]

@@mistydevillier2197 There are people who are wrongfully imprisoned. Even in this episode he talks about beating Robert Montauk who we know didn't actually murder people, only monsters.

[@silverquill101]

Thank you!!

[@VelvetMetrolink]

@@mistydevillier2197 If you think that someone deserves sexual abuse, consider this: They thought that too. That's why they are there. You are thinking the same way they do.

[@fridaysantos738]

Well, that one conversation with Basira sure went pretty akward

[@mediabuzzkill]

yuck correctional officers scare me just as much as the spooky stuff

[@riotb4719]

Yeah honestly the narrator seemed like the real bad guy here :/

[@frostpersonal3758]

glad i'm not the only one that got that vibe (especially considering Jon mentioned he got abusive)

[@tearez13]

Yeah, this whole episode I couldn't stop thinking about the Stanford Prison Experiment. To quote Dean Winchester "Demons I get. People are crazy."

[@callmeyourdai5y518]

@@tearez13 A friend of mine was a prison officer. She said people there are either really into it or have to leave. She ended up leaving after an inmate sent her two letters one covered in blood and the other covered in... another body fluid.

[@mjamin9124]

@@callmeyourdai5y518 one of my friends, who has lots of experience with various sorts of security jobs, was turned down for a job at a "correctional facility" because they were "too empathetic". i'd definitely call them a good person, but not the sort to break the rules at work because someone gave them puppy eyes. so..... yeah.

[@geeegaewlwlwll9328]

i think its very sweet that when basira asks about jon's assistant the first one to come to his mind is martin, whom he previously considered unhelpful, and not sasha or tim

[@thestarprince]

“No the hot one” **john exe is confused**

[@thestranger4894]

I knew Montauk was gonna die because his death was the reason Father’s Love was recorded, but seeing his sacrifice being in vain kinda hurt a bit despite him being a monster. I hope his daughter is alright at least

[@GarethOfByzantium]

She’s appeared since.

[@ryantoth676]

Oof

[@jakebrill5990]

Montauk is probably my favorite character that we never hear from on a personal scale. All my other favorite characters we've gotten statements.

[@loki1456]

I wish we had gotten a statement from both him and Agnes Montague, but alas.

[@maf3813]

i only remembered who robert montauk was at the crying scene and then i got retroactive tears in my eyes at his conversations with his daughter hhhh

[@fays.p.5663]

Press f to pay respects for Robert

[@dendakrmelova1201]

f

[@screams6157]

F

[@screams6157]

F

[@elliotli]

F

[@namaschu9418]

F

[@trs16]

“The hot one”

[@amalaspina]

This is my 3rd full listen of TMA but the first time listening on KZbin and i have to say, i love see all the theories and ships of first time listeners, glad the fandom isnt just alive but growing. Cant wait for the new episodes.

[@albuseisenhorn3385]

I picture Basira as an absolute unit with MMA fighter vibes with long dark hair

[@loki1456]

Oooh, I've never had a fixed image in my head for Basira because I've seen so many beautiful fanart interpretations of her, but I really like your interpretation.

[@hamburgerdog25]

I used to picture her pretty built, probably in the ballpark of 5'8-6', and with short hair and brown skin. But the rest of the fanbase has brought to my attention another aspect of her character design is that it could be that she wears a hijab or something akin to that, I think the main clue being that her name is Hussain. So I'm following that headcannon now

[@darwi_briste4624]

Anyone notice that Jon's first inclination is to say "Martin" to Basira's query? Yeah, keep note of that, it'll come in handy later....

[@icantaffordlife]

Explain please

[@dewopper]

​@@icantaffordlife🏳️‍🌈

[@icantaffordlife]

@@dewopper thank you for bringing me back

[@sophiemcswag]

I LIVE IN WAKEFIELD AND THE PRISON IS LITERALLY ROUND THE CORNER FROM MY HOUSE UHHHHHHHH NO THANK YOU MY GOOD FRIEND

[@loveroofreemusic]

ROBERT MONTAUK IS THE DAD FROM FATHERS LOVE RIGHT? edit, yes, yes he is it boggles my mind how long it took me to realize. i love the little connections!!

