THE COMPLETE LORE OF ETHEL CAIN 

rip ethel cain you would’ve loved ethel cain

Ethel being a unreliable narrator can be backed up by the fact that Ethel dies in the attic. She never escaped the attic, never ran out in the woods and Isaiah never chased her. In August Underground you can hear Isaiah slam a door in the last few seconds, leaving Ethel to die, alone, in the attic.

she's the type to accidently date a serial killer.

a thing i’ve noticed about a lot of ethel’s songs describing a toxic relationship with a man could also be interpreted or even a double entendre for god/jesus especially knuckle velvet

i genuinely believe that a lot of ethels songs have a triple meaning-- almost like the holy trinity. always about 3 men: her father, god, and a love interest. i absolutely adore your interpretations-- so glad i stumbled across this. Ethel Cain is one of my absolute favorite artists ever. Saw her live in DC

I think Hayden once said the ''person' she's singing about in head in the wall is a personification of her own trauma from her childhood.

A prayer app ad on an Ethel Cain video is wild

I honestly love the fact that some of her songs explore all these dark themes. It never feels disrespectful in its execution, if anything it feels honest, and that’s some catharsis victims of abuse rarely get from any other sources.

Beautifully done. A few lines that always break me 1) “Please can I sleep?” (Hard Times) 2) “I love you and I’ll see you when you get here.”(Strangers 3) “I tried to be good am I no good?”(strangers).

haydens storytelling is so amazing i really hope she gets into writing books possibly someday or maybe films. i think what really drew me into her music is how cinematic it was but also the lyricism was some of the best songwriting ive seen in recent years.

I'm not being dramtic when I say after listening to preachers daughter to the frist time something shifted I've never had an album impact me as much as this one it's truly a masterpiece

the first time I listened to Ptolemaea it scared the shit out of me. It still does.

BC HE FREAKING ATE HER 😭😭

ALL SHE EVER WANTED WAS TO BE TRULY LOVED. What an album! What an artist! What a great description! Well made video!!

i need this lore as a movie. god.

I see her "real" last name listed as Anhedönia everywhere. Anhedonia is a psychiatric symptom of depression, which describes the inability to enjoy any pleasures. I suspect there's one more layer of identity.

I always interpreted both verses at the end of strangers to be talking to her mother. Saying she didn’t blame her mother for being violent (as is hinted to in family tree) as she now understands it was a response to being “torn apart” being hurt & likely abused by men herself

i love that you described all of her EP’s, they’re often overlooked in her discography. love this video

what a heartbreaking story, all she ever wanted was to be loved

I just recently got into Ethel Cain and I’m utterly infatuated with her music. It’s fucking beautiful and your deep dive is perfect.

This is such a great comprehensive video on Ethel Cain, I'm a huge fan of hers. But I've never seen anyone go in-depth into her EPs so I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts and interpretations on that! One minor thing about the PD lore though: Ethel is murdered in Isaiah's attic and then stored in his basement. I know there's stuff that kind of circulated online about how she was running through the woods, but I believe it was confirmed by Hayden that her murder actually took place in his attic which is why an attic is referenced in Strangers. Also, Hayden said that the loud bang at the end of August Underground is him slamming the door. You did a really great job compiling so much lore into one video! I've been waiting for someone to make a video like this cause I just love hearing how others interpret her work :)

To me, the abuser in the song inbred is the brother. It sounds like she is trauma bonded and committed to saying he’s a good person

Ptolemaea is about rape and if it's not, it still perfectly describes what rape feels like.

love this! i read somewhere her father dies in a fire and i love the theory that ethel is the one that kills him hence family tree (wanting to be washed off her huge sin of murder, being a child but still violent etc) i also like the idea of “i've killed before and i'll kill again” being literal? also i believe it's in gibson girl that ethel mentions burning while she hallucinates. that could be her guilt of what she did. maybe ethel kills both her father and logan? this would really mean she's an unreliable narrator. it's also interesting to think about how the daughters of cain cult and vera cain fit into this narrative. i can't wait for the next album to develop the narrative further!

