Men of Letters bunker

Men of Letters Bunker
Seasons	8-15
Creator	Men of Letters
Boss	Sam and Dean
Whereabouts	Lebanon, Kansas
State	Active

“	Dump? Are you kidding? Do you realize where we are? This - this dump is the last true beacon of light in a world gone topsy-turvy. This dump is the epicenter of the ultimate chess match between good and evil.	”
	— Peter Jenkins to James Haggerty in Slumber Party

The Men of Letters Bunker, or "the Batcave" as it was referred to by Dean Winchester, was the secret base of the Men of Letters. It could only be accessed by a special key.

History and details

Top View.

The Men of Letters bunker housed many artifacts and was located in Lebanon, Kansas, the geographic center of the contiguous United States. Construction of the bunker was started in 1932 and took three years to build. After it was finished in 1935, the first case investigated in the bunker was that of Dorothy Baum. Much of the events were written into a set of books by Dorothy's father, who was a Man of Letters himself.

It was described as containing every object, scroll, and spell collected by the order for over a thousand years, as well as research and books on a variety of subjects. After eighty years the bunker had functional power and water supply and was also capable of providing some form of Internet connection.

It was said to be the "safest place on Earth, warded against any evil ever created.", meaning it doesn't deter benign or benevolent beings, like angels or Zanna. The warding on the bunker was devised by Cuthbert Sinclair before he was expelled from the Men of Letters and went rogue. The only way to get in was with the Key of the Order of Letters.

The bunker also possessed a lockdown mode, which could be activated by a lever in the electrical room. Once locked down, no one could get in or out of the bunker. The process caused an alarm and all the lights to dim, and be replaced by red ones.

Sam and Dean and Mary's initials on the table of the Men of Letters bunker.

In 2013, it became Sam and Dean Winchester's new base of operations. It was impossible to track cell phone signals that came from within the bunker; the closest that one could get a signal was outside of a twenty-mile radius.  

The witch Olivette, revealed that there were actually many bunkers scattered across the world. Arthur Ketch also calls it "a bunker" when talking to Dean rather than "the bunker", further showing that there are more bunkers elsewhere. Sam later told Dean that the Men of Letters only had one bunker, but they had smaller chapter houses acting as outposts all over. The chapter house in Portsmouth, Rhode Island had a similar appearance to the bunker, but was much smaller.

By late 2015, Sam had downloaded all of the bunker's files into an online archive for better accessibility.

In 2016, Amara broke into the bunker in search of God, destroying the warding in the process. Though the Winchesters believed that they restored the warding afterwards, they only put up "good enough warding" against monsters and demons while the bunker's original cosmic warding remained destroyed.

Later in 2017, the Bunker was put into a lockdown by Arthur Ketch that locked Sam, Dean, and Lady Toni Bevell inside, cut off all power and water and shut down airflow into the Bunker. This would enough to kill them in about two days. After being unable to find a magical way to reverse the lockdown, Dean used a grenade launcher to blast through a wall into the sewers and hit the manual override located outside the Bunker, ending the lockdown moments before it would've been fatal.

In 2018, in an attempt to rescue Mary and Jack from Apocalypse World, the Winchesters opened a rift leading from the bunker into the alternate reality. After twenty-four hours, the rift closed again on its own.

After discovering that the archangel Gabriel was within the bunker, the Prince of Hell Asmodeus contacted Sam and threatened to kill him and destroy the bunker if Sam didn't turn over Gabriel. Asmodeus was able to break through the bunker's wards as they were not designed for a demon as powerful as him and led an incursion into the bunker with five other demons. In the battle that followed, the other demons were overpowered and ultimately killed while the Prince of Hell himself was incinerated by Gabriel in the middle of the bunker's main room.

A rift to Apocalypse World was opened using a captured Lucifer who then supplied the needed grace to keep the portal open. Gabriel, Castiel and the Winchester brothers journeyed into the rift in order to rescue their mother and Jack. Rowena stayed behind in order to watch the portal, however Lucifer managed to escape his bonds was about to kill the witch, however she managed to knock him into the rift. Without the archangel, Rowena uses her magic to keep the portal as long as possible.

