The Mandela Catalogue

The Mandela Catalogue is an analog horror web series created by American YouTuber Alex Kister in 2021. It is set in the fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin, which is invaded by "alternates", otherworldly beings that use various forms of psychological torture on their victims with the ultimate goal of assuming their identity as "doppelgängers". The series became popular online through analysis of its complex story and reaction videos from internet users.

The Mandela Catalogue
Genre
Created byAlex Kister
Directed byAlex Kister
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes12
Production
AnimatorAlex Kister
Release
Original networkYouTube
Original releaseJune 9, 2021 (2021-06-09) –
present (present)

Setting and genre

Primarily set during the late 1990s and 2000s, The Mandela Catalogue takes place within the fictional Mandela County, located in Wisconsin, which is terrorized by the presence of "alternates", beings that aim to eradicate humanity by coercing their victims into killing themselves via psychological torture, both by mentally scarring them to the point of suicide (such as by killing a victim's child), or by manipulating audiovisual media, such as televisions, personal computers, and even vehicle GPS systems.[1][2] The alternates themselves are shown to be very hard, if not impossible, to kill. Other plot details include the archangel Gabriel, the presumed leader of the alternates, and "Metaphysical Awareness Disorder", dubbed "M.A.D.", which is an in-universe disorder caused by the alternates informing their victims about "information which is not desired to be known", information which has driven 97% of its victims to suicide.

The series contains many biblical allusions, including Noah's Ark, Adam and Eve, Mary and Joseph, and the birth of Jesus. It is heavily implied that the alternates are in actuality biblical demons, and that Gabriel is actually Satan in disguise.[2][3][4]

The Mandela Catalogue is composed of 8 shorts and 4 volumes across two "Acts", the first short of which was released on June 9, 2021. It is a subgenre of horror dubbed analog horror.[5][6][3] Its installments are usually presented as found footage material, or from the point of view of in-universe characters and/or their electronic devices. Nearly all of the Act I installments are rendered in a VHS aesthetic, whereas most Act II installments are made in the style of old digital videos, reflecting the shift in the time period depicted.[1][2]

Development and production

The Mandela Catalogue was created by then eighteen-year-old student Alex Kister from Richfield, Wisconsin as a series of short videos he began in 2021, while in summer college. It was Kister's first filmmaking project.[1][7] Kister originally created overthrone as a one-off video based on a high school writing project and planned to make a series where he edited children's cartoons to be creepy.[7][8][9] However, due to the popularity of the video, Kister decided to continue making videos following the universe of overthrone in the modern day.[7][8][9] The series' name came from the Mandela Effect.[10]

Kister had little to no budget and used basic editing: scenes are shot in his home and characters are portrayed by his friends through still images and voiceover. Kister's mother once played an alternate. In an interview with GQ, Kister said he wanted to develop his horror from "jump-scares that [...] cause a physiological reaction rather than a psychological reaction."[1]

Kister has said the series originally began as a creative outlet for the existential crisis he was dealing with, especially when it came to the subject of religion and Christianity.[7][9][11] The series was also inspired by the isolation and loss of security Kister experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

In October 2022, Kister worked with Makeship to release merchandise for the series.[12]

