Story (Cliffnotes)

This page contains an extremely short summary for the story of Johnisdead. For a longer summary, click here. A more detailed retelling can be found here.

A college student named Alex received an old copy of Majora's MaskMajora's Mask refers to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - a video game created for the Nintendo 64. from a strange Old Man. This game was possessed by BEN - a malicious entity that was using the spirit of a deceased boy named Ben as a vessel. Alex recorded these hauntings and uploaded them to his YouTube channel - Jadusable. As Alex's mental health declined, he decided to leave the internet after uploading his notes - TheTruth.rtf. This inadvertently spread BEN across the internet, as he had infected the file.

Players were led to Youshouldnthavedonethat.net - a website belonging to the Moon Children - a cult that worshipped the moon goddess Luna. This website was ran by several high ranking cult members - Mat, Spencer, and Kevin. Other strange entities were discovered here as well, including a deceased Moon Child named Kelbris, an entity named Drowned, and the leader of the Moon Children, Mr. D - also known as The Father. The cult partook in a ritual known as Ascension - a ritual suicide that promised great spiritual power. However, it seemed as though this usually just trapped one's soul within electronic devices.

The players contacted Mat and discovered that both Ben and Alex were previously members of the Moon Children. Before they could learn more, Mat was attacked by Kelbris. At this point, Alex reemerged and used a power known as The OcarinaThe Ocarina refers to the ability to submit songs, images, and videos of The Legend of Zelda video game series to affect the world of the ARG. to reset time, rewinding the website and characters within it to three days prior. While the players had a second chance to learn more information, Mat was still gone. Here, they contacted Mat's sister, Rosa. Unfortunately, she, too, was attacked by Kelbris. Due to some poorly timed uses of The Ocarina, the players inadvertently got Alex killed as well.

Shortly after this, players were introduced to Kayd - the only player who was given the login information to an elusive page on Youshouldnthavedonethat.net called The Truth. Unfortunately, before he could give the players the complete login credentials, he was hunted down and killed - presumably by BEN. However, before he died, he revealed the Moon Children's base of operations - a location simply known as The Orchard.

A mysterious individual known as TheLaw approached the players and led them to a new website - YSHDT.com. This website led the players to Letschasethemouse - the blog of a high school student named Doug. Strangely, this blog seemed to be set in the year 2009, meaning players were contacting characters across time and space. Doug had just recently joined a local cult. Fearing for his safety, the players attempted to convince him to leave. One player, Jacob, decided to learn more about this cult by going through its initiation process. Doug directed Jacob to his friend Mason, who began overseeing his recruitment.

Meanwhile, a malicious entity named Patrem approached the players - an intimidating individual who seemed to be the leader of Doug's cult. Players were also introduced to Helper - a more friendly entity. Helper's Hat granted him extended communication and traversal abilities. One day, Doug was kidnapped by the cult. Fearing for his safety, his friend Mason allied with the players in an attempt to rescue him. The players sent Helper for backup - unfortunately getting him killed in the process. Mason fled the scene - though not before recovering Helper's Hat. Thankfully, due to his ethereal nature, Helper's spirit persisted and he would later be revived.

Mason encountered The Gray Man - an enigmatic individual who claimed to be a time traveler. He traded Mason a playing card in exchange for Helper's Hat. After a while, Mason decided to confront the cult. When he did so, the cult allowed him to see Doug. However, Doug was "different" now and acted far more maliciously. After this, Mason was presumably attacked and locked inside a storm drain where he presumably died. After this, players were no longer communicating with players from 2009 but instead the present. Players were briefly contacted by a strange version of Mason that seemed to be speaking through an old computer. Unfortunately, the players quickly lost contact with him.

Players are introduced to their new main character - Tyler, a young man living alone in rural Florida. Tyler had three friends - John, who mysteriously died in a housefire in 2011, KevinReminder: Kevin was the name of a Moon Child., who disappeared around the same time John died, and JacobReminder: Jacob was the name of the player who underwent the Lunar Children initiation in 2009. who disappeared back in 2009. Tyler was now being targeted by Doug's cult, which was revealed to not be the Moon Children but instead an off-shoot called the Lunar Children. The Lunar Children's headquarters was originally a fishery. However, it was destroyed on November 11th, 2011 - a date the cult refers to as Undecim Nocte. On this date, an important ritual went awry that resulted in Patrem becoming trapped in the body of a Lunar Child named Vincent. Since then, the cult has been stationed in a building in Ohio called The Spire. Most of this was revealed to the players by SKM - a rogue hacker who's assisted by their ghostly assistant named Drowned.

