Talk: The Cabin/Theories

Cleanup nomination[]

I nominated this page for cleanup for the following reasons:

Contains attempts at humor concerning the contents of the jars (I seriously doubt Jacob has an affinity for peanut butter)
The misc section is cluttered and disorganized
Many of the theories do not follow the guidelines for theories
The Baba Yaga theory is huge - waaaay too much information. Plus, it's signed.

I would be glad to make an attempt, but I'm a newbie, so discussion would be appreciated. --thecooley|talk|cont 13:21, 27 March 2008 (PDT)

My cleanup approach[]

Ok...since nobody responded to my reasons for cleanup, I'm going to assume they are acceptable and proceed. Here's what I'm going to do (I will save changes between each bullet-point task):

Re-organize the article into clearer headings/subheadings without altering the actual text of the theories (work in progress on my sandbox page) (done)
Re-word/combine existing theories (done)
Remove bogus theories and place them on the talk page (done)

I would really appreciate a comment or two on this approach; I don't want to step on any toes or trounce any editing rules. --thecooley|talk|cont 10:33, 8 April 2008 (PDT)
Edited to update progress 15:46, 8 April 2008 (PDT)

Removed Theories[]

I am going to put all the theories that I removed below, with a small explanation in blue.
Farfetched and too detailed

Jacob's Cabin is Baba Yaga's hut.

Baba Yaga is a witch from East European folklore who lives in a hut in the forest. Note the references below, which relate the composition of the powder surrounding the cabin and discuss how the cabin may move from location to location.

"Baba Yaga lives in a hut deep in the forest. Her hut seems to have a personality of its own and can move about on its extra-large chicken legs. Usually the hut is either spinning around as it moves through the forest or stands at rest with its back to the visitor. The windows of the hut seem to serve as eyes.All the while it is spinning round, it emits blood-curdling screeches and will only come to a halt, amid much creaking and groaning, when a secret incantation is said." "The hut is sometimes surrounded by a fence made of bones, which helps to keep out intruders!" "In her guise as wise hag, she sometimes gives advice and magical gifts to heroes and the pure of heart. The hero or heroine of the story often enters the crone's domain searching for wisdom, knowledge and truth. She is all-knowing, all seeing and all-revealing to those who would dare to ask." -- from http://www.oldrussia.net/baba.html

"She dwells in a magical hut that is surrounded by a fence made from the leftover bleached-white bones of her victims, ... This fence is a clear signal to anyone who would dare to pass through its gate that they must be prepared for an initiatory underworld experience, an experience that could end in sudden death or life-altering enlightenment, depending upon the wits and attitude of the initiate." "Some versions of the legend say that the cottage was not fixed to the ground and could run around on its hen's legs." -- from http://www.mythicarts.com/writing/Baba_Yaga.htm "Baba Yaga's domain is the forest, widely acknowledged as a traditional symbol of change and a place of peril, where she acts as either a challenger or a helper to those innocents who venture into her realm." "Baba Yaga's little house is in the heart of the wild forest. And it will not be found in the same place two days running …"' -- from http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrBabaYaga.html

Draws some interesting similarities, but not specific enough to be a theory

In one of the Hitchhiker to the Galaxy books, the main protagonist enters a cabin, in search of the ruler of the Galaxy. In this cabin lives a man. There is little to no technology. The man inside sits most of the time in a wooden chair at a wooden table, talking to himself and/or other objects. For example, he held a discussion with a pen for a couple of weeks. (I'm sorry for not knowing the exact details.)From this, we can lead that time is irrelevant to this man. Also, the way it's written, the reader understands that this man, indeed knows a lot, although this is not shown or explained specific. Except for the humorous way these books are written, they are a couple of similarities between Hitchhiker and Lost. (for example the number 42). Maybe this one also?

Not sure what this is referring to; could be valid with more explanation

Jars are about a Dharma project named LEP.

