echoesoftheeldritch

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Happy Halloween!

We recently got a 'Trick or Treat' ask, unfortunately I can not reply to it, but here is your treat random citizen,

A statement.

Tw for paranoia and death :)

NATHAN

Statement of Susan Frost, regarding a summer job. Original statement given September 5th, 2018. Audio recording by Nathan Beckett, Head Archivist of the [static] Institute, London.

NATHAN (STATEMENT)

Right, so I had this job. Lifeguard. I know, can you get any more stereotypical for a summer job? But it paid decently, and I thought hey, if I had to work all summer at least I'd get free access to the pool.

The training was fine. I mean, it was stressful but not anything out of the ordinary. We learned how to do CPR and how to get people out of the water safely, all the things you’d expect. The first week rolled around and all the lifeguards settled into the routine. Being a lifeguard is about 75% just staring at the water. The other 25% is not saving people, it's cleaning up the locker rooms or checking the chemicals or telling people they can't smoke on pool grounds. It's only 1% of the time you actually have to get into the water to help somebody.

So, yeah by the end of the first week any mystery or magic was gone.

At the start of the summer everyone wanted a ton of hours, myself included. We all quickly learned that the opening shift was a snooze fest. Closing shift wasn't much better. There were always two or three people who would drag their feet and pretend not to understand that we were closing.

Technically, we all worked for the city, but I was stationed out at East End Park. It was small and pretty far out there. We had enough people to keep it open, but every other pool in the city was more popular and better equipped than ours. Plus, we were an outdoor pool which meant it was a little too hot, or a little too cold, and if the stars weren't in the right position, the boiler would shut off overnight. The job sucked. Half the time you were sitting there absolutely baking in the sun because there wasn't a single bit of shade. The other half, you were practically frozen. I cannot count the number of times I opened the pool and had to fish some piece of trash out of the water. And that's not even getting into the bugs or the animals that would try to climb the fence.

It still wouldn't have been that bad of a job but, well...

It was the middle of June when things went off. I was on the opening shift, getting up at 5 AM so the retirees could be in the pool at six. There's technically two pools at East End; the lap pool, and the leisure pool. But the leisure pool wasn't opened until 10, maybe for budgeting or something, whatever the reason it meant that only two Lifeguards needed to be present before 9:45.

So, there I was, half-asleep, walking back and forth so I didn't start shivering when this woman came out of the locker rooms. There were maybe two other people in the water. Both of them regulars, and older, and I knew they could swim, so I started watching this new woman.

She wasn't exactly attractive. Even that early in the summer I'd seen plenty of people in swimming suits. It loses the lure fast. I remember she had a swimming cap, and goggles with tinted lenses. Her swimsuit was a black one-piece, more sporty than fashionable. She started doing laps, and she had pretty good form so I figured there wouldn't be any problems.

Then I saw her tattoo.

There were a pair of photorealistic eyes tattooed onto the back of her neck. I think maybe it was supposed to be a joke, or a play on words. I never actually got the chance to ask. I was working, and she was in the water. She was doing the breaststroke, head barely lifting enough to breathe, barely even causing a ripple in the water. And with every lap, every stroke, those eyes looked at me from the back of her neck.

I never saw her eyes. I don't know if she was actually part of it or if I just started noticing it after that. Maybe I just made it up after the fact, but... I don't know... It felt like there was a key in a lock, and after that it had been turned.

Like I said, most of lifeguarding is watching, and it's the watching that people expect. You don't talk to people; you don't have to be friendly. You need to be an authority figure. When I was guarding it was my pool, my zone, my swimmers.

I started taking extra shifts. I said I needed the money, and I did, but not that much, you know? Anyway, it was the middle of summer at that point. A ton of people took a week off in July and someone needed to cover for them. And there I was, willing to take any shift and always on time and never complained…

I knew the regulars by that point. The old women with flabby arms, who bobbed along during the water aerobics class. The old men with their receding hairlines who came and sat in the hot tub as if they were pretending to be Russian mafia.