The players befriended Tyler via his YouTube channel - Silentdork. While they tried to learn more information from him, they explored the cult's website - Lunarchildren.com. Here, they discovered that BEN'sReminder: BEN is the name of the malicious entity that was using the spirit of a deceased child named Ben as a vessel. real name was Tenebris. Players also discovered the existence of four holy individuals within the cult - The Four Giants. Only one of these was revealed at the time - DougIt's implied that when Doug changed into a more malicious version of himself in the previous arc, he was actually ascended into one of The Four Giants.. The players attempted to inform Tyler of the danger he was in by showing him one of the cult's websites - Johnisdsead.com. Unfortunately, Tyler believed that this was all just a cruel prank and he cut off contact with the players.

One day, Tyler came across the ruins of the fishery. Here, he encountered Doug, who chased Tyler back to his home. After being relentlessly tormented by disturbing sounds for the next few weeks, Tyler was eventually goaded to exit his home and go to Kevin's house. Upon doing so, he was captured by the Lunar Children. To make matters worse, The Ocarina had been stolen from the players and given to the Lunar Children. Thankfully, Drowned came to their aid, helping the players break into the Lunar Children Forums - a location where The Ocarina was supposedly being housed. While doing this, Drowned made a startling revelation to the players - he was the fusion of Ben and Max - SKM's younger brother who had been kidnapped by the cult.</p.

The Lunar Children Forums contained a variety of posts from the cult's higher ranking members. These included a rich newcomer named Thoth, a former Moon Child named MatReminder: Mat was the name of one of the Moon Children - Rosa's brother., two librarians named Jennifer and Kylie, and LiquidSaint - who was secretly SKM in disguise. The forums also saw chatter between many lower ranking members. These included an artist named Sheepdog, a boy living at The Spire named Igaluk123, a singer named Harry, an old former Moon Child named Jeremy, and his son, Hunter, who was being considered given a promotion within the cult.

The players chatted with Jeremy, who seemed quite friendly and helpful. He revealed that he's the brother of the Old ManReminder: The "Old Man" is the individual who gave Alex the haunted Majora's Mask cartridge.. He also claimed that the Moon Children lied about Kelbris's death - he was killed by Mat in 2002. Sadly, this conversation was cut short when it was revealed that Jeremy had been killed by his son Hunter - his last task required in order to become a high ranking Lunar Child. Using The Ocarina, players managed to rescue Tyler who somehow managed to regain possession of his cherished Crescent Moon NecklaceTyler's Crescent Moon Necklace was given to him as a birthday present years prior. It was thought to have been stolen by Kevin and is implied to hold some significance to the Lunar Children. during the chaos.

The Lunar Children later attempted to capture Tyler again on April 23rd, 2016. They failed, however, leading to a terrible cataclysm that wiped most of them out and destroyed The Spire. Meanwhile, SKM and Drowned had been captured by Regiminis - a powerful ascended cultist who was revealed to be KevinReminder: Kevin was Tyler's friend who went missing around 2011. It's implied that Undecim Nocte 2011 was the date of his ascension - after which he became known as Regiminis.. Regiminis wished to trade them to Tenebris in exchange for JohnReminder: John was Tyler's friend who died in 2011. It's implied that his death was the result of Kevin's ascension on Undecim Nocte 2011.. The players manage to rescue SKM. Unfortunately, Drowned is not so lucky. He is given to Tenebris as the tradeRegiminis wanted John because he wished to use him as a vessel. If an ascended individual uses someone as a vessel, they become more powerful - especially if that individual died as a result of their ascension.

Tenebris wanted Drowned because they desired Ben. As stated before, Tenebris was originally using Ben as a vessel while going by the name BEN. is made. Before he disappeared, Drowned revealed the Lunar Children gave SKM a Gas Mask in 2011. However, there's some conflicting memories of this event that implies that time had been tampered with and SKM was given a copy of the Libro LunarusThe Libro Lunarus is the Lunar Children's holy book. as well.

