Oakburn and the Misery of 1997

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 10:00: Ittosiviik, Oakburn, Ethan Astor, Martha Astor
2. 10:00 – 20:00: Ittosiviik, Uzumaki, Martha Astor, Ethan Astor
3. 20:00 – 30:00: Ittosiviik
4. 30:00 – 40:00: Oakburn, Ittosiviik, Lake Oakburn, Martha Astor
5. 40:00 – 50:00: Oakburn, Ittosiviik, Martha Astor, Lake Oakburn
6. 50:00 – 1:00:00: Oakburn, Ittosiviik, Marvpyas, Martha Astor
7. 1:00:00 – 1:10:00: Ittosiviik, Oakburn, Lake Oakburn, Martha Astor
8. 1:10:00 – 1:18:10: Oakburn, Marvpyas, Lake Oakburn, Ittosiviik

Notable quotes from "Oakburn and the Misery of 1997"

• Many citizens from Ittosiviik started to show the same obsession with circles around the same time.

  about Ittosiviik · at 4:55

• (soft, tense music) (wind howling) Uzumaki is a story by Junji Ito in which we explore worlds afflicted by spirals.

  about Uzumaki · at 13:17

• We're informed that in 1997, the population of Old Oakburn had vanished overnight.

  about Oakburn · at 33:10

• Marvpyas is Oakburn's interpretation of Marsyas, a much, much more sinister Marsyas haunting the wilderness with nothing but the hypnotic tune of his flute, leading thousands…

  about Marvpyas · at 57:17

• So many of you may know that I recently signed with Ballen Studios, and behind the scenes, we've been cooking a ton of really cool projects that I cannot wait to show you.

  about Ballen Studios · at 1:16:26

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Martha Astor — Person · Fictional investigator / connective character · 8 mentions · first at 4:36
  Introduced as Ethan’s wife and later positioned as "detective Astor" involved in Oakburn-related evidence and interrogation, linking the 1986 and 1997/2003 threads.
  On December 5th, 1986, his wife Martha Astor, reported that her husband was showing a strange obsession with circles.
• Ethan Astor — Person · Fictional subject (in-series character) · 3 mentions · first at 4:32
  Central figure in the Ittosiviik 1986 incident; his obsession with circles and eventual transformation anchors the series’ early lore and motivates later investigations.
  (suspenseful music) Ethan Astor is a famous photographer from Ittosiviik, Alaska.
• Junji Ito — Person · Referenced author (comparative influence) · 1 mention · first at 13:32
  Cited to draw a thematic parallel between "Uzumaki" (spiral obsession) and the series’ circle-based affliction, reinforcing the episode’s interpretive analysis.
  (soft, tense music) (wind howling) Uzumaki is a story by Junji Ito in which we explore worlds afflicted by spirals.

Books & papers

• Uzumaki — Book · 2 mentions · first at 13:32

Companies & orgs

• Ballen Studios — Company · 1 mention · first at 1:16:26

Concepts & topics

• Marvpyas — Concept · 7 mentions · first at 56:16

Places & events

• Oakburn — Place · 31 mentions · first at 1:35
• Ittosiviik — Place · 23 mentions · first at 4:34
• Lake Oakburn — Place · 9 mentions · first at 33:05
  (ominous music) (ominous music) Oakburn Opus I begins at, well, Lake Oakburn.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:01 (dramatic music) - For the past three years, I've been waiting, waiting to show you something truly special. (suspenseful music) An analog horror series that I wholeheartedly with everything in me, believe is one of the most underrated, most haunting, most unsettling that I have ever seen. It invoked this primal fear within me, especially considering that I watched in late at night, lights off, completely alone. (ominous music)

1:19 (knocking) (computer beeping) (ominous music) Allow me to introduce you to "Oakburn Opus," an analog horror series crafted by a creator named RedDiamond. Within it, we peer in on a town that on a random night in 1997, had vanished from the face of the Earth. 1,043 people went missing without a trace. And throughout these videos, we take on the role of a detective ensnared in this case. But as they dig, they begin to realize that not only are the answers here elusive, but something in Oakburn is very off. Now, "Oakburn Opus" is meant to be a trilogy.

2:15 However, as of writing, only two parts have been released. While the case, however, RedDiamond does have two other uploads, "The Circles" and "The Starving Five" that appear to serve as prequels, fleshing out the world being built here. And so before we get to the Oakburn incident. We're gonna back it up a bit because there's a hell of a tale to tell here. Grab that snack and cozy up, because you and I have a long ride ahead of us. This, my friends, is the vanishing of Oakburn. (dramatic music)

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3:44 Whenever it's found and it will be, Incogi gets after it, submitting legal demands to reinstate your privacy. My favorite part about Incogi is the peace of mind it gives me. It allows me to step back and chill out, because I know that there's a dedicated team out there fighting for my online privacy. Go to incogi.com/nexpo, and use code NEXPO for an exclusive offer of 60% off. Once again, that's incogi.com/nexpo, and use code NEXPO or click the link below to take your personal data off the market. Thanks so much again to Incogi. Now let's get back to it.