Fun fact knuckle velvet is fur grown on deer antlers and shed during the summer when deer usually use trees to rub their antlers on, I love how this ties in with knuckle velvet being “torn on my teeth” and if I didn’t know much about deers I’d be lost so o hope this gives more meaning to that song

"Isaiah FREAKING A-" 😂 I have fallen into the Ethel Cain rabbit hole 😭😭

I think one of the lines that sticks with me the most is “God loves you, but not enough to save you.” I’m a trans woman, like Hayden, and my relationship to my mother broke me throughout my high school years. I spent so much time arguing and trying to get her to understand who I am, only for her to remain right where she started and slip deeper into the opposite direction because she was unwilling to expand the circumference of what she felt god would think was okay to do and be. She chose god over me and I only really let that sink in recently when I was watching a episode of Brittany Broski’s podcast. I didn’t grow up in a necessarily devout church, the community wasn’t tight and neither was the grip is held on young people. I always fell into the group of kids everybody kind of knew was only ever going to Sunday school because their parents made them, and who probably didn’t believe in god. I think it was the shame of knowing I didn’t and the fear of being wrong that kept me believing as long as I did, which was only into the seventh grade. In the back of my mind I never did really believe in him I don’t think, I just was terrified of that meaning I failed my mother and that her love was conditional. In her eyes I have failed her and I’ve come to learn that her love is conditional, she mentions wanting the best for me but she never has and she has never lifted a finger trying to get me where for years I’ve wanted to go. There was a point in my life where her approval meant so much to me that it was gods approval, that I placed her in my head and not of my intention in the place of god. I had to spend years tearing down that false idol, and now I’m here. I’m young but I’m not going to stay young, I’m trying to transition and I know other trans people, but I’m lost. Nobody is going to save me but myself, and I don’t know how to save myself. But all I know is that I’m going to try. “God loves you, but not enough to save you. So, baby girl, good luck taking care of yourself.”

I personally like to think that during the last chorus of Strangers (repetition of "am i making you feel sick?") is ethel's final cry of frustrations, with each question repeated over and over again, she changes courses from asking if she's no good to making sure that she's no good (in his stomach lol) her first and final victory against him (giving him food poisoning), and she milks it by reiterating the question over and over again, as if mocking him, before finally moving on and changing her audience towards her parents

My friend is a lesbian and told me about this album. She listens to this when she has religious flashbacks. These religious flashbacks are caused because she grew up going to church and felt that these feelings of her being a lesbian and having to listen to a pastor speaking against same sex relationships every Sunday stressed her out. She barely talks to her dad cause he seems to criticize her for being lesbian, and she is too afraid to discuss it with her mom. She has only admitted her sexuality in front of her dad and wishes she would of done so in front of her mom too. Her mother seems to be really against same sex sexuality’s. I am a bisexual who has questioned my gender for years and it got more serious as I got older. My parents are very religious and criticize that a lot. I’m going through what my friend has had to go through.

Ethel Cain had truly changed how I listen to music. After Preachers Daughter a lot of music stopped hitting the same for me.

i've only listened to a few ethel cain songs but after watching this i am absolutely gob smacked the lore is insane im so fascinated

“he freaking ate her” im crying 😭💀

you FREAKING ATE with this analysis. Hayden is a genius

I think it’s so interesting how this album can be interpreted in so many ways. I love reading and seeing all the theories. Hayden is such a genius for creating such complex music that can be interpreted differently while also being relatable even if you didn’t go through the things ethel did.

me when im autistic: bro wow love this so cool thank you

Going from Carpet Bed to Golden Age with the TikTok voice is high camp and I live. 😭 I’m loving this analysis so far!

hayden anhedonia’s entire philosophy on the ring and the maze brings me so much clarity in my perspective

In Inbred - the lyric “if he wakes up he’ll show you what I’m talking about” always seemed to me that the assault was happening under the same roof but while her brother was asleep, lending credence to the theory that it was Ethel’s dad who was abusing her all along

Found out about Ethel/Hayden from the new Ashnikko project, and have been falling in SO MUCH love with all of Hayden's music, this video was amazing, thank you! Loved especially when you talked about the stories going on in the EP's, definitely going to check them out now.

