Secure, Contain, Protect: Diving into the Mythos of the SCP Wiki
What does horror mean to you? Is it the rush of adrenaline that rushes through your veins after a jumpscare? Is it the creeping dread that lingers after an eerie silence in a movie? Is it the existential terror that comes from the deep contemplation of your choices in life (whilst procrastinating your assignments)? Whatever your definition of horror may be, in this spooky month of October, where we celebrate all things scary and sinister, I would like to recommend a lesser known avenue of horror fiction found in a particularly niche corner of the internet: the SCP Wiki. In this article, I’d like to share more about the SCP Wiki, an online collaborative creative writing project dedicated to writing about fictional horror, paranormal, sci fi and thriller content-SCP Foundation community. I will deconstruct the history and concept of SCP, and explain my personal fascination and love for the project. Hopefully, this article can make SCP articles less of a pain to jump into, and incentivize you all to explore the wonderful world of anomalous objects!
But first…
What exactly is SCP?
As hinted in the article’s title, SCP is an acronym that stands for “Secure, Contain, Protect”, which is the motto of the Foundation. As mentioned before, the SCP Wiki itself is an online collaborative creative writing project focused on the fictional universe of the Foundation and its run-ins with various monsters, creatures and anomalies that it tries to contain. The Foundation has been described in-character as:
“…the last bastion of security in a world where natural laws rapidly break down. [They] are here to protect humanity from the things that go bump in the night, from people who wield power beyond mortal understanding. [They] are here to make the world a safer place. [They] are the holders of wonders, and the caretakers of dreams. [They] are why the world continues.” (SCP Wiki, General FAQ)
The website contains an archived list of 14 years worth of contributions along with an active forum where you can engage with other fans or fellow writers. Contributions to the SCP wiki can be broadly classified in two areas: SCP Articles and Tales. SCP Articles are typically stand-alone works which detail the special containment procedures on the SCP object at hand, and follows the structure of articulating its “object class” (difficulty of containment), proper containment and safety measures, as well as a description of the SCP object’s features and anomalous properties. A SCP object denotes any form of anomaly that requires the Foundation’s intervention or research. It can be anything-a literal object, a person, a building, an event, etc. Images, videos and extra addenments may be attached to further flesh out the object in question. Overall, these articles often adopt a clinical tone, and redaction of information is emphasized on the secretive nature of these objects. On the other hand, Tales are short stories that are set in the universe itself to further flesh out the world within SCP. As such, they typically focus on SCP objects or even SCP Foundation staff. Note that all these works are meant to be purely fictional, and are not actual anomalies in real life.
Screenshot of the SCP Wiki
Contributions to the writing project have also become rigorously judged and critiqued by the community itself. In order to get your piece to be recognized and archived into an official SCP Page, you would have to follow the extensive guide curated by the Admins detailing the lengthy steps and processes to get your work recognized. For instance, aspiring writers starting out on their first article will need to get their concepts greenlighted by two experienced reviewers before they can post a draft thread, where they can then receive further critique and suggestions from other users. Even when you’ve officially posted your page, it can still be susceptible to deletion, as the quality of your page is dependent on the voting system. This voting system is based on a rating format where users can upvote or downvote the page based on whether they think it is up to par with the site’s standards. Should the rating of a page fall to -10 or below, the page will be eligible for deletion, which is decided by further voting from Senior Staff. Thus, the contributions within the site are actually heavily moderated, and oftentimes are vetted through a rigorous process of communal critiques and suggestions.
Additionally, while the SCP Foundation lacks a central official canon, many writers on the site frequently collaborate their stories to create a larger narrative, often referred to as “canons”. These “canons” then have their own hub pages which explain their concept, timeline and characters so as to allow other writers ease of accessibility to contribute to the canon as well. As it is an open project, hundreds of writers have contributed pieces of varying genres, including horror, scifi, urban fantasy and even comedy. Many other creators have also created art, songs, dramatic readings and even fan games. Thus, while there is an identifiable world and universe that the SCP community builds upon, creators are free to expand and build upon one another’s own ideas of SCP objects and Foundation researchers in their own works. This is one of the beauties of having an online collaborative creative writing project.
Clearly, the SCP Wiki has come a long way in becoming a comprehensive writing project which has amassed thousands of thought-provoking and engaging pieces of writing. However, the SCP Wiki was not always this way. Let’s take a brief trip into their history, and understand how this collaborative creative writing project was later able to expand to such a large scale!
An Un-Redacted Look at SCP’s History
Being a 14-year project that is still going strong, the SCP Wiki has had quite a complex history. While I acknowledge that I may not be able to cover the history in an in-depth manner, I hope to give enough to appreciate how this little-known writing project has bloomed into something I have really grown to love.