4:18 (suspenseful music) Ethan Astor is a famous photographer from Ittosiviik, Alaska. On December 5th, 1986, his wife Martha Astor, reported that her husband was showing a strange obsession with circles. He would constantly draw the shapes on the walls of their basement. He would also refuse to eat, sleep, or talk to Martha. But Ethan wasn't the only one dealing with such an obsession. Many citizens from Ittosiviik started to show the same obsession with circles around the same time. The government issued an emergency evacuation for Ittosiviik a day before this strange incident.

5:06 All of Ittosiviik citizens evacuated except for the obsessed ones. Martha returned to Ittosiviik days later only to find out that her husband, along with the dozens of other people who decided to stay, was gone. (ominous music) Our video begins on December 5th, 1986, in a secluded mountain town called Ittosiviik, Alaska. A man named Ethan Astor reveals himself as the video's creator and leaves behind a message. "Welcome to Ittosiviik, the town where I live. What you're about to see is my town's haunting. We're not haunted by ghosts or monsters, but by simple shapes.

5:55 The circles. They come every once in a while, and when they do, we evacuate the town. The people who decide to stay are never seen again. They will come in five days. I'll stay here." (static hissing) (wind rushing) (crickets chirping) (upbeat music) (clock ticking) ♪ Nobody can tell ya ♪ ♪ There's only one song worth singing ♪ ♪ They may try and sell ya ♪ ♪ 'Cause it hangs them up to see someone ♪ - [Nexpo] The video jumps forward to the day of the haunting. We're shown the isolated exterior of the Astor home before we're greeted with an ominous letter.

7:07 "Ethan, this is going too far. I no longer feel comfortable around you. You haven't spoken to me or left the basement for days now. By the time you read this, I'll be far away. Please seek help. Martha." Thinking back to the video's description, the town as it stands right now is solely inhabited by those obsessed with circles. This fixation seems to manifest in a lack of sleep, of appetite and thirst, and effectively turns all of those afflicted into shells of their former selves. Ethan, a once famous photographer, is now completely alien to his wife, but how and why is he acting like this?

7:54 Following this, we're shown various angles of the Astor home to which we gain insight into the extent of Ethan's obsession. Their home is pristine, a far cry from what you'd expect given his condition, but as we observe their bedroom, the cracks in the facade begin to show. ♪ Like you ♪ ♪ But you've gotta ♪ ♪ Make your own kind of music ♪ (ominous music) We head down a hallway and into the basement. (ominous music) A circle is painted on the cellar door, and upon entering, we find Ethan with his drawings scrawled across the wall.

8:55 We approach nightfall. (wind howling) (upbeat music) Channel five signs off for the night, and just in time because... (static hissing) (clock ticking) (TV beeping) (TV beeping) (ominous music) That night an unnatural circular cloud forms over the town and inside (static hissing) Ethan is waiting. (knocking) (knocking) (knocking)

10:54 (ominous music) (ominous music) (banging) (upbeat music) The cellar door keeping Ethan locked inside is broken open, after an unknowable alien amalgamation of flesh and light completes some sort of ritual, and from what it seems, something has changed.

11:40 (upbeat music) (slithering) ♪ Nobody can tell ya ♪ - [Nexpo] The walls warp and crumble, the fabric of what we understand as reality is now littered with circles everywhere you turn. (slithering) ♪ Like you ♪ ♪ Nobody can tell ya ♪ ♪ Make your own kind of music ♪ (ominous music) (wind howling) (squelching)

12:34 (static hissing) (wind howling) - [Nexpo] The people who decide to stay are never seen again. Some saying they joined the circles. And now I'm one of them. (soft, tense music) (wind howling) "Uzumaki" is a story by Junji Ito in which we explore worlds afflicted by spirals. In the first chapter of the first volume, the tale narrows its focus to a man named Mr. Saito, someone who randomly noticed the shape out of place in an alleyway. As the story carries on, he grows an unhealthy obsession with the spirals. He begins to collect hundreds of them.

13:58 He compulsively stirs his food, his eyes begin to twist, and at the end completely out of nowhere, he creates a spiral of his own, contorted and mangled, its of himself dead in his tub. (somber music) The parallels between the circles and chapter one of "Uzumaki" are clear, and much like the latter, the affliction terrorizing this town is never explained. It's a horror that simply exists, something that the residents accept as normal. It has no structure, no form, and the only way anyone's able to conceptualize what it is they're experiencing is by chalking it up to a haunting.

