Item #: SCP-8669
Object Class: Keter
The location of SCP-8669's initial discovery.
Special Containment Procedures:
SCP-8669 is contained at Site-244, located 50 meters underground, [REDACTED] kilometers east of Banbridge, Ireland. SCP-8669 is to remain in a standardized corporeal containment cell(5x5x5m) with a reinforced one-way window for observational purposes. A specialized emotional dampener is fitted to the dimensions of the room to prevent emotional electrical pulses in the brain. Proper lighting must be maintained to ensure constant monitoring. Closed-circuit cameras are not to be relied on for observation as 8669 will not appear on the feed.
At all times, 1 researcher or guard will maintain surveillance behind the observation window and one D-class personnel will be in containment with 8669. All data collection and testing must be conducted through the use of D-Class personnel by authorized level-3 researchers or higher to ensure containment. Assigned D-Class will rotate on a 12 hour basis where they will undergo a full psychological evaluation.
A secondary location above ground maintains cover for the Foundation in the form of a decommissioned processing plant for potatoes. This houses a specialized response team designated MTF Gamma-7. Operatives must be trained to resist the emotional and mental manipulation specific to 8669. Their dampened physiological response to fear makes them suited for interactions with SCP-8669 in returning it back to its docile state.
In the event of a containment breach, a site wide lockdown is initiated and an aerosolized sleeping agent, lasting no more than 10 hours, will be released in an attempt to mitigate the amount of affected personnel. The corresponding response team is sent in to retrieve unconscious foundation members to increase the chance of successful re-containment. Standard weaponry such as guns and explosives have no physical effect on SCP-8669 with sheer mental fortitude and sociopathy being the most effective method. Operatives will be equipped with a handgun and a tranquilizer for on-site members that may be unaffected by the knock out gas or for extreme circumstances as well as a full face respirator. After a confrontation, the response team must not exhibit the typical flight or fight response and instead keep an unwavering mind towards any past, current, or just founded phobias. Re-Containment is achieved when operatives remove all potential victims. SCP-8669 subsequently returns to a docile state by itself, where it can be easily guided to the cell by conversing with the corporeal child.
Notice: If, for unforeseen reasons, operatives fail in containment, the entrance to site-244 will be sealed until Site Director Janus Becker obtains O5 approval pending a disciplinary hearing corresponding to the incident.
Description:
SCP-8669 manifests as a partially translucent, humanoid figure resembling a 9 year old boy. Facial profiling and linguistic analysis of its conversations with D-Class personnel suggest Irish and European descent. The figure wears a slightly tattered wool jacket with a torn sleeve and several patches. Its lower half is clad in what appear to be blue jeans with scorch marks, revealing bare feet covered in soot. No physical residue or matter is produced by the entity. Thermal imaging and X-ray indicate that SCP-8669 can only be monitored through eye contact. Further testing is being undergone. SCP-8669 hovers approximately 10 cm above the ground. This distance is observed to change during erratic movements such as jumping, flying, or maneuvering around physical obstacles. Though SCP-8669’s appearance is similar to a spectral entity, it has only appeared to phase through matter when it's manifested into a hostile projection. While it's possible the entity can phase through matter of its own volition, the immature psyche of the child alludes to a lack of understanding regarding its abilities.
The Banbridge Specter or “Anam” as site researchers dubbed him, due to the location of the entity and his corporeal existence, occasionally speaks in worrisome whispers and will begin to act frantically if left unattended for an extended duration. If unattended for more than an hour, he will manifest in a seemingly random location within 27.5 meters, repeatedly, until a target is found. Once in the proximity of at least one other human, 8669 will almost instantly manifest as what the person is most scared of, forcing them to overcome their fear or more than likely die. (e.g., arachnophobia, agoraphobia, SCP-4666, thalassophobia). SCP-8669 will produce no manifestation if there is no phobia or fear present in the subject's mind, and instead will attempt to conversate. Specialized dampening fields help ensure conversation is possible instead of a hostile manifestation.
