The Complex Chronicles



The Complex Chronicles is a YouTube analog horror series created by the YouTube channel Thermal Laboratories. The story is set in the late 2000's and mostly consists of PSA's and security footage, focusing mainly around a tragic incident that occurred in an underground facility called the Subterranean Complex.

anomaly_VHS_01
Recorded March 2009

Once the tape starts, there is a point-of view shot of an elevator's interior with text fading in that says "March 28, 2009". The elevator dings and the doors slowly open, revealing an empty endless hallway. The video fades into static. Then there is a whistle-like beep and text appears, saying "Security Footage #06".

The footage in question is a room with a door on either end of the room, a metal locker (referred to as "safety closets"), and in between two narrow shelves is a table with flat-screened TV on it. The date and time shown at the bottom of the screen is 28/03/2009 (March 28 2009) PM 15:47 (3:47 PM in 24-hour time). The TV is showing a blank white screen that turns black after a second.

The footage soon cuts to black with a brief high-pitched beep, followed by an eerie whistling. The same room fades into view, the date being the next day at 6:22 in the morning. In the shadows, the TV screen lights up red with the text "EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM, THIS IS NOT A TEST" and there is a familiar EAS alarm that plays as this happens. A slightly robot-like woman's voice says, "A hostile anomaly has been spotted. All residents are to stay alert if they are not with other people. Hide in safety closets if necessary. Do not let the entity see you. We will broadcast another message tomorrow morning. All residents must stay safe and alert until then."

After a couple of seconds, there is a buzz and the screen cuts to black again. A pair of odd-looking red glowing eyes fades in as a deep male robotic voice repeats the 2 sentences, "You will hide. I will count." each repetition getting louder as the eyes get closer. After the fourth time, the voice stops abruptly, the eyes shine brighter, and then it disappears.

The room comes into view again. The date is 30/03/2009 (The 30th of March) now and the time is PM 23:45 (11:45 PM). The TV starts flickering white and then turns off again. After a few seconds there is static and the time skips to March 31 at 3:23 AM. The room is now pitch black and there is a constant ringing sound accompanied by the sound of someone relentlessly banging on the door. Once the door bursts open, the room brightens unnaturally and the footage glitches out.

Once the screen is black again, there is text saying "ERROR, REBOOTING FOOTAGE..." After the footage reboots, the time is now 4:48 AM. In the darkness, the safety closet is on its side and a dead man can only be seen once a dark entity appears near the body and the room brightens again. This is the first time we get a view of the Void Man, the main antagonist of the series. The video cuts to another clip of footage that seems to have been recorded over the security footage. The person who is recording is inside the hiding closet and a banging on the door is heard before the door bursts open and the Void Man appears, opening the locker and glitching out the footage once again.

Another recording fades in. The cameraman is approaching a hydraulic door that seems be an exit, only to turn around and see he is being pursued. They try to run to a safety closet but it's too late. The video is concluded with text saying "[END RECORDING]".

the_countdown_VHS_02
Unspecified Recording Date

The tape begins with a buzzing static sound and the Void Man's eyes appear for less than a second before a view of a desk appears. The desk has a flat-screened monitor with a laptop beside it and and an intercom on the other side. There is a digital chime and the Void Man is heard on the loudspeaker saying "Attention all humans. I would like to play a game tonight. You will hide, and I will count."

The cameraman turns around and stands up from the chair, then hesitates. The Void Man demands the person to hide before he finds them. So they enter the hiding closet and he concludes the recording with "Good luck to those who fear what is to come."

hide_and_seek_VHS_03
Unspecified Recording Date (Most likely a continuation of the_countdown_VHS_02)

A high-threshold image of a dead mannequin-like body leaning against a wall fades in as the Void Man is heard saying "Ready or not... here I come-" Before being cut off by the image glitching into a black screen.

After several seconds, an animated eye with a green iris appears and strange distorted music begins playing. The eye's pupil gets bigger and smaller as the eye rotates in several directions. Then the eye turns a full 360 degrees before stopping and turning into a red distorted eye.

The video cuts back to the recording from the previous episode. The cameraman is still inside the safety closet. After watching the Void Man enter the room, they take the chance to leave the safety closet and run to the elevator. The elevator door closes and the Void Man teleports through the elevator doors. The video fades into red and then cuts to a black screen. A deep, reversed voice is heard in the background and a strange red glow fades in and out of view. The next image that fades in is a stairwell with the entity's eyes in the darkness.

Then another recording fades in. A pair of elevator doors open, revealing a safety closet falling onto its side. The room in which this happens is full of safety closets and there is a metal door opposite from the elevator. Behind the door is another room full of safety closets with a dark hallway at the end of the room. The person with the camera makes their way over to the hallway, and for a second the Void Man's eyes are seen glowing in the darkness. His voice is heard saying "I see you. I see everyone." The cameraman hides in a safety closet and the Void Man says "You can hide, but you cannot run." as he opens the lockers one by one until he reaches the last one, which is the one where the person is hiding. He slowly turns toward the safety closet and the video fades to red once again before cutting to a black screen.