In the other world, Dean and Sam reunited with Mary and Jack, however the two refuse to return to the Main Universe until Michael is defeated. The brother then entice the members of the resistance of returning to the main universe, using the bunker and its accumulated supernatural archives an weaponry as a lure in their goal in defeating Michael. Eventually all the members in the resistance agree to evacuate to the main universe. All members of the resistance and the Winchesters safely return to the bunker, save Gabriel, who sacrificed himself to stop Michael and Lucifer who was intentionally left behind by Sam. The refugees and the Winchester shared a toast to mourn those left behind.

The bunker soon became a new home for the refugees from Apocalypse World. There Sam and Mary helped them assimilate to the main universe. Some like Charlie resumed their roles as active hunters. The bunker soon became a murder scene when one of the refugees Maggie was found dead outside in the forest. Later Lucifer appeared miraculously stating he wished to see Jack. However soon after he resurrected Maggie as a show of good faith, she revealed it was he who murdered her. Michael then appeared revealing the two had formed an alliance in order to invade the main universe.

Three weeks after Michael possessed Dean after killing Lucifer, Sam Winchester has become the de facto leader of a new hunter network made up of the Apocalypse World refugees. The bunker that was used solely by the Winchesters has become a new base of operations for the hunters. More organized and structured, former resistance members have taken residence there, on the lookout for the archangel, but also continuing hunting monsters. After Michael escapes from Dean's mind, he possesses Rowena and uses her body to kill Maggie and several other Apocalypse World hunters in the bunker's main room. However, using the power of his soul, Jack is able to exorcise Michael from Rowena and kill him, regaining his original powers through Michael's absorbed grace.

There are hidden symbols in the frieze around the library, plus sigils and devil traps above the bookcases. At the bottom is a bronze devil trap. At every doorway, there is a symbol which would be the next line of defense if a demon broke in.

In 2020, the Reaper Merle reveals that after Amara broke in, the bunker's original cosmic warding was destroyed. Though the Winchesters thought they fixed it, they had only ended up with "good enough warding" against monsters and demons. Merle claims that the original warding can't be fixed on a permanent basis, but temporarily restores it and then "juices it up" with Castiel's help to block Jack's opening of a rift to the Bad Place from God's senses. The Winchesters, with the help of Dark Kaia, are able to rescue Kaia Nieves from the Bad Place before it is destroyed by God. After their return to the bunker, the rift closes behind them.

As God continues destroying the Multiverse, a rift from HunterCorp World opens in the bunker, bringing an alternate Sam and Dean and their car before they get sucked back in and get stuck between worlds. In order to trick Chuck in case he comes looking for them during their quest to find the Occultum, the Winchesters use a modified version of the Demon Tablet Alternate Reality Rift Opening Ritual to pull their counterparts through completely. The alternate Sam and Dean then pose as Sam and Dean while the Winchesters, Castiel and Jack are gone. Upon their return, the alternate Winchesters leave for a new life in Brazil and Jack's soul is revealed to have been restored.

Later in 2020, Dean takes the bunker out of Standby Mode while trying to fix a plumbing problem, releasing the Wood Nymph known as Mrs. Butters in the process. Mrs. Butters reveals that the bunker has only been running on limited power in Standby Mode without her there to give it a boost. With Mrs. Butters around, the bunker's light grow brighter and a monster radar begins working. When Mrs. Butters leaves, the bunker reverts back to Standby Mode and normal operations.