There was one person, a young woman, maybe 13 or 14. Dark hair that had been buzzed short. She would always bounce around in the water, splashing like she was four years old and had just discovered bath toys. She wore this smile, and I could tell there wasn't a single thought behind her eyes.

There was a retired man, probably military. He had a white scar across one shoulder and onto his back. It took me a while to notice it. I noticed his bad form first. He'd show up in the mornings, dedicated to the routine, but that arm always swung wide, breaking the pattern.

Teenagers would show up sometimes. There was this pair of boys who showed up on one of our down days. We couldn't open the leisure pool because of a chemical imbalance, but they decided to swim anyway. They shared one lane and fooled around for a few minutes. One of them joked about pants-ing the other one. Then they tried to do a lap.

You can tell when someone doesn't know how to swim, or even if they do and just haven't done it in a while. I remember standing over those two and thinking that I was so much better than them. How I could see all the flaws in their strokes. How they kept needing to stop and push off the wall or the bottom if they were on the shallow end.

As a lifeguard it was my responsibility to watch them. They were the ones with the highest chance of drowning and there were only three other people in the pool. They would have gotten a fifth of my attention even if I hadn't singled them out.

Eventually I had a talk with my manager. I was bumping up against 35 hours a week and they wanted to warn me I couldn't go over 39 because I was a part timer, and they appreciated the hard work but what hours did I want to focus on, and didn't I want to enjoy my summer?

It felt like an attack, but I knew he could cut off my access to the pool, so I nodded along and agreed. And in the back of my mind I started thinking about ways to stay at the pool, when I wasn't on shift.

I was already working mornings, so I stuck around. I just didn't change out of my uniform. I walked around the deck, and looked at the water and did little things, like put away kick boards. It wasn't as good as actual guarding.

There was this corner, around one side of the building. You couldn't really see it from the office, so people sometimes went over there if they wanted to sneak a cigarette. It was a problem early in the summer. It stopped being a problem when I started standing there after my shift. I did nothing, I just stood there, in uniform, and looked out at the water. But that wasn't as good either. It was too far from the pool, and I couldn't see past the slide.

Then things changed again at the end of July. Our manager went on maternity leave and a manager from another pool took over. They were young and didn't know half the systems and the other half they knew from a different pool. Between that and the gaps in the schedule, I could get around them easier.

By that point I was showing up for the morning shift even when I wasn't scheduled. Then I'd rotate in halfway through the middle shift so someone else could get lunch and when the late shift came on, I'd clean until we needed to change the lane lines. Changing the lane lines was a lot easier with another person, but it always happened right when someone needed to rotate, so I stepped in and let the other person get back to their phone.

I had quiet conversations in ones and twos with the other guards. They all thought that I was dealing with something at home and that it was easier for me to be at the pool. Nothing serious, nothing that would get the cops or social services involved, just a fight with my parents or my sister constantly bringing her boyfriend over or my brother using the garage to practise with his band and causing a racket.

I don't have any siblings.

Then I figured out the swap system with the log-in machine.

We had this machine that we used to log in and out. It was old and clunky as hell. We each got a code and had to type it in when we got there and then again when we left. Giving out your code wasn't something anyone did because then they could pull pranks and log you out in the middle of your shift and no one would know until payday. But there were a bunch of manager codes, and one day our new junior manager left the manual out.

One code in particular, was for if you put in the wrong code. It reassigned logged hours to a different user. So I quietly let it be known that if I wasn't on the schedule, I'd take someone else's shift and then reassign it to them. It worked best for morning and middle shifts since the other lifeguard could put in their code without actually telling me, but a few lazy guys who normally pulled the evening shift flat out texted me their codes so I could swap with them.

Just like that I was working every shift, basically every day. I had to be careful. I had to work around the manager and still do all the other stuff like checking the chemicals and cleaning the changing rooms, but I got to watch the water. That was what mattered to me.

