Web Video / The Knight Shift

What do you fear most?

"What we found that night... Killed us. What I became that night... Damned us."

The Knight Shift is a Horror series based in The Arkn Mythos. It was created and produced by DeathlyLogic, and is regarded as one of the most important works in The Arknverse, with the plot and characters tying into many of the works that were to follow.

The series opens with three young men driving to a party at night. After getting into an accident (due to hitting an animal in the road), they decide to seek help at a nearby house. The group is surprised to find the place unlocked; as they enter, one of them, a young man called "The Knight" (who is clad in a hoodie resembling a knight's armor) grabs a silver-headed cane to keep himself stable, since he damaged his leg in the crash. As the friends explore their surroundings, it becomes apparent that the house is deserted; things quickly go from bad to worse when the cane begins to cause some bizarre, and frightening, side effects in Knight. After a seemingly deadly confrontation between the three friends, Knight wakes up alone and trapped in the house — and the real terror begins...

In the spring of 2016, it was announced that there would be a follow-up series called The Knight Shift: End Times, which would wrap up not just the story of Knight, but the Arknthology as a whole. A teaser trailer was posted on March 4, 2017. The first episode,"[11] The Fib", debuted on the same channel on March 8. The series was cancelled after one episode (though the franchise was still able to receive closure through other vlog series and various written works).

In April 2019, the original channel for The Knight Shift was deleted due to copyright strikes. However, the videos were later re-uploaded by a fan of the series. A playlist can be found here. The wiki page can be found here.

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The Knight Shift contains examples of:

• Alien Geometries: The upstairs hallway (a.k.a. the "Infinity Hallway"). All of the doors in the hall lead out another door at the hallway's end — which takes you to another random door in the hallway. When the door at the end is sealed shut, the other doors lead outside. The trope is explained later on, as it isn't really a house they're in, but a Hell-like dimension.
• Always Night: More like usually night.
• Angel Unaware: Thanks to Laser-Guided Amnesia, Knight doesn't realize that he's actually the Arkn Prince Ellpagg, or that his "friends" are actually his Dekn jailers.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: As mentioned in Episode 7 ("Trivial"), the house and its forces torture Knight by isolating him, depriving him of food, taunting him with visions of false hope, sending disembodied hands to steal his weapons, sending vicious monsters to stalk, mutilate, and even kill him...and replacing his cargo shorts with overly-warm sweatpants.
• Armor Is Useless: Understandable, given that Knight's "armor" is actually just a hoodie made to look like armor. He apparently entered the Infernous wearing actual armor, but it was changed to a cloth lookalike (and a pair of equally useless cargo shorts) in order to make him more vulnerable.
• Artifact of Doom: Well, the Dragon Cane might qualify. Holding it causes Knight to seemingly become possessed, turning his eyes bright blue and his voice raspy, and causing his behavior to become aggressive. The cane is actually Knight's personal Arkn weapon; holding it causes him to relive the memories and the euphoria of killing Dekn on the battlefield, sending him into a berserker-like frenzy.)
• Axe-Crazy: Blue-eyed Knight gets this way quite a bit.
• Badass Boast: Red-eyed Knight delivers one to The Carver in "[10] Accusation":
  Knight: You're moving out, Carver. And somebody else is moving in. So why don't you just get on out of Luke's body, and go inhabit something better, like a, uh... A piece of shit, perhaps.
  • Later, Knight tells Carver that he’s escaping from the House by his side. When his companion asks why he would need Knight's help, Knight replies:
    "'Cause if not, I'm going to kill you. It's best to have me on your side, because... What was that thing you were chanting? You're 'not afraid of me'? Huh? Well, you damn well should be, if you decide to not help me."
• Big Fancy House: The House isn't massive, but it does seem rather spacious and elegantly furnished.
• Big "NO!": Knight gets one in “[2] Plague” when he wakes up to find that he's still trapped in the House — and still completely alone.
• Bittersweet Ending: The Carver dies from injuries inflicted by Knight. At the moment of his death, his powers transfer to Knight, stripping him of his Arkn features and transforming him into a being that is neither Arkn nor Dekn. Worse, Knight realizes that he played right into the hands of the corrupt Arkn government that sent him to The Infernous in the first place. Enraged, Knight rejects both the Arkn and the Dekn, vowing to go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against those who betrayed him, awaken the Arknangels, and establish a neutral counterforce that will bring an end to the Arkn-Dekn conflict. The series ends with Knight finally escaping from the House, but at the cost of his identity, his honor, and his sanity. The epilogue reveals that his plan ultimately fails, and that he will be known to history as a disgraced traitor of the Arkn race.
  • Later developments in the Mythos bring it closer to being a Downer Ending. The torment Ellpagg endured during his imprisonment, combined with the Carver's influence (and a Soul Fragment that became lodged in Knight when he absorbed his powers), is essentially changing him into a Spiritual Successor of The Carver — meaning he does loses his soul. A downer, indeed.
    • The Arknthology finale brings it back to Bittersweet: Ellpagg is an Arknangel; Carver was using his time in The Infernous to awaken his divine blood and begin molding him (mentally and otherwise) into a rival powerful enough to defeat him in the Battle of the Arknza — as part of a complex plan to be killed and revived as a god. Why? So that he could have the power to create a universe where the Hethe don't hold power.
• Body Horror: None shown, but the various torture methods The Carver mentions are this to a T. Among other things, he considers making Knight excrete stinging honeybees and replacing his feet with ducks.
  • In another scene, it's implied that he briefly turns Knight's flesh into ice cream so he can scoop out a chunk and eat it. Not to mention "seven tentacles in each one of your orifices." Brrrr.
  • In Part 1 of the series finale, Knight mentions one eternity that he spent urinating flies — and another he spent without eyes (after The Carver gouged them out).
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: In-universe, the YouTube videos showing the ordeal of Knight and co. are the live feed of Cloud9: a special broadcast showcasing the torments of those in The Infernous. The YouTube audience takes on the role of the viewing "public" ^note i.e. Arkn and Dekn; episodes are interspersed with trailers for upcoming plot arcs, the end of each major arc features end credits and title cards setting up the next installment. The ending also features an epilogue detailing Knight's exploits after his escape. (However, this is revealed to be a passage that Michael Knight is reading from a prophetic book, rather than a true epilogue.)
  • The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: In the final episode, Knight addresses the audience directly and declares his intentions. The "broadcast" ends abruptly with an error message and lines of code, indicating that the feed has been disrupted — because Ellpagg, the self-proclaimed "God of Beetles", is now coming after YOU, the viewer.
• Broken Angel: Knight/Ellpagg becomes one at the end of the series after he absorbs The Carver's powers. The power of the Dekn Lord corrupts him, transforming him into a strange new being that is neither Arkn nor Dekn; the process destroys his wings, as well as a number of other Arkn traits. In response, he gouges out his eyes in anguish (depriving himself of his "Arkn eyes" as well).
• Cargo Cult: "Mrs. Lights", the seemingly sentient ceiling lights in the first floor of the House that respond to Knight's voice (and communicate via blinking). She's not exactly helpful, and in fact contributes greatly to Knight's suffering on many occasions by helping to hide the monsters that are stalking him. However, she's the only companion Knight has for most of his time in the House, and he often converses and interacts with her.
• The Corrupter: The Carver is ultimately this to Knight.
• Cluster F-Bomb: Knight unleashes one in “[4] Ephellogue” after he's pulled back into the House (and back upstairs) moments after escaping.