Tenebris uses his newfound power to manipulate time and bring back Youshouldnthavedonethat.net. Here, the players learn that KaydReminder: Kayd was the player who was given the login information to The Truth by Rosa. He was later hunted down and killed. was also a member of the Moon Children. They also discover the existence of the rest of The Four Giants - Doug, AlexReminder: Alex is the individual who played the haunted Majora's Mask cartridge and was later revealed to be connected to the Moon Children., SpencerReminder: Spencer was one of the higher-ranking Moon Children., and Hank - Kelbris's real name. Just like before, the website was undergoing countless different cyclesAs seen earlier, the website can be reverted back to how it appeared three days prior. However, each time this happens, events play out somewhat differently. Each three day period is referred to as a "Cycle". It's believed that each cycle takes place in a different timeline due to the strange differences experienced in each one. - allowing the players to gain further insight into the Moon Children. It's revealed that Ben was actually Hank's biological son. After Ben was born, Hank neglected his adopted son, who's revealed to be Mat. On April 23rd, 2002, Hank ascended Ben, resulting in both Ben and Tenebris being trapped in the Majora's Mask cartridge. Shortly after this was when Mat killed Hank, accidentally ascending him into both Patrem and KelbrisHank's ascension was a unique classification known as a "Finitor". This results in the creation of a powerful essence (Patrem) and an empty shell (Kelbris). Patrem went on to lead the Lunar Children, while Kelbris became one of The Four Giants..

Players reunited with Jeremy, who was now a spirit wandering the Parallelos - a paranormal realm where Luna and ascended spirits reside. Jeremy was working alongside RosaReminder: Rosa is Mat's sister. She briefly spoke with the players in the past., who revealed that when Kelbris encountered her in the past, he did not kill her but instead warp her to the Parallelos. Here, she met Luna and presumably gained some sort of seer-like abilities. The two revealed that Regiminis was forcing the website through countless cycles in an attempt to break into The TruthReminder - The Truth was the name of a mysterious locked page on the website.. However, the spirits within the website eventually rebelled against Regiminis, allowing the players themselves to enter The Truth and use it's power, temporarily defeating Tenebris.

Strange updates began appearing on Youshouldnthavedonethat.net that seemed to be from a Lunar Child named Hope. Hope claims that she and two of her friends managed to survive the cataclysm that wiped out the Lunar Children in 2016. The three of them were now living in a strange pristine version of The Spire that only they could see. Meanwhile, other updates seemed to imply that both Tenebris and Regiminis were still alive after the events of the previous arc.

Tyler revealed that he had been in a coma for the past several months. He's currently suffering from amnesia and is in possession of a Bullet Necklace of unknown origin. Tyler managed to contact José - a man who retrieved the Lunar Children's Servers to investigate them. Tyler also met Greth - someone who was also experiencing several strange happenings in his life. Greth was suffering from insomnia and being stalked by a man in a mask named The Jaeger. One day, a strange Detour Sign appeared outside Tyler's home. Whenever he touched this sign, Tyler would be teleported to a random location near his home. Tyler's Bullet Necklace was briefly stolen by SKM, who had supposedly managed to recover his brother Max at some point. SKM somehow infused Max's spirit into the Bullet Necklace before giving it back to Tyler.

Meanwhile, Greth's insomnia worsened. The players managed to finally put him to sleep using The Ocarina. This turned out to be a mistake, however, as it was soon revealed that Patrem was now residing inside of Greth. With Greth finally asleep, Patrem was able to possess his body much like how he did with Vincent. Meanwhile, players discovered the Astral Observatory - a group of paranormal enthusiasts. However, it was quickly made clear that this group held some connection to the Lunar Children. Its members include an anime fangirl named Yuukichan, an internet troll named Moonman, a conspiracy theorist named NotAHoax, a gamer and roleplayer named Kaiden, an old man named Samuel, two members who were currently missing named Yugi and IsocelesAssassin, and the group's suspicious leader, Nocta.

Moonman began contacting the players in private. Here, he revealed that while the players were in a timeline known as the Prime Timeline, the Astral Observatory and its members were in a separate one - the Astral Timeline. Moonman himself was the Astral version of Greth, while Nocta seemed to be the Astral version of Regiminis - though he also held some unknown connection to Kayd. After a while, Yuukichan began acting strangely. It was later revealed that she had been ascended - possibly by Nocta himself. Afterwards, Alex appeared in his malicious ascended form and taunted the players, claiming that Tyler had been taken somewhere.

Players were introduced to IIIII - a strange concept that seemed to represent different characters - one for each "I". A single "I" seemingly represented Tenebris. "II" represented Tyler. "IIII" represented a new character - a powerful mage named Synchron. Synchron and Tenebris both seemingly held great knowledge regarding the world of the ARG and sometimes spoke in a somewhat meta sense. Players were later introduced to three other characters who held a similar degree of knowledge - BUP, who was a malicious version of Greth from a third, unknown timeline, The Producer, a friendly artist who held some connection to the player WolfcatWolfcat is a player who had been a part of the Within Hubris community for many years. It was around this time that he had become a GM for Johnisdead., and TheLawReminder: TheLaw was the entity who led the players to YSHDT.com in 2015, kicking off the events of Johnisdead., who held some connection to the player DawnDawn was the GM of the first arc of Johnisdead - the YSHDT Arc..