Looking back, I know it sounds like a lot. Working from 5am to 7pm basically 7 days a week. I shouldn’t have been able to keep that up, even as a teenager, and somebody should have definitely been fired. The Thing is, I needed it.

You’re probably thinking I was on drugs.. It might make sense if I was on something.

I wasn’t.

The guarding itself was my drug. It didn’t matter if there were 50 people in the pool or four. It didn’t matter if they were old or young, if they knew how to swim, or had to hang onto the sides. All that mattered was that I could watch them, all their imperfections and bad habits, the moles and bug bites and overlapping tan lines. Seeing them, cataloguing them, it was meat and drink to me. I still ate, I carried my water bottle everywhere, but that was part of the disguise. A way to keep everyone else content and not asking questions, stopping me from doing what I needed to do.

When I wasn’t guarding I was asleep, or on my way to or from the pool. That’s all there was. I know I must have talked to my parents, told them something, but I don’t have the faintest memory of it.

I think it would have kept going like that, at least until the end of the season, but I beat the odds before that happened.

That’s not quite the saying. The lifeguards used to say ‘we beat the odds’ when they went a full week with no one needing to be rescued. But that isn’t how I use it.

It was morning, and it was a cold one. It felt like fall. Mist or steam hovering a foot off the water. Streetlights casting hatch mark shadows through the chain-link fence.

My partner that morning was Doug Therman. He met my eye as we clocked in.

He asked to trade. I nodded; it wasn’t even a question for me.

What he meant was did I want to be the active guard for him doing the opening checklist. Regulations say you need to rotate guards out at least every half hour, preferably every 15 minutes if there are enough people. With our agreement I’d be out there on my own until nine when a manager showed up. The pool opened at 5:30.

So I headed out and Doug did whatever he was going to do. A pair of regulars showed up. They talked about how brisk it was and got down to it. I settled in. It was like I could breathe again. It felt like that every morning, like I wasn't really there until I had my guard tube in my hands, standing over the water.

The guy showed up maybe an hour later. Still early enough that it was cold. Early enough that only the really dedicated swimmers would come to the pool, and our normal crowd had already come and gone. I was watching empty water. It wasn't as satisfying as watching when somebody was in the pool, but I wasn't about to go into the garden room even if it was technically allowed.

This guy was average in a lot of ways, Middle-aged, going bald, slightly overweight. My eyes landed on him as soon as he came out of the locker room. He had a towel around his neck and was picking at the end, twisting the fibres. His eyes kept darting around, nervous little twitches like a rabbit that smelled a fox nearby. His eyes landed on me for a moment, before sliding away again. I was something he expected. Something in me was pleased with that. That he hadn't recognized what I was, the threat I posed.

He took his time getting into the water. First, he found a little cubby for his towel, hesitating over where exactly to put it down. He went through our small collection of kick boards that hadn't been damaged or stolen yet that summer. Eventually he picks one, glancing around as if someone would reprimand him for it. He eased into the lap pool slowly, one step at a time, the kickboard hugged against his chest, other hand white knuckled on the guardrail.

He settled a bit when he was finally in the water. The man took a breath, did some stretches, then with one last look around he kicked off the wall. He wasn't a great swimmer, but he wasn't the worst I'd seen either. Unlike some people he didn't push for speed right away. A part of me was content to watch, but there was something else… something about this guy, this stranger made me want to push.

Part of what they teach lifeguards is to change position every five minutes. If you've been sitting down, then stand up. If you are standing up, stroll back and forth.

Another thing they teach you is to close the distance between you and someone who is at high risk as long as it doesn't block you from part of your area.

I started to pace. It wasn't hard to walk at the same speed the guy was swimming. I matched him, one end of the pool to the other, eyes always on him. He didn't notice immediately, but when he did, it was obvious. He got twitchy, well, more twitchy. When he got to the end of his lap he fidgeted, adjusting his swim cap and obviously not looking at me while trying to see what I was doing.

