I get my information straight from Mark in this livestream. I’m not making any of this up. This post is purely for what is fact. I’m making this post to write out all that was said / for those who don’t want to watch the hours of footage from the stream. Also, I do further elaborate on what Mark says and connect the events he describes. I also am starting to try and tie in Mark’s new video on Wilford Warfstache and other lore content.
First Person / The Viewer in WKM (Who Killed Markiplier) – you
Seer Celine – Pamela Horton
Ground Keeper George – Chris Hampton
The House
Combinations:
Colonel William J. Barnum + the House’s effects = Wilford Warfstache
Damien (The Mayor) + Seer Celine IN your body + The House’s effects = Dark / Darkiplier
For starters, as Mark said himself, everything in his videos for the lore may change as it goes, and we can only ever be sure of what is on screen. Any theories aren’t true unless shown in a video, and he said he can be influenced by the ideas of the audience about future continuation of the lore. Also in videos, not everything is thought out. Some things are just for the aesthetic. Try sticking to the story more than the background if ever analyzing a video. Few things ever turn out to be important if they’re not the focus of a scene. Also remember, Mark is different from Markiplier in this. Markiplier is a character while Mark is well, Mark. Also Mark said himself that the House is a character. It is cursed and has access or control over another dimension. But we will get into that. Just keep in mind that the House is a character
In WKM, Markiplier invited old friends who he hasn’t seen in ages over to the House, his mansion, for a party. His oldest friends are Damien and William, and they are all childhood friends. Mark said it is possible that he may make Damien and Celine siblings. As to answer the question of who killed Markiplier, it was, as Wilford says himself, “Everyone”. And he is most definitely as correct as he is wrong. But truly, that question is the wrong one to be asking, a right question would be “Why’d Markiplier kill himself?”
Backstory to WKM: So as I said, Markiplier, Damien, and William all were friends since they were children. Markiplier and William both grew up in the House (You can tell William lived in the House at some point because of how he refers to the house as his own still and how the chef tells him off in WKM, plus Mark said it himself. Also because of how normal William thinks his random teleportation around the House is, he doesn’t think about it because it’s always just been a factor.) Markiplier had fallen in love with Celine and they got married, and Celine lived with Markiplier for the time they were together. William eventually fell in love with Celine and she fell in love with him and they ran off together. Markiplier, both betrayed by a friend and cheated on, was left alone in the House. William and Celine ran off but eventually they broke up. William still always loved her after that but Celine went off on her own. She was curious about the House. She studied the dark arts and the supernatural because of it. She is well educated on the topic of the house. Markiplier, left alone in the house, was constantly whispered to by the House things like “they were wrong.”, “they don’t deserve happiness”, “revenge is right”. It was a buildup, slow whispers over time suggesting and suggesting, Markiplier thinking it was just his own thoughts when he was becoming a pawn to the House. He was a “heartbroken idiot” as Mark says. He started to do research and experiments on/in the house since he, like everyone else, noticed at least subconsciously that something is very wrong with the place. (The Gardener says it is cursed). Mark said that Markiplier may have realized just how strange the House is when, while in his early self-hatred for himself after Celine left him for one of his best friends, tried to commit suicide, but it didn’t work. He could literally put a bullet through his own head and still come back to life. Which is why when Detective Abe says “I discovered that in addition to being stabbed 37 times, he was also poisoned, beaten, strangled, drowned, and shot in that order”, it means Markiplier did most of all of these things to himself to test the house’s ability. Except the last thing, that shot. Markiplier threw the party shown in WKM with the true intention of enacting revenge on William for “stealing” Celine away from him (even though it was her choice to be with William). But he covered that intention up by making the party seem like it was meant to heal old wounds and forgive all that was done. Now, this idea wasn’t Markiplier’s, it was the House’s who suggested it through another whisper. The house told Markiplier to use the ability of the curse to steal William’s body and get revenge that way, perhaps even using William’s body to get revenge on Celine, but this didn’t work as planned obviously and the true ending turned out to be even worse than that initial plan (I’ll come back to this later on).
Detective Abe only had known Markiplier prior to this gathering, because Markiplier had regularly hired Abe to look into people he needed to know about, meaning Abe had been to the house before maybe briefly at times to talk to Markiplier but besides that WKM would be his first time really having to explore the House. Abe didn’t hear from Markiplier for a while though before the party, just like everyone else. Detective Abe is meant to be a voice of thought and reason for the viewer since the viewer doesn’t speak and we’re led to blindly follow him as he tried to figure out a case way bigger than any detective could solve.
The Chef and the Gardener had worked at the House for ages, the butler being pretty new. The Gardener knows that the house is cursed from having seen the effects of it on its many residents over the years. This curse is what causes people in the house to cause thunder each time they say “murder” when the Gardener can say it with no effect, since the Gardener hasn’t entered the House in years.
WKM Events: William J. Barnum is the one who physically killed Markiplier. But it how it happened it what is more important than the who. When the party kicked off in WKM every single character got drunk, all except for Markiplier. Markiplier had started his plan, leading a drunken William down into the wine cellar (where the Butler later leads us to clean up the shattered item on the ground). Here, they play Russian Roulette (as referenced in the flashes of the scenes from the party.)