Meanwhile, IsocelesAssassinReminder: IsocelesAssassin was one of the members of the Astral Observatory who had been missing for quite some time. returned to the Astral Observatory Forums. Accompanying him was a crude ghostly assistant named GHOSTBABEL, who revealed that IsocelesAssassin was actually the Astral Timeline version of the player CircleHunter. They also revealed that most of the players in the Astral Timeline were killed by a traitor. This was later confirmed by Moonman. He revealed that IsocelesAssassin, YugiYugi is one of the members of the Astral Observatory who had been missing for quite some time., and himself were the only players who survived. He also revealed that Nocta was a fellow player in the Astral Timeline. Believing him to be responsible, Moonman, IsocelesAssassin, and Yugi all infiltrated the Astral Observatory in an attempt to stop him. GHOSTBABEL informed the players that they were currently working alongside a Hacker Group to help the players gain access to the Subspace - a secret section of the Astral Observatory that contained the group's secretive cult-like knowledge. However, this would take some time.

A new user named Erika joined the players. Viewing her as somewhat suspicious, many believed that she was actually a canon character at the time. These sentiments only grew when she showcased a music video she made which contained footage of Tyler that hadn't been seen anywhere else. She vehemently denied her canonicity, however, claiming that she found the footage on a YouTube channel that supposedly belonged to Max. Meanwhile, the players were also growing suspicious of their fellow player Wolfcat. Shortly after this, they were attacked by Pumpkinhead - an entity that had taken control of Wolfcat's account. However, not long afterwards, the "IIIII"Reminder: IIIII represents multiple different characters. Sometimes, these entities seemingly fight for control over accounts associated with IIIII. account became active and announced that any updates involving Pumpkinhead were completely non-canon.

The "IIIII" account uploaded a video to Silentdork claiming that the ARG was now over. However, it was quickly revealed that this was not the case. The "IIIII" account was actually being used by Tenebris in an attempt to trick the players. After this, it was revealed that, earlier in the year, Tyler was attacked by a possessed Greth. In an attempt to escape. Tyler hopped on the Detour Sign, warping him to the Parallelos. Later on, the players were finally ready to enact their plan. The Hacker Group had created a Data Bomb which would corrupt the website and allow the players to access the Subspace. However, before it could be used, it was stolen away by Pumpkinhead.

Pumpkinhead revealed that he was indeed canon after all and the "Gamejack" was simply a ploy to throw off suspicion from him. It was revealed that he was previously using the Astral Timeline version of Wolfcat's spirit as a vessel, though it mysterious disappeared at some point - possibly due to interference by YuukichanYuukichan's spirit had been communicating with the players. At some point (around the release of a canon album called "Ascended E-girl"), she disappeared along with what seemed to be a representation of the Astral Timeline version of Wolfcat.. Thankfully, the players managed to recover a second Data Bomb and used it to enter the Subspace. Here, they learned of Aggregation - the process of an individual merging with their other selves across different timelines. Players also found a link to a newly updated Johnisdead.com.

The new version of Johnisdead.com took on the form of a massive maze. Back on the Astral Observatory Forums, IscoelesAssassin began opening up to the players. He revealed that Yugi was actually JoséReminder: José was the investigator who retrieved the Lunar Children servers to examine them during the Astral Arc.. José was asked by Nocta to enter the Prime Timeline and retrieve the Lunar Children Servers - presumably so that the two timelines could be further linked. However, not wanting to follow Nocta's sinister plans, José instead began investigating the servers himself. His betrayal was eventually discovered and he has presumably since been trapped in the Parallelos.

IsocelesAssassin also reveals that he is The Gray ManReminder: The Gray Man was the mysterious individual who gave Mason a playing card in exchange for Helper's Hat in 2009.. A few years prior, he made contact with the Hacker Group and they hatched a plan together. IsocelesAssassin used The Ocarina to go back in time to 2009 and install one of the Hacker Group's transmission devices. In an attempt to rescue MasonReminder: During the YSHDT Arc, Mason was trapped in a storm drain where he presumably drowned., he captured Mason's soul in a device. The two travelled together until they were attacked by Regiminis in 2012. IsocelesAssassin was forced to flee back to the present, leaving Mason behind.