[@hexedsandwich8261]

Does john have two recorders going ? Or is it just like the convenient listening of the viewer, or the supplemental recorder? Either way love the bit with him and Basira XD

[@Companion92]

I think he has two recorders running. A official one and a hidden one

[@trucetruce335]

His work one and his Supplement one

[@nialls.9939]

the second one i think belonged to martin or sasha

[@trucetruce335]

Hexed Sandwich haha.... ha...

[@scuzmunkie]

As soon as I heard that the serial killer had killed 40 people… *gasp* a father’s love 😳

[@f_mva]

confirmation that montauk wasn't just killing people for the sake of it...

[@Hero_DZN]

TIMOTHY STOKER IS CANONICALLY HOT, AN AMAZING DAY FOR THE TIM KINNIE COMMUNITY

[@linkguist6861]

This episode implies there are 2 copies of each tape. The one for the archive(the click and pause sound before, pausing the initial archive tape) and the one we are listening to right now(the one that captured barisa and jon's conversation along with the supplemental)

[@ann-margretparke9525]

Yes. He puts secret squirrel stuff at the end of the second tape.

[@alessiapalma8823]

Yes he mentioned it some episodes ago

[@jasonschuler2256]

This was mentioned in the first episode of this season. Jon told Martin he lost his second tape recorder but secretly kept it to record his “investigations” that he obviously doesn’t want the other Archive staff listening to.

[@petraivan6778]

ARCHIVIST Statement of Philip Brown, regarding his time working at HMP Wakefield between 1990 and 2002. Original statement given April 9, 2004. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, head archivist of the Magnus Institute, London. Statement begins. ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT) How much do you know about the prison service? Not much, I’d bet. Maybe you’ve seen a few prison movies, think you know a bit about how it is in there. You’ve got to keep face and watch your back, right? After all, you never know who’s got a shiv with your name on it. Well for a start, you’re probably thinking of American movies about American prisons, and I can’t speak to that. Maybe it is non-stop gang warfare over there. But in my experience, the biggest danger in a prison is and always will be boredom. I say that like it’s some glib observation, but we work hard to keep it as boring as possible. The first hint of violence among the inmates gets smacked down. I worked as a prison officer in Her Majesty’s Prison Wakefield, or “The Monster Mansion”, as the press insists on calling it. It houses the real scum of this country. Class-A dangers, the lot of them, and it was always a point of pride to me that we kept that place quiet. I mean, I say it like I had any real power, but I was just a grunt keeping an eye on a cage full of wild animals. I won’t even pretend I was proportional in my use of force. I mean, prison inspector would have been over that with me already, but the sort of things you have to have done to end up in Wakefield - well. Let’s just say the suicide attempts far outnumbered the murder attempts. And I never lost any sleep over that fact. Not at any of the inmates, I made sure of that. After lockup at 7:00 p.m. sharp I made a point of keeping my wing dark and quiet. It helped that they were single cells of course, no worries about conversational violence between cellmates. But even then, I was careful to make it very clear that drawing my attention after lights-out was something they would regret. I’ll admit, I was a real bastard when I worked there. Sometimes you need a bastard to keep an eye on the monsters. And back then I really thought