Podcast Summary: RQ Network Feed Drop – “Burned by a Paper Sun” Ep. 1
Podcast: The Magnus Archives
Host: Rusty Quill (feed drop, guest narrative from Burned by a Paper Sun)
Episode Date: December 17, 2025
Overview
This episode of The Magnus Archives features a feed drop of the eerie and atmospheric first episode of Burned by a Paper Sun, a horror anthology from the creators of Maltopia and The Sleep Wake Cycle. The story centers on William, a rational but emotionally scarred survivor of "the great darkness of 1999," who is haunted by gruesome nightmares and a menacing figure known as the Elevator Man. The narrative blends psychological horror, supernatural elements, and post-apocalyptic dread, unfolding as William’s dreams bleed into his reality, culminating in a terrifying confrontation with a fate he cannot escape.
Key Discussion Points & Episode Breakdown
Introduction to Collaboration and New Podcast (00:50 – 04:07)
- Billy Hindle introduces Burned by a Paper Sun, summarizing its premise as a horror anthology with interwoven supernatural and psychological horror.
- Sets up the central story: William, an apparently rational man, is haunted by the trauma of "the great darkness of 1999" and tormented by dreams featuring a sinister figure, the Elevator Man.
Quote:
"Even rational men are left broken by the great darkness of 1999... he is terrorized by a single harrowing figure, the Elevator Man."
— Billy Hindle (01:22)
Awakening in Horror – William's Nightmare (04:07 – 07:59)
- Narrator details William’s awakening from amnesia in a gruesome metal room, clad in a butcher’s apron made of human skin. He realizes, faintly, that he has committed horrific acts.
- The room is a macabre abattoir, filled with machines and human remains. William grips a blood-stained meat hook, his fingers “itching” for the controls of the room’s machinery.
- He escapes into a dark hallway, encountering a glowing elevator call button. A suppressed memory surges: a “smile of perpetual starkness” and unreflective, black eyes beyond the elevator door. William flees to the stairs instead.
Quote:
"A smile of perpetual starkness, white curving teeth like an indifferent wall of porcelain. Unreflective eyes black as amnesia. Something altogether unpleasant lurked behind the door. William took the stairs."
— Narrator (05:41)
The Elevator Man Appears (07:26 – 07:59)
- As William ascends the staircase, the building is filled with the “sound of old machinery straining... echoing through the building.”
- The Elevator Man’s voice is heard for the first time, chilling and filled with debauchery.
Quote:
"Going down."
— Elevator Man (07:41)
Trauma, Therapy, and Collective Madness (07:59 – 15:16)
- William wakes from his nightmare, still shattered and in therapy for over two years.
- The world is irrevocably altered post-"great darkness." Most suffer PTSD-like symptoms, some driven to suicide, others to religion or new cults. Physical evidence of the madness (e.g., a colossal brazen bull) dominates the cityscape.
- William's therapist—superstitious beneath a rational facade—attempts to explain away the persistent figure of the Elevator Man as a metaphor for unresolved stress and work-related ennui. William’s sense of purposelessness is likened to “feeding the damned.”
- The legend of the Elevator Man grows: he is said to collect souls in the madness-manufactured city of Tartarus, sweeping them away in his infernal elevator “going... down.”
Quote:
"He took no stock in the belief that the entire world had been driven crazy by some kind of supernatural event... If nothing else, it was a tidy understanding of things. Yet it brought no relief..."
— Narrator (10:07)
Quote:
"Feeding the damned became conversational shorthand for William's professional life and his recently uncovered resentment of it."
— Narrator (15:11)
Escalating Encounters and Bleeding of Reality (15:17 – 23:28)
- William ruminates in a cafe on the edge of Coffin Park, realizing with stark clarity that the Elevator Man is not just a figment or symbol, but an omen of his doom.
- On the third anniversary of the darkness, his nightmare changes: he presses the elevator button, triggering the Elevator Man’s inevitable approach.
- The dream seeps into reality. William feels the elevator's approach in his home, its mechanisms growling from behind doors. Fleeing in panic, he is repeatedly met by the inescapable red call button and floor indicator dials.
- He escapes his own house by smashing through a window, racing into the darkness by car.
Quote:
"He felt the rumble of an approaching elevator car in his bones... William was already running for the stairs, screaming from behind. He heard the elevator doors open and an all too familiar voice now raised in obvious irritation... 'Going down.'"
— Narrator & Elevator Man (19:23-20:13)
Catastrophic Climax and Acceptance of Fate (22:26 – 25:02)
- Fleeing in his car, William loses control and crashes. He reawakens strapped to a hospital gurney, caught between waking and dreaming, reliving his time as a butcher in hell.
- The sounds of hospital doors are eerily familiar; the Elevator Man’s refrain signals his impending doom.
- William, in a haze, knows it is his time to “feed the damned.”
Quote:
"The blurry hospital corridor moved in and out of his vision, but William's ears picked up the sound of automatic doors... 'Going down.'"
— Narrator & Elevator Man (24:19-24:20)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the trauma of the lost year:
"Everyone suffered the nocturnal echoes of the worst event to ever befall humanity."
— Narrator (08:28) -
On urban horror:
"The building housing the office of William's therapist sat situated directly across from a towering bronze bull... a giant version of the ancient Grecian torture device, the Brazen Bull."
— Narrator (09:29) -
On the deepening nightmare:
"He cranked the wheel uselessly, tires spinning like black moons in the cold open air. He didn't feel the impact."
— Narrator (22:41)
Segment Timestamps
| Segment/Topic | Timestamps | |------------------------------------|-----------------| | Podcast intro & collab details | 00:50 – 04:07 | | William’s nightmare begins | 04:07 – 07:26 | | First appearance of Elevator Man | 07:26 – 07:59 | | Trauma and therapy | 07:59 – 15:16 | | Legend of the Elevator Man | 12:22 – 15:16 | | William’s reality unravels | 15:17 – 23:28 | | Final confrontation/hospital | 22:26 – 25:02 |
Tone & Atmosphere
- Atmospherically dense, blending psychological and supernatural horror.
- The narrative voice is methodical, cold, and clinical, mirroring the protagonist’s attempt at rationality amid growing supernatural dread.
- The Elevator Man refrains—“Going down”—punctuate the episode with existential terror.
Conclusion
Episode 1 of Burned by a Paper Sun delivers a haunted psychological journey, exploring trauma, memory, and the lingering fear of supernatural judgement. The Elevator Man emerges as a chilling metaphor for both personal guilt and society’s collective trauma—a specter that will not be rationalized away. The slow unraveling of William’s reality blurs dream and waking, leading to an inevitable, chilling descent.
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