14:51 According to Martha Astor, her husband Ethan was never seen again. He became one with them, contorting his body into a circular sentient mass of flesh. Yet the most horrifying aspect of it is that regardless of his predicament, he's happy, content with the fact that he will forever exist under a veil of ignorant bliss. Ittosiviik as they see it is haunted by circles and people are going missing every single time they appear. (soft, tense music)

15:39 (wind howling) "Your quest for truth has granted you a void in your stomach, and now I shall punish you for it." (ominous music) "The Starving Five" begins by displaying multiple illustrations. In the first, we can observe an isolated landscape with the eyes peering down upon it. In the second, the corpse of a deer, and in the third, we bear witness to a horned three-headed creature. Interestingly, upon enabling the captions here, we can observe a hidden message. "An exiled spirit, rejected from the domains of the afterlife.

16:38 Damned with an endless hunger, a mouth that can't eat and a throat that can't swallow. It takes shame on its grotesque form using every aspect of its unnatural physicality to lure and capture prey. Its objective: to bring upon the decay of man's flesh and ego." Now hang on. (ominous music) This creature is surrounded by a shape, circles, which leaves me to wonder are they the only threat afflicting Ittosiviik, or are they somewhat of a precursor to something much darker?

17:23 (switch clicking) (ominous music) (water splashing) Our video begins on December 21st, 11 days after the assimilation of Ethan Astor. We're shown a cabin in the remote wilderness, and it seems lifeless, no power, no fire. No one is home. (ominous music)

18:14 "We are starving. The engine is dead. A flimsy wooden shelter keeps us away from the snow. Heat escapes through the cracks, our skin hardens. (singing in foreign language) Animals sing and hiss, but nothing is seen. We are starving." (singing in foreign language)

19:09 (switch clicking) "Your quest for truth has granted you a void in your stomach and now I shall punish you for it." This cabin isn't empty. There are weapons for self-defense, books and belongings. A vehicle completely snowed over and dead. The starving five are locked in this cabin with no food, no water, and no warmth, and staring them down, taunting them day after day are the skeletal remains of a creature that once could have been food. I find it interesting that this takes place on December 21st as in my opinion, ample time had passed since the incident with Ethan.

19:54 Perhaps this group was driving back to Ittosiviik to see what remained of their home. Perhaps these five all have a loved one who stayed. These people are on a quest for truth, yet something out there has stricken them, damning them to this frozen confinement.

20:15 (singing in foreign language) "Garry heard his lover's call, Natasha followed him blindly. Alex dreams unquietly. I watch the rumbling snow attentively. We are not starving alone." (ominous music) The storm picks up as the sounds of inhuman creatures echo throughout the night, and inside someone is waiting. (ominous music)

21:26 (knocking) (knocking) (knocking) (ominous music) Now fully awake, this person gets up, and peers out into the main cabin before realizing that (wind howling) the front door is wide open. "The anxious dreamer wonders unconsciously. Will you follow him?"

22:17 (ominous music) (static crackling) The video cuts out before placing us in front of a telephone four days prior. (telephone ringing) (telephone ringing) - [Alex] Do you believe she is still there alive? - Alex. - It's been a month. - [Nexpo] She's dead. This city is hostile, all it takes is one detour, a miscalculated step, and you're gone. But Garry still has, albeit naive and delusional, hope that we can still find her. And who would dare to take that away from him? This is the least we can do. - [Alex] I suppose...

23:16 They will look for nothing and find nothing, and somehow that's supposed to numb the the pain? - [Nexpo] Perhaps people disappear and are forgotten, year after year, and everyone turns away because they fear the truth. Perhaps the mere attempt, even if redundant, to find the truth, can take us away from this melancholy. Tomorrow, we'll leave in the morning. Natasha will give us a ride. (switch clicking) As we expected, it seems like the residents of Ittosiviik aren't even trying to fight back or understand the phenomenon plaguing their home.

23:55 They're living in complete ignorance, blind to the reality unfolding right in front of them. Perhaps those who changed, who became obsessed with the circles weren't going crazy after all. Maybe they were digging, trying to figure out what the hell was happening. I mean, if your town suddenly became a target of an inexplicable threat that nobody else was taking seriously, it's a safe bet that you'd go crazy too.

24:27 After cutting back to present day, we've left the comfort of our cabin. (wind howling) Something beckons for us to follow and so we do. (wind howling) (switch clicking) We spot something in the distance, just barely out of view. (ominous music) And to what greets us, the frozen distorted corpse of Garry. (ominous music)

25:43 (static hissing) (switch clicking) (switch clicking) (ominous music) (creature growling) (creature growling) (ominous music) (squelching) (ominous music) (switch clicking) (ominous music) As Dimitri stared into the night sky, something somehow had taken over his mind, pulling him out of reality and into a tomb similar to but just slightly different from where he came from. No longer was he outside. He became confined in the cabin with the physical manifestation of the creature we saw at the very beginning of this video.

27:47 As it beckons for us to starve together, various missing flyers flash before our eyes. Dimitri Olov, (switch clicking) Garry Astor, (switch clicking) Natasha, (switch clicking) and Alex Lebedev. There were only ever four people in the cabin that night, and that's because the fifth is right in front of us. (ominous music)

28:22 All right, guys, Ryan from the future here. So quick thing. So the end of this video contains copyrighted music, and conveniently also harbors a lot of key points that sets the foundation for what's to come. I was originally planning on just showing it to you, but because of the music, I'm just gonna have to walk you through it.

