In season 5, The Admiral is separated from his owner but the listener is informed that he is living out a cat's mouse-hunting dream (as an "avatar" of a hellscape for mice) in the meantime.
At some point in season 2, the main character stalks his co-workers as his paranoia gets the better of his common sense. In season 3, there is an episode where the main character is being followed. It's also worth noting that being watched and, to an extension, being able to do nothing about it are in statements, as well as the plot.
Sort of ? minor, in season 5 (trying to keep it spoiler free)
someone tormented by ants becomes a part of the ants that also torment other people, and when given the chance to go back to being tormented by them, refuses. but also he isnt completely on board with becoming something that torments other people. it was one or the other
There is an entity that causes fear by killing and then imitating a person. The entity is capable of perfectly convincing everyone they are that person, but purposefully lets at least one or two see through the ruse so that they are tormented by how their memories do not match what seems to be reality. The entity also affects photographs, contributing to the fear of insanity and wrongness
Two major characters' backstories involve having antagonistic relationships with emotionally abusive parents. Some statement givers mention having bad relations with their parents but in most cases it is an offhand comment, and not overtly detailed.
Trevor "the Tramp" Herbert gives multiple statements, first in Episode 10 (Vampire Killer), and discusses his heroin addiction, including details about the consequences of infections from repeated use of needles. Some minor characters occasionally imply or admit to drug use in their statements.
In MAG 133: Dead Horse, a horse is mentioned to pass away. Though, there is no audio or other means of describing the passing, and it is moved past soon after.
There are no overly gruesome descriptions, but in MAG 30: Killing Floor, the setting is a slaughterhouse so there are frank discussions of animal death and abuse.
It is relayed second-hand that a character's motivation was the death of her childhood cat approx. 50 years ago, however Writer Jonny Sims has said that this is neither canon nor non-canon, as he doesn't know if the character was joking or not. He has also said that no harm will come to any pets the audience meets, such as Major Tom (MAG 16) or The Admiral.
There is a mention of an encounter with Sharks in episode 51, where the statement giver worries about encountering a shark while diving. They also mention how they've had two close encounters with sharks but do not give details about either encounter.
There is an episode where a character is drugged with local anesthetic while the character is asleep so that the characters can remove a supernatural bullet from her leg.
There is also an entity in the show that can created warped perceptions of reality similar to hallucinogens
It is mentioned in passing that a character in the past and other characters around her were beat up by a bully. It was also mentioned that a child character is a bully, and torments other children.
There is an attempt by a character to remove his own finger, but it repeatedly heals. He makes noises of pain when this happens.
He is ultimately unsuccessful and goes on to try another tactic that doesn't use fingers after a few attempts.
In episode 169, characters are repeatedly burned alive onscreen/on tape. It is the main theme of the episode. Additionally, many episodes feature characters burning alive, including MAG 37, MAG 55, MAG 89, MAG 107, MAG 139, and MAG 145.
lots of episodes have descriptions of violence against other people but the one that sticks out to me for this particular category is mag 80, where a character is beaten to death with a pipe on tape
Agnes Montague, an avatar of the Desolation, dies by hanging (it is a suicide, though it's performed by her cult at her request). It's recounted second-hand, without too detail, but it is referenced multiple times over the course of the series.
Yes, there is an entire episode where the characters struggle to breathe as they are trapped in a very claustrophobic environment. They audibly struggle to breathe.
The main character does spend a minute or so trying to cut off his finger, but doesn't succeed as it keeps reattaching/healing. There are squishy sounds alongside this.
The episodes MAG 154 and MAG 155 discuss this at length. [SPOILERS] In MAG 155, a minor character is planning to blind themselves and does so off-screen.
Not exactly. A pregnant woman lets herself be burned alive in ep. 139 and her newborn infant (supernaturally unharmed by the fire) is then taken and raised by the cult. The mother wanted this to happen.
