Object Class: Keter
Threat Level: Crimson
Secondary Designation: Reflection-Derivative Entity (RDE-Type)
Related Files: SCP-████ (“The Tarn”)
Special Containment Procedures:
Due to SCP-████-C’s mobility, environmental blending abilities, and broad operational range, full containment is not currently possible. Foundation efforts are focused on territorial suppression, public disinformation, and tracking.
A 12 km exclusion zone has been established along Connable Road and the adjacent forested wetland. Civilian access is restricted via the “infrastructure instability” cover story. Foundation drones equipped with non-reflective lenses patrol the zone for anomalous signatures.
All puddles, drainage ditches, and standing water within the exclusion zone must be monitored after rainfall. SCP-████-C manifestations frequently begin in shallow liquid before assuming upright form.
Personnel who encounter SCP-████-C are instructed:
- Do not look directly at the entity for more than 2 seconds.
- Do not vocalize acknowledgment of its presence.
- Do not run unless authorized, as sudden movement provokes pursuit.
- Do not approach tree lines in which the smell of rot is detected.
Any personnel reporting olfactory anomalies (iron, rot, stagnant water), unexplained whistling, or “memory echoes” of being watched must undergo immediate cognitohazard screening.
Description:
SCP-████-C is a humanoid, shape-variable predator operating primarily along Connable Road, Illinois. Though superficially similar to a human silhouette, SCP-████-C displays multiple structural and mimicry defects indicative of mimetic learning, not biological anatomy.
SCP-████-C is believed to be a terrestrial offshoot or reflected evolutionary derivative of SCP-████ (“The Tarn”), having gained full mobility outside water sources.
Observed Characteristics:
- Height varies between 2.2 m and 3.1 m
- Limbs too long, joints misaligned or offset
- Posture frequently leans at a 30–60° angle without instability
- Movement described as “skipping frames” or “appearing closer without walking”
- Skin or outer surface composed of darkened particulate matter, often dripping upward during close observation
- Emits strong odor of rot, wet soil, and decayed vegetation
- Capable of low-frequency vocal mimicry, typically of its targets
- Demonstrates learned human posture, gestures, and even walking patterns, though always incorrectly proportioned
SCP-████-C does not appear to require water for manifestation, unlike SCP-████, but does exhibit higher activity following rainfall or in areas with saturated ground.
Behavior and Hunting Patterns:
SCP-████-C does not hunt by sight. It hunts by recognition.
Targets who:
- Look at the entity directly
- React with fear
- Speak near it
- Or acknowledge unusual sounds or smells
…are marked and pursued over indeterminate distances, sometimes across county lines. Pursuit may continue for days, weeks, or longer, with SCP-████-C appearing near reflective surfaces, in tree lines, or near standing water.
Notable Behaviors:
1. Mimetic Learning:
SCP-████-C reproduces postures or gestures previously observed from its target, sometimes with a temporal delay of 3–12 seconds.
2. Leaning Phenomenon:
Entity frequently leans in mimicry, as if “remembering” a posture rather than performing it.
3. Silent Approach:
Despite size, SCP-████-C produces no footstep sounds. Instead, audio devices record delayed “echo footsteps” 1–3 seconds after movement.
4. Olfactory Harbinger:
All encounters begin with the scent of rot. This is believed to be a byproduct of the entity’s unstable physical form.
Discovery:
The Foundation became aware of SCP-████-C following a spike in missing-person cases linked to geocaching activities along Connable Road.
Recovered notes warned:
“Once it knows your shape, it will learn to stand like you.”
“Don’t look behind you. It learns faster when you look.”
Thermal drones captured distorted humanoid shapes near tree lines, accompanied by rapid movement too fast for natural fauna.
The strongest evidence came from the disappearance of Geocacher-19 (“Haley █████”), whose phone recorded a voice matching her own saying her name from behind her moments before the camera dropped.
Addendum C-1 — Relation to SCP-████ (“The Tarn”)
Analysis indicates SCP-████-C retains several hydrological and reflective traits identical to SCP-████:
- Dripping material that defies gravity
- Similar vocal mimicry
- Similar rot-based olfactory profile
- Inward-pointing ripple anomalies in nearby water
- Reflection independence
- Memory-based recognition patterns
Leading Hypothesis:
SCP-████-C is a fully terrestrial reflection derivative, formed when SCP-████ achieved sufficient cognitive model of a human subject to manifest outside the water system.
In other words:
What emerges near Connable Road is what The Tarn learned to become.
Containment teams have been advised to treat both anomalies as members of the same evolutionary phenomenon.
Addendum C-2 — Field Observation Log (Truncated)
Location: North treeline, Connable Road
Date: ██/██/20██
[BEGIN LOG]
Agent Miller: “I smell it. Rot… thick rot. Visual?”
D-1882: “Movement at my left. Something tall— leaning— what the hell is wrong with its head—”
Agent Miller: “Do NOT describe it. That’s recognition behavior.”
[Audio anomaly detected — whistling tone, 117 Hz]
D-1882: “It just… it just stood like me. I scratched my neck and it copied it. A few seconds later.”
Agent Miller: “Back away. Do not look at it. Do not—”
[INTERFERENCE — video distortion]
D-1882: “It’s closer! It didn’t walk— it just— it just appeared—”
Agent Miller: “Control, requesting—”
[END LOG – FILE CORRUPTED]
D-1882 was never recovered. Agent Miller placed under psychological observation.
Addendum C-3 — Behavioral Theory Update
Dr. Halden writes:
“SCP-████-C does not imitate human form.
It remembers it.
It studies posture, movement, and reaction — slowly refining its mimicry.
The smell may not be decay at all.
It may be the byproduct of something that was never alive attempting to imitate life.”
Further research is ongoing.
Containment Priority:
Level 5 — Cannot Be Allowed to Leave the Region
The entity’s demonstrated mobility and interest in individuals far from Connable Road represents an existential threat should SCP-████-C learn higher forms of mimicry or communication.
The current directive is:
Prevent recognition. Prevent mimicry. Prevent evolution.