28:45 (soft, tense music) So following this scene, we jump forward to December 22nd, the very next morning. We're shown the interior of the cabin before a shadow passes across the screen, we then cut to a shot of Dimitri's eyes in which we can observe that they're not normal but completely gone. This man has been robbed of his eyesight, his humanity, everything he has ever known and is now confined with the physical manifestation of decay and rot taunting him forever. Days, weeks, and months pass and nothing changes. Dimitri pleads for his eyes, for food, for anything to save him from this torment, yet nothing ever comes.

29:36 And in the end, he has become one with the starving five a fate worse than hell itself. The ending here establishes that whatever victims find themselves wondering, pursuing the truth of those afflicted by the Ittosiviik incident are perhaps doomed to suffer a faith much worse. Nothing about your existence is worth anything anymore. You simply exist in a void where nobody can hear you, nobody can see you, nobody is coming to help. You know, at least Ethan got the liberty of suffering in a blissful ignorance, a euphoric existence of flesh comprising something that man cannot even understand.

30:24 Yet here, I wouldn't wish this on anyone. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (gentle music) And so act one is now under our belts. A tale from 1986 outlining an eerie phenomenon plaguing an isolated mountain town. People are dying contorting into forms completely alien and most harrowing of all, something has awakened, damning people into an agonizing eternal existence. It goes without saying that there are incomprehensible horrors lurking around Ittosiviik. However, we haven't even seen the cruelest one yet. Something else is out there lying in wait, and I have reason to believe that everything up to this point was nothing but a precursor for what's yet to come.

32:23 Refill your drink and grab another pack of Oreos, because you and I are far from done here. And so we continue, back down the abyss we go. (ominous music) (ominous music) "Oakburn Opus I" begins at, well, Lake Oakburn. We're informed that in 1997, the population of Old Oakburn had vanished overnight. And in 2024, classified information from the Oakburn case was linked by anonymous sources. A new light is shed on the case which branches into countless theories, hypotheses, and discussions. The following images are based on the manuscript's findings belonging to an anonymous inhabitant and a restored cassette tape depicting the phenomena.

33:45 (ominous music) What follows from here are sets of evidence pertaining to the Oakburn case. We begin by honing in on a suspect, someone called Oakburn's flutist. And at first glance, this person appears oddly menacing. It's a horned humanoid figure that we can hardly discern in the distance. We're then given some backstory straight from the Oakburn residents themselves. "On a cold morning, the outsider stumbled upon our gates and quickly became a welcomed guest through the sweet and captivating melody of his flute.

34:28 My people brought him into our village, a secluded place, west of the Ittosiviik mountains. We provided the flutist food, water, and shelter. And in return, the man continued to enchant our people with the tunes of the winds." Following this, the video transitions to a written testimony by presumably the other residents of Oakburn. "The children adored him, soothed by the melodic blows. Men and women respected him, and for the great entertainment and happiness provided by the flute. To the more humble folk, the flutist was a gateway form of art."

35:12 As we're shown various illustrations of the flutist playing their music, we can observe a strange circular symbol emanating from him. And given the fact that it lands upon the hands of those listening, it seems to depict almost like these people are being sent into an inexplicable trance.

35:37 Someone interrupts. (ominous music) "He hid them under the veil of reality, impossible to breathe beyond existence. Keep looking, do not follow the melody. (gentle music) He adapted to our customs, ate and drank from our kitchen, hummed our chants and honored our altars without ever voicing a single thought.

36:20 The flutist used the wind as his words and melodies as a speech." (ominous music) "Within the wind, within the wind, it hid fangs. Within the wind, it breached our spirit. Within the wind, the flutes burned the veil."

37:05 (ominous music) I find it interesting that Martha Astor, the same Martha Astor, whose husband became obsessed with circles over 16 years prior is now playing a hand in investigating the strange phenomenon in this neighboring town. Thinking back to the description of "The Starving Five," we can recall that it read: "Your quest for truth has granted you a void in your stomach and now I shall punish you for it." Martha, by the very nature of this investigation is on a quest for answers and given everything we've seen so far, some arcane force is punishing troves of people across the Ittosiviik mountains.

37:48 This leads me to believe that Martha, by the time this tape is viewed, is bound to have undergone some form of punishment herself. Whether it's the death of both Garry and Ethan, two relatives undoubtedly close to her, or if she's since gone missing as well remains to be seen. But what does stand out to me are the hidden messages, warning of the flutist's true intentions. Like we saw in "The Starving Five." There exists a purgatory under the veil of reality, a place in which those afflicted cannot breathe, speak or see, a place in which you're damned to exist, starving and freezing for eternity.

