| “ | I… thought that I could control them; that I alone had the knowledge to contain them. Back then, I believed they were simply books. Horrifying, powerful, yes, but with rules, limits that could be charted. I was a fool. I had no idea what forces lay behind them, or that they had other servants that might come searching. I was ruthless, I will admit that. I don’t know how many assistants I sacrificed to learn the secrets of the volumes I collected. Dozens, at least. Only a few escaped with their life and mind intact, and even then, they were deeply marked. But I was relentless. I saw myself as a guardian, a reverse Pandora, gathering the evils of the world and locking them away. And so, I branded them with my seal. I told myself that if any should escape, such a mark could help me retrieve them. But I think, in my heart, I dreamed of my work becoming known. That “The Library of Jurgen Leitner” would stand as a symbol of courage and protection. Hubris. I suppose it is fitting punishment that my name has become a watchword for evil, spoken by those who only know it as marking the darkest, most terrible of secrets. My name has become a curse. | „ |
| ~ Jurgen Leightner describing his actions to Jonathen Sims. |
Jurgen Leightner is a supporting character of the Rusty Quill horror podcast The Magnus Archives.
He was a wealthy Norwegian recluse well-known as a collector of rare books. Upon discovering a unique brand of book with supernatural and dangerous effects, he began collecting them in the hope of protecting the world from their effects, and also to satisfy his own vanity by creating a library unlike any other. However, his library was eventually attacked and his books stolen by servants of the Dread Powers, forcing him to hide in tunnels underneath the Magnus Institute and Millbank Prison. There, he worked with Gertrude Robinson for many years, before being murdered by Elias Bouchard.
Although he is ultimately revealed to be a somewhat heroic character, he is still an arrogant and short-sighted man responsible for callously killing or driving insane several of his assistants for the sake of understanding his books.
He was voiced by Paul Sims.
Appearance[]
Jurgen Leightner was described as a short, portly man. He had blond hair that grew gray over time.
Personality[]
| “ | Jonathen Sims: You were right. Jurgen Leightner: About which part? Jonathen Sims: You were a fool. Why didn’t you burn them? Jurgen Leightner: Pride. If they were destroyed, what was I to guard? |
„ |
| ~ Jurgen Leightner speaking with Jonathen Sims about his book. |
In his youth, Jurgen Leightner had a strong sense of pride and curiosity. Wanting to achieve more with his life than simply being rich and useless, he latched onto the supernatural tomes as a way to gain some fulfillment. He had a relentless obsession with them, building himself up in his head as a savior of mankind who had found a way to tame these incomprehensible objects and understand. He showed little care for those around him, seeing them as merely tools in his quest for recognition. Ultimately, he saw himself as above everything, both his powerful books and the humans in his life, leading to him acting irrationally and shortsightedly in the hope of shallow recognition.
Time seemed to have dulled his more negative qualities, particularly his temper and ego. As an old man, he realized the price of his arrogance and was willing to devote his life to helping those he saw as genuine heroes, instead of making himself out to be more than he was. He was usually personable and calm but seemed generally unhappy and bitter with the way his life had turned out.
Although he was not nearly as important as he believed himself to be, Jurgen Leightner was a legitimately intelligent person. Despite his short-sightedness, he was able to track down and obtain dozens of rare and, in many cases, strongly protected books. Through experimentation, he was able to use the books effectively with little danger to himself, showing his resourcefulness. He seemed to have an odd sort of wit as well and enjoyed being purposefully off-putting.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
| “ | I was born the heir to great wealth. My family used to deal in manufacture: steel, textiles, all sorts. But, by my time, it was largely a matter of extensive property holdings and carefully managed investments. Money making money. | „ |
| ~ Jurgen Leightner on his family. |
Jurgen Leightner was born in Norway, although his family emigrated to England when he was very young. His parents dealt in manufacture, and through that and smart investments, were extraordinarily wealthy.
Growing up, Jurgen Leightner discovered he had no affinity for what was taught at the academy or business. The activity he most enjoyed was obtaining rare and valuable items. He became very good at identifying what mattered and what didn't and, through a series of contacts and spies, set about collecting the most important artifacts he could get his hands on.
At some point, he met another collector named Desmond Lorrell, who was hunting for books he believed contained the writings of Merlin. He eventually found The Stalwart Hunter's Almanac, which brutally killed and mutilated him. Afterwards, Leightner was able to take the book for himself and set out to hunt down any books with similar supernatural properties. He went to various unorthodox bookstores, including Pinhole Books, where he met Mary Keay briefly.
The Library of Jurgen Leightner[]
| “ | And then the house was complete, and I had my library. A vast, lopsided structure, by turns cavernous or maze-like, depending on the needs of the inmates. By the end, I had nine hundred and seventy-eight volumes in my library. Some innocuous, some unsettling and some utterly murderous. In the end, I didn’t have much time to enjoy my achievement. It was only a few years after the house was complete that the attack came. | „ |
| ~ Jurgen Leightner on his library. |
At its height, The Library of Jurgen Leightner contained 978 books. Amongst them were Ex Altiora, a lost chapter of the Canterbury Tales called the Boneturner's Tale, The Key of Solomon, a book made of human skin called the Catalogue of Trapped Dead, a twelve-page long pamphlet called A Disappearance, a children's book called A Guest for Mr. Spider, A Journal of the Plague Year, An Introduction to Higher Anatomy, and The Seven Lamps of Architecture.