After a moment, the screen turns red and the Subterranean Complex Authorities makes an announcement in which they have discovered that safety closets are not effective against the entity and that they must seal off the facility to protect their nation's reputation, implying that the government cares more about themselves than the citizens that reside in the complex.

The video cuts to black again and a red ring fades in and out, then the screen turns red again but this time the Void Man's eyes are on the screen. The announcer's voice repeats the sentence "Let's play hide & seek." several times. A strange unintelligible image fades in, and then the video cuts to black again, but this time the eyes are still there. He begins to count down from 10. Once he gets to 1, an obscure footage of the Void Man flickers into view and then glitches out.

security_footage
Unspecified Recording Date

The video begins with a beep and there is a birds-eye view of a door with a warning sign on it, suggesting that this is a recording from a CCTV camera (hence the name "security_footage"). The camera switches to a hallway leading to an open door at the end of it, then a small room containing a cylindrical capsule-like metal structure. We are shown the last room for a brief moment before the camera switches back to the hallway, then back to the last room.

A distant voice is heard saying "Have you seen me yet?" and text appears at the bottom corner of the screen, which reads "MOTION DETECTED IN CAM 2". The camera switches back to the hallway and the Void Man begins to slowly break the camera. The camera switches to the first room and a loud repetitive banging sound is heard before the camera switches to the last room, loses signal, and the footage ends.

mutant_VHS_04
Unspecified Recording Date (Most likely a continuation of hide_and_seek_VHS_03)

A briefing from the Subterranean Complex begins, and then is interrupted. The screen cuts to black and "familiar (according to the closed captions)" music begins to play. Once the music ends, a room is shown. The room is mostly empty apart from a pitch black doorway. The room darkens, and a spider-like entity emerges from the doorway. The entity's eyes appear, and a loud distorted noise starts up. The room brightens for a few seconds, and then goes dark again once the sound stops and a burglar alarm is heard in the background. The video then cuts back to the briefing from the beginning of the video. An entity (who could possibly be the Void Man) is referenced and has apparently been discovered to be mutating "as the casualties increase in number". The video goes on to give a list of survival instructions that are reserved only for the people preventing the entity's escape:


 * Keep a light source with you at all times; the entity is repelled by sudden bright light.
 * A firearm is also ideal if you have one with you.
 * Do not look directly at the entity's eyes if you are within its proximity.
 * Do not touch anyone the entity has killed.
 * If he can see you, do not run.
 * Do not express fear.
 * Holding your breath is also recommended.
 * And the most important step is that you must, at all costs, remember to-

Following this list of instructions, the video is suddenly interrupted midsentence, as a black screen with a red ring at the center and an as of yet undeciphered message plays in morse code for the remainder of the video.

subterranean_VHS_05
Recorded October 2008

An advertisement of the Subterranean Complex that is overwritten by other mysterious footage, such as a missing person alert for a woman named Samantha Jackson, security footage from 2008, and a dark tunnel with strange sounds echoing through it. An image of a person's eye is shown at the end of the video changing repeatedly and becoming distorted before the tape stops.

2005_VHS_06
Recorded December 2005

A damaged recording of one of the old Subterranean Complex computers from 2005. A series of messages between a person named Sam (Who could possibly be Samantha Jackson) and Dave (Who could possibly be the Void Man or was hijacked during the conversation) is shown before there is a strange animation at the end of the video involving an eye and a radiation icon.

unstable_VHS_07
Unspecified Recording Date

"This weekly briefing is brought to you by the Subterranean Complex.

It has been confirmed that Reactor Core #600 has been decreasing stability.

We strongly advise employees of Location 600 to stay out of the area until further notice.

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missing_VHS_08
Unspecified Recording Date

Another one of the damaged tapes show that 2 more people have gone missing in the complex. Their fates are implied.

accident_free_VHS_09
Recorded January 2009 - March 2009

A Subterranean Complex PSA from 2009 celebrating their 19,000th day of safety. An image of the Subterranean Complex from 1957 is shown, followed by one from 2009, and then text that says "Accident-free. Danger-free. Care-free. You'll never want to leave!" zooms into the screen. Then there is a beep and different text that says "UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL DETECTED IN L-315-42, SEALING WEST DOOR #7..." is shown. The video cuts to a recording zooming in on the Void Man standing over a dead man on the floor. A burglar alarm is heard, along with the EAS from anomaly_VHS_01. The camera turns to face a closing hydraulic door with a "W7" marked on it, then turns back to face the Void Man, who is now walking towards the camera. The person who is recording screams and drops the camera.

fear_VHS_10
Recorded November 2008 - (Unspecified Month) 2009

The government never helped them. This is the last tape of Season 1 of the Complex Chronicles.