Testing indicates that the primary anomalous attribute of SCP-8669 is the ability to manifest into a being based on a person's most prevalent psychological phobia and then forces a confrontation through a powerful illusion visible to both the victim and others in the vicinity. It seems whichever form the SCP takes, its anomalous effects are restrained to whomever it's currently targeting with no adverse effects on its surrounding. (e.g., a fear of the ocean would result in the person trapped in an imaginary body of water, with surroundings remaining dry).
The range at which it can locate and manifest near a person experiencing extreme anxiety, fear, or is presenting a flight or flight response is approximately 10 meters or anywhere within direct line of sight. Cause of death varies depending on the specific nature of the hostile manifestation. Physical trauma that's perceived to have happened persists. Mental fears that have no physical property cause the entity to manifest in the mind rather than as an illusion.(e.g., abandonment, inadequacy, failure, etc., would manifest as an immeasurable form of mental anguish resulting in suicide.)
It appears that the anomalous properties main goal is to remove fear from a person’s mind with the victims who die being more akin to an unfortunate byproduct rather than an outwardly malicious purpose. It doesn't appear the entity has any control over this with it being an automatic response to people in its presence, with the properties acting against 8669's personal desires.
Addendum 8669.01: Discovery Log
SCP-8669 was originally found on August 18th, 2002 wandering around the premises of a house that had long since burned down, just outside of Banbridge, Ireland. Kelly Walsh, who reported the anomaly to local law enforcement, stopped on the side of the road . SCP- 8669 had supposedly approached her and engaged in conversation revealing a desire to not be left alone, as well as several comments about not going back to his father. Once she attempted to leave the entity it started flying around agitatedly before following her again until she told it to stay until help arrived, as she had already notified police.
During an interview, researchers were able to deduce that Ms. Walsh was entirely immune to 8669’s anomalous effects due to her mental state which was brought on by the death of her little brother, having already dealt with her worst fear. Ms. Walsh was not under the effect of any discernable anomalous properties and was subsequently released after being interviewed and amnesticized.
Kelly Walsh made a comment after the interview concluded, stating she didn’t get the feeling that the boy meant any harm and that he was just lonely. Shortly after, the autopsy report had been finalized for the two police deputies and one response team operative who were killed before a temporary containment method was found. One deputy had died of anaphylactic shock and was covered in hundreds of bee stings and the other deputy had ruptured organs consistent with a fall at terminal velocity. The Response Team Operatives bones were crushed to a powder, similar to instances of SCP-[REDACTED].
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Addendum 8669.02 D-Class Experiment Log
Testing was done through introducing SCP-8669 to test subjects with varying phobia's. By temporarily inducing a hostile state caused by depowering the emotional dampening field for a brief moment.
[2/10/2004] Dr. Elijah Hepburn: "After 6 failed attempts, we finally got a successful subject. Not sure if we got lucky with this one but the following 16 died as well. Director Becker isn't going to be happy about the wasted resources, but the potential here could be groundbreaking."
Attempt #
Name
Fear and Manifested Reaction
Status
Follow-Up
[10/23/2002] #1
D-Class
Ophidiophobia. A large snake appeared and devoured the D-class leaving behind a half eaten corpse
Deceased
Autopsy Indicates partial body digestion with a paralytic neurotoxin present in the blood stream
[11/1/2002] #2
D-Class
Claustrophobia A box manifested around the D-class and began to shrink at an exponential rate
Deceased
Autopsy Indicates several ruptured organs and broken bones consistent to being crushed
[1/16/2003] #3
D-Class
Arachnophobia. SCP-8669 appeared to fall apart into hundreds of spiders which proceeded to envelop the declass.
Deceased
Autopsy Indicates skin necrosis induced by powerful Cytotoxins. Nearly 200 spider bites were present
[2/17/2003] #4
D-Class
Being Forgotten. No physical entity manifested instead subject proceeded to [REDACTED]
Deceased
,,Autopsy Indicates Brain Hemorrhage
[2/25/2003] #5
D-Class
Hemophobia. The entity appeared to profusely bleed until the D-class passed out
Deceased
Autopsy Indicates an initial coma followed by organ failure due to blood poisoning
[3/12/2003] #6
D-Class
Mysophobia. The entity turned into a sick, sniffling boy. The D-class sooner entered a coughing fit before dark cysts started appearing on the skin
Deceased
Autopsy Indicates and accelerated and non contagious case of Yersinia Pestis
[4/30/2003] #7
D-Class
Acrophobia. The D-class appeared to free fall and panic before abruptly stopping and the illusion disappearing. An interview revealed that the D-class came to terms with death and was no longer scared. The normal reaction to overcoming a phobia was not present, his mental state is moderately altered.