As part of the plan to kill God, Amara teleports him into the bunker and traps him there, albeit because she believes that the Winchesters only intend to trap her brother. At the same time, Sam and Castiel locate the Key to Death in the bunker's archives and Sam uses it to enter Death's Reading Room where the Shadow reveals that Billie actually intends to take power once Chuck and Amara are dead and allows Sam to take Chuck's Death Book back with him. Chuck eventually reveals that he actually manipulated the situation so that the Winchesters would kill each other over the plan to turn Jack into a suicide bomb. Devastated by Dean's betrayal, Amara allows God to absorb her, but Sam is able to talk Dean down, causing God to depart in a rage as Jack begins to detonate. Billie is then able to teleport Jack to the Empty where he detonates, but survives the blast. After Sam hands over Chuck's Death Book and Billie reads the new ending, she brings Jack back and attempts to leave with him. However, Dean slashes her in the shoulder with Death's Scythe, forcing Billie to leave without Jack, the book, or her scythe. However, Sam discovers that they can't even open the book much less read it.

Convinced that Billie is targeting the people that they have saved and everyone from Apocalypse World in particular, Dean and Castiel use the Key to Death to go after Billie with her scythe in order to stop Billie once and for all. Billie reveals that Chuck is responsible, not her and that Dean mortally wounded her earlier with his attack with the scythe. Deciding to finally kill Dean as her last act before she dies, Billie chases Dean and Castiel through the bunker with the two locking themselves in the dungeon, using a blood sigil to keep Billie out temporarily. Realizing that only the Shadow can defeat Billie, Castiel confesses his deal with the being to Dean and finally experiences a moment of true happiness by admitting that he loves Dean. The Shadow immediately opens a portal to the Empty in the dungeon and reaches out through it to absorb Billie and Castiel and suck them into the Empty, leaving behind a devastated Dean.

Following the erasure of every living thing in existence aside from the Winchesters and Jack, the bunker acts as their base as they work with Michael and a resurrected Lucifer to try to find a way to defeat God. After making Betty into the new Death in order to read Chuck's Death Book, Lucifer betrays the others, having been brought back by God in order to get the book. A battle between the two archangels in the middle of the library ends with Michael killing Lucifer using an archangel blade supplied to him by Sam.

After the death of Castiel and the defeat of God with Jack becoming the new God, the Winchesters become the sole inhabitants of the bunker again. At some point, Jack and Castiel's names are added into the carving in the library table that already has Sam, Dean and Mary Winchester's initials. Dean subsequently adopts a dog he found, Miracle, who moves into the bunker with them.

Layout and Contents

The Library.

The bunker was laid out in two layers, with a balcony level on the entrance, and a second level where the main area was. It also contained a library and was decorated in lavish style. The walls were covered with bookcases and filing cabinets, detailing many files collected over centuries, and included every exorcism over three hundred years, case files, incident reports, and information on hunters the Men of Letters worked with. At the end was a very large telescope. It also contained several storage rooms. There are hidden symbols in the frieze around the library, plus sigils and Devil's traps above the bookcases. At the bottom is a bronze devil trap. At every doorway, there is a symbol which would be the next line of defense if a demon broke in.

In the room adjacent to the library was a variety of old computers and machines, including "Commodore 64". It was revealed they were still functional and possessed some form of sensors and early warning devices, as they were automatically activated when the angels were expelled from heaven and started tracking them falling, all over the earth. When not in Standby Mode, the computer table possesses a monster radar.

Sam and Dean discuss their plans inside the bunker.

It also had multiple showers and living quarters. The central area featured a long wooden table that could be used for gatherings. Much of the furniture and decor were from past decades. It had vinyl records and a functional record player. The headquarters also included many unique relics and artifacts, including the Spear of Destiny and the Key to Oz.

Despite being a large building, its entrance was rather small and nondescript. The entrance was located near the road but was almost below ground level. One of the rooms that were meant as sleeping quarters was claimed by Dean Winchester as his own, and he decorated it with a series of guns and other weapons, including his blade from Purgatory on the back wall. The room contained a bed with a memory foam mattress and a desk with a reading light, against which Dean placed a picture of his mother.

Sam, Dean, Charlie, and Dorothy in the garage of the bunker.

The complex also housed a shooting range, complete with three targets and a dungeon for holding demons hidden in one of its archive rooms. The dungeon included a Devil's trap as well as cuffs and chains that were engraved in spellwork. There was also a very large kitchen, and what seemed to be a sick bay. 