In episode 55 there is mention of exterminating bed bugs by a character who is an exterminator but it is a passing remark. In episode 169 however there is a more direct reference in a statement where they are described in a more graphic and potentially disturbing way, it is however the only reference to them in that episode. The official trigger warnings stated in the podcasts website and information states bed bugs as one so I would be cautious anyways.
Nobody's parents die on tape, but most of the characters have lost their parents/guardians, and in one episode in s3 a parent's death is used to emotionally torture one of the characters
In episode 146, an adult describes having one of his toys stolen as a 6 year old. In episode 179, a parent is forced to burn their child's toys but the child is not present.
One of the main characters is kidnapped 3 times over the course of S2, once for over a month, and during this time is also threatened with death, bodily harm and tortured via induced vertigo.
Episodes 19 and 20 "Confession" and "Desecrated Host" are completely centered around demonic possession. There are other similar experiences frequently throughout the series.
Though vomiting is mentioned often in the statements (the stories that are told through the characters), no vomiting is ever heard directly nor does any character vomit "on-screen."
Sounds of worms squishing, and [SPOILERS] at the end of episode 80, a character being beaten to death via a pipe, with noises. Not sure if this is "audio gore", but in every episode, the sound of a tape recorder is in the background.
Some of the characters have worked for the police, but the police is never shown in a positive light. One of the ex-cops admits to frequently using excessive force.
There are not many canonical trans people in the podcast but they are depicted with the same respect as any other person suffering from horrors beyond our comprehension. Additionally: jonny sims is a trans ally and tends to depict trans characters very well in all his works.
the worst offenders of this are between episodes 78 and 80. 78 sees the destruction of a plot heavy artifact, and 80 has a mention of the destruction of two antique books
In Ep 130 a main character attempts to remove his finger, and then asks another character to remove his rib - he has a good reason for this that's not tied to emotional pain, but imo still self-harm
The statement giver’s cousin in MAG 54 — Still Life is mentioned to be autistic. Their autistic traits are compared to the traits of someone who turns out to not be human.
Many of the people who are Spiral's (fear of going crazy) victims are mentally ill and some of them have been violent. At least the priest in MAG 19 and MAG 20.
yes, it’s a common theme in the show and part of most things to do with the Lonely. It’s most prominent in seasons 4 and 5, especially episodes 159, 170, and 181.
Yes. Specific episodes include: MAG 118, MAG 119, MAG 136, MAG 158, MAG 177, MAG 181, MAG 182, MAG 199, MAG 200.
Spoilers ahead.
During season 3, a supporting character is shown to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies, and ends up dying at the end of that season.
Throughout season 4, many major characters experience suicidal ideation, and act on it by putting themselves in intentionally dangerous that could get them killed or something equivalent.
In MAG 158 - Panopticon, a supporting character asks another supporting character to find her and kill her.
In MAG 177 - Wonderland, there is implied suicidal ideation.
In MAG 181 - Ignorance, a minor character says that he intends to shoot himself when his food runs out.
In MAG 182, a minor character asks the protagonist to kill him.
In MAG 199 - Seeing It Through, the protagonist’s willingness to sacrifice themself for others as a form of penance for their mistakes is mentioned by another character, and in MAG 200 - Last Words, the protagonist goes through with a plan that will kill himself and others, but then asks another character to kill him.
this podcast heavily dives into themes of how people respond to fear, there are several scenes of long term trauma causing a person to melt down, spiral, or lash out at another character
In MAG 116 and MAG 118, while not exactly anxiety attacks, two main characters have breakdowns over information being forced into their heads by one of the antagonists.
There's no one directly saying that but there is a moment when one of main characters says "Maybe I just thought joining up with you would be a good way to get killed" so it's kinda implied ?
Ep 90 deals pretty heavily with people who hate their bodies and are exercising obsessively to change them, as well as turning that theme up in body-horror contexts. A few other episodes dip into the same theme for a few lines
MAG 90: Body Builder has discussions of extreme body dysmorphia, unhealthy self-image, and alludes very heavily to eating disorders, though the subject itself is not directly discussed.