• Cosmic Horror Story: The series is part of a much larger cosmic horror story.
• Crossover: Following the end of Episode 8, Knight joins Cedric's band of travelers in No More Truths (beginning with the entry "Labyrinth of Teeth and Flesh [2]" and ending with "The Ruse"); he then hops into .Reality and meddles in the life of his "guarded human", Michael Knight (Michael's Camera), for several episodes (starting with "Two Minutes In" and ending with "hahaha") before being returned to the House.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The fight between Knight and Carver in Episode 8.
  • The battle between Carver and the evil, red-eyed version of Knight in "Fear of the Reaper".
• Darkness Equals Death: Subverted; the monsters and beings of the house like to stalk Knight when the lights (or Lights, on this case) are off, or a room is very dimly lit; however, they only seem to attack or harm him when the lights come back on.
• Deadly Road Trip: The series starts out with one, with Knight and his friends driving to a party in a strange location. The trip lasts just long enough for the group to get in an accident, leaving them stranded and Knight injured — kicking off the plot. It's later revealed that the road trip was actually a ruse to get Knight into the Infernous.
• Deus ex Machina: A literal version of this occurs at the end of Episode 8 when Malek rescues Knight, temporarily freeing him from the House.
• Demonic Possession: Extended contact with the cane seemingly causes this in Knight. During these episodes, he loses all sense of self and becomes overwhelmed with murderous rage — all while his eyes glow bright blue and his voice turns deep and raspy. Ultimately Subverted, as it's not an external entity that's taking control of Knight, but his true personality, Ellpagg.
  • In Episode 4, Knight becomes possessed by an evil, demonic-looking version of himself, who uses his body like a puppet before jumping out of the bathroom mirror and attacking (and seemingly killing) him.
• The Determinator: Knight. He absolutely refuses to give up or stop fighting, no matter how beaten, bloodied, or disheartened he becomes.
• The Dog Bites Back: After eons of being tortured by The Carver, Knight seemingly turns the tables in "[10] Accusation", becoming red-eyed and cruel and torturing him right back. It turns out to be an Infernous-induced vision, but just a short time later, Knight turns on him and brutalizes him for real (albeit for reasons unrelated to his torture) — badly injuring him, and ultimately causing his death.
• Driven to Suicide: Knight, in "[5] Bullet". Unfortunately for him, he gets better.
• Eldritch Location: The House ultimately turns out to be one.
• Evil Me Scares Me: In "4 Ephellogue", Knight becomes possessed by a corrupted, demonic-looking version of himself. Evil!Knight sports the same raspy, inhuman voice as Blue-Eyed Knight, along with a craggy, deformed face, red eyes, fangs, and bloody writings (or carvings) on his body.
  Mirror Knight: It seems as if you're having fun, aren't you? What's the matter, afraid of yourself? Oh, well. Things are going to get a little bit hard for you.
  Knight: (voiceover) That's not me! YOU'RE NOT ME! What the fuck? I'm not moving like that!
• Evil Sounds Raspy: Blue-eyed Knight's voice often takes on a raspy, inhuman tone before he attacks someone. As the series goes on, it occurs with increasing frequency (in accordance with Knight's corruption).
  • In episode 4, Knight is briefly controlled by a corrupted, demonic-looking version of himself who speaks in the same raspy voice.
  • The same thing happens to Knight's friend, Ed, when he reveals his true, Dekn name: Hash'bor'kanibal.
• Explaining Your Power to the Enemy: Red-eyed Knight does this to The Carver as he attacks him in "[10] Accusation".
  Knight: You know, my favorite part about this is, it's not even a flashy move. It's just, I just [aims finger like a gun] point and I go "bang". [Carver jerks and twitches on the ground] And then you feel a lot of pain! In fact, it looks hilarious.
• Eye Scream: In "[6] Torment", Knight has an eye taken out (or badly damaged) while fighting a monster (offscreen, of course). In "[10] Accusation", he also mentions that he spent an eternity without eyes (after The Carver gouged them out).
  • In the finale, Knight gouges out his eyes himself after he realizes that he's been stripped of his Arkn identity.
• Faux Affably Evil: The Carver qualifies for this so, SO much.
• Foreshadowing: In "[1] The Knight", Knight seemingly shoots and kills his friend, Ed. In the series finale, he inadvertently ends up causing the death of that same individual — now revealed to be The Carver.
• Go Mad from the Isolation: Knight goes through this at several points in the series.
• Haunted House: This is what the house the group ends up in seems to be, in the early episodes: it's Unexpectedly Abandoned, doors lock (and later open and close) of their own volition, the lights flicker on and off, electronics act up, and the guys (especially Knight) hear strange noises and catch brief glimpses of movement. Knight is even attacked by an unseen force and (seemingly) becomes possessed, developing Occult Blue Eyes and an inhuman voice. It quickly becomes apparent that there's more than a few ghosts at work, however.
• Hell: Beginning in episode 4 (aptly titled “Ephellogue”), the series drops fast and heavy hints that the House is really Hell itself: Knight is subjected to continuous torture, both psychological (isolation, mind screws, impossible geometries) and physical (he’s stalked and killed by monsters on a nightly basis — and even kills himself on several occasions — only to revive instantly); Knight lampshades the implications, and makes reference to the Seven Deadly Sins; he's attacked at one point by a demonic-looking, red-skinned being, and a red-clad figure identifying himself as "Satan" even takes possession of his body and punishes him. In the end, it's revealed that the House isn't simply "Hell", but The Infernous: an Arkn/Dekn prison dimension that serves as an afterlife (of sorts) and inspired the Western religions' concept of Hell. In short, it's both better AND worse.
• Helping Hands: Subverted with the unseen "Swipers": they're the exact opposite of helpful, showing up at night to steal Knight's weapons and tools.
• Hope Spot: Knight's friend Ed is alive! And there's a way out! Oh, wait, they're back in the house. And Ed has vanished. Later, rinse repeat — many, many times.
  • A second one occurs when Knight is rescued by Malek. He winds up back in the Infernous some time later (following a multi-episode Crossover with No More Truths and Michael's Camera).
• I Call It "Vera": During his confrontation with Knight in the living room in "[10] Accusation", The Carver introduces his favored weapon: a nasty-looking, hand-held sickle.