38:27 It almost seems like someone confined there is breaking through, casting out messages to warn us of an impending fate. And so I'm left to wonder, is this Martha? Is Martha the one that leaked this evidence? As it stands, the flutist, regardless of how enchanting he seems on the surface, is not a good person. He almost seems like a false prophet, and the people of Oakburn are falling straight into his trap.

39:04 In the next scene, we move on to evidence two, an audio recording titled "The Magnum Opus." We're told that in 1997, the great flutist of Old Oakburn announces the completion of his Magnum Opus. A presentation is set to happen Friday night at Lake Oakburn. Hundreds of men, women, and children gather near the lake in anticipation. (gentle music) And this is what took place. (static crackling) (people chattering)

39:53 (ominous music) (attendees cheering) (attendees applauding) (suspenseful music) As the crown cheers, a monolith adorned with the exact symbol we saw upon the hands of the townsfolk glows. (ominous music)

41:12 Something isn't right. We're greeted by diverging paths and given the instructions that were plastered in our face were left to follow. (ominous flute music) Follow the music. (ominous music) (ominous flute music) (ominous music) (ominous flute music) (ominous music) (ominous flute music) (ominous music) (suspenseful music) (ominous flute music)

42:46 (ominous music) And as we get a closer look at the flutist's face, we realize that this person, this thing isn't anything close to a prophet at all. Everyone in Old Oakburn had opened themselves up to, welcomed and nurtured a demon. (people screaming) (ominous music)

43:55 The morning after, Old Oakburn woke up to silence. 1,043 inhabitants disappeared overnight. After quick and inconclusive investigations, little evidence was found. The existence and whereabouts of the flutist remained an unanswered enigma. That was until 2003. The search for Old Oakburn's population continues.

44:38 (dramatic music) All right, so in this latest act of the story. We gain access to a leaked evidence tape chronicling the disappearance of an entire mountain town right next to Ittosiviik called Oakburn. On a random night in 1997, all 1,043 of its inhabitants had vanished from the face of the Earth with the prime suspect never to be found. We're introduced to the Oakburn flutist, an enigmatic presence that had effortlessly won over the hearts of the entire town. The townsfolk were so enamored by his mystique and musical prowess that they became mesmerized in a way, wrapped up under a spell of adoration without even knowing it.

45:27 As the video progresses, we're given messages from an unknown source, warning us of the flutist's true intentions. Before we realize that Martha Astor, 16 years after her husband's death, is playing a hand in this investigation. Given the clues from both here and the starving five hinting at this agonizing spiritual purgatory. I do wonder what the current state of Martha actually is. Throughout this video, we bear witness to a monolith adorned with a sigil, a circle with nine triangles that begins to glow in red whenever the flutist begins playing his Magnum Opus.

46:03 From what it seems, the interjections that happen telling us to follow the music seems to be a stylistic representation of what the people of Oakburn witnessed when entranced beneath a spell. But out of everything, what I find most interesting is that right in the middle of all of this, we're shown a random shot of an IPD police car. Why is it abandoned and why does this tape make it a point to show us that it's here? We know that this evidence was leaked by an unknown source and so I've gotta ask, did the Ittosiviik Police Department know about this before it happened?

46:41 Is this why the case was closed so rapidly? Again, 1,043 people up and vanished. A monumental case that would undoubtedly have an entire investigative team working on it for years. It just, it makes no sense, yet at the same time makes all the sense in the world. So were they involved here or is this case truly as unsolved as they claim it is? (dramatic music)

47:20 (ominous music) "He knows well his wicked ways." (water dripping) (wind howling) In "Oakburn Opus II," we jump forward to 2003 peering in on an isolated home, 25 miles from Lake Oakburn. We're shown that the home belongs to the Lebedevs, a relative of Alex from the Starving Five. At first, things are quiet, however something breaks the silence. (feedback hissing) (gun fires) (gun fires)

48:32 (ominous music) (ominous music) (shutter clicking) We jump to police photographs from December 10th, 2003, 17 years to the day after Ethan's death. Here we witness the Ittosiviik Police Department investigating the incident in the Lebedev residence. Yet it's accompanied with a strange message. "The melody crawls in, the voice under the veil commands and the vessel answers."

49:39 - [Speaker] What stands before you, detective Astor, is not a person. I exist incarcerated in vessel of the arcane. I will entertain your feeble sense of justice, I will share you my tale. (suspenseful music)

49:59 He knows well his wicked ways. (ominous music) - [Nexpo] The melody crawls in. The voice under the veil commands and the vessel answers. The person that has taken over this tape in hopes of taunting Martha believes themselves to be not a human but a vessel, guided and manipulated by a force arcane. Contrary to what was implied in the previous video, it seems like the flutist's curse may not simply lead one to their death. Rather it seems to warp people, turning them unapologetically wicked. (ominous music) December 10th, a call was made to the Ittosiviik Police Department from the Lebedev household.

50:56 The caller confessed to having committed murder. Jackson and Oliver Lebedev were dead, their bodies aligned in the darkroom. The Lebedev brothers, naturalist photographers of Ittosiviik, searched to capture the empty landscape of the mountains. The criminal was never identified. For the convenience of this investigation, the killer will be addressed by the pseudonym John Doe.