- in statements, many occurrences of suicide or things that look like it, sometimes very violently, sometimes mundane, sometimes through supernatural means. Characters are often supernaturally manipulated into putting themselves in danger, or driven to suicide after trauma. At least one case of death by hanging (MAG008), 2 self-immolations (MAG037 and MAG055), a few jumpings (MAG046, MAG075), some self-stabbings. S4 adds: 124 (a supernatural being jumps out of a high place (probably surviving it) and a man's murder is covered up in-universe as being a suicide), 125 (a supernaturally-frenzied man impales himself on own weapon); neither involve mental illness or suicide ideation.
- (S3 SPOILER) A main character more or less deliberately sacrifices themself while in a bad place psychologically, and being explicitly referred to as having a death wish. (Episode: MAG119)
In a way, yes. SPOILERS: in MAG196, Annabelle Cane says to Martin, "you have no idea who's listening, do you?". At the end of MAG200, Basira talks into the recorder and says "If anyone's listening, goodbye. I'm sorry and... good luck."
I forget what episode it is, but when a minor character is being born, her mother is burned on a ceremonial fire while giving birth. It is not lingered on, and there are no sound effects of the actual event. It is told through a former cult member telling their story
no, but episode 171 has a villain being briefly homophobic, by asking a gay couple if they're boyfriends in a condescending tone. however it's quickly brushed off and moved on from
In season 1, the main character dismisses characters who have issues with addiction or mental illnesses and berates them for it. This stops after the first season and it's learned he deals with some level of addiction + mental illness as well. In MAG 122: Zombie, while not directly stated to be about mental illness, the statement giver's attitude towards those he perceives as processing emotions incorrectly reads as such.
A minor character in episode 92 is implied to discriminate against a Jewish minor character, who proceeds to exact revenge. I'm Jewish and it's one of my favorite episodes so far.
Characters occasionally hesitate on what is the appropriate pronoun to use for monsters (she" or "him" vs "it"). At least one monster calls itself an "it" and is sometimes still referred to as "him", but it doesn't appear to be a big deal.
A character-of-the-episode mentions (vaguely) having some difficulties when she was outed as being trans, but with no mention of misgendering. She is consistently referred to with the correct gender before and after we learn that she is trans. (Episode: MAG100)
A character describes himself briefly as "not the smallest guy in the world". This is not self deprecating and only serves to better set the scene for fitting through a small space. It is not touched on again and he is not insulted for this fact.
Episodes 19 and 20 deal with a narrator who believes himself to be possessed by a demon. He is actually possessed, but we don't know if it's by a demon or not
It is a podcast, no visuals. There is a small moment where one character is caught walking around in his underwear when he thinks he is alone, but he is not very distressed and it is played for laughs.
A man in one statement marries a very large beetle and has children with it. Where the line is drawn between monster and animal is up to you but it's worth keeping in mind.
One of the main characters is revealed to be a caregiver for his chronically ill mother. Her illness is not elaborated on and she never appears in-podcast, but the affect of her illness is tied to her abusive relationship with her son.
Trevor Herbert, a reoccurring character, is homeless. He mentions it frequently and describes his living conditions, but it is not the main struggle of his story.
There's a car accident in episode 70, "Book of the Dead," as a possible nasty death for a statement giver. It's a quick mention, but does linger on how the speaker would die (canon-typical violence) and might be triggering for some. Section is 10:22 to 11:00 for anyone who needs to skip.
It technically doesn't happen, but in the episode MAG 70 Book of the Dead a character reads a disturbing prediction that he will die when he is hit by a car and trapped. It doesn't actually happen and the actual crash is only briefly described
This is a horror audio drama; depending on how intense your reaction to this is, it may not be a good show for you. That said, it is all audio, so no visual gore.