that the murderous filth we were looking after were the closest thing this world had to real monsters. I was wrong, of course. I’d been working there for almost five years when Robert Montauk came to us. Now don’t get me wrong, we’ve had plenty of celebrity criminals passed through Wakefield over the years, but I can’t say it didn’t give me a slight chill to know that we were going to be keeping watch over the most prolific British serial killer of all time. I mean, he killed 40 people, that’s a ridiculous number. I mean, maybe not in America where you have so many places to hide, but his nearest competition in this country barely reached half that, and he used to be a policeman. All told, you have the ingredients for a cocktail of posturing unrest and violence among certain quarters of the inmates. He wouldn’t normally have gone to Wakefield as his crimes had no sexual element to them, but we were the only ones that had space for a prisoner needing that level of security and scrutiny. He was a big guy. I wasn’t expecting that, to be honest. Usually with that kind of prisoner they’ve got her “you’d never know to look at them” sort of feeling, but Montauk looked like a killer. He must have been almost six foot six and built like a barge. His dark hair was cropped close to his scalp showing off a flat angular face. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the man was terrifying. When he entered the rec room for the first time, I could almost hear the deflating egos as a dozen would-be hoodlums thought better of trying to make a reputation by standing up to Robert Montauk. Of course there’s always one and in this case it was Ivan Ilich, an aspiring Serbian gangster who decided to go after him, jumping him from the side. Me and the other wardens had been waiting for something like this, but we were too slow to get there in time. Well, maybe we could have gone faster, but 40 murders… sometimes you want to look at what you’re up against. Ilich was not a small man and nearly matched Montauk in height if not in weight, but there was an energy to Montauk - a tightness like a rubber band about to snap. Ilich leapt forward with a shout and delivered a solid punch right into the other man’s kidneys, but it was as though he’d hit the pressure pad on a bear trap. With terrifying speed the hands snapped round, gripping the Serbian’s right arm. There was a half moment of complete silence as everyone seemed to be holding their breath to see what Robert Montauk did next. He brought his hands around with a violent twist, cleanly dislocating his assailants arm with a nasty pop, replacing the silence with a scream and a string of Slavic curse words. At this point me and the other screws broke it up. I got the unenviable task of taking the still-cursing Ivan Ilich own to get his arm treated. I didn’t see Montauk again for some time. After that little incident he was immediately transferred over to F-block where he wasn’t going to be a danger to anyone but himself. I’d occasionally hear rumors about him filtering through the other inmates, and there wasn’t a spooky story in Wakefield that didn’t have him at the center of it. Barely a week went by without some loudmouth nobody spreading word that he’d killed the guard or escaped, or been found dead in his cell with his heart ripped out. It was never true of course. Not at that point. I think most of it came from Dave Harrington on F-wing. He always loved to drop the fake gossip on new inmates and the old hands knew not to trust a word he said. It was 1998 when - [DOOR OPENS] ARCHIVIST Hello? BASIRA Hey, I just wanted to- ARCHIVIST Oh, hold on. [CLICK]