51:35 We make it to the third piece of evidence in the Oakburn case involving the Lebedev murders. We're told that Martha Astor had performed a direct interrogatory of the killer with the proposed timeline to follow. December 5th, 2003, John Doe is led by the melody of a wind instrument emanating from Lake Oakburn. (ominous music) (ominous flute music)

52:34 (ominous flute music) (ominous music) - [John Doe] From the very first moment the flute touched my mind, I was sure to have been struck by something otherworldly, roaming the depths of the lake. (ominous music) - [Nexpo] Near the lake, John Doe encounters a monolith. On the surface of the smooth rock, a symbol was carved, a circle and nine triangles.

53:23 - [John Doe] I witnessed, in clear and inscrutable reason, the flute and the man. They taught me wisdom from the bottom of the lake. The drowned city and the millions who rest there. He raised me in that instant as a vessel. (ominous music)

53:51 The emblem etched upon the rock, the beautifully profane assortment of the circle and nine triangles, suddenly gleamed in crimson hue. The song wove a web, his desire in an instinct made clear. In the flute, I discern the will of expansion which I was to provide.

54:16 - [Nexpo] After the encounter, John wanders the mountain for five days, allegedly in a deranged state of mind. (suspenseful music) Oakburn and the incident of 1997 was not the only goal the flutist sought to execute, and wiping 1,043 people off the face of the Earth was merely the start of it. John, unlike the millions of others confined to this so-called drowned city, wasn't killed, he was conditioned as a vessel, turned wicked, serving an evil in which he can hardly comprehend.

55:00 We jump forward five days to the night of the murder. (ominous music) December 10th, 2003, John comes across the Lebedev residence. - [John Doe] It's common for many inhabitants of remote areas and hidden places to forget that their front door's unlocked. A naive custom, often conditioned by the emptiness surrounding it.

56:07 Through the window, I beheld his lycan shape, the specter whispered, in evoking horror, his unfathomable name. Marvpyas. (heart beating) (suspenseful music) - [Nexpo] The name Marvpyas in ancient mythology doesn't exist. However, it bears a striking resemblance to Marsyas, a mythological satyr, known to have invented the music of the flute. He was known to have played one crafted by the goddess Athena. However, given how his cheeks puffed up when doing so, she cast him and the instrument away in shame. Later on and filled with undying pride, Marsyas had challenged the god Apollo to a musical contest, yet unsurprisingly had lost.

56:55 And his punishment, he was tied to a tree and flayed alive. Before his physical form was banished forever to exist of all things, as a stream of water, (water splashing) It goes without saying that the parallels here are abundant. Marvpyas is Oakburn's interpretation of Marsyas, a much, much more sinister Marsyas haunting the wilderness with nothing but the hypnotic tune of his flute, leading thousands to their deaths and entrancing whoever he wants, simply because he can.

57:42 (ominous music) 11:42 AM, John Doe furtively strikes the Lebedev brothers. Jackson takes a pickaxe hit to the thigh, snapping the femur, and is left debilitated. Oliver drags Jackson into the dark room at gunpoint upon performing a suboptimal tourniquet.

58:11 (ominous music) (person breathing slowly) (distorted speaking) Jackson is murdered by pickaxe and the sigil in blood is drawn on the ground. (gun fires) (gun fires) (ominous flute music) - [John Doe] Oh, Martha, the sole reason I stand before you, narrating my tale, contributing to your futile pursuit of a comprehensible truth is to convey you his message. He calls you to the lake, your good friend beneath the veil. Visit the drowned city. Your failure to heed his warning will bring the same fate upon you and the few living folks you love.

1:00:12 You will drown too. (ominous music) (suspenseful music) - [Nexpo] We return to the dark room. (ominous music) The bodies of Jackson and Oliver lie in parallel, and in the corner, (person breathing slowly) something stares unquietly.

1:01:28 (John Doe laughs) (upbeat music) In defiance of John's alleged method of murder, the bodies of Jackson and Oliver were found in contradictory conditions. Agents at the scene first observed vascular marbling, skin discoloration, and bloating in both bodies. An autopsy analysis revealed pulmonary injury, insinuating that drowning was the cause of death. (ominous music)

1:02:25 (suspenseful music) I can't help but fixate on that bombshell at the very end, because it effectively throws every single thing we learned from this video on its head. Upon arrival, police did not discover bodies brutally hacked away by a pickaxe. They did not find evidence of death by gunshot. Oliver and Jackson somehow drowned in their home 25 miles from Lake Oakburn. As an audience, this revelation leaves us with a conundrum. For the past 14 minutes, we've entertained a killer that was never identified as he outlined the murder of two people.