The bunker had a garage that housed a lot of vehicles, like cars and Dorothy's motorcycle. Most vehicles were classics due to the Order's foundation in earlier decades. After its discovery, Dean started storing the Impala here. The bunker also had an electrical room which managed the controls to large parts of the building and included the lever that activates lock down mode.

The Bunker contains at least three pure gold knives that can be used to kill monsters.

The Bunker was warded for a long time by various spells, thanks to Cuthbert Sinclair's efforts, rendering it near impenetrable to most supernatural attacks and invasion. These wards can be "powered down" by the inhabitants to allow beings such as demons to enter.

The bunker on alert.

The Bunker can be sent into a lockdown that cuts off all power and water inside, locks the doors beyond any ability to open and stops the airflow into the Bunker. This type of lockdown will kill three people trapped inside in two to three days and with the addition of a mystical dampener, even magic can't reverse it. The only way to end this kind of lockdown is to hit the manual override located outside the Bunker.

In an area adjacent to the main room is a giant telescope like device that baffled even Arthur Ketch to its purpose. When the bunker is out of Standby Mode, the device powers up. Mrs. Butters identifies it as an interdimensional geoscope and becomes concerned when Dean states that he can't see anything through it.

Supernatural Security Breaches

Even though the bunker is one of the safest places on earth, and supposedly "warded against any evil ever created", there were a few cases that supernatural creatures succeeded to break in (however, in all cases it was executed by beings of immense power):

• In All in the Family, God teleported himself, Sam and Dean inside the Bunker. Due to his overwhelming power, it was only natural that even the bunker's warding could not withstand his force. Even while mortally wounded by Amara, God was still able to teleport himself, Crowley, Sam, Dean, Castiel and Rowena to the Bunker with relative ease. In addition, the warding was stated to be designed to keep out every evil ever created, and thus God may not have been excluded as he was not considered evil.
• In We Happy Few, Amara teleported in after she absorbed Donatello's soul and found out the bunker's location. The warding of the bunker was able to keep her out for a few moments, but she broke through them easily. It was later revealed in Galaxy Brain that Amara's breaching of the Bunker destroyed the original cosmic warding, and though Sam and Dean restored it to the best of their ability, the "cosmic grid stuff" wasn't fully put back. Instead, the bunker was left with "good enough warding."
• In Tombstone and Moriah, Jack, the nephilim son of Lucifer and with power far greater than his own, effortlessly teleported out of the Bunker.
• In Bring 'em Back Alive, Asmodeus and some of his demons broke into the bunker searching for Gabriel. That Asmodeus was able to burn through the warding, was possibly due to the fact that he was powered up by Gabriel's grace and, as later revealed by Merle, the Winchesters only had "good enough warding" in place, effective only against demons and monsters.
• In Let the Good Times Roll, Alternate Michael broke into the bunker from outside while hunting down Sam, Dean, and Castiel after they escaped from him in a confrontation nearby. As the strongest known archangel, his power allowed him to literally break through the bunker's warding, though the explosion he caused suggests it took him some effort.
• In Nihilism, Billie rescued Sam, Castiel, and Jack from an incoming attack from Alternate Michael's monsters by teleporting them to the bunker. She also sent Michael, who was possessing Dean, with the group. She later teleported herself into Dean's room after Michael had been subdued. As she was effectively Death at this point, her powers were not far from God's level, so she probably had no trouble coming in and out.
• Billie later on breached the Bunker's warding yet again to kill a disobedient reaper and speak with Sam, Dean, Castiel, and Jack in Galaxy Brain, despite the work just finished to power up the warding against God. The warding, though temporarily restored to its full power, also didn't seem to prevent her from sensing Jack saving Kaia.
• In Unity, Amara teleported herself into the bunker again without any sign of being hampered by the warding this time. Later, she teleported herself and Chuck in effortlessly.
• In Despair, Billie teleported inside the bunker twice, the second time in spite of being mortally wounded. She also brought Jack back there from the Empty after sending him there first. With Castiel having fulfilled his deal with The Shadow in order to summon him to Earth, thus overcoming God's protection on Earth from it, the Shadow was able to open a portal into the bunker's dungeon and absorb both Castiel and Billie.
• In Inherit the Earth, a resurrected Lucifer was able to teleport into the bunker, but only after tricking Dean into opening the door for him for a second by posing as Castiel over a phone call. Lucifer implies that he needed Dean to open the door for him to be able to come in.