Would’ve loved a comment on how Famous Last Words might tie into the story because it also touches on themes of being cannibalized but this is some prime time 10/10 content right here

I have my math's final tomorrow but instead of studying, I just watched the most amazing 38 minute long video essay on Ethel Cain. Honestly, the amount of effort you've put into this video is truly astonishing. I hope you get more recognition. Honestly, my love for Hayden has increased so much after watching this; she's quite possibly the best artist of this generation. Also did I mention, that you freaking ATE this video😭

Girl yassss ! I discovered Ethel like 2 weeks ago, and she's already my 6th most streamed artist all-time on Spotify. Preacher's Daughter is like the best piece of art on earth period. I listened to her EPs as well, and loved all 3 them, but didn't really dive into them so hearing you explaining them so in depth was very interesting to me. I've been literally obsessed with her music for the past few weeks and I'm gonna have an oral presentation focused on Preacher's Daughter for uni in English class (as I'm not a native English speaker), and I'll definitely use your video and interpretations to make my own script for my work. Thank you for diving into Ethel's discography, she literally deserves a literature nobel prize for it.

The instrumentals also say a whole lot! The last couple minutes in Thoroughfare depict s3x/having an 0rgasm (the gradual increase in intensity of her voice, "oh YEAHah", etc). In August Underground, it sounds (to me) like she's disoriented after being drugged/hallucinating, and you can hear a very clear gvnshot and her heartbeat slowly dy!ng out in the end. In Televangelism, the varying piano sounds feel like her ascending to heaven/the afterlife, then fighting with this fate/fighting to stay alive as the piano gets loud and discord-y, and eventually it evens out again as she finally d!es and moves on to the afterlife. Also, PHENOMENAL video!! I audibly went "ooohh" at a few points, and laughed out loud at "you're de@d now, have standards." and the repetition of "CUZ HE FREAKIN ATE HER" hahaha. I LOVED this!!!!!!! Thank you

I just found her music on a tiktok and now my perception of reality has been changed

I thought maybe Lillies was about Willoughby, and how perfect and pure things were for them and then the "I'm gonna hurt/lose you" is either her sense of self doubt/lack of self worth she may have due to trauma, OR its meant to foreshadow the later events, since in house in Nebraska she talks about how "she's the reason" he's not coming home which could tie into "I know I'm gonna lose you" idk it might be far fetched but that's what I thought, love the vid!

i'm only a few minutes in, but i want to thank you (and any collaborators) so much for the subtitles!! your voice is very clear, but i still struggle to understand People Speaking due to my autism, so any help is welcome. i bet many other neurodivergent people felt happy too.

My friend introduced me to Ethel Cain while we were on a trip (I was driving), and I was so blown away by the vocals, the instrumentals, and the heartbreaking story. I've lived my whole life trying to end the generational trauma in my family (sa and other forms of abuse from older family members, religious trauma as well), and I never really had anything/anyone to truly understand some of the things I went through until my friend played Preacher's Daughter.... and now that I have a better understanding of what the songs mean (thanks to you Znekkk) it's made me even more drawn to Ethel and her story. Thank you for going in depth, it's helped me feel less alone :)

oh I’m only a few seconds in and I literally know pretty much all of her lore but anytime I see someone else talking about it in depth I get so excited

I adore Hayden. I also would like to share this little something: months ago when I listened to Preacher’s daughter for the first time I made up my own opinion about televangelism’s possible meaning, since she was the daughter of the preach and she disappeared out of nowhere + televangelists go on tv to share religious messages, I thought that a televangelist had shared her death on tv or that someone had done some sort of ceremony durning the song. I know this isn’t right but just wanted to say this rq.

i thought August underground was just the sound of ethel slowly dying in the attic

I interpret two headed mother as her somewhat showing her power over the men who abuse her. She puts herself on a pedestal as an all-knowing mother who creates and kills anything she wishes to. In a pretty metaphorical sense though, I really can't figure out any specific event going on in the song. Thought it is fully possible that she's lying to herself in an attempt to deal with her trauma better. And you're right the quitar is amazing in this one :]

