The Journal

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John's Journal is one of the iconic items of Supernatural.

First appearing in 1.01 Pilot when John leaves it for Dean before disappearing, the Journal (which Sam and Dean most frequently refer to as "Dad's Journal") seems to hold a large body of John's Hunting knowledge, though not all. Increasingly as Season 3 goes on (and in parts of Season 2), Sam & Dean comment on the information that John has left out of the Journal.

Nevertheless, Sam and Dean frequently use it as their first point of reference when investigating a job.

The Journal in Tie-ins

Screencapture of the Official Website

Official Website

The Official Website is home to an electronic version of John's Journal. The first handful of pages have diary entries written by John immediately following Mary's death. You can read a transcription here.

Following the "diary entry" pages are mocked-up pages of the journal containing notes, newspaper clippings and other scribbles. You can find transcriptions & screencaps here.

Panels from Origins 2

Supernatural: Origins

The canon of the Supernatural tie-in comic, Origins, somewhat contradicts the Official Website canon; John is given the blank journal by a character called Fletcher Gable, who he visits after he meets Missouri.

The Supernatural Book of Monsters, Spirits, Demons and Ghouls

The Supernatural Book of Monsters, Spirits, Demons and Ghouls is a tie-in "nonfiction" book that, according to author Alex Irvine, takes the form of John's Journal.^source However, it mostly seems to be from the POV of Sam & Dean - the form loosely follows the concept of a hunting journal, rather than John's specifically.

Episode-by-Episode

Help us out by adding info to this section - note wherever the journal is referred to or used, including the information gained from it, and a screencap where possible.

Remove listings of episodes where the journal does not appear or is not referred to.

Season 1

1.01 Pilot - John leaves the Journal in his motel room in Jericho, California; Sam and Dean claim it & use it to research the Woman in White.

1.02 Wendigo - Sam uses the journal to find out more about the Wendigo hunting in the forest of Lost Creek.

1.03 Dead in the Water

1.04 Phantom Traveler - Sam reads a Rituale Romanum from the journal to exorcise the disaster-causing demon.

1.05 Bloody Mary

1.06 Skin

1.07 Hookman

1.08 Bugs

1.09 Home

1.10 Asylum

1.11 Scarecrow

1.12 Faith

1.13 Route 666

1.14 Nightmare

1.15 The Benders

1.16 Shadow

1.17 Hell House

1.18 Something Wicked

1.19 Provenance - John's Journal records the history of deaths related to the painting. Sam connects up John's pattern with the painting's Provenance

1.20 Dead Man's Blood

1.21 Salvation

1.22 Devil's Trap

Season 2

2.01 In My Time Of Dying

2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown

2.03 Bloodlust

2.04 Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things

2.05 Simon Said

2.06 No Exit

2.07 The Usual Suspects

2.08 Crossroad Blues

2.09 Croatoan

2.10 Hunted

2.11 Playthings

2.12 Nightshifter

2.13 Houses of the Holy

2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign

2.15 Tall Tales

2.16 Roadkill

2.17 Heart

2.18 Hollywood Babylon

2.19 Folsom Prison Blues

2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be

2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One

2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two

Season 3

3.01 The Magnificent Seven

3.02 The Kids Are Alright

3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock - Sam and Dean commisserate over the fact that John said nothing in his journal about his Lock-up and the supernatural artifacts within it.

3.04 Sin City

3.05 Bedtime Stories

3.06 Red Sky At Morning