Contained
Recommended for further Testing. Redesignated to SCP-8669-1a
[5/9/2003] #8
D-Class
Nyctophobia. The space surrounding the D-class lost all luminescence. A single scream was heard before confirmation of death.
Deceased
[REDACTED]
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Addendum 8669.03 Research Discussion Log
Date: 3/12/2004
Note: Recorded conversation was recovered from Dr. Amelia Reid’s deleted logs. The conversation took place approximately 3 hours and 22 minutes before the first SCP-8669 containment breach.
[Interview Begins]
Dr. Elijah Hepburn: "I'm just saying, Amelia, it's a golden opportunity. We have a test subject who demonstrated the possibility of overcoming the effect."
Dr. Reid: "A single, anomalous case. The other 23 D-Class we have sent in have all died. One lucky instance doesn't justify a shift in protocol, let alone this dumb idea."
Dr. Elijah Hepburn: "It's not about luck. It's about a possibility. The boy's power is predicated on fear. What if we use it? We could systematically confront the deepest phobias in our staff. We could create a foundation immune to memetic and psychological threats. Think of the applications, the tactical advantage. A team of operatives with no fear, who have faced their deepest anxieties and won."
Dr. Reid: "You're describing a population of sociopaths. Fear is not an obstacle to be eliminated, it's a vital component of survival. What happens when a person who has confronted their fear of heights is suddenly standing on the edge of a sheer cliff? They don't feel the paralyzing terror, but they also don't feel the cautionary instinct to back away. They'll just… walk off."
Dr. Elijah Hepburn: "It's not a loss of instinct. We are reprogramming it. We could better assess all these dangerous threats rather than be frozen in place out of terror. That D-Class didn't lose his survival instinct, he learned to control it. He saw the illusion for what it was."
Dr. Reid: "Or, he experienced a brief moment of catatonia that we misinterpreted as an epiphany. You're talking about putting our entire organization at risk. We'd have people making careless mistakes. A lack of fear can be just as dangerous as too much of it. Imagine a surgeon with no fear of making a mistake. The very terror that you want to eliminate is what keeps them safe, what keeps them focused. We'd have a Foundation full of people who are immune to a threat, but who are now a threat to themselves."
Dr. Elijah Hepburn: "We'd have a Foundation of heroes."
Dr. Reid: "No, Eli. We'd have a Foundation of corpses, and we'd be responsible. The boy is a predator. It's not a tool. We cannot use it."
Dr. Elijah Hepburn: "So we just let it sit there? A perfect opportunity to inoculate ourselves, to evolve, and we just let it sit there?"
Dr. Reid: "We contain it. That's what we do. The fact that the D-Class survived is interesting and should be looked into, but the containment protocols are in place for a reason."
Dr. Elijah Hepburn: "You're just too cautious, Amelia. You're letting your fear of failure get in the way of our progress."
Dr. Reid: "I'm letting my survival instinct get in the way of a catastrophe."
[Interview Ends]
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Addendum 8669.04 MTF Log Containment Breach 8669-01
Subject: Commander: Marcus O'Leary's report on the re-containment of SCP 8669 and ongoing investigation into Dr. Hepburn.
Date: 3/13/2004
[LOG BEGINS]
After receiving notice of the containment breach, we began our descent into the site. When we arrived, it was immediately obvious that the containment cell's emotional dampener was inactive due to the screaming coming from the main testing area and the automated breach announcement over the intercom. As we got closer, we stumbled upon a few unconscious personnel in the medical bay and break rooms so I ordered our medic Ramirez and agent Petrov to begin gathering all unconscious personnel and take them to the lift and then prep them for evacuation to the secondary site above ground where they would await medical evaluations.