1:03:09 He describes in detail how he found them, which weapon was used, even the time they died. Yet according to the autopsy, this never happened. In a way, we're left to ponder on their true fate, ultimately calling into question the veracity of everything we've seen so far. We witnessed with our own eyes the motivation, the target, the murder, and the corpses. And there's photographic proof that blood trails littered the Lebedev home. This murder definitely happened, so who in the world is lying here? I find it interesting that these pieces of evidence according to "Oakburn Opus I" were hidden from the public.

1:03:52 I also find it interesting that after the disappearance of over 1,000 people, the investigation was supposedly rapidly closed. And I also find it interesting that after the call confessing to the murder was made, two police vehicles head out to the Lebedev home, yet only one returns. I think John Doe might be a member of the IPD, and I think the sole reason this happened to him is because he set out to the desolate Lake Oakburn to investigate the mass disappearance. The gunshots we hear aren't done by the brothers, they're done by him.

1:04:31 The death of the Lebedevs happened exactly as it was described. Yet after it was reported, the police who arrived there were murdered in cold blood. The only one to return was the killer. The vessel led by the flutist, and he's heading straight back into the heart of this investigation. The entire reason Martha Astor is being taunted is because she's the only one taking any interest in Oakburn. Yet John, likely corresponding with her, day after day, is always one step ahead in making this case nearly impossible for her to crack.

1:05:07 The sigil drawn in blood is the key to the flutist's goal of expansion. That was how he was able to manifest inside their home. That is how he can spread his perimeter of influence and that is the one goal that John will stop at nothing to execute. At this point, it's unclear how far he's going to take this. But I don't have high hopes for Martha or Ittosiviik at all. (ominous music)

1:05:43 (wind howling) (ominous music) All right, so there we have it. Four intensely cryptic videos outlining a phenomenon terrorizing a small mountain town, leading to the unexplainable disappearance of thousands, the only connection, sigil and shapes hinting at the birth of something sinister, and an inexplicable grudge against mankind. Now from what we've seen, this series leaves a ton of questions on the table. Why did the circles target Ittosiviik? How did the people of Oakburn truly die? What happened to the bodies of the starving five?

1:06:34 What is the reality of this drowned city? What truly happened within the Lebedev home, and what actually happens when cast under the spell of the Oakburn sigil? Now this series, as it stands, is not over. Given the ending, an Oakburn Opus III was teased. However, due to a lack of exposure, RedDiamond had put the project on hiatus. I don't know about you, but I am intensely interested to see how this all ties together, and who knows, perhaps this video right here, may be the push to make that happen. Even still though, I'm gonna do my best to piece everything together here into a cohesive story.

1:07:15 There are so many moving parts, but I think we're onto something. To me, the story goes like this. (gentle music) 1986 Ittosiviik, the town has been afflicted by an otherworldly phenomenon involving circles. It is a regular occurrence, something that happens every year causing droves of people to fall victim to it. Through flashing lights and strange arcane formations forming over their town, the circles seem to transform those obsessed into formless masses of flesh, and bizarrely their remains are never found. Oddly, throughout both this and the starving five, we see remarks hinting at the fact that the residents of Ittosiviik live in this frustrating ignorance.

1:08:15 Not once do they try to understand this phenomenon, all they do is run when they're told, which leaves us to wonder why? Seven days after Ethan's death, a group of four people, Garry Astor, Natasha, Alex Lebedev, and Dimitri Olov sent out to Ittosiviik, and within just four days are met with a terrible fate. Their engine had died, their food gone, heat becomes a luxury as it escapes the cracks of their paper thin walls, and most harrowing of all, (banging) something had found them. A creature in which man cannot comprehend is stalking, luring the weak out of their shelter.

1:09:03 Contrary to conventional predators however, this one isn't doing this to feed, rather it seems to be doing it for pleasure. Garry Astor's corpse is found blackened and frozen. Natasha and Alex are never seen again, and Dimitri, he's stripped of his eyesight and forever confined to a frozen purgatory as a horned creature eternally torments him.

1:09:35 Over the next 11 years, it's likely that this entity had lied in wait, luring and capturing victims affected by the Ittosiviik phenomenon. But this wouldn't be the only manifestation of this incomprehensible horror, because as the bodies piled up, something was born into existence. (soft, tense music)

1:10:05 A humanoid manifestation of the creature from the starving five searches for a key. An ancient monolith adorned with a circle and nine triangles as it seems to bear a power god-like in nature. Now we know from later on that its name is Marvpyas based upon the mythological satyr, Marsyas. And we also know that Marsyas was flayed alive, the ultimate humiliation for his hubris. Marsyas for his entire life was a laughing stock, something banished to exist as nothing more than a drunken embarrassment to gods themselves.

1:10:42 In a way, his story is the ultimate tragedy. He was a jester stripped of any humanity he had, immortalized as a mistake of nature. Marvpyas given the caption from "The Starving Five" is the very definition of an exiled spirit, and because of his fate and the embarrassment he endured, it's likely that he now aims to do the same to man, a pent up vengeance per se, multiple millennia in the making.