The first concepts of SCP can be traced from its roots in 4chan and its creepypasta community. Creepypastas are defined by Urban Dictionary as “internet horror stories or a myth [that are] passed around other sites, to frighten readers and viewers. The word, “Creepypasta” comes from the term, “copypasta”, an internet slang term for a block of text that gets copied and pasted from website to website”. As such, the first ever SCP article was created by user Moto42, who posted SCP 173, “The Statue” within one of the many forums. The post’s clinical tone, combined with the inclusion of Izumi Kato’s drawing “Untitled” drew in a lot of interest and popularity, such that it sparked similar contributions in the same format. As DrGears, one of the most influential contributor to the SCP canon, mentions in the essay History of the Universe: Part One:
It all started with SCP-173. It was a random, one-off creepypasta, but it inspired a lot of people. Before long, other entries started popping up, and then one day someone made a wiki for it, so they wouldn’t all 404 eventually. This was when /x/ was still young-ish, and The Holders, Ted the Caver, Treedog, and other old-school /x/ rubbish was still very new and decent. – DrGears
SCP 173, which is actually an art piece by Izumi Kato named “Untitled 2004”
Thus, after the wiki was born, contributions poured in, gradually leading to the need for moderation and guidelines. As the years passed, the wiki soon developed a voluntary team of contributors, moderators and rules set out to further develop the SCP works and canons. To this day, the SCP has more than 6,000 articles and 5,000 tales, as well as an international fanbase whose works are available in 14 other languages. The sheer number of archived contributions to the project is a testament to the community’s persistent support to develop and inspire a love for writing engaging short stories and crafting innovative concepts and themes.
Why do I love SCP?
Moving on from the history of SCP, I want to share a bit about what I find so captivating about the submitted works within SCP. I do admit that I am a spirited fan of psychological and body horror, so I found many SCP articles to be right up my alley as they explore really novel concepts and themes. I think another notable aspect of SCP articles is the sheer diversity and depth of the themes and concepts communicated. Due to its nature of being an online collaborative writing project, articles are written by a wide array of like-minded and passionate individuals who come from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences. Thus, this results in a vast range of styles and tones within the SCP articles. This is why it is quite hard to pin-point the quintessential SCP article, as the contributions have become so numerous and varied that the SCP works can no longer be defined by a singular genre or theme. Instead, writers often base their works on a particular canon universe of the Foundation, and/or relate their work with another existing canon or work. There is also a plethora of works that really explore a diverse range of genres and tone: comedic, tragic, thriller, sci-fi, horror, meta-textual. Truly, I find the SCP Wiki to be a haven of creative writing
While this may come off as being particularly confusing and disorienting to adjust to, the sheer multiplicity of concepts and themes explored is what I consider the beauty of SCP. The greatest joy I find when reading SCP is always the moments when I stumble into a random SCP work, or when I happen to see random recommendations for a particular author’s article. In addition, having come from a literature background, I find a certain cathartic pleasure from decoding thematic puzzles that are often hidden between the articles, and coming out with a renewed perspective on certain issues and/or existential questions. The ones I particularly take delight in reading are those that are able to deliver a strong message or theme through the author’s personal writing styles and techniques. But of course, I understand this may still come off as being very enigmatic and obscure, so I would like to illustrate my points through a declassification of a particular SCP!
Declassifying for Fun: SCP 4911
Certain SCP works have become so nuanced and complex in their pieces that there is a subreddit that deconstructs requested SCP articles (r/SCPDeclassified), so that the subtleties and hidden references in their writing can be more easily understood and appreciated. I admit that r/SCPDeclassified has been my go-to place to better understand and see discussions about the particular approaches and themes found in any complicated SCP works, and I have also found plenty of great recommendations through the articles that are declassified. So in honour of the subreddit, I too shall attempt a declassification to better demonstrate the appeal of SCP articles!
The SCP article I would like to deconstruct today, SCP-4911, has already been declassified within the subreddit, but I would like to share about my personal response along with my own take towards the article. Also, I chose this particular piece because I found it simple and short, yet effective in conveying its poignant theme.