Episodes

Act I (2021–2022)
No.TitleDirected byWritten bylengthOriginal release date
1"overthrone"Alex KisterAlex Kister4:01June 9, 2021 (2021-06-09)
A corrupted tape recording of The Beginner's Bible. It depicts an alternate version of the Nativity of Jesus wherein Satan, masquerading as Gabriel, deceives Man during the annunciation to the shepherds, declaring that he is their "true savior". The episode ends with a monologue from an unknown figure, stating that they have been shackled within a tomb of sand and ending their speech with 'If there is a God... please help me.'
2"The Mandela Catalogue Vol. 1"Alex KisterAlex Kister15:09August 9, 2021 (2021-08-09)
A public service announcement broadcast by the fictional U.S. Department of Temporal Phenomena warns the public about "alternates", hostile humanoid beings which can take on the features of other people (although sometimes with deformed features), and use elements of psychological warfare to attack and take control over normal humans. A phone call between two high school-aged friends, Mark Heathcliff and Cesar Torres, takes place. Cesar asks Mark to arm his home's security system while he is away dealing with a supposed emergency with his mother. Later, upon returning home after arming the Torres household, Mark discovers that he has been followed by an alternate. The alternate is implied to have mimicked Cesar on the phone earlier. Mark is tormented for days, resulting in him committing suicide. When the police were called for help, they lied about coming to his rescue, in accordance with their alternate policy. It is shown that Mark has been haunted by an alternate, dubbed 'The Intruder', since he was 4 years old.
2"The Mandela Catalogue Vol.1 [RESTORED EDITION]"Alex KisterAlex Kister17:29April 4, 2023 (2023-04-04)
A remake of Volume 1, published after the release of Act II.
3"intruder alert"Alex KisterAlex Kister5:47August 18, 2021 (2021-08-18)
A mother hears her infant crying and enters his room to find him missing and a man's face on the television. Distraught, she hangs herself. Lt. Thatcher Davis and the Mandela County Police Department set up cameras to investigate; the photos depict the man and the corpse being tampered with by an invisible force. Davis rules out this case being caused by an alternate. An Emergency Alert Broadcast warns viewers in four counties, including Mandela, where 3,426 children have gone missing, to keep vulnerable children away from audiovisual media.
4"metaphysical awareness disorder"Alex KisterAlex Kister1:53September 30, 2021 (2021-09-30)
The tape contains an informational video describing the titular mental disorder spreading rapidly throughout the population as of 1982. MAD is a verbal illness brought about by alternates when they tell people information they don't desire to know. This information causes people to go insane, with 97% of people committing suicide as a result. Since the remaining 3% are able to "reverse the delusion", the tape instructs viewers to avoid religious practices and philosophical concepts to protect themselves. When the audio instructs viewers to stay with loved ones to improve their mental stability, the text changes to instruct the viewer to ignore the man watching them from the corner in their room.
5"exhibition"Alex KisterAlex Kister8:32October 30, 2021 (2021-10-30)
An evidence reel from the Heathcliff case reveals that Mark had been stalked by alternates weeks before his death, leading Davis to conclude that he had been in a prolonged "paranoid" state. Another Beginner's Bible tape depicts an alternate version of the Genesis flood narrative in which Satan/"Gabriel" punishes Noah for "resisting [his] message" and tells him that he will bring another creature onto the Ark, which will bear his "last message".
6"The Mandela Catalogue Vol.2"Alex KisterAlex Kister20:34January 18, 2022 (2022-01-18)
This volume takes place in January 2009, during "Winter Break", and follows Adam Murray and Jonah Marshall, paranormal investigators in the "Bythorne Paranormal Society" (BPS), who are wanted by the FBI. They are called by a woman who pays them to stay at her house for three nights to supposedly help the spirit of her deceased cat move on. They investigate for a day to no avail. Adam wakes up to a voice at night, ridiculing him, and warning him not to wake "the others". An alternate appears before Adam, but he seems to be unaffected. Adam goes to sleep and wakes up to find "NOTHING IS WORTH THE RISK" written on the walls, and hears meowing coming from the basement. Adam gets into an argument with Jonah over their radios; he implores Adam not to go into the basement. Adam refuses, telling Jonah to leave. Jonah drives away, and Adam goes into the basement, where he finds that an analog television was making the cat noises. The Intruder appears on the screen and begins to interact with Adam. When Adam asks, "What are you?", the face says, "Don't you remember me?" while images from the previous episodes flash across the screen. The video cuts to Jonah driving along the highway, while a voice on the radio guilts him for leaving Adam behind. He pulls over and gets out of the car, and a noise of pain or surprise is heard.
7"The Mandela Catalogue Vol.333"Alex KisterAlex Kister26:41June 3, 2022 (2022-06-03)
The volume starts with a call between a divorced couple, Lynn and Jude Murray, about their baby, who has been constantly crying for unknown reasons. Meanwhile, newly promoted Lieutenant Thatcher Davis and his partner, Sergeant Ruth Weaver, are investigating Mark Heathcliff's death in September 1992. An evidence reel, identifying Cesar Torres's alternate as the culprit, reviews evidence from Mark's camcorder and cassette player, which shows Cesar's alternate verbally tormenting Mark outside his door. Mark's personal notebook depicts his descent into madness as he loses his faith and asks, "Who have I been praying to all this time?" repeatedly until finally saying, "My eyes are wide open." The video cuts to a tape that Dave Lee, from local business MandelaTECH, recovered for Thatcher, which is for a show called "Might of the Subconscious". It depicts a puppet named Stanley (similar in appearance to Jim Henson's Limbo) asking the child audience to consider "What makes up a good friend?", and then tells them that "Your new friend is somewhere in your home." The video cuts to bodycam footage from Thatcher and Weaver, as they receive a 911 call from Jude Murray about an intruder in his home. Thatcher and Weaver find Lynn's body (as seen in "Intruder Alert") before Weaver is presumably killed by the alternate and Thatcher escapes to the police station. Security cameras show the alternate approaching the station while singing Amazing Grace. The alternate catches up to Thatcher and attacks him. Text reading, "THERE'S NOT ENOUGH ROOM FOR THE TWO OF US, LIEUTENANT", appears on the screen as the alternate moves erratically in front of the camera.
8"every day gets brighter"Alex KisterThorne Baker2:26June 6, 2022 (2022-06-06)
In a tape recording addressed to Weaver, Davis expresses his hidden fear and swears that he will kill the alternate from Vol. 333 that has since impersonated him.