Illogical

The sand like substance could be a magnetic or anti-magnetic which would interfere with electronics (being the reason Jacob hates electronics).
- If so then how does Locke's flashlight work?
If Jacob's House really is the resting place of Magnus Hanso, perhaps the grey powder could be his ashes?
- If these are Magnus Hanso's ashes, then the volume is great--think of the ashes of a normal corpse in a normal-sized urn.
Hurley has the ability to break spells and this is why Jacob could move his cabin after Hurley came to visit him the first time. Hurley previously broke his curse by driving the van towards the black rocks. He can see into the spiritual world but hates change and so cannot face up to his abilities. He is the most important character in Lost.
- Hurley did not go to "visit" Jacob, the cabin appeared to Hurley and frightened him after he had followed Locke who had been looking for it, but hadn't told anyone what his was looking for. When Hurley encountered the cabin he closed his eyes hoping or assuming it was a hallucination like Dave, but when he opened his eyes the cabin was still near him, but had moved locations. There is also no evidence that Hurley can see into the spiritual world.

Speculation

Perhaps we are all overlooking the significance of the powder, for it could be nothing of importance.
- This is unlikely, considering the fact that the writers went out of their way to show the powder.

Repeat of other theories

- However, the way it is arranged as well as the manner in which he carefully steps over it as he approaches the house evokes images of the circles used in magic to contain and command otherworldly entities. If the circle is broken, the entity can escape, and it usually seeks revenge on the person who imprisoned it.
- Alternativly a circle may be there to protect what is inside it.
- If this is true it would make sense that Jacob could not leave the circle in human form, but rather as the Monster, enraged because he has been trapped by Ben.

thecooley|talk|cont 15:46, 8 April 2008 (PDT)

Theory question[]

Unless i'm missing something the Black Rock is the final resting place of Magnus Hanso. Can I remove this from the purpose section? Don't want to do it in case I am missing something glaringly obvious.Matthew7785 01:07, 8 May 2008 (PDT)

I looked at the blast door map, which is what the original theory writer referenced. In the bottom right area right outside the octagon, it says "Known final resting place of Magnus Hanso/Blackrock". That seems to be good enough reason to remove the theory, considering the cabin is nowhere near the Black Rock.
Thanks for removing the cleanup tag as well. :) thecooley|talk|cont 15:13, 9 May 2008 (PDT)

Horace's Cabin?[]

No one seems to be talking about the reason for building the cabin. Horace didn't act like he was building a cabin for a leader named Jacob, he acted like he was building a cabin for himself and his wife. Any thoughts on how this cabin became what it is, now?--DeepForestGreen 10:48, 15 May 2008 (PDT)

Who Broke the Circle?[]

It seems that Jacob's Enemy inhabited the cabin during Locke's first visit. The ash prevented him from leaving. The question is: who broke the circle within that three year period before inhabiting Locke's body? It could have possibly been Hurley when he saw the place in a flash, and he broke the circle by accident. Any other thoughts?

DHARMAEmployee 4:29, 15 May 2009 (Central)

First of all, I don't know why everyone is assuming that Jacob's enemy was the inhabitant of the cabin. The images that we saw in seasons 3 and 4 do not look like either Jacob or his enemy (both of them have blue eyes and whoever was in the cabin had a brown eye). Secondly, the ash looks like it was pushed in from the outside in one deliberate motion, so it most likely was not done when Hurley was trying to run away from the cabin. Iburnedthemuffins 00:31, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
- We do know for a fact that Jacob's Enemy can take other people's form from the fact that he took Lockes form. I think it's pretty obvious that something was contained within the circle of ash, and Jacob's Enemy seems to be a good candidate and he is one of the only characters who has been unaccounted for for a significant period of time. He wanted to kill Jacob, so Jacob and hence The Others had a good reason to contain him. Whilst he is trapped in the cabin it may be that he can only appear in other peoples dreams or as visions to them, but once he is released he can take an actual corporeal form and hence perform the deception of actually appear as Locke for a significant period of time. Timb0h 11:48, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

ps I find this kinda humourous: As of The Incident, Parts 1 & 2, we see Jacob's chamber internally. He has a very strange fire pit, which appears to consist of burning grey ash. This ash looks strangely similar to the grey dust/ash that encircles the cabin. Personally I find that all ash looks similar and that's not particularly strange Timb0h 11:48, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