1:11:16 After acclimating to their customs and hypnotizing Oakburn with his prowess, Marvpyas reveals his Magnum Opus, the ultimate awakening of an ancient sigil. That night, the atmosphere of thousands of people morphed from adoration to unfettered fear as they all became puppets guided by the hand of a demon to walk straight to their death, right into Lake Oakburn. The drowned city of fate both literal and figurative, seems to be the flutist's own version of hell. An endless damnation stripping you of your humanity as it was done to him left to exist for as long as it takes pleasure in keeping you entombed.

1:12:00 The people of Oakburn vanished from the face of the Earth, yet they're screaming, pleading, and completely confused with no one out there to hear them. (ominous music) Six years pass, and an officer from the IPD is investigating at Lake Oakburn. And much like he stated, he heard the flutist's call and went forth to follow it. Unbeknownst to him however, he becomes ensnared in his spell, again instead of being killed, he's enlightened with the knowledge man can hardly comprehend on their own, before being instilled with one single goal.

1:12:55 He's instructed to hunt, to find a new set of victims to spread his perimeter of influence. And so 25 miles from Lake Oakburn, he encounters a home like a beacon in the night. He brutally murders the Lebedev brothers, going on to use their blood to draw a sigil on the ground. And this is how Marvpyas is able to manifest in the corner. This is how he grows in power, and this is likely the fate that awaits the rest of Ittosiviik. John Doe, after returning to the IPD, is leading the coverup on the Oakburn case and Martha Astor fails to realize that he's right in front of her.

1:13:35 (ominous music) In a way it's come full circle, a town already living in a blissful ignorance afflicted by a force they can hardly understand, nor try to, is the perfect population to target. Who knows if the Oakburn incident could happen again, or perhaps it will, and we just haven't yet seen it. (somber music)

1:14:14 (dramatic music) You know, it was only four videos, but I feel like we've just ventured into an entire universe that I desperately want more of. Akin to "The Witch, "Antlers," even tinges of "Hereditary," the atmosphere on display here is masterclass, and I cannot wait to see where this story goes from here. The vanishing of Oakburn is a tale that I truly believe is one of the most unique haunting and cryptic that I have ever seen. It's an atmospheric, folk horror tale with hints of Lovecraftian influence that truly lends to a type of horror that I've not yet seen in the analog horror genre.

1:14:59 In my opinion, RedDiamond has truly crafted something special here. And the beauty of it is that this story is far from over. So many questions remain, and I'm thrilled to see how future entries fill in the gaps and give us clarification on things we may have missed. Marvpyas, the demonic manifestation of evil and hatred even still remains a mystery, and so too with the drowned city, the vessels, the conflicting evidence, the potential coverup, and the entire existence of an otherworldly phenomenon just living within their world.

1:15:33 There is so much to unpack here, and I am intensely eager to see where it's headed. Please, please go over and give RedDiamond some love and tell 'em I sent you. And believe me when I tell you that when other entries come out of this project, I'll be seated right here, same place, same time for part two.

1:16:02 (gentle music) All right guys, so before I send you off, there is one last thing I gotta show you. So many of you may know that I recently signed with Ballen Studios, and behind the scenes, we've been cooking a ton of really cool projects that I cannot wait to show you. One of them, however you can actually check out right now. It's a podcast called "Redacted Declassified Mysteries," and it's hosted by my good friend Luke Lamana from the Wartime Stories YouTube channel. From covert government experiments to bizarre assassination attempts, Redacted takes you down the rabbit hole into some of history's darkest secrets.

1:16:53 Trust me when I tell you that you will love the stories he tells, as the way Luke breaks them down is second to none. "Redacted Declassified Mysteries" is available wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday. Thank you all so much for an incredible year, and again, thank you all so much for watching. Next year is about to go crazy. I cannot wait to show you what we've been working on. So here's to 2025, I'm about to go pop some fireworks. I love you all, and as always, good night. (gentle music)

1:18:01 (wind howling)

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "Oakburn and the Misery of 1997"?

In order: 0:00 Ittosiviik, Oakburn, Ethan Astor, Martha Astor; 10:00 Ittosiviik, Uzumaki, Martha Astor, Ethan Astor; 20:00 Ittosiviik; 30:00 Oakburn, Ittosiviik, Lake Oakburn, Martha Astor; 40:00 Oakburn, Ittosiviik, Martha Astor, Lake Oakburn; 50:00 Oakburn, Ittosiviik, Marvpyas, Martha Astor; 1:00:00 Ittosiviik, Oakburn, Lake Oakburn, Martha Astor; 1:10:00 Oakburn, Marvpyas, Lake Oakburn, Ittosiviik.

What is mentioned in this Nexpo episode?

9 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Oakburn, Ittosiviik, Martha Astor, Lake Oakburn, Ethan Astor, Marvpyas. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Oakburn and the Misery of 1997"?

The episode runs 1 h 18 min; the transcript is about 7,111 words in 92 timestamped sections.

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