Jonathan Sims has just been promoted to head archivist of the Magnus Institute, London, and institute dedicated to documenting and studying the paranormal. His predecessor, Gertrude Robinson, left the archive a mess, so Jonathan has decided to commit the statements to tape, as most statements are as of now written by hand or typewriter.

The Head of the Institute is Elias Bouchard, Jonathan is Head Archivist, and Sasha James, Tim Stoker and Martin Blackwood are Archival Assistants (they research statements after they are given, and when they are done, the statements get transferred to the Archives).