Thank you for putting this all together. Hayden's music makes me speechless. We all have our own problems, trauma, pain, and stress. But listening to her music helps fill the emptiness of feeling alone. It's been a little over a year of me listening to her and I still get the chills, tears, and amazement with nearly all of her songs. I'm also super glad you mentioned Strangers being your favorite. That was the one that changed me. Thanks again

omg, i loved the video. i always liked Ethel's music, but i just recently got into the lore (and realized she was a character). One can tell you're a true fan and that you enjoy her songs just as much as me. Glad you made thia video, thank you 🖤

oh to experience listening to ethel cain for the first time again

I personally have always taken Sunday Morning as a bit of a 50's housewife situation but with an unhappy home life. Somewhat like Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez. The wife (Ethel) trying to do whatever possible to please the husband, but it does nothing. He only sees her as somewhat of a machine to toy around with. (I'm sorry, I have no idea if that makes any sense.)

i had to rewatch this because it was so good and thought out. thanks sm for making this because there’s not a ton of videos on Ethel despite the fact that she makes masterpieces

wow, i didn't interpret the ending of strangers as Ethel meeting her dad. to me it was always beautiful and powerful that ethel would go to heaven despite the things she did since a large part of it wasn't her fault, she was just led by the circumstances. she was a girl (trans or not) who was a victim of her abusive father and her mother's neglect, which later led her to never truly know what love was, falling under the trap of abusive men, mixing lust and violence for love (and if she really was kidnapped by isaiah, the whole thing was probably stockholm syndrome, my god). the fact that she goes to heaven means that she is excused of everything, because society, religion, generational trauma, and patriarchy are what truly killed her in the end. or maybe i'm just coping because i need to see some silver lining in this fucking miserable story and all the horrible real stories that exist out there lmao to me, the final lines of strangers are all said to her mother, which is the only person ethel now see's that she could trust. she is telling her mother that she traveled far, both in life and made it to heaven/after life and that she loves her, despite her mother's love being about violence, mistrust and apparently distant enough to end up in neglect. edit: ptolemaea is also such an interesting song! sometimes i interpret the final lines as death speaking, like you said, but sometimes i listen to it and it kinda sounds like it could be Fate, which is this character-not-a-character that exists throughout this album (and the whole cain women trilogy, probably). it's so grim to think that Fate will take her and all the women in her family tree. they will all go through it, no matter how they try to escape it: they will be abused and either live the prison her mother lived, or die trying to escape. cain women can't escape Fate. either way, it's such a cathartic song about abuse that so many people can unfortunately relate to. i just love how hayden's songs are so open to interpretation, she's a genius!

33:56 IS SO FUNNY. “WHY IS ETHEL IN HIS FREEZER?!…”

I’m a newer Ethel Cain fan. I heard about her previously here and there. But my first little toe-dip I guess you could call it was dying star with ashnikko. I’m a huge ashnikko fan, they are my favorite artist of all time hands down. I have ashnikko merch, an ashnikko tattoo, the whole thing. When I heard Ethel Carin’s verse, I was immediately drawn in by her voice and how soft it was. I shuffled her music on Spotify and I liked her but it was something I wasn’t super super into. Fast forward to a couple days ago I wanted something new to listen to. I decided to give Ethel Cain another go and inbred shook me to my core, her vocals at the end actually made me cry. If any of you have seen Ethel’s video on the ring theory with music and how certain songs can make you feel closer to god, that’s how I felt. It’s not often I get this feeling from someone’s music…. Ashnikko makes me feel this way, stardew by purity ring, and utopia by bjork make me feel this way. The lyrics are dark yet so poetic and I felt like Ethel literally grabbed me by my throat. She is an incredible artist and now I’m absolutely obsessed with her. I’ve added her to my playlists. I’m absolutely in love.

i’ve been listening to ethel cain for like a month now and it never even occurred to me thst all the songs were related this is sick as hell keep it up

this video was exactly what i needed! i love the PD album, but all the little details escaped me on my first listen. hearing your breakdown really helped solidify the story in my mind.

