Entity inspired Tarot by Grace Holsten

“That kind of creeping sense that something’s not right. That guy you saw that might be following you, might mean you harm.”
- Gerard Keay, MAG 111

The Stranger is one of The Entities. It is the fear of things that are almost human, but not quite, and the creeping sense that something is not right but you don’t know what, why, or how. It manifests as objects pretending to be humans, like mannequins, wax models and taxidermy, and is often connected to skin, faces, clowns, and identity.

Aliases

I Do Not Know You

Fears

The uncanny
Not knowing

Manifestations

Mannequins
Dolls
Wax figures
Taxidermy
Skin
Theatre
Performance
Masks
Calliope music
Clowns
Circuses

Episodes

Statements

Other Appearances

MAG 2 - Do Not Open (Partially; Breekon & Hope)
MAG 5 - Thrown Away (Partially)
MAG 20 - Desecrated Host (Breekon & Hope)
MAG 35 - Old Passages (Partially; a passage with a stranger meaning harm, Breekon & Hope)
MAG 40 - Human Remains (NotThem)
MAG 80 - The Librarian (NotThem)
MAG 97 - We All Ignore the Pit (Nikola Orsinov)
MAG 99 - Dust to Dust (Breekon & Hope)
MAG 107 - Third Degree (Max Mustermann)
MAG 108 - Monologue (Possibly, masked figure)
MAG 109 - Nightfall (Max Mustermann)
MAG 188 - Centre of Attention (Domain, mentioned)
MAG 190 - Scavengers (Domain, mentioned)

Characters

NotThem: A creature (possibly several) that can kill a person and then take over their life. They will appear human, but with a different physical appearance than their victim. All photos and memories of the victim will alter to match its changed appearance, leading the victim’s friends and family to believe no change has occurred and the NotThem is actually their loved one. Some records, such as magnetic tape, polaroid photos, and certain individuals’ memories are resistant to this change.
Breekon & Hope: A pair of beings currently working as deliverymen that primarily deliver artefacts. The pair have had various other jobs, accents and identities in the past, and took their current names from Alfred Breekon, the man who originally ran the delivery company ‘Breekon and Hope’. They are affiliated with The Circus of the Other and partook in The Unknowing.
Gregor Orsinov: Former ringmaster of The Circus of the Other. He created Nikola Orsinov by combining the skin of the Joseph Grimaldi and a mannequin.
Nikola Orsinov: A living mannequin wearing human skin. After being created she killed Gregor Orsinov and took over as the ringmaster of the circus, taking the position of lead dancer for The Unknowing.
Nikolai Dennikin: Former calliophone player for The Circus of the Other.
The Anglerfish: A creature that pretends to be a smoker to lure victims closer. Its victims are skinned and used for The Unknowing.
Victims of The Anglerfish
- Sarah Baldwin: Accompanies Melanie King to the Cambridge Military Hospital, and MAG 96 - Return to Sender when she is briefly captured by Alice “Daisy” Tonner and Jonathan Sims.
- Daniel Rawlings: Owner of The Trophy Room. He bears no resemblance to the original Daniel except for having identical hair. His eyes are empty and glassy like the taxidermied animals in his shop.
- Megan Shaw: May be the same Megan that appears with Jude Perry in the Gwydir Forest.
Wolfgang von Kempelen: a Hungarian machinist who constructed the Mechanical Turk, a speaking machine, and other automata. Behind their stated purpose, he secretly planned to use them to perform The Unknowing. His creations attempted the ritual in 1787, but Wolfgang himself was nowhere to be found during the ritual, though he was possibly the person within the [[Mechanical Turk|Turk.
Tom: Driving with Breekon & Hope in MAG 61 - Hard Shoulder.
- Possibly the same Tom as Not-Sasha’s apparent boyfriend, whom they visited at the wax museum, where he apparently worked. John thought that the photographs of Tom and Not-Sasha did not look right, as if they were stock photos.
Anatomy Students: A group of generic students who wanted to learn how to “make the insides.”
- Officer “Max Mustermann” may be a version of Erika Mustermann, one of the Anatomy Students. After being physically injured, Max was able to reform his physical body
- “Dr. Jane Doe”, may be a version of John Doe, one of the Anatomy Students.
  - Appears to be an Avatar of The Stranger that controls the St. Bleedings Centre for Wellbeing(MAG 182 - Wellbeing) Domain.

Artefacts

The Calliope: Formerly played by Nikolai Dennikin, later stolen to be used during The Unknowing.
Clown Dolls (MAG 24 - Strange Music): Connected to the Calliope. Formerly owned by Nikolai Dennikin.
Gorilla Skin: Originally from Carthage, it was used in Wolfgang’s Unknowing attempt in 1787 and was intended to be used during the 2017 Unknowing. It was destroyed by Gertrude Robinson.

Locations

The House of Wax Museum in Great Yarmouth.
The Trophy Room in Barnet, London.
Workshop in Gwydir Forest, North Wales.
Covent Garden Theatre, London.
Court Theatre of Buda, Hungary.
NotThem’s domain in the post-Change world: A merry-go-round that seems to be about half a mile in diameter, but when entered, a rider becomes trapped, their identity and sense of self eventually fading and mixing with other riders.
St. Bleedings Centre for Wellbeing, Domain in the post-Change world: a hospital where victims undergo physical and psychological torture at the hands of masked medical staff deemed “treatment” to cure them of their wellness. “Dr. Jane Doe” appears to be the Avatar of the Domain.
The Labyrinth of Masks, Domain. Basira is moving through it in the timespan of MAG 188 - Centre of Attention. Nothing else is known about this Domain.

Ritual

The Stranger’s ritual is called The Unknowing. Two attempts at this ritual are known:

Wolfgang Von Kempelen attempted it in 1787, using an array of automata. It was stopped by agents of The Slaughter.
Nikola Orsinov and The Circus of the Other attempted it in 2017. It was stopped by a Hunter, plastic explosives and agents of The Eye.

Connections to other Entities

The Desolation seemed to be allied or at least working with The Stranger, with The Cult of the Lightless Flame burning down a part of Gwydir Forest at Nikola Orsinov’s command. Both are associated with wax, as well.
It is an enemy of The Eye and The Spiral.
The Stranger is conceptually connected to The Spiral and they sometimes overlap.
Breekon & Hope were bound to The Coffin for some time and used it to claim a few victims, but to what degree The Stranger is allied with The Buried is uncertain, as Breekon & Hope collaborated with many other entities.

Trivia

The real-life House of Wax Museum in Great Yarmouth was considered to be one of the worst wax museums due to all its figures barely looking like who they were supposed to and overall being rather horrifying to look at.
The Stranger has more episodes dedicated to it than any other entity.

The Physhbowl

Explorer

The Stranger