I had this thought the other day, but what if Claire was the one who broke the circle? We did see her in there with Christian, perhaps he got her to break the circle so that he could get out. Maybe he convinced her that he could help bring people back from the dead/change the past i.e. Charlie? Drinkybird 22:59, September 23, 2009 (UTC)

Rose and Bernard's Cabin[]

Was it just me or were Rose and Bernard living in a cabin which looked very similar to 'The Cabin'? --Nathan kirkwood 09:04, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Moved from Theory page[]

The below comments were moved from the theory page due to a lack of evidence that leads to a conclusion. If your theory is below, please add evidence as advised by LP:TP, and then move back to the appropriate place on the theory page. All moved comments are unsigned, so please make sure to sign any subsequent comments added.

Origin[]

This cabin is now occupied by ghosts who took over the cabin when Horace died. (Please explain and give evidence of "ghosts".)
(There was a comment in one theory about Horace building the cabin for him and his wife Olivia. I removed Olivia, because we do not know at that point which wife he was referring to.)
Jacob is Horace or a manifestation of him. Carlton and Damon have said that dead doesn't always mean gone which is why we have the dead Christian, Charlie etc walking around the real world. After Horace died, he appeared in his old cabin, which he built with no technology because they were surrounded by it at Dharma and that was part of what they wanted to get away from. Ben found some way to trap him so he wouldn't just pop up all over the island and cause trouble, but Horace/Jacob could still appear in the dreams of 'special' people etc. (removed due to events of "The Incident, Part 1".)

Purpose[]

Connected to Cerberus, according to the blast door map, who permits spirits to enter the lower world and prevents them from leaving. (Please expound on the stated purpose in this theory, and provide evidence to show it.)
A book was shown in "Dead is Dead" when Ben heads down to drain the monsters toilet called "Uncle Tom's Cabin". The premise of this book is that the cabin represents a place of safety for the oppressed and innocent. Since nothing seems to be a coincidence in this show the cabin might end up being the only safe place on the island from whatever can't cross over the salt, ash, grey powder line. (More evidence is needed other than "nothing seems to be a coincidence" as that could be said about anything in the show.)
The cabin was actually the dwelling place of Jacob's enemy. The gray ash was being used to imprison him. (Good theory, just needs more evidence. Once that is added, please move back to theory page.)

Jars[]

The jars on Jacob's window sill are remains from failed island pregnancies. All the fertility experiments on the Island are staged sacrifices to Jacob. (Please give explanation as to why they would be kept, and evidence to show that they are fetus remains, like evidence that the Others/DHARMA has done this before.)
The color of the jars evoke the four bodily humours of the Ancient Greeks; blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. (What is the actual theory here?)
The jars are sustenance for Jacob's nemesis. (Maybe, but without evidence this is just speculation. Also, Jacob actually eats food like fish, so please explain why Nemesis would need to eat something else.)

Grey powder (Ring of Ash)[]