Act II (2022–present)
No.TitleDirected byWritten bylengthOriginal release date
9"interlude"Alex KisterAlex Kister3:22September 5, 2022 (2022-09-05)

A population report for Mandela County shows the county population dropping from 15,000 in 1992 to barely 1,000 in 2009. A video from "BPS Productions 2007", sent by Sarah Heathcliff, Mark's younger sister, to Adam, contains a propaganda tape from the USDTP which congratulates the public and law enforcement for helping eliminate "an unforeseen threat". The tape cuts to a guide on the three types of alternate assimilations:

Flawed Assimilation: The alternate has taken on an appearance similar to its victim, but was unable to complete the transformation, resulting in a distorted appearance (missing facial features, long limbs, etc.);

Complete Assimilation: The alternate has fully taken on the appearance of its victim and is indistinguishable from the other;

Overdriven Assimilation: The alternate has taken on too many of the victims features and takes on an inhuman form as a result. The photos used to depict Overdriven Assimilation reveal that the alternate from Vol. 2 (dubbed "The Preacher" by Alex Kister) is an alternate of a nun.

The video cuts to an image of Mark's house and the church from Exhibition with screaming being heard.
10"The Mandela Catalogue Vol.4"Alex KisterAlex Kister40:53November 25, 2022 (2022-11-25)
The video begins with an altered retelling of the Book of Genesis, in which Gabriel gives Adam an apple from the Tree of Knowledge, who then confronts a frightened Eve. In 2009, Adam's ex-girlfriend, Evelin Miller, is working for Dave Lee at MandelaTECH. She finds a tape (the "Child Stress Assessment" video from Vol. 1) and watches it on Dave's hidden CRT TV. In July 2007, Adam takes Sarah Heathcliff to a supposedly abandoned house and lures out alternates on camera. Two years later, immediately following Vol. 2, Adam gets into an argument with Sarah on a messaging app about his response to Jonah's death. Thatcher Davis mourns Ruth Weaver, and sees the alternate from Vol. 333 watching and mocking him. Adam makes a memorial video for Jonah, but the video glitches to show Evelin discussing Adam's concerning behavior and dashcam footage from the end of Vol. 2. A promotional video for "Face Studio 2" explains how users can make a 3D head based on photos of their own face. The video glitches to show Lynn Murray's hanging corpse. Dave visits the local cathedral to find his friend O'Brien, who offered him a job at the church. The sky darkens and O'Brien reveals himself to be Gabriel, calling Dave a fool for "following the shepherd". He reveals that Dave "has already done all of his bidding" and then kills him. Evelin, fired by Dave for finding his TV, goes to the empty MCPD station to get a job there. She finds paperwork explaining that Adam, as a toddler, failed to respond to any stimuli in a Stress Assessment test. After finding this, the power in the station cuts. Alarms go off and a pair of hands appear above Evelin. Adam is contacted by an unknown user on his messaging app. The user reveals himself as the Intruder, as well as Stanley and the face on the TV. The Intruder reveals to Adam that he is an alternate. The video ends with text proclaiming the deception of "the Mandela prophet" and that "it begins today" as pictures of Adam's face (in the format of Face Studio 2) appear on the screen.
11"mandela catalyst"Alex KisterAlex Kister7:49April 16, 2023 (2023-04-16)
A news report on Dave's death glitches to reveal text reading "NO MORE RUNNING AW[AY]". Sarah and Evelin discuss Adam's behavior. A darkly lit bedroom is seen; a lamp is turned on to reveal the Preacher in the doorway. Audio from Dave's autopsy reveals both of his eyes are missing and his brain is behaving abnormally. Gabriel, standing atop Thatcher's home, asks him if he "hears the screaming" and that he should "go and see". Footage of a decrepit home is seen, and Adam hiding in it. The camera is dropped as he begins screaming in pain and begging Thatcher to kill him. The video ends on a white screen with a pixelated smiley face in the corner while muffled screaming is heard in the background.
12"The Mandela Catalogue - Presto"Alex KisterAlex Kister6:19August 12, 2023 (2023-08-12)
A television spot advertises MandelaTech's going-out-of business sale. Evelin and Sarah hack into the store's security cameras to try and find Dave. The two also discuss on the computer Evelin's interaction with the Preacher in mandela catalyst. During the discussion, Sarah is disconnected, and her computer connects to the security cameras at the police station. The security camera footage shows Thatcher and Adam talking at the station about Adam's experiences.

