Object Class: Keter
Threat Level: Black
Special Containment Procedures:
Direct containment of SCP-████ is considered unfeasible due to its environmental integration and non-localized manifestations. The Foundation has instead established Observation Zone-4B around the former wetland basin along Connable Road, Illinois.
The zone is fenced under the cover story of “unstable groundwater” and “toxic runoff.” Motion sensors and deep-water thermal monitors are to remain active at all times.
No reflective surfaces are permitted within a 1km radius. Personnel entering Zone-4B must carry matte-black viewing visors and avoid looking directly at open water. Absolutely no verbal communication is allowed once rippling is observed.
Any civilian reports involving “leaning figures,” “upward-dripping shadows,” or “the rot smell” within a 15km radius are to be intercepted and sanitized.
Description:
SCP-████ (“The Tarn”) is a non-physical, water-associated entity capable of manifesting a humanoid frame through reflective surfaces, saturated soil, or standing water. SCP-████ expresses semi-mimetic behavior: it can approximate human posture, vocal cadence, and general anatomical silhouette, though with significant structural inaccuracies.
SCP-████ does not appear to possess a stable form. Instead, it assembles its appearance using available environmental elements (mud, water, plant matter) and behavioral cues learned from observers.
Primary anomalous traits include:
- Reflections that move independently.
- Surface ripples forming inward, toward no visible source.
- A humanoid figure manifesting from water through vertical extrusion.
- Upward movement of liquid, defying gravity.
- Olfactory signature: sulfur, decaying vegetation, hematinic rot.
- Mimetic evolution based on prolonged observation of a target.
Individuals exposed to SCP-████ report acute pareidolia, auditory distortions, and the sensation of being observed even in open environments.
Discovery:
SCP-████ came to Foundation attention following multiple missing-persons reports between 1978–1991 near the Connable Road wetland basin. Local law enforcement recovered several partially waterlogged notebooks containing warnings:
“If it learns your reflection, it follows.”
“Don’t shout near the water. It answers slow.”
“It pulls from what the surface remembers.”
Audio recovered from a lost geocacher’s phone in 2019 contained both the subject’s voice and a secondary vocalization matching her tone but distorted, slowed, and layered with gurgling resonance. This audio is now classified under Cognitohazard File 4B-██.
Behavioral Notes:
SCP-████ displays interest in individuals who:
- Approach the basin after dusk
- Observe their reflection for longer than 3 seconds
- Verbally acknowledge an anomalous sound or movement
- Attempt retrieval of submerged objects
Stages of Manifestation:
Stage 1 — Echo
Reflections deviate. Ripples reverse direction.
Stage 2 — Recognition
Olfactory presence. Minor auditory mimicry (“calling,” whistling, name-mirroring).
Stage 3 — Emergence
Humanoid frame extrudes vertically from the water or adjacent soil.
Stage 4 — Pursuit
Entity begins long-term tracking of the target, often manifesting miles away from Zone-4B in puddles, drainage ditches, or saturated ground.
Stage 5 — Reclamation
Target disappears. Remains are rarely recovered. When they are, they exhibit extreme hydration, as if submerged for weeks regardless of time elapsed.
Addendum 1 — Crosslink SCP-████ with SCP-████-C (“The Connable Road Entity”)
Following multiple incidents, researchers have noted overlapping characteristics between SCP-████ and an uncontained shapeshifting organism reported along Connable Road.
Both entities:
- Emit similar olfactory signatures
- Demonstrate learned posture and mimicry
- Exhibit distorted, leaning movement patterns
- Retain memory of human observers
Current theory suggests SCP-████ is the origin point, while SCP-████-C may be a fully terrestrial derivative, an “uplifted reflection” that has transitioned from water-based manifestation to independent environmental locomotion.
Joint containment protocols are pending.
Addendum 2 — Interview Log 4B-11
Interviewed: Survivor-14 (“Micah B.”)
Interviewer: Dr. Halden
Dr. Halden: You said it stood up out of the creek?
Micah: Not stood. It pulled itself… upward. Like the water wanted it back but couldn’t hold it together right.
Dr. Halden: Did it see you?
Micah: It didn’t have eyes.
[Pauses]
But it recognized me.
Dr. Halden: Explain.
Micah: The way it tilted its head… I’ve only ever seen something do that in my mirror. When I was a kid. It leaned the exact same way. Like it remembered me from water I looked into years ago.
Dr. Halden: And when did you smell the odor?
Micah: After it copied my shape.
Like once it knows what you look like, it starts rotting.
Or maybe you start rotting and it’s just smelling you early.
[Subject terminated interview prematurely.]
Addendum 3 — Incident Report 4B-██
Date: ██/██/20██
Summary: Unauthorized civilian hikers reported a “tall shadow dripping from the knees up” along Connable Road following heavy rain. MTF Sigma-7 (“Tidebreakers”) was deployed.
Thermal imaging detected two distinct heat signatures:
- One near the basin (expected)
- One on the roadside, 0.8km away (unexpected)
The roadside entity dispersed into particulate water vapor upon illumination. The basin entity submerged simultaneously.
Conclusion: SCP-████ may now operate simultaneously across disconnected bodies of water, including standing puddles and saturated soil.
Containment priority escalated.
Notes:
Effective immediately, all personnel stationed at Zone-4B must avoid observing their reflections in any surface, including puddles. Recent events suggest SCP-████ may initiate Stage 1 through partial reflections or even reflective damp earth.
Personnel experiencing:
- Persistent whistling
- Perception of being watched near drainage systems
- Olfactory hallucinations of rot
are to report to Medical Bay-7 for screening.
Level 4 Clearance Required to Access Addendum 4 — “Reclamation Footage”
(Access not permitted on public terminals.)