not the therapy ad i got while watching this 💀💀

I like just got into ethel and I didn't even know she has a storyline!! Tysm for the video explaining it!!

you are a life saver fr! i seriously had no idea about this thing called “ethel cain lore”. i started listening to her music and i clearly GOT NOTHING IN MY MIND! but still, im impressed with her musics and i found out it’s a storytelling which is 10000 times better 😭 she truly gave me the biggest impact through her albums, thank you so much to you too for making this video! god loves you~

Ive never come across an artist like ethel and I've not been able to stop thinking about the lore since i very first heard ethel and her song strangers. When i first heard strangers, i came here and watched this entire video so i understood the lore before going and listening to all of her albums. It made it so much easier for me to connect with an artist and ive never connected this much with an artist ever! After listening to all the albums ive come back to watch this again to understand more and catch things i might have missed the first time. So thank you for making this because you helped me connect to her albums in a way i dont think I could have without this. I also am not sure if ethel and her father are in hell, ethel made mistakes as well that could have sent her to hell so who knows?.. i dont think shes in heaven

I think forgot to tell that isaiah FREAKING ATE HER

Wanted to make a video like this for a long time, never got around to it. Very happy someone did and it’s probably more comprehensible then I could hahaha. Love it

most video essay to ever video essay

Thanks for breaking this down and the fact its a long story of Ethel is brilliant on this artists part...

i just realized head in the wall is the same instrumental as head in the ceiling fan by title fight and i love ethel now more than ever

I’ve seen Ethel Cain songs around on recommendations, but I can’t recall listening to her music. This video was fascinating and now I need to listen to the whole discography.

Preachers Daughter changed my life when i listened to it for the first time and its had even more of an impact the more i learn about the lore

I want to add onto your idea of Inbred, the song. I don't think it's illustrating her mother is dead, but rather suffering from severe rot from idling in bed without leaving it. From experience, I had someone who rotted while being alive for many months. She got like this after her husband died, as well. I have a feeling that mother in this scenario suffers from some kind of depression probably from abuse, and she made herself rot to be less appealing in a sick way. Then, instead of taking it out on her, daddy targets Ethel instead. Given her father dies, and mother is evidently still alive, she recovers, and thus Ethel's affectionate referencing at the end of Preacher's daughter.

‼️Ptolemaea is my FAVORITE song! It's how I discovered her music and I still think it is the best song she's ever put out. It's so unique and haunting and how the sounds of flies buzzing actually plays into the beats and tones and lyrics. Its a reference to Beelzebub one of the seven demon princes who's other name is Lord of the flies. He's the demon of gluttony and envy. She's just so creative this song is so unique. There's so much symbolism in it. Her voice is haunting and perfect and the atonal instrumentals behind it just creates sucha fantastic listening experience. Atonal instrumentals are commonly used in horror movies especially demon possession movies as the backing soundtrack. I can literally go on and on about this song all day. Imo its her best work and it will always be my favorite.

I've never heard of Ethel Cain until this video popped up in my feed. Listened to the Nebraska song a couple times. Brought tears both times.

“Head in the Wall” samples a guitar melody from a Title Fight song called “Head in the Ceiling Fan”, this is the first time I’ve realized this and now I gotta spend an hour tying them together in my brain hahaha

I never listen to ads but tried to avoid skipping any on this because you absolutely deserve to be paid for the effort that went into this video! Thanks for this haha.

I love this video, whenever I feel bad I search for anything Ethel related, it really helped me ❤

I came here before I listen to her music. My sister told me to check out her music and now I’m very invested. I’m currently in a medical treatment center recovering alcohol use & mental health. I definitely need some new music to get through the next few weeks.

Excellent overview, she’s a new artist to me and I’m glad I stumbled upon your video. One little thing- don’t bother with trigger warnings. I know you mean well but people need to know that art sometimes tackles difficult things. Anyway, thanks. I like your voice quality on the video. It goes well with the mood of the music.