Markiplier tells William they should play this game with just them because it is a way for “you take your shot, and I take mine.” It’s a way to start over in their friendship, to get even by having one equal random chance at killing the other, and if they both live, it’ll be the end of their feud. But of course, Markiplier was planning on being killed in Russian Roulette by William, knowing her can’t die for good, and set up the gun to do just that, putting one bullet in the second chamber. So he took his shot at William and William drunkenly did the same to Markiplier, except the bullet fired, killing Markiplier. William of course freaked out, knowing he’s guilty of murder even though it is an accident because he knows he will seem guilty regardless because of their history and how the situations looks. That’s why Wilford was avoidant in the first episode and only came around more once it was announced that Markiplier’s body had vanished. He covered up the death by taking the body back upstairs, leaving it out and open to the possibility of anyone having done it, instead of limiting it to someone having seen William go down to the wine cellar was Markiplier.
William and Markiplier still hate each other, William not caring for Markiplier and thinking he’s ridiculous / terrible, shown by the flashback with Markiplier as described by William. He doesn’t care so much that he killed Markiplier, he cares more about the fact that he could get caught. Plus, he’ll come to care about more going on as the story continues and new issues arise.
Damien is the only one out of the three old friends who truly has no idea what is going on. He’s confused and genuinely cares, his concern for others very real, worried about the death of Markiplier, confused about why everyone else in the house is treating it like a game. He doesn’t know about the House, having not ever lived there, and has no idea how deep the drama runs between William and Markiplier.
When Markiplier’s body “disappeared” of course it was just Markiplier waking up from his death and going off. Mark’s body does truly vanish after this however, being far too physically damaged to do anyone any good. (It can later be seen by the feet of Damien and Celine in the “Upside down”) He still has the plan to take over William’s body when he gets the chance now that “No one can leave” until the murder investigation/ disappearance is solved.
But a rock is thrown straight through the window of Markiplier and the House’s plan when Celine unexpectedly shows up. The House finds this to be the perfect situation, instantly changing the whole plan. Remember, the House is telling Markiplier to do all of this with the true intention of being able to manifest itself. So, the House suggested alternative to Markiplier because Celine offered more powerful way to manifest itself. She had abilities as a Seer, was far smarter than Markiplier, and had a far better understanding of the House. She was there after all to study the House and apply her learned knowledge for this very grand return. So the House tells Markiplier to take Damien’s body (the excuse is because he’s the in a position of power as mayor, but really he just wants Mark’s consciousness out of the way.)
Celine ends up contacting the House directly through a séance of sorts in her room when it was just Damian and her alone in the room. The House instantly possesses her and then Markiplier takes over Damien’s body while in the room, kicking both Celine and Damien’s consciousness’ into the “Upside down” where the House urges them to convince you, the viewer, to let them take over your body. Damien is genuine as I mentioned, thinking this idea was their own, and that this was the only option to save the day. The House remained consistent here, since it “Makes you think that the ends justify the means no matter what the situation is”. But once they take over your body Damien and Celine consciousness’ may as well be gone since they are joined by the House’s influence / manifestation, and you’re left in the house to stare for an eternity at the mirror Dark shattered. Your body is no longer your own, your vision not following what Dark would be seeing as he looks down at Damien’s staff.
Backtracking a bit to the other story that went on at the end, William became extremely present and aware of what was going on, now caring because Celine and Damien are missing. They’re the only people he cares about and they were gone in a confusing flash. Later on, the reason why when William threw blame back onto Abe after finding Abe’s detective room/notes is because things had gone insane at that point. With Mark’s body gone, William though the death was possibly a lie, thinking maybe Abe really did have something to do with the strange events going on, Abe being the only stranger in the house besides you, the viewer. He wanted to find his friend, and he’d go through anyone to get to them. Also, the fact that the viewer and William only just now found this room is important, like the house chose to let you just now discover it right in the heart of a crucial moment when the last step to the House’s success is you needing to get shot so your body can be taken. Notice how it takes you through the “Upside down” to get there and William walks in right after you, having teleported there as he always does, suggesting the House always chooses where you go while in it. (This is like when in one shot you’re on the second floor and the next second you’re on the first floor outside. Or even why no room seems to consistently connect to any other room.)
William shooting Abe and then you was all foreshadowed with the Detective having told you all of his partners end up dead and a scene during the 1st night’s party where you see William point a gun at Abe.
And Abe was right to suspect William, he did technically kill Markiplier even though it wasn’t because of malice. I mean, what Abe said about William owing Markiplier a lot of money was as true as him saying he ran off with Markiplier’s wife Celine. As to why William killed you, the viewer, and Abe, he says it himself. It was an accident. In the moment of freaking out between the turmoil of having his friends missing, the strain from being in the House and the yelling, his gun went off and you fell straight off the balcony.
The saddest scene comes from the first time we see the true beginning of Wilford Warfstache, when we wake up from having been dead for 10 hours. He’s sitting on the bench, holding Damien’s staff and exclaims his shock as the body he stared at for 10 hours in regret and pain stands up like nothing happened. He then goes off to call for his friend’s names, the absurdity of the situation too insane to understand. You see, Willford goes insane NOT because of grief but because of the insanity in the house. It’s the fact that life from then on out becomes a crazy hellish endless nonsensical mess of things that shouldn’t happen. He goes mad because there’s nothing left but the madness.
You could listen to the advice of Markiplier as he says “Life is for the living”, Damien’s “Life is ours to choose”, or perhaps William’s quote “Life needs a bit of madness”… But Mark’s own quote from the livestream on WKM fits it best, “You can never do the right thing, and you don’t understand why, so you just keep trying” in this ending filled with nothing but darkness and despair.
A Glitch Named Anti 