The first assistant he hired was a man named Albert Strauss, who was killed by a book in less than a fortnight. He hired several other assistants over the years, many of whom he murdered or otherwise destroyed by forcing them to read the books he collected. One such assistant was entombed in earth after reading The Seven Lamps of Architecture and another disappeared after reading A Disappearance. One assistant named Mikaele Salesa left Leightner's employment after stealing his client list and began his own business as a dealer of supernatural artifacts.
Some of Leightner's books began responding negatively when placed in close proximity. To solve this problem, he turned to the works of Robert Smirk, a Victorian architect with knowledge of the supernatural whose research allowed Leightner to construct a maze of a library where the books could not interact. He began trying to find access to some tunnels Smirke had built under certain parts of London, although had some trouble gaining access to them, even with the money he spent.
At some point, his library began receiving a certain renown in certain places, and he began receiving visits from unsettling people who forgot to blink, asking to see his library. He always refused, until one night, the library was attacked by several servants of the Dread Powers, wanting there books back. Leightner watched his assistants be murdered by a large array of unique monsters before fleeing himself while his library burned.
Living in Hiding[]
| “ | I didn’t look back as I fled. Nothing seemed to chase me, at least not then. I had none of the books with me, and that was what they were after. Of course, by the time I realized that, there were many others who were hunting me. Mostly vengeance-minded folk who had lost someone to the books, plastered with my name, that were now free once again. It was easier to let the world think I was dead and, to one degree or another, I’ve been in hiding ever since. | „ |
| ~ Jurgen Leightner describing his escape. |
After his escape, Jurgen Leightner found himself hunted by servants of the Dread Powers, as well as people whose lives had been ruined by his books and who blamed him for it. He eventually found refuge in a series of tunnels created by Robert Smirke beneath the paranormal investigative organization called the Magnus Institute. He eventually met the archivist of that organization named Gertrude Robinson, who gave him some of the books from his library, which he used to keep himself hidden.
Leightner spent several years working with Gertrude, plotting against the Institute, which was being controlled by the Eye, one of the Dread Powers and therefore an enemy of Leightner's. At some point, Leightner began travelling to the surface, but was frequently attacked, at one point being beaten by Gerard Key.
Eventually, Gertrude was murdered by Elias Bouchard, the head of the Institute and a chief servant of the Eye. Leightner was able to stay hidden until his tunnels were discovered by Jonathen Sims, who began to investigate them. Using his remaining books, he prevented himself from being found until Jonathen entered the tunnels while being chased by the NotThem. Leightner was able to contain the monster under stone, and went to Sims' office, where explained to the man his history and the existence of the Dread Powers. However, when John left to smoke a cigarette, Elias entered the room and beat Leightner to death with a metal pipe.
Powers and Abilities[]
| “ | I suppose you could say I was skilled at shopping. I don’t say that to be glib, nor as a comment on my wealth. I don’t mean I gained any satisfaction from wasting money on vulgar Bond Street trinkets. I mean, I had a genuine and pronounced talent for finding items of worth and convincing their owners to part with them. The most valuable things always need to be hunted, and that was where I excelled. | „ |
| ~ Jurgen Leightner on his skillset. |
Jurgen Lieghtner's greatest skill was identifying and obtaining items of genuine value. He had the uncanny ability to find supernatural items, and was grew very skilled at convincing the owners to give them to him. Through a large amount of networking, determination, and social adroitness, Leightner developed an impressive collection.
Other than that, his main power was his resources, which were considerable. In addition to being extraordinarily wealthy, Leightner was able to understand his books and use them to his advantage. By the time of his death, he was able to use The Seven Lamps of Architecture to control earth and A Disappearance to hide himself. Using these, he was able to outwit even servants of the Dread Powers.
Quotes[]
| “ | The thing that surprises me most, I think, is how readily I accepted the existence of the supernatural. I had occasionally made purchases before that that had caused… anomalies, but nothing like those books. Yet as soon as their nature became apparent, I simply accepted it and began to factor it into my dealings with them. It was shortly afterwards I hired my first assistant. A dour man, by the name of Albert Stross. He barely lasted a fortnight. | „ |
| ~ Leightner explaining the beginning of his career. |
| “ | Imagine you are an ant, and you have never before seen a human. Then one day, into your colony, a huge fingernail is thrust, scraping and digging. You flee to another entrance, only to be confronted by a staring eye gazing at you. You climb to the top, trying to find escape, and above, you can see the vast, dark shadow of a boot falling upon you. Would that ant be able to construct these things into the form of a single human being? Or would it believe itself to be under attack by three different, equally terrible, but very distinct assailants? | „ |
| ~ Jurgen Leightner explaining the Dread Powers. |
| “ | Elias, it doesn’t have to be like – | „ |
| ~ Leightner's last words. |
Trivia[]
- Paul Sims, the voice of Jurgen Leightner, is the father of Jonathen Sims, the head writer and voice of the protagonist of the podcast.
- The fake last "Icarus", put on the grave he was placed in by the Magnus Institute after his death, is most likely a reference to how he fell to ruin due to his belief that he could control his library like Icarus flying too close to the sun.
- Jurgen Leightner is the subject of a famous rant posted on the internet, where someone aggressively detailed their hatred for the character.
External Links[]
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The Dread Powers and Their Servitors The Library of Jurgen Leightner Others The Magnus Protocol | ||