On another day I would've played it off. I would've kept walking, broken the pattern between us. Maybe stretch out a bit or drink some water, something to make it seem like it was just a coincidence. But on that morning I kept watching, eyes fixed on him from behind dark sunglasses.

I needed to see what would happen next.

I was looking right at him when the heart attack started. I assume it was a heart attack. That's what the EMT said later. It felt like more than that, but I'm not the one who died.

He died, and I watched it happen. I saw him go pale, and shaking as it came up to touch his chest. I saw him clutch at the wall, knees giving out as he slid sideways into the water. I saw him try to stand up, coughing and sputtering. His eyes were fixed on me as he splashed about. He was only 5 feet from the stairs, but you can drown in any depth.

I just stood there and watched until the bubbles stopped coming. Then I strolled around the pool. Entering the water felt like a baptism. I pulled the body up onto the stairs and checked his pulse. I couldn't find one. Only then did I blow my whistle. I was floating, but there was still a part of me that knew there would be consequences.

Doug had been napping. He woke up quickly when he saw I was half in the water with an unconscious patron. To his credit, he did exactly what we had been trained to do, robbing the emergency phone off the wall and dialling 999 even as he stumbled over to me. I told him what CPR cycle I was on while he put on his gloves. Six minutes later EMTs arrived. They took over, but we all knew he wouldn’t be revived.

The pool was closed for the rest of the day, but for once I barely noticed.

There was a lot of talk after that. Rescue reports and assessments to make sure everyone had done their job. Doug never admitted that he had been napping, but somewhere in the middle of things, it came out that I had been working extra hours. Someone higher up decided it was fatigue and stress and I was let go so I could focus on myself for a while.

I told you before that I don't do drugs, but everything I've read suggests that those last weeks of the summer were just as bad as any withdrawal. The back of my neck ached, shooting pain into my temples. I couldn’t sleep. Sometimes I would get a glass of water, only to find myself staring into it minutes or hours later.

I tried to go back to the pool once. They wouldn’t let me in. The junior manager, who had let everything slip by him got all red in the face. I thought he was probably angry, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes. There were other pools, of course, but I knew swimming wouldn’t make me feel right, and anyway, they were halfway across town.

My parents were concerned, but still busy, so it was decided that I would go to my aunt May’s for the final week before Labor Day. She lived three hours away, on 10 acres of land in a ranch-style house that had been built the previous century. The county would be good after my “trauma”. I didn’t protest. At that point I didn’t care.

I tried to put it behind me, but it was difficult.

Then, a week ago the summer retrospective went around. There’s always a bunch of pictures, and this time there was one of me. It was from the back, not obvious or anything, but I could tell, and there, half hidden by my hair was a tattoo. The outline of a pair of eyes, staring right at the camera.

I haven't checked the back of my neck. I don't want to know what I'll find.

NATHAN

Statement ends.

Ms Frost included a photo of the news document, and there does appear to be a pair of eyes tattooed to the back of her neck. The man, Henry Porter, did die in a leisure centre on July 18th, cause of death labelled a heart attack. We could not identify the women with the eye tattoos and any possible follow up on this statement has led to a dead end. There was just not enough information.

Recording ends.

Hope you enjoyed!

- Mod Nico

[echoesoftheeldritch]

It's dark down here, isn't it?

You can't really breathe as the soil is pressing down on your lungs.

Maybe you'd like to tell us a story to distract yourself from the air running out?

Echoes of the Eldritch is a Magnus Archives fan podcast that takes place in one of the worlds that the fears got sent to. It follows a brand new archival crew as they learn to live in their frighteningly changed universe.

And we are looking for creative people to help us making it a reality! You do not need experience, we would love to have you!

We are currently looking for:

- script/plot writers (application deadline 15. November)

- statement writers

- artists

- voice actors (for a few remaining roles)

- audio editors

Interested? Then find out more on this blog, or by joining the discord, where you can also send in your application!