Meanwhile, the players discover that DawnReminder: Dawn was the GM of the YSHDT Arc - the first arc of Johnisdead. is actually a member of a cult called the Sun Children. He held a special title called The Dawn, which granted him special abilities. Some of these details were discovered by utilizing JanusVR - a program that allowed the players to explore digital 3D environments hidden within webpages. One of these environments was a recreation of The Spire, which contained a variety of chatlogs between Lunar Children. These seemed to imply that HunterReminder: Hunter is Jeremy's son. Hunter killed Jeremy in order to obtain a promotion within the Lunar Children. perhaps willingly sabotaged the Lunar Children before he and Mat both disappeared - the latter of whom is implied to be a part of a new cult called the Order of Metatron. These conversations also revealed that the Lunar Children regained possession of Tyler's Crescent Moon Necklace before hiding it away somewhere.

Pumpkinhead discovered a deceased version of IsocelesAssassin and began using him as a vessel. This version of IsocelesAssassin is implied to come from a timeline where he was unable to escape Regiminis in 2012 and was instead killed. As the players fought against Pumpkinhead, Mason's spirit returned and explained more of his past. After being abandoned in 2012, Mason eventually managed to manifest a body around the device he was trapped in. He later charged The Spire in 2016, blowing it up with his device and presumably causing the cataclysm that wiped out most of the Lunar Children. The players eventually defeated Pumpkinhead, freeing this dead version of IsocelesAssassin.

Meanwhile, Tyler's journey continued. Upon warping to the Parallelos, Tyler encountered a strange, white, mannequin-like entity. After this, he was seen lying on a hospital bed. Tyler is then seen walking through a strange, otherworldly hotel belonging to Alex called Alex's "Hall of Fame". Here, he was presumably undergoing some sort of trial. Around this point, Erika's canonicity was fully confirmed as she appeared in this video guiding Tyler as the two explored the hotel. The two are suddenly confronted by Regiminis as they flee into a nearby elevator. Kaiden set off on his own journey. Feeling guilty for Yuukichan's death, he began investigating the homes of the deceased players in the Astral Timeline. At each location he found a playing cardIt's implied that the playing card IsocelesAssassin gave to Mason was a part of this set. A similar playing card was found in José's holding cell.. Meanwhile, The Jaeger began haunting Moonman. It was also implied that BUP could potentially possess him at any moment. Fearing for the safety of his friends, Moonman set off on his own.

Eventually, the players were finally able to contact the Hacker Group. They revealed that they were from the same timeline as BUP - a third timeline separate from the Astral and Prime Timelines where a cataclysmic event supposedly took place in 2011. The Hacker Group was made up of three individuals - the third timeline's incarnations of Mason and Spencer and a third unrevealed character.

Players discovered the journals of Father Alphonse, who was the Lunar Children's "Father""Father" is the general term used to describe the leader of the Lunar Children. before Vincent. Players also discovered that Vincent was actually JacobJacob was one of Tyler's friends who went missing in 2009. He's also the player who went through the Lunar Children initiation process during the same year. This implies that he joined the cult and later went by the name Vincent.. Alphonse reveals the existence of Project Bifrost - a Lunar Children experiment that involved the creation of digital 3D worlds using a substance called Spiritus. It's implied that these digital 3D worlds are actually the Janus worlds.

Meanwhile, the players became aware of a malicious company named WireTalk, which seemed to hold a great deal of power and influence. WireTalk seemingly possessed their own stilted versions of Tyler and Erika named Mr. Silent and Mrs. Moon respectively. These two proceeded to give occasional announcements on the Silentdork YouTube channel regarding and upcoming Johnisdead Movie. Fighting against WireTalk was a group of hackers called the OFA Group. This group was incredibly secretive and used terminology and lingo that was difficult to understand.

Max's spirit returned and began chatting with the players. He revealed that he was currently in the Parallelos inside a computer. The computer was in a building where two people could be seen - one who spoke into a machine and another who was sleeping on a bed. Near this building was a tent were SKM was currently living. However, Max claimed that SKM's mental state was slowly deteriorating - likely due to the environment of the Parallelos. Max claims that his kidnapping by the Lunar Children was not organized by Patrem - instead, Patrem seemed quite surprised and apologetic regarding Max's involvement.

After this, players were attacked by an entity named Hotspot - the third timeline's version of Regiminis. Hotspot destroyed the Astral Observatory, forcing GHOSTBABEL to sacrifice herself in order to keep it stable. Shortly after this, Patrem began gloating about his inevitable victory, claiming that he'd soon be arriving in Luna's Parallelos. This coincided with The Jaeger attempting to force Moonman and Greth to aggregate. However, this process was seemingly interrupted by Kaiden, who rescued Moonman. This presumably led to Patrem becoming stuck in the Parallelos - a fact that Regiminis proceeded to mock him about. Regiminis then revealed that he himself was already aggregated - possibly with Nocta and Hotspot. Meanwhile, players met another enigmatic character - Edwin, who claimed that Erika was his sister.