Inhabitants

Current

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Miracle
• Members of Bobby Singer's colony (presumably)
  • Ryan
• Members of the Resistance (presumably)

Former

• Men of Letters
• Jack Kline
• Henry Winchester (deceased)
• Cuthbert Sinclair (deceased)
• Peter Jenkins (deceased)
• James Haggerty (deceased)
• Josie Sands (deceased)
• The Wicked Witch (deceased)
• Dorothy Baum (in Oz)
• Castiel (deceased)
• Sam Winchester (Proverbs 17:3) (alternate universe version of the bunker; deceased, body remains in the bunker)
• Sam Winchester (The Trap) ( alternate universe version of the bunker; erased from existence)
• Dean Winchester (Proverbs 17:3) (alternate universe version of the bunker; deceased, body remains in the bunker)
• Dean Winchester (Atomic Monsters) (alternate universe version of the bunker; deceased, body remains in the bunker)
• Dean Winchester (The Trap) (alternate universe version of the bunker; erased from existence)
• Possessed Sam (Proverbs 17:3) (alternate universe version of the bunker; deceased)
• Sam Winchester (Atomic Monsters) (alternate universe version of the bunker; deceased)
• Demon Dean (Proverbs 17:3) (alternate universe version of the bunker; deceased)
• Lucifer (Proverbs 17:3) (alternate universe version of the bunker; deceased)
• Gadreel (deceased)
• Abaddon (deceased)
• Linda Tran
• Charlie Bradbury (deceased)
• Eldon Frankenstein (deceased)
• Roscoe Frankenstein (deceased)
• Cyrus Frankenstein (deceased)
• Sully
• Kevin Tran (deceased)
• Metatron (deceased)
• The Darkness
• God
• Fiona Duncan (deceased)
• Gavin MacLeod (deceased)
• Mick Davies (deceased)
• 2 of Ketch's Henchmen
• Eileen Leahy
• 3 Members of Ketch's Assault Team (all deceased)
• Lady Toni Bevell (deceased)
• Crowley (deceased)
• Donatello Redfield
• Ghost Kid (deceased)
• 5 Intrudor Demons (all deceased)
• Asmodeus (deceased)
• Gabriel (deceased)
• Lucifer (deceased)
• Apocalypse World Michael (deceased)
• Nick (deceased)
• John Winchester (deceased)
• Arthur Ketch (deceased)
• Mary Winchester (deceased)
• Apocalypse World Bobby Singer
• Apocalypse World Charlie Bradbury
• Maggie (deceased)
• Tiger (presumably deceased)
• Rowena MacLeod (deceased)
• Lily Sunder (deceased)
• Tiger Impersonator (deceased)
• Bunker Djinn (deceased)
• Bunker Rugaru (deceased)
• Bunker Vampire (deceased)
• Bunker Werewolf (deceased)
• Eileen Leahy
• Michael
• Adam Milligan

