"Is there anyone in this room with me?"
"You are responsible for everything going forward."
The Mystifying Oracle is a Digital Horror/Found Footage Web Video series created by Alex Kister, creator of the Mandela Catalogue, in 2022.
As Mandela County is being overrun by demons by any other name, 21-year-old YouTube creator Joel Hayes buys a haunted Ouija Board from 1972, seeking to capture a ghostly entity on camera. Unknown to him, he contacts with a much more dangerous entity than expected, which, after he forgets to say "Goodbye" to and therefore leaves the "door" open for the spirit, haunts him for weeks to come. The "ghostly apparition," as a Japanese newscast show called it, combined with his follower's pressure to see more of the apparition, kickstart Hayes's slow descent into madness.
Alex has stated that the series shares universes with Mandela Catalogue.
This series contains an example of:
- Agent Scully: Chloe, Joel's friend from the beginning of Evocatio, believes that Joel had faked the first video altogether. She asks him what method he used, if it was wires or magnets or another trick. She likely finds out that the apparition was Real After All after it interferes with their phone call.
- Ambiguously Related: A keen-eyed and attentive viewer can't gloss over the similarities between the Ghostly Apparition and the Alternates: both being able to tamper with electronic and communication devices such as cameras and phones, both having notable manifestations at around 3:33 A.M. Despite this, it's left unclear if the apparition is an Alternate or even remotely related to them in any shape or form.
- As the Good Book Says...: Played for Horror. The third episode ends with Joel watching a segment from The 700 Club (a Christian broadcasting network), which is abruptly stopped and followed by a bible quote that might as well be a threat from the Ghostly Apparition.Matthew 5:26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.
- Bilingual Bonus: Evocatio starts out with a Japanese newscast show reporting on Joel's encounter with the apparition. In this section, we are shown Joel's age, a proper way to refer to the antagonist, and more lore details.
- Dissonant Serenity: In Evocatio, Joel catches up with his audience on the Ouija's effects on his life, saying that range from the water in his apartment to stop running, the air smelling like burnt matches, and that his mother was pushed down the stairs and hospitalized. He then follows with an enthusiastic "STAY TUNED !!!!!!!!!"
- Electromagnetic Ghosts: The apparition is able to distort the footage, as seen in several instances throughout the series.
- Evil Is Not a Toy:
- After his first video blows up, Joel tries to contact the spirit to get another viral hit. The problem is that he keeps trying to get the ghost to do more things, and it's clear the ghost is not okay with Joel bugging it. Even when the spirit shuts off his water, causes the air in his house to smell like burning matches, and pushes Joel's mom down the stairs, he keeps bothering the spirit to get it to do more things for the camera. The spirit understandably has enough and sends him to God knows where as punishment.
- The segment from Bring It On/The 700 Club has Pat Robertson warning the viewers that you do NOT use such a devilish and demonic thing as the oujia board "just for fun".
- Gratuitous Latin: Every episode of the series is named after a specific word in Latin. Salutatio, the first episode of the series, literally means "hello", which is the Arc Word of the episode. While Evocatio, the second episode, means "Invocation", referring to the ritual Joel makes midway through the episode.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Sending Joel to a world of darkness (possibly Limbo) for annoying it too much might seem extreme, but the spirit tells him all this is his fault for playing with forces he doesn't understand. When Joel asks the ghost where he is now (i.e., in Limbo) and if it did this to him, the spirit bluntly tells him, "No. U." As if to say, "Yes. I did put you here, but that's because you kept pushing me."
- No Name Given: The Ghostly Apparition isn't given a proper name outside of the japanese section.
- Ouija Board: The main catalyst for the events of the series and The Namesake of the series is none other than a 1972 Parker Brothers Ouija.
- Staircase Tumble: Played for Horror. The apparition showcases its ability to interact with its enviroment to Joel by pushing his mother off the stairs off-screen. By the time Evocatio happens, she's still hospitalized.
- Stylistic Suck: It's a common staple of the genre. Every video seems to be edited in Windows Movie Maker, and even the portions that aren't, like the Japanese newscast, are still very lacking in quality.
- Uncanny Valley: The apparition's only physical appearance at the end of Salutatio, although it's just a mere glimpse at a portion of its head, it is still unnerving to look at. A completely hairless, expressionless face, with wide open eyes staring directly at Joel. It's skin also seems way too smooth to be human, almost plasticky, making it seem like a living mannequin of sorts.