I sent Miller to locate Site Director Janus Becker and to notify Ramirez of any more personnel. The closer we got to the containment cell the more it became obvious that the dispersed sleeping agent hadn't worked its way through the entire site yet. Pierson and Harris tranquilized a researcher and two D-Class testing subjects in the interview room who were unaffected. I had Riley Dubois check the air ventilation and she reported that nearly half of the system had been closed off, intentionally. Deciding this was an issue to fix after containment we moved forward.
When we arrived at the containment cell, the door was part ways open. The air was stale and the buzzing of the dampener attached to the inside wall was abnormally quiet. There was no sign of the entity, just two bodies in near indistinguishable condition. One was clearly Dr. Reid due to the ID badge around the neck and at the time we believed the other belonged to Dr. Hepburn, with his lab coat and ID lying on the ground. It makes no sense why either would be in the containment room considering it's against protocol. Whatever had happened, we were moments too late.
Our team's Engineer, Riley Dubois, immediately pointed out a metallic, gray and silver device that seemed magnetized to the control panel. It was clearly out of place and the only conclusion I came across indicated some sort of off the books testing gone wrong or sabotage, I wasn’t sure which could be worse but I knew that things would only get more complicated from here. Harris and I argued over how to proceed next but we eventually decided that Riley and Harris would stay here and work on getting the damping field operational and the strange device removed while Pierson and I continued to look for SCP-8669.
We had just left the containment cell and got past the observation room when we heard a single gunshot deeper into the site. Pierson had run straight ahead, against my better judgement, while I called on the radio to check in with Ramirez and Miller. Ramirez reported 14 site personnel secured, 4 deceased and 3 unaccounted for, Petrov was also disturbingly unaccounted for. The two bodies in containment make for two of them. I ordered Ramirez to take the lift back to the surface with the unconscious and contact Overwatch Command. Miller never checked in and I didn’t want Pierson confronting this thing alone so I gave up on contacting him and began to catch up to. It took about two minutes before we got past the empty cafeteria and to Janus Becker’s office.
The boy was there, hovering over Janus Becker in her chair, humming an old nursery rhyme, like it knew she was just sleeping. We had approached unnoticed, with the boy still looking away towards the unconscious site director. Pierson let out a gasp alerting the boy after we came across Private Miller’s body just a few feet away. Single gunshot to the side of the head, he was lying against the wall with his gun holstered and a bullet casing on the ground. The way he was facing and slumped against the wall seemed to indicate he was shot the moment he walked in the door. This doesn’t seem like it was caused by the anomaly.
The moment the boy's eyes met Specialist Pierson’s, his face lit up with a smile and he floated toward her before briefly disappearing. There was no heat, but I could almost imagine it as flames suddenly erupted all around her. I tried to put them out but nothing worked, it happened so quickly I had forgotten that the fire wasn't actually real, just the screams coming from Pierson as I felt nothing but unbridled rage. I called for Harris over the radio but before I got a response, the projection vanished and Pierson collapsed, there was no smell or warmth or any way to recognize her, just a charred husk.
The boy reappeared as its normal self again but I had already started heading back towards the containment cell, hoping to figure out a solution on the way. 8669 started following me where he asked if I had met his father, and after I ignored him he seemed quite agitated but he didn’t kill me like Pierson. If it was the training, then why didn’t it work for Pierson. With the cell blocking electrical signals and frequencies, I was just hoping they had fixed the dampener by now since radioing them didn’t work. I wasn’t scared, I just couldn’t believe things took such a drastic turn. We were supposed to go in, retrieve the personal and talk the damned child back into containment. Instead we got useless training, overzealous researchers, and failed breach protocols. Why had the dampener been disabled, it doesn't make sense. Now part of my team is dead and I can only pray that the containment procedures have been fixed.
As I got closer to the room I began yelling to Harris hoping for a positive update on their situation. Running out of the room and towards me, Harris let me know that we are just waiting on the control panel to finish rebooting after Riley removed the strange device. Both of us understood that getting the dampening field up and running again was the only way to achieve re-containment outside of sealing the entrance with explosives, which is the less appealing option.
