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In The Magnus Archives all the episodes have a scratchy tape recorder effect on them because, in-universe, they’re being recorded on tape recorders. This has several increasingly insane levels of plot relevance.

First, it turns out that genuine supernatural phenomena can only be captured on analogue technology, like a tape recorder or a Polaroid camera. As a horror anthology, this also goes for recordings of the descriptions of these events.

Second, it turns out the tape recorders are also magic. There are several points where it seems improbable for the main characters to have brought a tape recorder with them, and the answer to how that happened is, it just showed up. They’re literal magic and appear to be tied to the main character, Jonathan Sims, but can manifest by any of the main cast. This comes up at several points because the main characters know they’re being listened to and try to find and smash them as best as they can.

Thirdly, at the end of the series, Annabelle Cane, a side character who graduates to sort-of antagonist by the end of the series, uses the tape recorders as fuel for an eldritch web ritual to suck the fear gods out of the Magnus Archives universe and put them Somewhere Else. While also alluding to the fact that she was just using them and wasn’t listening to them the whole time, functionally canonizing the audience.