Temple Gate has other uses. Please see Temple Gate (Disambiguation) for other meanings.
- "Mount Massive was a pebble in a pond, an experiment on individuals. This is where the real sickness spreads."
- ―Simon Peacock about Temple Gate
Temple Gate is a remote settlement in the Havasupai Indian Reservation in Northern Arizona, and the primary setting of Outlast 2. It is the home for the Testament of the New Ezekiel cult. It also serves as a secret testing ground for the Murkoff Corporation's experiments into modifying the brain with microwave broadcasts.
History[]
Before its occupants were driven insane by Murkoff's experiments, Temple Gate was a self sustaining settlement built by Sullivan Knoth and his followers to escape the outside world, with very few residents making trips to buy medical supplies or batteries. The town was capable of generating power from an industrial generator that powered all the lights and industrial appliances in homes and buildings. Notable buildings were the temple and the chapel. Despite appearing as a thriving community, Temple gate had a secret area where Sullivan would rape the women of his community. They also raised their own live stock and had a school for children's primary education. The community's primary source of food was from its livestock, mostly cows, and their corn crops.
Sometime after Murkoff's experiments were conducted in the area, Temple Gate gradually became a religious killing ground. By the time of Blake's arrival, many of Temple Gate's buildings had fallen into a state of disrepair and much of the land had been littered with blood and corpses. Some of the houses had secret rooms mainly used by the Heretics disguised among Sullivan's flock. The temple was still used as a place of worship, but the basement had been converted into a prison for the cult's enemies while the chapel was being used to torture Knoth's foes. Many of Temple Gate's residents are found dead, some having killed themselves after murdering the town's children in the name of God while others were found hanged, butchered, or burned at the stake. The town's live stock were found mutilated and rotting in Temple Gate's farmland.
Blake eventually escapes Temple Gate for the nearby mines to rescue his wife, but returns when he and Lynn take shelter in the chapel while running from the cultists. Following Lynn's death, all of Temple Gate's residents in town commit suicide by cyanide poisoning except for Knoth who asks Blake to kill the "child" before slitting his own throat. Pauline Glick and a team of Murkoff agents later arrive to assess what happened, bringing a clean up crew to collect, identify and dispose of the dead. They later find a catatonic Blake in a nearby shed and have him taken to the Elrich facility for brutal questioning.
Trivia[]
- Temple Gate's coordinates are N 36° 05' 51", W 112° 34' 00". It is located about eighty miles northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona.
- Simon Peacock described Temple Gate as a place where "If you can look at what's there and not eat yourself hollow with shame, you are not human anymore", referring to the experiments conducted by Murkoff Corporation so cruel and inhumane they exceed those at Mount Massive Asylum.
- The source of the madness that affected Temple Gate's inhabitants were radio signals coming from the Radio Towers, which can be seen in the distance in some parts of the town. The signals are known to cause symptoms in humans, such as hallucinations, dreams, visions, delusions, or even catatonia.
- As seen on a sign in the Town Square, Temple Gate was founded in 1971. This means that by the time Blake Langermann arrives in Temple Gate, the town had been there for over 40 years.
- The Radio Towers are actually the Sinyala Facility, the same facility in which Project LATHE took place during the Cold War era.[1][2]
- The location where Temple Gate was founded wasn't chosen randomly; lore documents found in The Outlast Trials suggest that Sullivan Knoth, a reborn reagent (see documents for Reagent 1616), was picking up a signal from the Sinyala Facility, most likely generated by the Radio Towers, which led him back to Sinyala. Knoth most likely perceived this signal as a sign from God, telling him where his cult was supposed to settle down.
References[]
- ↑ "Do you recognize this place? Murkoff has been active there for several years.". TheRedBarrels. Twitter (April 27, 2023).
- ↑ "The Outlast Trials Developers Answer All Our Questions!". PC Gamer. YouTube (18 May, 2023).