  Carver: This is the Killer of Kings.

  Knight: Killer of Kings... Elaborate?

  Carver: The blade that started this all.

  Knight: Go on?

  Carver: Imulsyr.

  Knight: Say that again?

  Carver: The blade of the Mesopotamians. The one that killed Gilgamesh.

• I Have Many Names: In addition to "Knight", the series protagonist is also referred to (at various times) as Adam Spirit, Edgar Kharon, Ed, and Mr. Kharon. His actual name, Ellpagg, isn't revealed until the very end of the series.
  • Knight's friend calls himself Ed, Christian Spirit, and Edmond Carey, until eventually revealing his real name to be Hash'bor'kanibal. (His most popular nickname, The Carver, doesn't show up until much later in the series.)
• Jump Scare: Did we mention that the House contains monsters?
  • Mirror Knight/Evil Ellpagg attacking in "[4] Ephellogue". It's very sudden and very fast (so fast, in fact, that you'll have to slow down the video to the lowest speed to even get a hint of what's happening), and arguably one of the most horrifying visuals in the series. And the entire scene is set to strobe lights.
  • In "[5] Bullet", Mrs. Lights begins flickering the lights on and off in the House's foyer. Cue the red-skinned, screeching demon monster.
  • The suddenly appearance of the "ghost lady" in "Repressed Memories" isn't much better.
• Known Only by Their Nickname: Knight (until the final act, that is).
• The Man in the Mirror Talks Back: When Knight becomes trapped in the bathroom in "[4] Ephellogue", his reflection — blue-eyed, raspy-voiced, and clad in a completely different outfit — begins moving and speaking independently. This being a horror series, it's simply a prelude to growing fangs, jumping out of the mirror and attacking (and seemingly killing) him.
  Mirror Knight/Evil Ellpagg: It seems you're having fun, aren't you? What's the matter? Afraid of yourself?
• Meaningful Name: Knight is so-named not just because of his attire, but because he's a knight of the Arkn.
• Mind Screw: Quite a few.
  • "The Knight" ends with one of Knight's friends attacking him with a knife and Knight shooting both of them in a possession-induced fit of rage. The following episode, "Plague", opens with Knight driving home to the very house he and his friends were just trapped in and eating dinner in the now brightly-lit kitchen...before asking a woman he addresses as "Mom" what's for supper. "Mom" makes eye contact with him briefly, and vanishes without a word. When Knight picks up his camera next, he's back in the darkened living room, and crying out of fear, guilt, and loneliness. And then the strangeness with Lights and the monsters begins. And the time jumps.
    • Many, many similar scenarios occur throughout the series: the early episodes in particular enjoy randomly cutting from some horror or torment in the House to Knight (with or without Ed) in a completely different location, seemingly oblivious to whatever just occurred. The reverse also happens frequently.
  • Most of "Repressed Memories" qualifies. In addition to the above mentioned location jump (the video opens with Knight and his friend suddenly transported to a rest stop in the middle of nowhere — and neither can say how they got there), we have a scene where Knight and his friend both fall into trances, forget who they are, and attack each other.
    • Then there's the discussion regarding their real names: Knight is not only unable to recognize his own name ("Adam Spirit"), but insists that his "real" name is "Ed Kharon"; his friend gives his own name as Edmond Carey, before moments later referring to himself as "Christian Spirit" (despite the fact that he and his friend clearly aren't related). These events — as well as those mentioned above — are ultimately revealed to be the Infernous (and The Carver's) way of increasing Knight's suffering by capitalizing on his fear, confusion and disorientation, as well as his desire to escape.
• Mirror Monster: In episode 4, Knight is attacked by one. It's a
• Mythology Gag: Knight's friend claims (at various times) that Knight's real name is Adam Spirit, and that his own name is Edmond Carey or (alternately) Christian Spirit. Knight, however, insists that his real name is Edgar Kharon. Viewers of the AU Arkn Mythos series Handprints of the Dead should recognize "Adam Spirit" as one of the identities of The Hooks Killer, "Christian Spirit" as Adam's father (and the leader of the cult of Coolificus Coolage), and "Edmond Carey" as the name of a detective who was pursuing Hooks. Edgar "Ed" Kharon, meanwhile, is the name of a legendary outlaw from .Reality. (It's also later established as one of the identities used by Ellpagg's pupil, Azrael.)
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The Carver likes to THINK he qualifies for this...
• No Name Given: Both the protagonist and his glasses-wearing friend are this until Episode 3 (and are given several possible names over the course of the series). Played straight with the third member of the group, who is never named.