[@petraivan6778]

[CLICK] ARCHIVIST Sorry, can’t be too careful. Accidentally mentioned you won one of my earlier official recordings, and had to go back over it. BASIRA Oh, sure. I’ve got another tape for you. ARCHIVIST Fantastic. Here’s the other one. BASIRA Was there anything on it? ARCHIVIST Oh, very much so. A Russian circus that - oh. But, uh, nothing relevant to Gertrude’s murder if that’s what you mean. BASIRA That is what I mean. ARCHIVIST Right. Sorry. Have you had a chance to listen to any of them yourself? BASIRA Well the precincts has exactly one tape player, and it exploded when I tried to put batteries in it. Put in a requisition for a new one, but that’s lost somewhere in the Met, and I haven’t had a chance to chase it up, so no. ARCHIVIST Well, if you keep bringing them to me - BASIRA It’s better than nothing, yeah. Anyway, I thought you could try this one next. ARCHIVIST Alexandria? BASIRA Hey, at least this one actually has a label. I figured you’re probably into old libraries and stuff - ARCHIVIST No, you’re right. Thank you, Basira. Honest. BASIRA Yeah. Oh, what’s the name of that helper of yours? ARCHIVIST Uh, Martin. BASIRA No, no, the hot one. He has scars like you but kind of manages to pull them off - ARCHIVIST Yes, Tim. BASIRA Yeah, what’s his deal? He gave me the weirdest grin when I came in just now and like… the thumbs up? ARCHIVIST I… I wouldn’t worry about it. BASIRA No? ARCHIVIST [sigh] …he thinks we’re sort of… together? BASIRA Oh - Oh. Oh no. You know I’m no - ARCHIVIST Yeah I know, me neither, he just got it in his head - BASIRA - I mean you’re nice and all - ARCHIVIST - yes - yes, no, I feel the same way. BASIRA Right. I mean, I suppose it’s better he think that? ARCHIVIST [sigh] I won’t tell if you want. BASIRA Right. I’m… gonna go then. ARCHIVIST Yes. Yes. [DOOR SHUTS] Right. [CLEARS THROAT] Statement resumes. ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT) It was in 1998 that I next came into regular contact with Robert Montauk. The government had commissioned the construction of close supervision centers in prisons all over the country, and Wakefield was one of the flagship initiatives. A good portion of F-wing was given over to our own CSC, soon to be known as the exceptional risk unit. It could only hold eight prisoners but they were to be the worst of the worst, kept under constant scrutiny and given no chance to harm anyone. I was picked to be one of the officers transferred into the new unit. I don’t know if it was specifically because I had more inmate altercations on my record than any other prison officer at Wakefield, but given the intensity of the setup I’m sure it didn’t hurt my application. Robert Montauk was an obvious choice for the exceptional risk unit. During his time in Wakefield he had been involved in several further violent incidents, and though he hadn’t yet killed anyone inside the prison, the higher-ups reckoned it was only a matter of time so in he went. The CSC was not a nice place. Wakefield had had the budget to make it secure, but not to make it anything less than starkly utilitarian. The individual cells were cramped and claustrophobic, with almost no natural light filtering in from the outside. Oh, they still got their exercise but it was in bare metal cages. We kept them separated from each other almost as much as we kept them from the rest of the prison. You must never underestimate how violent and desperate a trapped animal can become. We were cruel to them, I’m not ashamed of that. If I were to tell you all the crimes of those monsters we kept in the EIU, you’d probably lose your lunch before I was halfway through the list. Keeping them beat down was the only way to make sure they behaved, and besides atonement is important. I’ll admit though, I always had a soft spot for Robert Montauk. He never gave us any trouble. Away from the other prisoners he seemed too docile, almost eerily so sometimes. Also - and it’s a small thing - but he never denied his crimes. Wakefield is one of those prisons where everyone is innocent and it gets so dull to hear their whining protestations day after day. Anyone who fully owned their crimes always went up in my estimation.