The grey powder is the Monster.
The grey powder indicates the presence of a road. (For this comment and corresponding comments, please add evidence from the show to lead to this conclusion.)
- The trail of grey powder follows a gentle curve around the mountain that is perpendicular to the path directly up the mountain. This would be a natural way of walking between two points at the same height on the mountain.
- The grey ash is not distributed in a continuous line but in piles, suggestive of a person carrying an overladen container who is spilling grey powder on every stride.
The grey powder is simple volcanic ash that is being mined and transported across the mountain for use in cement.
- Cement is basically composed of clay and limestone, no ash is involved in the mixture!
The ashes are Jacob's remains after being burned and somehow get brought back in time to contain MIB.
In witchcraft and ritual magic, a "magic circle" is cast to contain energies. The circle is thought to be a conduit which allows one dimension to communicate with another. This could indicate how Jacob can communicate with the outside world. (No evidence of witchcraft in the show.)
The ash circle is located at a specific geographical spot on the Island. However, the circle does not limit where the cabin will show up, as shown by the fact that the cabin has so far shown up in a couple different areas--not just inside the circle. What the circle does is keeps Jacob's spirit locked inside the cabin. The cabin itself is not the original cabin built by Horace Goodspeed, but is the "ghostly" version of the original, since the original was burnt down with Jacob's body inside. The ashes are a mixture of Jacob's body and the cabin. So basically the ash circle is a way of ensuring that no matter where the cabin shows up, it is limited to the Island and Jacob's spirit will be trapped inside. We've also seen that the circle is not located where Horace Goodspeed's original cabin was ("The Economist" and "Cabin Fever"). That's because after the original cabin burned down, Widmore took the ashes and brought them to a place that only he knew about so that none of the Others (Richard Alpert included) would know its location and be able to free Jacob's spirit. Ben found out about the location of the circle, but continues Widmore's tradition of keeping the circle intact and not telling the rest of the Others where it is located. (Please rework theory based on events of "The Incident, Part 1".)

Appearences[]

Children (such as Walt), people with mental disorders (such as Hurley), and special people (such as Locke and Ben) are the only people who can see the cabin. (You can make something up for everyone who has seen the island. Without them all fitting into 1 category, it's not a theory.)
Jacob's cabin was built on principles of quantum mechanics and probability (which would make sense if built by a mathematician). The cabin's location is therefore never certain and can change. (Please explain how quantum mechanics causes the cabin's location to change, and evidence that buildings have been built on these properties.)
However Jacob's cabin moved around the island is the same way that the island will move. The island moves continuously in the ocean, Jacob's cabin also moves continuously on the island. (Repeated theory)
The cabin exists inside a pocket dimension on the island, only those who are worthy can pass through the dimensional barrier and see the cabin.

Undead[]

The cabin is the place where the "undead" meet and is also one of the sources of the whispers.

Stops Jacob's Powers[]

Jacob is responsible for Richard not aging. Also he brought Locke back to life when he was pushed through the window. Jacob does not appear to age. However when trapped in the cabin and trapped by the powder Jacob cannot use his powers and he begins to age (which shows why he looks so old when Locke and Ben visit.). It also explains why he asked Locke to help him. (Good theory, but please explain how if Jacob was trapped inside the cabin and that caused his powers to stop..... how come Richard didn't age, Locke didn't become paralyzed, etc? He was trapped when they got to the island, but still healed Locke's paralysis, and cured Rose's cancer.)

The eye[]

The eye seen by Hurley in Jacob's cabin is Miles'. Miles stayed in the cabin after not being able to change the future in 1977. (Please give more evidence as to Miles. This could be said for any character from 1977.)
It seems Dogen's eye. After he apperead on the show I've compared the two pictures and they are very similar.

Cabineye — The mysterious eye that frightens Hurley ("The Beginning of the End")

I'm new, but I noticed that the eye is dark (maybe brown), and Jacob's eyes are light blue. I know there's lots of symbolism with light v. dark, what if everyone is represented by their eye color? Maybe far-fetched, but perhaps useful in ruling out people as the owner of the "cabin eye". Banded.gull 01:51, September 14, 2009 (UTC)

I'm new as well, but I've wondered if anyone have tried to compare this eye to the eyes of some of the known characters? I would definitely put my money on John Locke, and I think this discussion is still very relevant. A lot of people are assuming that Jacob's Nemesis is that one that "has been using [the cabin]" (according to Ilana in The Incident, Parts 1 & 2) - if this is true, Locke would be a interesting meaningful choice of 'eye', that sort of foresaw who MIB would take the form of, without the need to cast a new actor several seasons before he was to be featured again (as with both Jacob or his nemesis) NorthernRealmJackal 20:27, February 20, 2010 (UTC)

The more I look at it, the more it looks like Desmond's eye to me. Fenixyz 19:19, May 8, 2010 (UTC)