Approaching the observation room with the anomaly behind. I watched it change form just as Harris got within distance, shifting into a massive, reptilian creature with a malformed face. I recognized it as SCP-682 from the database and her personnel file under phobias. It was snarling and approaching Specialist Harris so I tried jumping in the way to distract it but it passed through me like I wasn’t there. She stood there shaking before it ran right at her and sliced her body in half. I didn’t know bone could be cut so cleanly.
Just as I had gotten composed, 8669 disappeared and the containment room went pitch black. It wasn’t like the lights had turned off, it was like the entire room momentarily vanished or hidden in a dark haze. I quickly shut the door hoping that the system would finish restarting like Harris said while hating myself for leaving Riley in there alone, but I already knew she wouldn’t make it. I got to the observation room to see if I could get a visual. After a minute or so the buzzing started up again indicating the dampener had finished booting up. I looked through the window, there was no blood present on her but her body seemed to be [REDACTED]. There have only been a few documented instances of this happening involving [REDACTED] during a full solar eclipse.
SCP-8669 has been re-contained. After ensuring containment I retrieved the Site Director, who was still unconscious in her office, and made my way to the lift. Once I got to the above ground site, Ramirez took the Director to the medical station where she learned one of the foundation members was missing.
[LOG ENDS]
Note from Site Director Janus Becker:
After analyzing Agent O'Leary’s report, a full investigation will be underway into the suspicious reasons behind the breach in containment. Interviews with Ramirez and O'Leary revealed that the mental resistance training was almost entirely ineffective with Agent O'Leary proving to be the only one immune to 8669, though Ramirez has yet to have a confrontation. Further MTF Gamma-6 training will be adapted and adjusted based on new data.
Further analysis of the device used on the control panel indicates a miniature electro-magnetic inhibitor that disabled the control panel's electronic functions. Analysis of the bodies recovered in the containment chamber reveal that it was a D-class's body, not Dr. Hepburn that was lying next to Dr. Reid. It is currently unknown why one of the researchers entered containment against protocol.
The missing D-Class mentioned in Agent Ramirez's report was captured on video leaving the secondary site's medical bay and exiting through the rear site entrance shortly after regaining consciousness. Due to the specific level 3 access codes used to leave the site and after reviewing camera footage, I can say with certainty that the missing D-class is in fact Dr. Hepburn in disguise.
As numerous files and video logs have been deleted from my personal computer, it's all but certain that Dr. Hepburn was the person who shot and killed Agent Miller in my office.
Gamma-6 Roster Report
Mobile Task Force Name/Rank
Status
MTF Injury Report
Commander-Marcus O'Leary
Active
Undergoing Full Psychological and Medical Examination. Interview pending.
Specialist-Elara Pierson
Deceased
Autopsy indicated full body, 3rd degree burns and severe smoke inhalation damage in the lungs.
Specialist-Katrina Harris
Deceased
Autopsy indicated a full bilateral cut through the torso with surgical precision
Engineer-Riley Dubois
Deceased
Autopsy Inconclusive Senior Pathologist contacted. Full Autopsy Report Pending
Medic-Rhea Ramirez
Active
Undergoing Full Psychological and Medical Examination. Interview pending.
Private-Nikolai Petrov
Deceased
Remains indicate complete body spaghettification.
Private-David Miller
Deceased
Autopsy points to homicide rather than the result of anomalous effects.
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Addendum 8669.05 Investigation into Dr. Hepburn
Subject: Janus Becker’s Report to O5-Council regarding the suspicious actions of Dr. Hepburn
I’ve extensively analyzed Dr. Hepburn and Reid’s personal computer terminals and the events that transpired are clear signs of sabotage and premeditated murder. My actions of promoting Hepburn to lead researcher two years ago, instead of Reid, are at the very least a contributing factor in his actions. Perhaps if I had listen more to Dr. Reid about her worries on the project, things would have turned out differently. At the time I felt that Dr. Hepburn made a compelling case for his plan to improve personnel performance. I should have read between the lines.
Most of Reid’s recent reports have been deleted going back 20 days prior to the breach with her last log being an exception as it was posted only an hour before her death. In short it detailed the conclusion of her investigation and Hepburn’s suspicious actions. It seems she had everything but physical evidence to prove his wrongdoings and was going to show the Ethics Committee her findings. It seems Hepburn had caught on to Reid's investigation and initiated the breach to get rid of her.