[@petraivan6778]

I mean we still beat him down on occasion, but not as bad as the others. After a year or two I kind of started to forget who he was, you know? The mystique of being Britain’s most successful serial killer just didn’t hold up when you have someone in your power like that. You forget any respect you might have had for them. And he never gave us any trouble. In 2001 he started to get visitors, his daughter mostly. Given that she hadn’t visited before, I’d guess she just turned 18. You get that a lot. Unaccompanied visits aren’t allowed under that age and plenty of inmates have kids living with overprotective guardians who refused to take them. So I assumed she was similar. The visitor rooms in the main prison are quite nice, not so much in the exceptional risk unit. The dark, bare room like all of them, cut down the middle with a reinforced window. There were plenty of lights in there but somehow it always seemed gloomy. I was on observation for a few of their father-daughter visits. She would talk about her life like her dad wasn’t a murderer, he would lie about how it wasn’t too bad in the prison, it was all very touching I’m sure. Aside from his daughter there was only one other time that he had a visitor. It was six months before he died, late March 2002. He was an older guy, I’d guess late 50s, wearing a well-tailored black suit and an expression of disgust. When I brought Montauk, in his face fell and he went very pale. I’d help folks beat Robert Montauk a dozen times or more but I had never seen him look scared. He sat down opposite the old man and they looked each other in the eye through the thick glass. I think the visitor might have been blind. His eyes were cloudy but he had no cane or dog, and it didn’t seem to affect how he looked at Montauk. Neither of them spoke. The seconds turned into minutes and still they didn’t say a word. They just sat there, staring. Given where I work, it’s really something to be able to say that I’ve never seen two people who hated each other as much as Robert Montauk and that old man. After a few minutes I was all but ready to drag him out but as I stepped forward the lights blew, all of them at once, leaving us in the dark. I had Pete Gordo, the warden with me on visitor duty, fumbling for the handle on the door to get help or torches. I was tense, ready to fight off Montauk if he decided to make a move, but instead a soft voice came from out of the darkness. I didn’t recognize it but I thought it sounded like it came from the old man. I don’t think he was talking to me. “You didn’t think you could kill it for long, did you?” That’s what it said. Then Pete got the door open and a shaft of light poured in from the corridor. I could once again see Montauk and the old man, sat there, motionless. It didn’t seem like they’d moved an inch. Though as I went to take Montauk back to his cell I noticed that he was crying. I didn’t mention it. I’ll be honest, I was kind of freaked out by the whole thing. The next few months were quiet. Montauk seemed even more subdued than normal and often had to be goaded into exercising during his allotted time. The only point where he seemed normal was when his daughter came for her visits, and maybe that was just because he was already so used to lying to her. That was the summer we had all the plumbing problems in the ERU, and the water kept going foul, so we were all kind of on edge. But nothing really happened until it turned to autumn and November rolled around. It was November the 1st. I remember because the date was read out so many damn times at the assorted disciplinaries that followed. The worst part of it is, I wasn’t even doing anything wrong that day. I was working the late shift with Pete and we were having coffee in the break room. At least, I was having coffee. Pete was swearing at the taps because the plumbing problem we had all had been assured was fixed was back and worse than ever. The taps were disgorging a jet of foul-smelling stagnant water. I was laughing at him sipping my own perfectly adequate drink, when all the lights went off. It was more widespread than last time though. It seemed like the electricity had gone off altogether. We stood there in the pitch-black waiting for the generator to kick in, or for whatever power problem this was to be fixed, but after a few minutes of silence and darkness it became clear that that wasn’t happening anytime soon. In the distance we could hear the prisoners of the exceptional risk unit start to shout and holler. Their cells were locked, of course, there was nothing a power cut could do about that. But it was still up to us to keep order until the lights came back. I had hoped that the other prison officers on shift would have come by to pick us up, but they were clearly busy elsewhere. I called out to Pete, making sure he was still nearby as I fumbled in the locker for my torch. I finally found it and turned it on. The beam was so bright in the oppressive darkness that I had to blink away tears. Using the light from mine, Pete found his own flashlight and together we headed out into the CSC. We checked each cell in turn, lying to the prisoners inside about when the power would be back and sending them back to their beds with threats of violence. I didn’t see any of the other wardens around and was starting to get really nervous. When we had checked all the other cells, we went towards Robert Montauk’s. The torch beams shot out in front of us, but as they fell upon the door to his cell, something was wrong. I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at for a second, and then I realized that his cell door was open but the torch light wasn’t reaching the inside. As it hit the threshold it just stopped, a clear and distinct line of darkness beyond which nothing could be seen. From inside there came the wet sound of tearing and a low moan of pain. I wanted to run, but instead I took a step forward. My torch died. Pete’s went off as well and we just stood there, terrified, unable to see a thing. The sounds were no longer coming from inside the cell and that didn’t really as much as it might have. About 15 feet behind me I heard Pete fumbling around, calling out my name. I was about to reply, tell him to stay where he was, when I heard something that froze my blood. Pete said, “There you are.” He was not touching me. Almost immediately there was a growl from the darkness. It was throaty in a roar, but at the same time sounded almost musical. He screamed. I heard him fall to the floor. It was at that moment that the lights came back on. We were alone.

[@petraivan6778]