Appearances

• Season 8
  • As Time Goes By
  • Everybody Hates Hitler
  • Trial and Error
  • Remember the Titans
  • Goodbye Stranger
  • Pac-Man Fever
  • The Great Escapist
  • Clip Show
  • Sacrifice
• ​Season 9
  • Devil May Care
  • I'm No Angel
  • Slumber Party
  • Dog Dean Afternoon
  • Heaven Can't Wait
  • Bad Boys
  • Rock and a Hard Place
  • Holy Terror
  • Road Trip
  • First Born
  • The Purge
  • Captives
  • Thinman
  • Blade Runners
  • Mother's Little Helper
  • Meta Fiction
  • Stairway to Heaven
  • Do You Believe In Miracles?
• Season 10
  • Black
  • Soul Survivor
  • Hibbing 911
  • The Things We Left Behind
  • The Hunter Games
  • There's No Place Like Home
  • About a Boy
  • Halt & Catch Fire
  • The Executioner's Song
  • The Things They Carried
  • Inside Man
  • Book of the Damned
  • The Werther Project
  • Dark Dynasty
  • The Prisoner
• Season 11
  • Form and Void
  • The Bad Seed
  • Baby
  • Thin Lizzie
  • Our Little World
  • Plush
  • Just My Imagination
  • O Brother, Where Art Thou?
  • The Devil is in the Details
  • Into the Mystic
  • Don't You Forget About Me
  • Love Hurts
  • The Vessel
  • Beyond the Mat
  • Red Meat
  • Hell's Angel
  • The Chitters
  • Don't Call Me Shurley
  • All in the Family
  • We Happy Few
  • Alpha and Omega
• Season 12
  • Keep Calm and Carry On
  • Mamma Mia
  • The Foundry
  • The One You've Been Waiting For
  • Rock Never Dies
  • LOTUS
  • First Blood
  • Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets
  • Family Feud
  • The Raid
  • Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell
  • The British Invasion
  • The Memory Remains
  • The Future
  • Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes
  • There's Something About Mary
  • Who We Are
  • All Along the Watchtower
• Season 13
  • The Rising Son
  • Patience
  • The Big Empty
  • Tombstone
  • War of the Worlds
  • The Scorpion and The Frog
  • The Bad Place
  • Breakdown
  • Various & Sundry Villains
  • Devil's Bargain
  • Good Intentions
  • A Most Holy Man
  • Scoobynatural
  • The Thing
  • Bring 'em Back Alive
  • Funeralia
  • Unfinished Business
  • Beat the Devil
  • Exodus
  • Let the Good Times Roll
• Season 14
  • Stranger in a Strange Land
  • Gods and Monsters
  • The Scar
  • Mint Condition
  • Nightmare Logic
  • Optimism
  • Unhuman Nature
  • Byzantium
  • The Spear
  • Nihilism
  • Damaged Goods
  • Prophet and Loss
  • Lebanon
  • Ouroboros
  • Peace of Mind
  • Don't Go In The Woods
  • Game Night
  • Absence
  • Jack in the Box
  • Moriah
• Season 15
  • The Rupture
  • Atomic Monsters
  • Proverbs 17:3
  • Golden Time
  • Last Call
  • Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven
  • The Trap
  • The Heroes' Journey
  • The Gamblers
  • Galaxy Brain
  • Destiny's Child
  • Last Holiday

Trivia

• Castiel's safe place inside his mind is the bunker's kitchen.
• During Gadreel's possession of Sam, Sam was inside what he thought was the bunker's library.
• In All in the Family, God teleports the Impala into the middle of the Bunker's storage room while saving its passengers from Amara.
• As shown in We Happy Few, Sam's bedroom is Room 21.
• Dean's room appears to be Room 11.
• Jack's room is Room 22.
• Room 15 appears to be a guest room, as Mary Winchester, Mick Davies and Castiel were each shown using this bedroom.
• Fans who toured the Supernatural set of the Men of Letters bunker revealed that the crew use the same room as the set for Sam and Dean's bedrooms.
• In The Vessel, Lucifer drapes Castiel's trench coat over a chair after getting it wet. He is banished away before he can retrieve it, yet he appears in the following episode with an identical one.
• Asmodeus' ability to break into the bunker despite it supposedly being warded against every evil in existence may be explained by Merle's statement in Galaxy Brain that Amara destroyed the bunker's original cosmic warding and Sam and Dean only restored "good enough warding" in its place. As a result, the weaker warding likely wasn't strong enough to keep out a Prince of Hell who was empowered by Archangel grace, like Asmodeus.