The other night, I was swimming alone in a beautifully lit pool, the water glowing turquoise in the dark. You’d think I’d be lost in the moment; zen, tranquil, Instagram-worthy. Instead, my mind wandered straight into Archive 81 territory, because apparently I can’t even do a peaceful backstroke without conjuring cursed apartment buildings and grainy VHS footage.

For those who missed it, Archive 81 follows Melody Pendras, a grad student/documentarian with a talent for asking all the questions that will absolutely get you dragged into a supernatural mess. She heads into the Visser apartment building to record its history and tenants, but surprise! history isn’t just a thing you study. Sometimes, it studies you back. Sometimes it also involves cults, creepy humming, and stairwells you should never go down alone.

As I floated in my serene pool, I imagined Melody trading her cassette recorder for a GoPro strapped to my swim cap, capturing the shimmer of light on the water before something or someone emerged in the reflection behind me. You see, the genius (and horror) of  Archive 81 is that it makes the familiar the elevator, the neighbor, the sound of your own breath feel like it’s been waiting decades just to repeat itself, right when you least expect it.

It’s the perfect blend of academic ambition and “girl, get out of there.” Melody is essentially a student historian who can’t resist peeling back the wallpaper on the past… even when the past peels back harder.

And maybe that’s why, even as the chlorine swirled around me under a perfect night sky, I kept feeling like something unseen was in the deep end. Not a monster, probably. Just history, waiting for another loop.