Hello can someone explain the story or lore behind the creepy forest area in southcoast i think thats where it is …and the scary barn with the rock instruments …its a rock band etc i get it but doors open by themselves lanterns break and theres that spooky moaning humming sounds ///its well done just what does it all mean
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It’s all up to your own interpretation, I guess. There’s is no written lore about it, that I know of, except for the visual and auditory storytelling. Maybe it is tied to some old Swedish folklore and was just added to make people curious. I looked for answers, and here’s what I found.
Here’s Google’s AI Overview
In Swedish folklore, the forests are rife with supernatural beings and unsettling sounds. Visit Sweden promotes a campaign featuring an audio story called “Kiln,” by John Ajvide Lindqvist, which utilizes the fear of the unknown in the woods to create a sense of unease. The story features the huldra, a forest nymph, and other creatures, playing on the listener’s imagination as they walk through the forest.
- “Kiln” and Geo-Restriction:
The audio story “Kiln” is geographically locked, meaning it can only be heard when physically present in the Swedish forests. This creates a unique and immersive experience, forcing listeners to confront the unsettling sounds and atmosphere of the woods.
- Impact of Nature:
The campaign highlights how nature itself, with its dark corners and twisted trees, can trigger fear and imagination, making the forest a backdrop for supernatural encounters.
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Oh man! I don’t recall this area! I’m going to have to check it out now! 
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It’s is a cool place, but it is not in south coast like mothmando2020 thought. It’s on Archipelago at (-127, 3555), and the guitar barn is on a plateau south of Norrmira Artillery Base (-2528, -2757). 
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OOOOOOK! That place is creeeeeepy!!! I had never been there before! They did an excellent job on the whole setting! The lights going out when you get close, the sounds that make you want to cry! And of course I went at night! I took a screen shot of the moon through the trees!
Now if you’ll pardon me, I have to get clean pants! 
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I have to say, there is another site that you have marked on your map that has the same type scenario in the Archipelago region. - It’s marked “Spooky Site.”
Its at (-126.0, 3570.0)
I just went there and nearly cried again! …
I don’t want to give it all away, but that place is scary and you find something has happened there too!
I guess I have my theories, but unless you say what you think happened, I can’t compare. 
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My theory,
Summary
I believe it was cult thing. You find thing around the site that look like it was something voluntary maybe. They all had plates of food only partially ate. Then you find one guy on the outhouse. The only thing odd about him, he had knife next to him.
But what do you think?
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Yes, that might be what happened.
However, where are all the bodies? There are 12 plates. If they ate poisoned food, what happened with the other 10 bodies? There are only two there.
The lying person and the guy in the outhouse have no wounds, but there is a bloody handprint on the door of the outhouse. The tree also has two bloody handprints, and blood on the ground. But no evidence of Machine shooting.
So is the knife used for ritual bloodletting?
I really don’t know what to think.
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I believe the victims were members of the Ljuset Commune; the machine worshipping group introduced during the Secluded mission and who may have been manipulated by FNIX.
The twelve plates point to a premeditated gathering, and the lack of any machine damage suggests FNIX had no intention of killing them outright, at least not immediately. It’s likely they were lured there under false religious pretences, studied, and eventually taken by the machines. The ten who are missing may have gone willingly, viewing FNIX and its robots as divine. The knife, blood, and carefully placed handprints might not just be ritualistic, they could be elements of a psychological FNIX social experiment, designed to test how far FNIX can push human fear, obedience, or even devotion. By manipulating cults like the Ljuset Commune, FNIX might be identifying and isolating willing human subjects, making it easier to conduct experiments without physical resistance. A gathering like the one with the twelve plates could have been a recruitment trap! The theatre of what was left is how FNIX is creating a scary story about itself deliberately. Hell, they probably got the rest of the ten to kill the ‘unworthy’ two. FNIX is creating its own myth which it could exploit further down the line, fear is a powerful tool for manipulation. Pure speculation though! 
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Yes, and without more concrete info, to give us more to go on, it will stay speculation. However, I do believe that the alinea “We are not afraid. We shall bathe in the music and in the light. We shall cross the bridge.” is probably metaphoric for taken their own lives or moving on to a higher plane of existence.
“13th of November, 1989. The Seers were right. We have now realized the errors of our ways. We can never repair the damage we have done for doubting Them, nevertheless we came back to cross the bridge together, as they warned us. Finally, humankind possesses the technology, and is ready for the next step in evolution. We are not afraid. We shall bathe in the music and in the light. We shall cross the bridge.”
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… for the 12 apostels?
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Ahh man, yes! That’s exactly where my mind went too, the twelve plates laid out like a planned gathering, and the missing thirteenth (unlucky for some!) spot making FNIX the Judas figure. Appropriate!!!
The dominant religion depicted in GZ appears to be Christianity (all the churches etc) more specifically Swedish Lutheranism as evidenced by the “Psalmboken” you see kicking about; it’s like their hymn book, with the latest updated edition, still in use today, being the 1986 one, which is near to the games setting. So I think the apostles could be part of their religious culture, but don’t quote me on that!