Now... Listen to my voice, breathe in one last time, and don't mind the earth pressing further down.

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Hear that snarling behind you?

The shifting of the leafs as something comes ever closer?

You better run! RUN! FASTER!

It should be shaken off now, I think.

Take a load off. Sit at the fire. Tell us a story.

Echoes of the Eldritch is a Magnus Archives fan podcast that tells the story of a new archival crew in one of the worlds that the fears got sent to, as they learn to deal with their new frightening universe.

We are currently looking for plot and script writers!

Until 15. November you can send us your TMA-style statement (of 2500 words or more) via our discord server!

Additionally we are looking for:

- statement writers

- artists

- audio editors

- voice actors (for a few remaining parts)

These openings will not close in the near future and you don't need any experience to apply, we would love to have you!

For more info, and to send an application, join our discord!

You can also ask questions and find more information right on this blog!

Now, keep running! If they haven't caught you yet, maybe you can catch them!

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Hi! I’d like to apply to become an editor, but I want to hear about the requirements for the position first. Should I stay here or join the Discord?

Hello!

Anyone can feel absolutely free to join the discord server, even if they're not sure about joining the project yet!

But I can also already tell you the requirements for editors:

a working computer/laptop

an editing program (Audacity is free and fantastic!)

a willingness to spend some time editing with us

Experience is wonderful, but as the resident editing mod, I'm also always happy to teach people! So even if you know nothing, but are willing to learn, feel free to join, and we'll have a chat about it!

- Mod Finn

[echoesoftheeldritch]

CEASELESS WATCHER, TURN YOUR GAZE UPON THIS WRETCHED THING!

Do you see it?

It's a Magnus Archives fan podcast currently in pre-production!

Echoes of the Eldritch follows a new crew of archival workers in one of the worlds that the fears got released into, as they learn to deal with their changed universe.

We are currently looking for:

- writers

- artists

- voice actors

- editors

And if you're a writer, you have the special opportunity to apply to be a script and plot writer, until the 15th November!

To apply, join our discord!

If you have any questions, you can find out more on this blog, or send us an ask!

We would love to have you!

And don't forget: If you see something, say nothing and live with the knowledge that someone is always around the corner, seeing you right back.

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Come on, give us a smile!

Otherwise, what did we construct your face for?

We gave you a couple extra teeth just to make sure its a nice smile!

Or maybe you'd rather tell us a story?

That is a popular form of human expression, we think!

And what good timing too! Because we are currently looking for writers (among others) for our podcast!

Echoes of the Eldritch is a Magnus Archives fan podcast that takes place in one of the other universes that the fears got sent to. It follows a new archival crew, in a new archive learning to deal with their newly changed world!

And, until the 15th November you have the chance to apply to be a script and plot writer!

We are additionally looking for statement writers, artists, editors and voice actors (for a few remaining roles) and all of those openings will be open indefinitely!

To apply, join our discord!

You can ask questions and find more info right here on this blog! We will be happy to see you!

And in the meantime, don't worry about the doll that appeared on your bookshelf over night, we just put her there cause she needs a friend :)

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Have you noticed any crawling creatures skittering close to your legs recently?

The collective sound of their chittering sounds so loud, doesn't it?

Who knows, maybe it's just the mold poisoning making you hear things...

Either way why not give a statement about it?

Echoes of the Eldritch is currently looking for writers, and we would love to have you!

We are a a Magnus Archives fan podcast, about a new archival crew in one of the worlds that the fears went to, learning to deal with all of the threats to their newly changed universe, and we are currently in pre-production!

If you want to be a part of writing this story, you are in luck! Because until the 15. November you can apply to become one of the plot and script writers!

To apply, join our discord and submit your statement!

Script and plot writing isn't your thing, but you still want to be a part of this? We are also looking for statement writers, artists, editors and voice actors (for a few remaining roles)!

