With the arrival of fall, it’s time to start indulging in some spooky stories. I’m personally not a big fan of scary movies, but I love the thrill of a good piece of horror fiction. So this week, I decided to check out “The Magnus Protocol,” a horror anthology available in the form of a podcast.
The show is available on most platforms, including YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. It is produced by the United Kingdom-based company Rusty Quill, and the show was created by the company’s CEO Alexander J Newall in conjunction with writer and voice actor Jonathan Sims. A majority of the podcast’s episodes are written by Newall or Sims, though occasionally other writers contribute.
The show’s first episode was released on Jan. 18, 2024, and after 30 weekly episodes, the first season has concluded as of Sept. 12.
Episodes run for approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Each follows a similar format, wherein a short piece of horror fiction is read aloud in-universe alongside the reactions from a recurring cast of characters.
The stories read during each of the episodes are self-contained but follow an overarching story that sees the main character, Samama Khalid (played by Shahan Hamza) beginning a new job at a government firm called the Office of Incident Assessment and Response.
Each night, Khalid and his coworkers read and categorize cases or “incidents” presented by their computer system, though occasionally the computer inexplicably begins to read one aloud in one of three voices. The incidents have a tendency to detail tragedies, often grotesque and possibly supernatural in nature.
Alice Dyer and Gwendolyn Bouchard, the two characters with which Khalid works most closely, seem to be unbothered by the disturbing nature of the incidents, but he can’t seem to shake the fact that some of them might be true, and he’s left wondering what that means for the world.
When the Office of Incident Assessment and Response hires another new employee, Celia Ripley, she and Khalid begin to investigate the incidents and uncover a connection between many of them and a place called the Magnus Institute, which had been completely destroyed in 1999 but was known for being rather mysterious.
As the mystery unfolds, the technology in the office starts to react in an almost human way, with computers turning on by themselves and seemingly aiding the investigation in ways that leave the characters wondering what’s really going on around them.
“The Magnus Protocol” serves as a sequel to “The Magnus Archives,” another podcast produced by Sims, Newall and the rest of the team at Rusty Quill. It featured the same concept of a slowly expanding plot centered around an anthology of horror stories, but “The Magnus Protocol” still manages to add fresh ideas in the form of a variety of formats and writing styles for the incidents, as well as new but no less captivating characters.
While you don’t have to listen to “The Magnus Archives” before entering the world of “The Magnus Protocol,” the original series does give some context for its sequel. Without spoiling too much, “The Magnus Protocol” takes place in an alternate universe to its predecessor, with cameos from the cast of “The Magnus Archives.”
As a warning, “The Magnus Protocol” does feature frequent graphic and gory descriptions, often in the vein of body horror. It also tends to play on fears that may be extreme for some people. However, the description of each episode features a complete list of content warnings, as well as a link to a transcript where you can familiarize yourself with any potentially difficult subjects before listening.
Overall, “The Magnus Protocol” is a very engaging podcast. I even got chills from a few of the episodes, and I have become incredibly invested in the mystery of the overarching plot and the fates that each of the characters may face. Plus, the series includes a lot of naturally implemented representation for the LGBTQIA+ community, which I find very uplifting. Personally, I’d rate it five stars and recommend it for any fan of horror!