Saying “FREAKING ATE HER” over and over is so real

i feel like there's more to unpunishable than you think!! her unearned confidence is from the fact that no matter how much he abuses her, the more he tries to make her feel terrible, nothing will ever truly hurt her because she's SO fucked up and nothing phases her. she's unpunishable because she's been punished SO MUCH and that makes her powerful. also two-headed mother to me is about having complete control over a lover whom you love and resent at the same time, like how mothers view their children: spitting images of everything negative about themselves. this son/lover figure really thinks he's all that ("you think that you create the waves/but i create you") but in fact, without her, he would have nothing that he has and would be no one. she dismisses and dehumanizes him, treating him almost as if he's someone she HAS to experience and that it doesn't matter what happens, she's just using him and then he'll leave. she's unpredictable and sexually traumatized, and wields her power and control over him constantly in order to manipulate him. she's concious of how much this must hurt ("baby, fire you wade through" is an allegory to hell, comparing the dichotomy of her love and hate for him to being as tortorous as hell itself), but she doesn't seem to feel any regret or need to change. it's not really a commentary on the situation, i see it more as a love/threat letter to this man that tells him that she has so much power over him and that she won't save him or love him in a way that is sweet or life-giving, only hurting him and using him.

this was fantastic thank you for making it. also you have a lovely voice! so easy to listen to.

it’s crazy to me that mother cain sampled head in the ceiling fan by title fight for head in the wall

I never understood what people meant when they said that an album changed them, but after listening to preachers daughter I finally do

The “He FREKING ate her” made me less sad and smile so much

Now I understand the Ethel Cake joke

I fell asleep to Preachers Daughter on repeat last night after listening to it for the first time and when I say it altered something in my brain

Loved this! Was so funny when you said “buckle in because it’s a wild ride” I could hear the glee in your voice haha, it’s such a fascinating piece of work to talk about after doing so much background research. A true Daughter of Cain! Preacher’s Daughter hit me so hard when I first listened to it properly, I was thinking how heartbreaking the lyrics to Strangers were and then the audio suddenly all clears, the instruments stop, then her isolated vocals become so crisp, and she sings that line to her mother. Holy shit. I was so taken aback by the fact it just…ended. I grabbed my phone and saw the album was over was standing in silence thinking holy shit that’s the end? It was just so incredibly impactful as an ending to just finish. No outro, just an ending with what felt like no way of processing the heartbreak in the last lyric of the album. It’s expertly crafted in a way that really struck me because its messaging is so clear, a life cut short and longing for her mother but all she can do is wait until her death. Ethel Cain is without a doubt one of those rare gems that is genuinely exciting to exist on the planet at the same time they do. Knowing the scope of the things that are coming next is just wild to think like holy shit this entire experience will be something special. I cannot wait for the books tbh.

there’s a poem called two headed calf which might explain two headed mother, it speaks of acceptance

THANK YOU - this is the kind of in depth video i've been looking for. None of the others were satisfying me enough!! lol

I love this! Thank you for making it.

This is such a great video I love how you made sure it's as atmospheric as everything about ethel.

Ohmygod I love this. I'm a newer daughter of cain and thank you so much

i’m so in love with her and her music

Lilies kinda sounds like Ethel finally entered the first good relationship in her life (the lily flower itself symbolizing both purity and life after death), but because it's such a foreign concept to her, she's terrified that she's going to mess it all up. Granted, the only Ethel Cain song I've really listened to is Inbred, so my interpretation could be off. Also that Golden Age picture that your friend sent you reminds me way too much of the church I went to as a kid.

Quite literally thank you so much, now my hyperfixation ass doesn’t have to go searching for lore everywhere. ❤ appreciate your work

Fun fact: “Head in the Wall” from the Golden Age EP actually samples a song called “Head in the Ceiling Fan” by Title Fight!! I recently found this out and thought it was so cool to listen to the original and Ethel’s version side by side ☺️

she's one of my top artists, and probably will be, til the day I die.. I loved your analysis video, and found it both entertaining and informative. 💙

just realized "head in the wall" is sampled from title fights "head in the ceiling"