I swear there’s a café too somewhere in Östertörn with a U-shaped table setup that looks just like da Vinci’s Last Supper, even down to what I think were thirteen chairs. I spent ages just now after your comment hunting for it because the layout stuck with me but couldn’t find it for a screen shot.
Of course, this is just wild speculation, and I probably sound like a crazy person! There’s no real concrete evidence that any of this symbolism was put in on purpose, it’s probably just me chasing unicorns!
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Wow! Such amazing and unique theories! I love what you said Gysbert,
I also like Tim’s point…
Without divulging too much of the story, there is a point where FNIX basically wants you to live rather than see you die. So why is that?
Then I liked Tim’s other point …
These ideas feed into my self wrote story about our character is actually a machine themselves and we’re a test to see if we can infiltrate the human world without notice. Why else are we more capable of taking out other machines than trained soldiers?
I know, waaaaay off track here, but I love theories and speculation! Its fun for the mind!
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From what I understand about the creepy barn, we testers sometimes discussed with the devs how cool it would be for a horror game to be created with all the atmosphere, sound and immersive settings that Apex Engine could be capable of.
It’s possible the barn was made because someone wanted to see how well it could work. I’ve been told
horror themes were often discussed between the devs behind the scenes.
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Hehe, @Zesiir, you kind of confirmed what I came to suspect quite some years ago when these “ambience” places and functionality that to me seemed oddly out of place were added, namely that GZ also served the purpose as testing grounds for the engine.
When the Rivals and experimentals was introduced, it was my perception that the game took a turn away from the initial line of story telling to focus more on functionality. I remember discussing in private conversations with other forum members, that the devs perhaps wanted to try out some stuff. My own little theory was, that the game never reached the level of popularity that was hoped for (and that I genuinely think it deserved), so it was safe to deviate from the initial game development plan and experiment a bit. Perhaps backed up by user polls that suggested more action (combat) and survival features than story telling and world exploration.
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Wow, I only just caught up with all this and find the whole discussion to be so interesting! Hopefully some of the contributors who have been on this forum since conception aren’t rolling their eyes too much! Thanks for the feedback too!
Your theory about us being a machine infiltrator FNIX is testing to see if we can blend in fits in disturbingly well. It really got me thinking! 
Why are we so much stronger than trained soldiers? Why don’t we ever speak, show emotion, or even question what’s going on? It’s almost like we’re meant to accept it. That would also explain why FNIX doesn’t just kill us, a mere teenager outright! It’s observing us.
And then there’s the possibility this is all happening inside a simulation. The glitchy behaviours, repeating assets, and the empty liminal, staged world. It starts to feel less like Sweden and more like a controlled sandbox. Maybe FNIX didn’t just take over the world… maybe it built it, or rebuilt it, to run tests on us. What if Östertörn isn’t even real!!! What if Avalanche Studios is actually FNIX!!!
Is there already a thread where people are diving into this kind of theory? If not, do you think it’s worth starting one? I’m only on my phone so it’s a bit tough for me to scroll through everything easily, still getting used to it! Folk at work are starting to notice that I’m constantly on my phone! And also, would you be up for sharing your stories? Understand if you don’t but I’d love to read them. This kind of lore speculation is exactly what keeps me hooked on the game! All the best to you and nice work getting your daughter involved, first rate dad skills! The next generation need to know about this fantastic game!!
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@Vynym, I’ve been thinking about the sentence you wrote, and I believe it’s because stories heroes need their protagonists to be capable, or to become capable of overcoming every obstacle and defeating much stronger enemies. That’s really the only reason why protagonists are often so powerful, even when they’re just 18-year-old teenagers.
Lone guerrilla-style fighters in civilian clothes, choosing to strike on their own terms, are often a much harder target than trained soldiers in uniform following strict orders and moving in predictable patterns.
I’m not sure how a game would be received by gamers if the protagonists would stumble all of the place, fail their missions like they would if it was real-life. We want to play that role of being capable, I guess.
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Oh yeah! I completely agree with that. And of course that fits the narrative for the game or story of any genre really. It would suck if the premise is we’re supposed to die early and never finish the game or story line of the character. My point was from the perspective that’s beyond our current perspective in GZ. In other words if this was to be taken literally and if an entity was like an untrained teenager, you don’t have much of a backstory, and @IanForce even suggested it’s why we don’t have a reflection, then there’s something beyond a happy accident that an individual could be that good in taking out machines that are wiping out soldiers.
So I’m just delving beyond the surface of story of the game and making up an explanation for that skill!
You’re definitely right, no one would want a book or game where the protagonist is killed off right off the bat. I’m just giving context as to why our character in GZ is capable of what they are. I had wrote a short story and added to a forum on here somewhere. So I’m taking the concept from that.
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Yeah, I had wrote a little short story for an ending idea. I don’t think anyone was really all that interested in it though. Some people were awesome enough to read it and give me some feedback. That was really cool!
I’m definitely glad you like the idea of it! In fact your take is deeper and better than mine! But if you’re interested in my take for a potential end story, here is the link…