Archive 81: 23 Questions You’ll Probably Have After Watching the Series

Have you started watching —or binging as the case may be— Archive 81 on Netflix yet? It started streaming on Jan. 14, 2022, and has been in Netflix’s Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S. Today ever since.

For good reason. As I explained when I compared it with Stranger Things, it started out a little slow but when it heated up? It sucked me right in and I found excuses to binge it.

However, while I watched, I also found myself asking a lot of questions. Like these 23. So I went in search of answers and here’s what I found.

Spoilers ahead. 

1. Is Archive 81 based on a true story?

I pretty much figured it wasn’t, but you never know. Thanks to a Newsweek article, which not only answered this question but also some others we’ll get to, I confirmed that, no, it’s not based on a true story.

However, that’s also how I learned it is based on a horror podcast of the same name by Dan Powell and Marc Sollinger, who are also involved in the show. (Both as writers and Sollinger is one of the producers.)

2. Why is it called Archive 81?

Archives factor heavily into Archive 81‘s plotline. Dan Turner is an archivist who Virgil Davenport, owner of LMG, hires to restore videotapes recovered from a fire that burned down the Visser apartments.

But is there any significance to the number 81? I’m still scratching my head over that one. Was I not paying attention when it was explained at some point in the series?

No. Luckily, The Cinemaholic assured me I didn’t miss anything. As they wrote, “…the number ’81’ and its significance remain conspicuously missing on the show,” but in the podcast the archive Dan cleans is numbered 81.

However, if we’re looking for some kind of justification for the number’s significance there doesn’t seem to be one.

3. Does the Mystery Signals podcast in Archive 81 exist?

No, but there are plenty of podcasts like it.  Hmm, that might make for a good follow-up post…

4. Is the Museum of the Moving Image a real museum?

Yes. It is a real museum located in Astoria, New York, and it gets great reviews! Check out their website to learn more or to plan a visit.

5. Is Satan’s Carnival a real movie? Or is it based on a real one?

It’s not real. Screen Rant explained every major movie reference in season 1 of Archive 81. I was hoping that one of the Easter eggs they revealed might allude to the fictional Satan’s Carnival movie in the series, but they didn’t.

Ready Steady Cut may have come closest by comparing it to a Rob Zombie-esque slasher picture.

6. Is The Circle TV series in Archive 81 modeled after a real show?

I didn’t even need Screen Rant’s Archive 81 movie reference for this one —but confirmation never hurts. It’s not a movie, but a TV show that The Circle most definitely draws inspiration from: The Twilight Zone.

7. Is the Visser apartment in Archive 81 a real building?

The Visser is the epicenter of the action when Archive 81 follows Melody’s side of the story. That’s where she’s living while searching for her mother. However, it’s also where she ends up finding the Vos Society cult and the Baldung coven.

But, no. It’s not a real building. It did remind me of a few in New York with spooky ties, though.

Such as Spook Central, a.k.a. the real-life building at 55 Central Parl West whose exterior was used for the original Ghostbusters movie.

But others came to mind too, like the ones I mentioned in an Only Murders in the Building vlog inspired by a Town & Country article about haunted places on NYC’s Upper West Side.

The inspiration for the Visser could’ve come from the Ansonia, where, as T&C put it, the “legendary Ansonia’s basement played host to myriad seances and psychics.”

Or maybe the Dakota and its Rosemary’s Baby connection or the building that houses the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) inspired the Visser’s visage too? Maybe a combo of all of them did?

I’m not sure, but if I ever get a chance to ask Dan Powell and Marc Sollinger, I will!

8. What’s a spirit receiver and are they real?

There are a lot of unusual tenets residing in the Visser but Casandra Wall has to be one of the creepiest with her cool, understated demeanor. In episode 4 we learn about her sister, Eleanor, who was regarded as one of the most important female artists in postwar Europe.

She was also part of a radical movement of abstract artists known as “Spirit Receivers” who explored roles as mediums for supernatural messages from the spirit world and beyond.

Basically, what they did is like automatic writing except with canvas, paints, pencils, or whatever other tools of the trade appealed to them.

Do people like that really exist?

Yes.

I don’t know that they call themselves spirit receivers, but Jill Marie Moris, the psychic Steve Gonsalves and Kendall Whelpton used in The House in Between, drew the psychic impressions she received before visiting the house.

9. Is the comet Kharon in Archive 81 real?

No, it’s not a real comet.

However, it is named after (but not spelled the same as) Charon, a.k.a. the ferryman in Greek mythology who sails souls over the Rivers Styx.

There’s also a real natural satellite called Charon that’s known as Pluto I. It’s the largest of Pluto’s five natural satellites.

And if you’re wondering what a “natural satellite” is like I was, a quick glance at Wikipedia explained it’s “an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite)” and is often colloquially referred to as a moon.

10. Is Kharonite a real gemstone?

In Archive 81 there’s a necklace made of Kharonite that plays an important role. It’s allegedly fashioned from a piece of the comet Kharon, but since that doesn’t exist, neither does Kharonite.