Reception

Audience

The Mandela Catalogue grew popular through reaction videos and analysis on YouTube and quickly gained a strong following. Some users criticized the overreliance on analog horror tropes.[1] Vol. 4 received particular criticism for its use of live-action segments filmed with green screens. Some viewers disliked the scenes' lack of realism, while Kister said the lack of realism was purposeful and an attempt to give the segments an uncanny valley quality.[9] A TikTok trend based on The Mandela Catalogue became popular in 2023. In these videos, which have a similar VHS aesthetic, a person realizes they are being hunted by their Alternate when the soundbite plays, "If you see another person that looks identical to you, run away and hide".[13]

As of September 2023, Kister's YouTube channel had over forty-four million views.[5]

Critical reception

Dread Central praised The Mandela Catalogue as "the supreme [example] of what analog horror looks and sounds like", adding that "the sense of insecurity that comes from knowing you’ll be frightened is constantly visually manipulated."[3] Student newspaper The Post favorably compared its use of the uncanny valley as a horror technique to The Walten Files.[4] It was also praised by GQ.[1] While TLK Magazine praised the series' worldbuilding, it criticized its "monotone" voice acting as detracting from The Mandela Catalogue's tone.[2]

Adaptations

Indie games Maple County (2021), Alternate Watch, and Assessment Examination are based on the series.[14] Maple County was developed by one of the series' voice actors, Thorne Baker, in 2021, prior to his collaboration with the series.[7][14][15] The game is framed as an interactive training tape from the Maple County Police Department, in which players must determine which photos portray alternates and which portray actual people.[16] Mandela Invasion, created by Broken Arrow Games, uses the premise that alternates are attempting to break into the player's house.[14][17]

References
  1. Levesque, Eamon (October 29, 2021). "This Halloween's Scariest Horror Movie Is a YouTube Series By a Wisconsin 18 Year Old". GQ. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  2. Dyer, Alex (March 30, 2022). "Manufactured Fear/Organic Dread: Mandela Catalogue and the Allure of Analog Horror". TLK Magazine. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  3. Pfister, Elizabeth (October 3, 2022). "Analog Horror and Its Blueprints for Horror's Future". Dread Central. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  4. Szczesniak, Alicia (January 13, 2022). "A look into analog horror". The Post. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  5. "Alex Kister". YouTube. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  6. Kister, Alex (June 9, 2021). overthrone (Short film). YouTube. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  7. SHOW BOYS. "Ep. 74 - What's The Mandela Catalogue?". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  8. Q&A #2 - Alex Kister, retrieved 2022-12-13
  9. Wendigang (17 January 2023). "An Interview with the Creator of the Mandela Catalogue - Alex Kister". YouTube. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  10. Kister, Alex (22 October 2021). "fun fact: the original name for mandela catalogue was timeshift archives". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  11. Kok, Nestor (2022-01-16). "Ghosts in the Machine: The Fearful Symmetry of Alex Kister's "The Mandela Catalogue"". F Newsmagazine. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  12. "Makeship Launches Vinyl Figures, Offering Content Creators a New Way to Express Themselves and Connect With Fans". nz.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  13. Rushton, James (February 13, 2023). "Doppelgängers are TikTok's latest horrifying trend". Indy100. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  14. Wilds, Anastasia (July 15, 2022). "10 Best Found Footage Horror Games". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  15. Seidlinger, Michael J (2022-01-17). "The Eerie World of Analog Horror". The Lineup. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  16. Green, Meriel Kate Sedgwick (2022-09-30). "10 Best Analog Horror Games". TheGamer. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  17. "Mandela Invasion by Broken Arrow Games". itch.io. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
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