I ran to do a quick circuit of the CSC that the other prison officers arrived, but there was no one else there. Apparently there’d been some problems with the doors and they hadn’t been able to get to the main ERU cells. Pete was on the ground when I returned, though he seemed physically unharmed. It was one of the other wardens that found what was left of Robert Montauk. I took the fall for it. They didn’t try to make out like I had killed him, just that it had happened on my watch and due to my negligence. They’d been trying to push me out ever since the prison inspector had written the CSC up for excessive use of force the year before. They really threw the book at me. “Gross incompetence.” It’s a bitter phrase to say out loud. What was I supposed to tell them, a monster made of darkness murdered him? Pete was no help. He handed in his notice two hours after the lights came back on. I didn’t even get a chance to speak to him asked what had happened, he was just gone. I don’t really have anything more to say about it. It was a clearly paranormal incident that led to the end of my career and it’s not fair. ARCHIVIST Statement ends. Prison records are very hard to acquire for the Close Supervision Center, due to the small number of inmates held there. Most information could be considered identifying, so the prison service tends to hide behind data protection laws when asked about them. Beyond that many of the prison records from before the mid-2000s have still not been digitized, making followup on this hard. Tim hit something of a dead end trying to look up Pete Gordo, though Sasha did manage to track down the 2002 visitor logs for the whole of Wakefield prison. It took some searching but I managed to find what I believe to be the entry for the visit from Mr. Brown’s mysterious old man. The name given is Maxwell Rainer. Martin hasn’t had much luck tracking down Mr. Brown himself. According to Caroline Brodie, his ex-wife, she left him in 2004 after his dismissal from the prison service pushed him further into alcoholism and he became abusive. She says she got a single letter from him in 2009 asking for reconciliation but she never replied. Martin says the letter was postmarked from Waterford in Ireland but he’s been unable to track Mr. Brown any further. So what is this thing if it seems to obstruct Robert Montauk through so much of his life, and what’s its connection to Rayner? Were they summoning it, containing it, worshipping it? Whatever the case it seems as though Montauk earned its anger. I feel it might be worthwhile getting a few more torches for the Archive. End recording. [CLICK] [CLICK] Supplemental. I confronted Sasha about the wax museum. It was just too strange to not mention. I tried to pass it off like I had spotted her accidentally while in the area for other reasons. I doubt she bought it, but she did at least give me an answer. She has a new boyfriend, or so she claims, who works there and she likes to get lunch with him. It is plausible, and at this stage I feel challenging her to produce said boyfriend would potentially damage what trust remains between us. No luck with any of my other leads yet, but at least I have another of Gertrude’s tapes. It’s always going to be a shot in the dark with them, but hopefully an informative one. I know the secret to her death is on one of them. It must be. I just… I hope I don’t have to hear it firsthand. End supplement. [CLICK]

[@bonniecornelius3836]

Petra Iván thankiesss

[@petraivan6778]

You're welcome :)

[@tiltedmouse1972]

52 episodes in and I'm loving it, great writing and amazing work interlinking story arcs. keep it up.

[@saramorgan4744]

Another one of Gertrude's tapes? This is definitely gonna be interesting! On a side note, Tim gives off massive himbo vibes and I love him for it

[@hermazingbartels2377]

I live for these supplementals

[@klbzplb]

tim is a national treasure and we dont deserve him

[@darinae34]

I think montauk became a killer to "kill" whatever stalked him.

[@alessiapalma8823]

He’s the father from a father’s love, hope this helps

[@RelativelyBest]

If you read between the lines a bit, it seems plausible he committed the murders (which were apparently rituals of some kind) mainly to protect his daughter. It's heavily implied that the entity killed his wife, and he didn't want to lose his daughter as well. Hence: "Father's Love."

[@phi7534]

jonathan sims is such a good voice actor that i almost forgot who he was in my absolute revulsion of this narrator.

[@ot7biasedmashups]

Straight up shitting about the whole Tim-thinking-they're-dating-situation😂😂 Also hilarious how she kind of roasted Jon about his scars lmaooo and Martin too! All the in one sentence that's a skill

[@AmazingAroAce]

for anyone whos bad with names like me, robert Montauk is the guy from 'a fathers love'

[@cheddarcheezit2647]

Me throughout this episode: ACAB ACAB ACAB- you're cool Basira- ACAB ACAB ACAB ACAB

[@GarethOfByzantium]

Prison guards aren’t cops. Basira IS.

[@Dyno2999]

Ew

[@oatagodfrey-dl4dv]

I felt the same way. Narrator guard sucked.

[@rileymichael2694]

Ivan Illich....that name sounds oddly familiar somehow. Everyone keeps talking about Robert (& admittedly I'm glad to learn what became of him) but is no one else going to comment on this man or am I going mad after listening to this podcast nonstop for the past week? lol

[@Viruks.]

As far as I can remember no. I'm pretty sure I would have remembered my fellow countrymans name, so you probably confused him with one of the Russians. But then again I was never reliable when it came to recollecting names...

[@РитаРязанова-д2й]

It was the one with gertrude and it was Ivan Utkin not Illich

[@ineedmoresalmon2475]

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a famous book, probably you recognise it from there.

[@bookfanatic8329]

@@ineedmoresalmon2475 Oh, I was starting to wonder why that name rang so many bells.