As for Hepburn’s computer, it was wiped entirely clean. It seems that sometime before Reid got the piece of evidence she needed, Hepburn deleted a majority of information on both terminals in an attempt to cover his actions, but we are currently working on recovering what files we can. On the upside, our technician disassembled and examined the device used on the dampener, his analysis indicates it to be an electro-magnetic inhibitor designed to latch onto electronic surfaces and remotely turn them off at short ranges.
Based on the evidence, I have two leading hypothesis. Although unlikely, Dr. Hepburn, may have been mentally affected by SCP-8669, and not acting under his own will but was instead driven by the entity. This would explain his seemingly reckless disregard for foundation protocols and his obsession with using SCP-8669 in an attempt to "fix" foundation members.
On the other hand, It's even more probable that there was no mental manipulation by the entity and Dr. Hepburn was acting of his own accords. Possibly using his new assignment and promotion as an excuse to conduct unethical experiments in the name of "progress". While this would be the best outcome, it's impossible to tell the entities full capabilities at the moment due to the significant amount of deleted data. Our technicians said it could be weeks or months before everything is recovered, assuming they are able to.
The necessity to rule out or prove whether or not 8669 has memetic properties is of the utmost importance for foundation security. I recommend that all foundation personnel who have had an encounter with SCP-8669 undergo a thorough and immediate psychological evaluation for any signs of mental and emotional manipulation with follow up evaluations in six months.
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Addendum 8669.06: New Head of Research
Date: April 5, 2004
Dr. Sunder’s journal entry shortly after her transfer to Site-244:
It’s been three days since I got assigned to the SCP-8669 project and while this ghost boy doesn’t seem all that bad, my first task has me worried. I’ve got until the next containment breach to “fix” a new batch of MTF agents that can secure the anomaly since the last one nearly failed and the only effective Agent was sent on a manhunt for Hepburn.
I sent a request for specific personnel that, by all terms, are sociopaths similar to Marcus O'Leary, but they denied me due to supposed ‘’Personnel Shortages”. Normally I’d call bullshit but after reading reports about the ongoing incident involving [REDACTED] in Siberia and Nova Scotia, I understand.
At the very least Agent Ramirez, Gamma-7’s medic, has been assigned to assist me. I'm not sure how a field medic is supposed to help but Director Becker seems to think she would make for a good blueprint for my new assignment. While I'm not sure Ramirez is a good candidate, she seems much too kind hearted and a little green towards the more realistic aspects of the project, at least we get along well. As if that counts for anything.
Director Becker seems nice enough but I can tell she is keeping a close watch on me. It’s eerie and quite frankly annoying but I get it, after my slip up on my last assignment I’m one step away from being someone's assistant again and two steps away from D-class. Considering I’m used to more technical and analytical research, the emotional and mental aspect is almost new grounds for me, but it feels like a good starting point to prove my worth to the foundation.
Date: May 15, 2004
It's been a month and a half since I took over, and I have to say, this place is something else. Ramirez and I are making some decent progress with the new MTF recruits, but it’s a slow process. We're trying a new approach based on Commander O'Leary's report so instead of just teaching them to resist fear, we're trying to condition them to process and compartmentalize it. We're calling it "Structured Fear Response Training." The idea is that instead of trying to be sociopathic, they can acknowledge the fear and then immediately shift to a logical, mission-oriented mindset. It's a delicate balance, and we've already had two recruits fail out. One ended up in a catatonic state, the other had a severe panic attack. Still, it's better than having a team of emotionless zombies with no survival instincts.
The boy himself is complicated. He's often docile, just muttering and talking to the D-Class assigned to him. He seems to genuinely crave company, which makes the whole situation even more tragic. I've been reviewing Dr. Reid's old logs, the few we were able to recover, and it's clear she saw Anam as a victim, not a monster. I can't help but agree. His anomalous properties seem to be a defense mechanism or possibly an automated response caused by his own trauma. He projects his fears onto others, but it's not a conscious act. He's a child trapped both by the foundation and his own harrowing predicament. It makes Hepburn's actions even more disturbing. He saw a child in pain and thought, "How can I weaponize this? How can I utilize this new tool?"
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