11. Are the books in Archive 81 real?

In episode 5, Melody finds two books in the priest’s office. The first has a sticky note on its cover that reads “Visser?” When she flips it open, we get to read the very long title if we read fast enough —or rewind and pause like I did.

The book is called Occult Works: A Catalogue of Occult Artifacts, Gods and Demons on Alchemy, Astrology, Magic, Necromancy, Sorcery, Witchcraft; Diabolical Possession and Exorcism.

I’d say that covers everything, wouldn’t you? #TalkAboutBeingThorough

I’m not sure why there’s a semi-colon after “Witchcraft,” though. Maybe a typo on whoever was in charge of creating props? Because unless it’s a very rare copy that’s not sold on Amazon, that’s all it is. A prop.

But if you’re looking for a book like it, you could try Mari Silva’s Occultism or Michelle Belanger’s The Dictionary of Demons.

Note: Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The other book Melody finds is the Compendium of Witchcraft & Dark Magick. It’s not real either.

However, there are other real-life options for it also, like The Complete Book of Black Magic and Witchcraft from Shadow Books or Witchcraft: A Handbook of Magic Spells and Potions by Anastasia Greywolf.

12. Is Kaelego a real demon/god?

Newsweek shared that The Wrap got the scoop from showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine that “Kaelego is not based on any specific mythological or supernatural figure.”

13. Is the Vos Society a real cult?

Since they worship what we now know is the fictional comet Kharon, we also know the cult isn’t real. But cults are real and Archive 81 has a number to choose from to model the Vos Society after.

In their examination of whether any part of Archive 81 is real, Screen Rant suggested the real-life Heaven’s Gate cult was a possibility. Vos Society members believe they can essentially attain immortality. All they have to do is sacrifice someone to open the gate and receive Kaelego’s offerings.

Heaven’s Gaters believed the real-life comet Hale-Bopp held hope for a new life on another world, too. And they also believed in sacrifice, but in their case, it was by mass suicide.

14. Are Baldung witches real?

No, they are not.

But perhaps they’re named for German Renaissance artist Hans Baldung whose chiaroscuro woodcut called “The Witches” depicts witches using a flying ointment in preparation to travel to a Witches’ Sabbath.

15. What’s up with the 6th-floor people’s chanting panting?

While I’m a fan of Archive 81 overall, if I had two criticisms one would be of the music. It hurt my brain a little. (I think that’s the point, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.)

The other had to do with the people on the 6th floor and their weird humming/chanting/panting. I know Chris, one of the 6th-floor’s residents, sort of explained they were held captive there. Something to do with using their energy.

But it wasn’t really explained why they’d need their energy in general between cult rituals. It didn’t make sense.

It did lend for creepy suspense though. You never knew if they were part zombies ready to start cannibalizing people or what, which made for some tense moments.

16. What exactly is the Otherworld?

Is it another dimension, parallel universe, time tunnel, or another planet entirely? Where exactly is it that Iris, Dan, Melody, and Dan go?

Virgil Davenport seems to think it’s another dimension, but I’m not so sure. I mean, considering where Dan ended up I can see why Virgil believes what he does, but a time tunnel could explain matters too.

17. What is that energy source called?

When blood is poured onto the Kaelego sculpture and the ritual is invoked, either by human sacrifice like Iris did or by Baldung power alone like Melody’s mom did, what is that magical, cosmic energy source they summoned called?

I don’t know. I’m still searching for an answer if there is one.

18. Is Kaelego actually an alien?

In Archive 81 the Vos Society celebrates Kaelego as a god, but could he be an alien since he’s connected with the comet?

I’m not sure. But I guess even if he’s a being from another dimension that would still qualify as “alien” too, right?

19. What language are they speaking during the rituals in Archive 81?

Speaking of the rituals, what language is it? It’s only specified as an “ancient language” in the series.

In a Reddit thread, debates and speculations ranged from Valyrian and Old English to Nordic and Germanic.

But twice it came up that’s it a “conlang.”

Mysterious_Fall1487 solved the mystery by sharing a link to an Entertainment Weekly interview with showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine who was asked about the language. Here’s what she said:

20. Why did Samuel pull Melody into the electric force field?

Another stumper. Did it have something to do with her Baldung heritage? Was he hoping to harness it in the Otherworld? We don’t know because…

21. What happened to Samuel?

Where’d he go once he pulled Melody away from Dan? We know where Melody went, but Samuel didn’t end up with her back in the present day. So where is he?

22. Is Dan stuck in 1994 or the Otherworld?

Or are they one and the same?

But if it’s actually 1994, how did he get there and out of the Otherworld? Or is he still in the Otherworld?

23. Will there be an Archive 81 season 2?

I hope so! Especially because season 1 ended with such a cliffhanger and so many lingering unanswered questions!

But so far there hasn’t been a season 2 announcement so we’ll have to wait and see.

Check-In

What questions did you have while watching Archive 81? Any of the above or some I didn’t even think of?