some semi-plot spoilers here id reccomend reading AFTER listening. but additionally to the above story, there are 14 overarching fear entities that all of the statements fall under (some overlap!!). theyre basically the principle antagonists.. these are formally listed by robert smirke as the Following.. :

- the buried : fear of small spaces, suffocating, drowning, being buried alive, being trapped without enough space, and things crashing down ontop of you. it manifests as caves, dirt, financial issues, heavy rain, underground transport, and tight spaces.
my favourite episode under this fear is lost johns cave!

- the corruption (MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE!!!) : fear of disease, filth, mold, bugs, the feeling of revulsion and the things which evoke those feelings.. just overall gross. imagine rot as a concept. it manifests as mould, bugs, rot, decay, infection, the feeling of your skin crawling, and unhealthy love and companionship. my favourite episode under this fear is the sick village!

- the dark : fear of the dark, the unseen, and creatures hiding from our view. it nanifests as creatures hidden in the dark, shadow figures, monsters, blindness, coldness, and dark water. my favourite episode under this fear is tucked in!

- the desolation : the fear of pain, loss, burning, destruction, and especially destruction that has a senseless cause. it manifests as fire, wax, heat, burns, and loss of potential. my favourite episode under this fear is chosen!

- the end : the absolute fear of death itself, and that everything ends eventually. it manifests as bones, skeletons, mummies, zombies, forms of the dead in general, and is able to manifest through dreams. my favourite episode under this fear is cheating death!

- the eye : the fear of being watched, exposed, followed, having secrets forcefully revealed, and also related to the drive to know and understand, even if those discoveries may destroy you. it manifests as eyes, security cameras, and a figure that keeps constant watch, commonly in books and libraries. my favourite episode under this fear is panopticon!

- the flesh : the fear that you are nothing more than a vessel of meat and flesh. it manifests as meat, corpses, blood, bones, butchers, the meat industry, and bodies being unnaturally twisted, reshaped, and butchered. basically just body horror ultimatum. my favourite episode under this fear is the man upstairs!

- the hunt : the primal fear of being chased, or hunted. fear of the concept of being prey. it manifests as predators, predatory monsters, animal instincts, and animalistic traits. my favourite episode under this fear is stranger and stranger!

- the lonely : the fear of isolation, and being entirely cut off and disconnected from the rest of society. it manifests as fog, large rooms, silence, suburbs, empty rooms, and crowds of faceless people. my favourite episode under this fear is the last!

- the slaughter : the fear of pure, unpredictable, unmotivated violence, and the fear of pain coming at sudden, random moments. it manifests as people driven mad, soldiers, music, and imagery of war or murder. it can come both calm and collected and violent and unpredictable. my favourite episode under this fear is grifters bone!

- the spiral (another favourite of mine) : the fear of madness, that the world you know is wrong, that your mind is lying to you, of deception, lying, and deceiving of the mind and senses. The it appears with imagery of spirals and strange patterns, and often manifests as hallucinations or illusions. my favourite episode under this fear is wonderland!

- the stranger : the fear of the unknown, the uncanny, the unfamiliar, and a looming sense that something is not right. it manifests as uncanny valley, mannequins, wax figures, masks, and taxidermy. its commonly seen in theatres and performances. my favourite episode under this fear is anatomy class!

- the vast : the fear of heights, falling, large open spaces (includes the sky), space, and deep water, as well as the fear of insignificance and meaninglessness. it manifests as void, open spaces, vertigo, falling, and the transformation of something that should have a limit into something infinite. my favourite episode under this fear is the coming storm!

- the web : the fear of being controlled or trapped, forced to do things against one's own will, and of being manipulated. also spiders. it manifests as spiders, spider webs, web adjacent patterns, and puppets. my favourite episode under this fear is last words!

it was initially so hard for me to get into tma but one day i was listening to mag3 and something clicked in my fuckinh brain and i could not pry myself away from it with all of my fucking MIGHT. i was averaging 15 hours a day on thsi thing i finished all 200 episodes in 2 weeks and filled an entire journal its SO good serioudly so good go stream it riiight neow on spotify or youtube or or anythign. any streaming app Please pelase. i put it off for so long. dont make the same mistake i did im putting you on PEAK i SWEAR