You can find more info on this blog, or by joining the discord linked above!

We're looking forward to seeing you!

May the worms give you the most relaxing hugs in the meantime!!

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Feelin' spooky?

Wanna keep the spooks going?

Why not consider joining the team of Echoes of the Eldritch! We are a horror fan podcast currently in pre-production!

In the universe of the Magnus Archives, a new archival crew, somewhere in a different dimension, must learn to deal with the the fears that are now occupying their world.

We are looking for:

- writers

- artists

- editors

- voice actors (for a few remaining roles)

You don't need experience to join, we would love to have you!!

Join our discord to become part of the crew! Or get more info on this very blog!

Have a spooky time!!

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Join us on discord to become a part of creating Echoes of the Eldritch!

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Join us on discord to become a part of creating Echoes of the Eldritch!

[echoesoftheeldritch]

for voice actors, do you have a required age for people to be above? (i know some people aren't always comfortable working with minors on projects like this, so i thought I'd ask)

Hi! Very valid question!

As a general rule, as long as you're over 13 (as per discord guidelines) we are happy to work with you! We are already a pretty mixed group age-wise, so there is no need to worry!

Voice acting specifically, has a bit of a more nuanced answer because we are trying to cast voices accurate to the roles, which means that roles like Edith, our head of archive, is not going to be played by a minor.

This doesn't mean there aren't options, though! Most of the roles we cast are still in quite a maleable state at the moment and will be molded a little after our VAs!

So if you come in with an audition for a character that we really like, it's not an issue if you're a minor, the character will just be young as well!

TLDR: with the exception of a few roles, you are absolutely welcome to audition as long as you're 13+

- Mod Finn

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Obviously I get that it could be weird working with younger writers/editors/etc so I have to ask… any age limits/preferred ages when it comes to your crew?

We are already a pretty mixed team age wise!

Our mod-team alone is between 14 and 25, with some older and young folks in roles and as writers, artists etc!

We ask that you are 13+ (as per discord guidelines) but otherwise, anyone of any age is welcome!

- Mod Finn

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Join us on discord to become a part of creating Echoes of the Eldritch!

[echoesoftheeldritch]

[the click of a tape recorder]

[static]

A podcast is nothing without good editors.

Wouldn't you agree?

Then why not help us make ours the best it could be?

[creepy music slowly fading in]

Echoes of the Eldritch is a Magnus Archives fan podcast that takes place after the events of the original story, in one of the worlds that the fears got sent to.

We are currently looking for editors (among others)! So if you have experience, or interest in:

- vocal edits

- soundscaping

-adding atmospheric music

Join us on discord to become part of the team!

Or else...

[a cacophony of impending doom swells]

[it suddenly stops]

Just kidding :)

But we would be very happy to have you!

The project is also still looking for artists, writers and voice actors for a few remaining roles! Find out more right on this blog, or by joining the discord!

See you there!

[static stops]

[click of a tape recorder turning off]

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Join us on discord to become a part of creating Echoes of the Eldritch!

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Voice Actors, listen up!

Are you interested in helping a small, Magnus Archives-adjacent project rise up and be shaped?

Echoes of the Eldritch is a fan podcast that takes place in the world of TMA, in present day, in one of the worlds that fears got released into.

We're actually still accepting voice actors applications for some of our characters! (You don't have to be a professional at all! Most of us aren't.)

Right now, we're looking for a more masculine-leaning voice, in the age range 15-45 (tbd) to play one character from the main archiving crew.

As well for a more feminine-leaning voice, age range 40-60 (tbd) to play the Head of our archive.

If you don't fit those criteria, feel free to join anyway! As we start to write, more characters will eventually be added that you might just be the right fit for!

We are also still looking for writers, editors and artists! Find out more on this blog, or by joining the discord!

We'll be excited to have you!

[echoesoftheeldritch]

Join us on discord to become a part of creating Echoes of the Eldritch!