[@TransilvanianHunger1334]

Ivan was the Ukrainian kid's- Yuri- brother I think. From "Another Circus"

[@annetheelf8174]

I've gone back and started taking notes and just finished my notes for A Father's Love so I was pleasantly surprised to hear this would be about Robert Montauk since I was just thinking how I hoped we'd get more clarification on the case

[@evagrev7351]

My theory from this episode and what we know until now: Okay, so, we learn more about the death in prisom from the father of "father's love episode". Our and John's thoughts were right, the death was indeed supernatural. That strange water, the lights going out, all signs of the dark entity. Also, that visitor who's name i can't think how to write, is the one who created that church/cult of the closed eye, so dark entity and closed eye is one and the same, which makes sense. But since the father was working for the cult, that means that the people he was killing were either members of the cult who were to be made offerings (that means that anyone who becomes part of the cult might end up dead someday) or just random people who were synced with that entity for them to be made offerings or both. But, what interests me the most is how the body of the father here hadn't disappeared, his body was just left behind with stab wounds, something that can look like a human did them. Meaning a) the previous archivist's murder might be indeed by something paranormal that made it look like a human-on-human murder in order to cover its tracks and b) if the dark entity can make it look like a murder for another human being and leaves the body behind, then why was the mother from "father's love" gone? If she was dead, why wasn't her dead body left behind just like with the father? Why only her pendant was left? What was different with her? When i heard the "father's love" episode, i remember of thinking of one "criminal minds" episode where there was a cult and inside it was someone who was killing the members who wanted to quit the cult, and it reminded me of that. I mean, we already had two members of that close eye cult dead in that episode. This episode doesn't make me to eliminate that possibily yet, but it also doesn't make me believe it even more either. I guess we shall see in the future

[@Bobbin4Brownies]

As a former corrections officer, it's incredibly common attitudes like this overzealous character that got me to leave it for healthcare security instead. Lots of sadists and bastards on both sides of the bars, and "the law" or just poor luck of who got caught when, is often the only difference. It's disgusting. And from a security standpoint... not good as a violence suppression tactic either but assholes will try to justify their own behaviors and shrug contrary evidence.

[@cupcaketv5673]

I like how I was fighting sleep pretty often during this episode (just tired and it's late) but the moment they were near Robert's cell I was wide awake again; not really when the power went out but also not just when the odd cutting off with the flashlights happened, it was somewhere in between where nothing really remarkable was happening, hh

[@SirLuckySlime]

Right after listening to this episode my power went out. First it was just a few-second flicker that I thought was sort of funny and ironic, then the entire neighborhood went dark for hours... At night... I slept with my cat last night. I don't think I could've handled it otherwise 😭

[@cats-a-lot3609]

“He has scars like you but kind of manages to pull them off” “yes, uh, Tim😒,,,,”

[@SlaughterLover1]

The description of the architect of the new prison is very familiar.

[@aeronshade]

6:54 interruption time stamp

[@epiphanierosenstern5635]

Also if you read the list of the serial killer from Wikipedia the average number is around 10 so 40 it's really a lot, and generally the one close to this number are really old case were it was not possible for different reasons to catch the killer, generally because of their status

[@fiverdearnley5333]

scars??? from the worms?

[@f_mva]

yep, both tim and jon had to have lots of worms removed from under their skin, remember? big yuck

[@alexandrafall3238]

Martin used a corkscrew and I'm not sure what the medics used. Presumably a scalpel 🤷‍♀️

[@lorrainehatch4308]

Dark: light bulbs go out, old man cannot see, impenetrable darkness Slaughter: the old man mentions not killing something for long, Montauk's murder Corruption: bad water, gaurds are metaphorically corrupt

[@bookfanatic8329]

It sounded musical? Was that darkness creature the thing held within the coffin from episode 2?

[@alessiapalma8823]

Omg that’d be cool

[@roachno.24]

its so funny how jons voice gets deeper when hes trying to be professional, then immediately rises again when someone comes in or hes reading a statement

[@waltzamongdecay]

I have never heard Waterford mentioned in anything other than local news before! idk why but it makes me feel happy that it was used as a place in this

[@cantaloupegodling352]

The ultimate horror is how realistic the wardens being incredibly dehumanising and abusing prisoners for little to no reason is.