Screenshot of SCP-4911 in the SCP Wiki
To start off, the object class and special containment procedures indicate that the anomalous object in question does not really pose any immediate threat; it’s classified as Safe, thereby easy to contain, and the area has been fenced off to prevent any unsuspecting civilian from entering. What seems to be the issue here then? Looking at the description, we can get a better hint at the more supernatural elements hidden beneath the innocuous surface. The first paragraph outlines the makeup of the object. In essence, SCP-4911 is a stone wall in southern Wales, a country situated within the United Kingdom that has had an extensive history of conquest and territorial violence since the Roman era. The building techniques of the wall are said to also date to the Neolithic Age, indicating it to belong to a bygone past that has been largely forgotten in time. The article then shifts to the primary anomaly of the wall, describing that the wall has mnestic properties. But, what does this even mean?
In the fictional world of SCP, there have been many interesting concepts developed by writers to create interesting conundrums. One such concept is the idea of mnestic, which relates to the idea of enhancing or restoring memory. In this case, visiting the site of SCP-4911 is said to make people “remember vivid details about the area, and also be aware of the precise number of the 5,203 stones of SCP-4911”, an oddly specific detail which the article notes the significance as being “unclear”. Additionally, the article remarks that there is further evidence of this site possibly having some religious importance, behind the site lies “a single stone plinth inscribed with deteriorated runes”, which imply the possibility of there being a permanent flame being kept at the top of the plinth. Most mysterious of all is that in spite of all these signs of this site having had a profound cultural significance in the past, there are “no historical records have indicated the function or reason of SCP-4911”. And yet, being in its presence plants specific memories about it.
So, what is the particular significance of all this, you may ask? Well, I argue that this SCP is an exploration of how contemporary civilization recalls and preserves memorials, and the tenuous state of memory. In particular, what I feel SCP-4911 tries to convey is the often futile attempts humanity has tried to remember significant events or tragedies through the use of memorials. There is no question that SCP-4911 was a man-made constructed site which commemorates something of great importance; the configuration of a permanent flame on the mound hints towards the concept of an eternal flame which is often featured in ancient ritualistic practices and traditions. However, the ultimate tragedy here is the fruitless attempt to memorialize something that will become ultimately forgotten by the rest of humanity in the span of a few decades. Memorials have always been crucial even in our current age as a promise and commitment to never forget wars and genocides that have led to the deaths of many, but what good are they if they are all forgotten in the end? Like how SCP-4911 tries to make visitors recall the specific number 5203, the number is all the visitor will remember, its significance having been eroded by time and faded from existence. The very brevity of the article suggests how little we know of what could have conceivably occurred during the site. Try as we might in the current era to remember our past, we seem unable to recover any scraps that it has left for us. All that actually remains is the physical site itself, its looming presence combined with a certain ache of the past that we cannot completely ascertain what it may mean. u/yossipossi frames it perfectly at the end of his declassification, “Time heals all wounds, no matter how imperative it is we keep the scars”.
Conclusion
Screenshot of SCP-Containment Breach is a free survival horror game based on works in the SCP Wiki. Featured here is SCP-96, commonly referred to as “The Shy Guy”
I hope my classification was insightful and gave some of you an incentive to go to the wiki to start reading more SCP articles. I also hope that my little ‘declassification’ of the SCP concept has made the barriers of entry just a little bit easier for newcomers to take a dive into more SCP-related content. I cannot express how much reading and engaging with SCP content has allowed me to not only step away from the tedium of academic work, but also become a place where I can engage critically in creative writing and thinking. I will list some of my current personal favourites which I think deserve a good read, if you would like some specific recommendations. If not, take care, and have a spooky Halloween!
Recommendations
- SCP-1562: “No, you need to get me out of here right now. The shoe…it’s so tiny.”
- SCP-1762: “We know You are trying. Your Family is the most imaginative of us All.”
- SCP-6060: “Looking back. I can practically feel the puppet strings of the former self I was forced to be in that moment.”
- SCP-5739: “SCP-5739-1 instances have English phrases etched into them by what has been hypothesized to be human fingernails.”
- SCP-2420: “Ma’am, you can call me whatever you want, but she has a name. It’s Mattie.” (TW: Death of a beloved pet)
- SCP-2510: “Her death is currently believed to be self-inflicted and non-anomalous.” (TW: Brief mention of assault)
- SCP-4517: “It measures 170 centimetres in length, has a mass of 55 kilograms, and possesses no subjective properties or qualities.” (TW: Mentions of suicide)
- SCP-3125: “Now that’s what I call Mind-PowerTM, now available with every shipment of Mind-MilkTM.”
There are also User-Curated Lists in the Wiki with hundreds of articles! But the articles themselves do not list trigger warnings. Hence, if you are sensitive to certain triggers, be sure to check the “(+) Discuss” section to see if the author has listed trigger warnings there (because some do list them there), or do a cursory search to see if others have discussed and mention such triggers! Please stay safe 🙂
By: Natalie Lem, ReadNUS Editorial