• Nothing Is Scarier: The series frequently relies on this, often with effective results.
  • Knight spends a great deal of time in the house alone. Almost from the very beginning, he describes a feeling of being watched, and swears that he can hear inhuman noises and whispering as he moves — and catch glimpses of movement out of the corner of his eye.
    • It's later revealed that there are in fact monsters lurking in the house. However, most of them never appear on camera (leaving us with only the bloody aftermath of their assaults on Knight and the vague descriptions of what attacked him). This makes it much worse.
    • Halfway through the episode "Repressed Memories", Knight's friend turns back to speak to him, only to find Knight frozen silently in place like a statue. Knight's friend calls out to him, approaches him, and waves his hand in front of his face; when the "spell" is suddenly broken a minute later, Knight has no idea what just happened (or that anything happened at all). Several minutes later, the exact same thing happens to Knight's friend...until Knight snaps his fingers in his face, at which point his friend lashes out like a wild animal and attacks him.
• One-Shot Character: The third member of the trio, who only appears in the series' first episode ("The Knight").
• Occult Blue Eyes: Knight occasionally displays these. It first happens when he comes in contact with the Dragon Cane, and continues to occur intermittently throughout the series. (Oddly, there are some occasions when only one eye glows blue, while the other remains an ordinary brown color.)
• Offscreen Teleportation: The Carver likes to do this sometimes.
• Personal Horror: The Infernous is set up to expose one to what they're most afraid of. The Carver's biggest fear is, apparently, getting overthrown (by an evil, red-eyed version of Knight, no less).
• Protagonist Journey to Villain: The series serves as one for Knight. (Hence the title of the series: it marks his shift from hero to villain).
• Psychological Horror: Happens a little bit later on, like when they think they've gotten out.
• Psychological Torment Zone: The House turns into one for Knight after he becomes separated from his friends.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: When "Ed" falls under the sway of the House, he's attacked by a vision an evil, red-eyed version of Knight.
• The Reveal: Knight is the Arkn prince Ellpagg. The House is his personal "cell" in the Infernous (the Arkn equivalent of Hell), where he was sent by the royal high council as part of a scheme to gain traction in their war against the Dekn. His friend, Ed (a.k.a. Christian), is actually The Carver, the Dekn Lord of Pain and Torment who rules The Infernous.
• Satan: He seemingly shows up in "[7] Trivial" to punish Knight after his first genuine escape attempt. His punishment of choice: possessing Knight's body and forcing him to saw off his right arm with a plastic fairy wand. The end credits identify him as "Jacques Satan". He's later revealed to be the Dekn Persophelus Redgrave, who often takes charge of running The Infernous and torturing prisoners in The Carver's absence.
• Sinister Shades: "Ed" sports them on several occasions.
• Stockholm Syndrome: Knight develops this with The Carver. It becomes especially strong after The Carver is sent back to The Infernous and becomes a prisoner himself. For his part, Carver does truly care about Knight; a later episode of Solar's Crimson reveals that he tried to keep Knight safe after he lost control of The Infernous and it turned against him.
• Take a Third Option: At the end of the series, Knight defects from both the Arkn and Dekn and forms a neutral party, independent of the War.
• Time Abyss: Knight is imprisoned in the House — later revealed to be the Infernous — for at least sixteen eternities. According to DeathlyLogic], an "eternity" is the length of time between the Big Bang and the heat death of the universe. [[AndIMustScream Yeah.
  • It's later mentioned in Solar's Crimson that the exact amount of time Ellpagg spends in The Infernous is incalculable: while the time span itself may have been measured by the Cloud9 feed, The Carver has the ability to dilate one's perception of time to prolong your suffering as long as he wants.
• To the Pain: The Carver relishes describing what he could do to Knight in great detail.
• Unexpectedly Abandoned: The house Knight and his friends come across. Or so Knight thinks.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: The third, unnamed member of the group who appears in "[1] The Knight" is seemingly killed at the end of that episode. Aside from a brief mention in "[3] Madness", he's never seen or spoken of again, even after The Reveal.
  • Apparently, he was a Dekn sent to help The Carver escort Knight to his place in the Infernous; later statements from Knight in Michael's Camera hint that he might have been Persophelus Redgrave (likely using a different appearance or vessel).

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