[@xx_strawberryalien_xx2353]

i legit forgot he was the killer that had a daughter, oml. ToT (episode from season one, A father's Love) though it is clear, he was trying to kill to get rid of an entity but it didn't work and now he has paid the consequence. :) Tim, you are a legend

[@poopilydoopily7784]

Why tf was i just thinking about robert montauk and a fathers love and i click on the next episode amd its about robert montauk 😭😭😭😭

[@undergnomes6248]

Every new fact about tim makes me love him even more 🤣

[@RyanGButler]

Tim is the office himbo confirmed

[@TIGGYQUE]

I love Basira... I hope... Either she gets more role and doesn't die, or fades back to her life and also doesn't die

[@Nizati]

Honestly kinda a sad way to go.... This poor guy was way too deep. In prison. Knew it was a matter of time and had no help. Yet he still kept a brave front for his daughter. He was the best father he possibly could be, given the circumstances. Also..... does this mean that he was just the cleanup guy for this nasty darkness-monster and he didn't really kill anyone???? Is that what we're getting here? And that last thing he did in that shed somehow temporarily killed it?? If so, he's a friggen hero.

[@midnights2631]

Tim is now my favorite character, I would do the same in his shoes.

[@birchbarks550]

"He has scars like you but kinda manages to pull it off" BFAHBFBG MY GOD

[@marhunt8192]

I was literally on an F unit and it's so strange to hear him say it

[@AmyOhHenry225]

Wait, so you mean to tell me that the guy who found pleasure in being unnecessarily violent and abusive towards the people he was supposed to be supervising was actually abusive to his wife as well?? I'd never had guessed it

[@seerai-42]

Weirdest thing is somehow i completely forgot the whole of episode 9, and when i checked back it said it had been watched and i remember the other first 10 episodes fine… incredibly strange

[@savamihajlovic1445]

OMG MY COUNTRY IS MENTIONED!! WOOO

[@l.raphaelnery7299]

More lights for the archive....good call

[@levchenkodarya]

Basira: No, the hot one. Me: Sasha?

[@hamburgerdog25]

*cries

[@flynland7366]

Spoilers (I guess) Robert Monteur very fast and strong, - older guy with black suit - he is scared of the old man (blind? ) 2002/ hate - you didn't think you could kill it for long, (light flicker) - fouling water smell - line of darkness, strange sounds - somebody is there monster of darkness ? Maxwell Rainer? Alcoholism?

[@lunasolem0]

So the thing associated with the Host Church is killable by stabbing hearts... only for a while. Damn. His daughter was safe after all years, so maybe Montauk somehow found a way to protect her by giving his life? Also, is it a really coincidence there was a Rayner in Piper episode? Interesting

[@somnia268]

help the way i have a crush on basira

[@LyneSoco]

basira is so real i love her

[@mistydevillier2197]

Just wait!

[@tokyocrossgard5538]

i love how Tim is the cause of this awkwardness, He just thought they were dating and he was dead wrong XD

[@levchenkodarya]

Wait... Are these clicking sounds were Jon turning off the recorder? Does this mean that we have an eavesdroping recorder to deal with as well now?

[@TheNaldiin]

In the Magnus Institute tape recorders just happen.

[@AnanasVert]

I see everyone with the hot one meanwhile i need to know who tf the prophetic gossip inmate is??? Dave harrington said he escaped, killed a guard and got his heart ripped out and got it down to a T (cell door opened, guard colleague dead, heart indeed ripped out). Who is he?

[@rebeccaleavitt5236]

In fairness to Jon the NotPerson replacing someone who has always been into paranormal means you take the place of someone others are used to having oddities and fixated obessions from time to time. My family dismisses a lot of weird talk from me. Because i read a lot of strage books and listen to audio shows like this.

[@frogonthebikeheh]

21:04 It is... ✨ *plausible* ✨

[@Catglittercrafts]

Robert is a hero.

[@elspeth6244]

The Dark and Caroline Brodie...it’s a bit of a stretch but I wonder if she’s possibly related to Callum Brodie?

[@TheNitpickChick]

Ooo! Maybe! Good catch! 😃

[@loki1456]

Oooh, I didn't think of that!

[@brendancarney1388]

Plumbing problem? You wouldn't say the water was brackish, would you?