Item #: SCP-6142

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures (Outdated): The current warden for SCP-6142 is Professor Elias Granger, assigned to the anomaly as part of the Foundation's partial retirement scheme. A monthly stipend is to be provided to Professor Granger for testing purposes and living expenses. A full breakdown of this income is available under Financial Chart 6142-1.

SCP-6142 is contained in the rear garden of Professor Granger's home behind secure walls specifically built for this purpose. Personnel embedded in the local area are to respond to any requests for maintenance as quickly as possible. In the event of any intruders entering SCP-6142, Professor Granger is to request assistance using his direct Foundation line.

Professor Granger is to send periodic messages to Site-22 confirming SCP-6142's continued containment and any testing performed.

Description: SCP-6142 is a 5m x 5m area of grassland in the village of Lerry, England. Previously, this land was part of the village's surrounding countryside — however, following an expansion of residential areas in 2004, SCP-6142 neighbours the outermost streets of the community. This also led to its discovery by the Foundation after several parents in the area reported concerns of inappropriate play their children were participating in.

Any individuals within SCP-6142 will experience a greater than usual inclination to crucify frogs, which the village of Lerry has a significant population of.

Note that this is not a compulsive effect: individuals are fully capable of ignoring these urges. Thoughts of crucifying frogs will simply arise more often, and the individual will be more likely to pursue them. Attempts to actually carry out these crucifixions are more often than not unsuccessful, as the frogs escape from attempts to restrain them. When crucifixions are actually carried out, however, they commonly follow a facsimile of the methodology used by the Roman Empire — the frog is either bound or nailed upon a makeshift T-shaped gibbet, then left to die over time.

This urge appears to extend only to the act of crucifixion itself; once the frog is initially crucified, the affected individuals quickly lose interest, even if the frog in question comes free of their restraints and escapes.

Addendum 6142-1 (Containment Records)

Due to SCP-6142's ease of containment, the relatively benign nature of its effects, and the extensive testing already performed, it was selected as a candidate for the Foundation's experimental partial retirement scheme. Under this scheme, trusted personnel intending to retire are given custody of an especially low-risk anomaly and assigned to report back regarding containment and additional testing.

In the case of SCP-6142, custody was assigned to Professor Elias Granger, formerly of Site-22. The following audio reports span the first three months of containment.

We finished moving my things in yesterday. The containment staff did most of the work, but I chipped in as much as I could — which wasn't much, but still. I understand you’re going to be handling these messages, Ernesto! It’s good they’re trusting you with more responsibilities. You’ll go far.

I’ve spent most of the last day going through the files the previous containment staff left behind. I reviewed them during the preparations, of course, but it’s good to keep these things fresh. Most avenues of testing have already been pursued, but I’m sure I can come up with a few things.

At any rate, it feels good to be back here. It’s been a long time since I lived in Lerry, but it doesn't seem to have changed much. The fresh air is very welcome after working down in Site-22 for so long. One of the moving boys asked if I wouldn’t prefer to retire proper — of course not. If I weren't here doing this, how could I trust it would be done right?

It’s late now, so I’ll get into things properly from tomorrow onwards. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm not used to such quiet work. (laughs) Back at Site-22, there was a great deal more running and, well… ah, screaming… a lot of that was before your time, Ernesto, but ask some of the veterans around the Site! They'll be happy to tell you some war stories.

Still, I've been keeping myself busy. I've been testing SCP-6142 at different times of the day, to determine if the strength of the effect differs at all. It does not. Well, you don't know if you don't test.

I've had a lot of time for some… well, leisure. Yes, leisure. I don't mean to be rude to the staff who built this place, Ernesto, but the outside walls really could do with a fresh coat of paint. I'd do it myself, but my knees don't permit. Just something to note.

I've been… sending letters as well, to my son, Jamie. I'm sure I must have mentioned him to you at some point. I was — I've been with the Foundation for a long time, and that took up quite a bit of my time, which led to… well, difficulties at home. We haven't spoken in some time. (laughs) It was a struggle to even get his address, to tell you the truth!

Good day to you, Ernesto. Hope you're still working hard. You always had a tendency to, ah, to slack off towards the winter months, so take care, alright?

I have been experimenting with a few different species of frogs this last week or so, attempting to determine if the strength of the compulsion differs depending, perhaps — oh, I know it isn't a compulsion! A slip of the tongue. The strength of the… inclination.

At any rate, I felt the same amount of desire to crucify one type of frog as I did to crucify another. Which is to say, more than usual.

I sent another letter today — to… to Jamie I mean. Like with the others, I don't expect anything to come of it, but… one must, surely. I have to try, don't I?

I've been experimenting with proximity over the last few weeks — for example, placing a caged frog within SCP-6142, standing outside it, and seeing if the effects differ from the uneven exposure.

Results are… difficult to convey, really. I won't deny that, looking at the frog, the thought of crucifying it seemed quite attractive. But more like a — a novelty than anything else, an intrusive thought rather than something really to be acted upon. However, I did have a great deal on my mind, which could have distracted me. This factor must be taken into consideration when noting this down, Ernesto.

The nature of the distraction, ah — I've been speaking to my son over the phone recently. To Jamie. I suppose all those letters must have finally worn him down, eh? It's been good to hear his voice. So much older, so many things missed, but… well… there's time now, isn't there?

As such, a temporary replacement warden will be required for containment from… (flicking pages) July 28th to August 5th. Jamie was a little reticent at first, but I've managed to convince him. A little father-and-son trip up to the Lake District, nothing fancy, but a good opportunity to get to know each other more.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

I haven't managed to get much testing done since my previous message, Ernesto, but I suppose that was never the focus of containment here, was it? All the same, my apologies.

It's been a good while since I went on a bona fide trip. I hardly know what to pack! Clothes, obviously, and toothpaste and hygienics and whatnot… would suntan lotion be required? I mean, it's hardly the dunes of Egypt, but you never know.

I do hope Jamie is making good progress with his packing, too. We went to the Canary Islands, just once, when he was little, and oh… the state of his suitcase. Utterly diabolical.

I'm very sorry, this isn't relevant, you don't want to hear an old man ramble. Wishing you all the best.

This is an amendment to previous messages. Temporary warden replacement will not… will not be necessary. I got a call from Jamie late last night.

He said he's been thinking about his… about all the times he needed me, and all the times I failed him — and all the times I promised I'd never do it again and I lied. He said he couldn't bear the thought of spending time with me, a week at that, with all those shadows between us. He couldn't bear the thought of setting himself up for all that again. Very reasonable perspective. I asked him when I would be seeing him. He said he didn't know there would be a time like that.

As such, I'm… I'm happy to report that my week's absence will not be a factor any longer. I'm very sorry if any preparations have already been made, but they are no longer necessary. I…

(coughing)

I think I was very much looking forward to it.

My apologies. I'm really… very sorry. You don't want to hear about all this. It isn't relevant to the anomaly, it's embarrassing, really. I'm so sorry. It doesn't matter. SCP-6142 requires my attention: there's a great deal of… we need to fully understand SCP-6142, so I really can't spare any time.

I took a toad into SCP-6142 today — not a frog, mind you — to note if it inspired the same… fascinations. They're very similar, after all.

It did not. Nothing else to report, thank you.

No change. Nothing to report. I find myself wondering how you're all doing back at Site-22. Is Ernesto still the one who handles these messages? If I recall, he was talking about getting married when I left. How was the wedding? You were always a hard worker, Ernesto.

You deserve happiness.

No change. Redid all testing on the previous frogs, and at the different times of day to measure any discrepancies in my thought processes. I think I may have noticed some areas of interest — I'll continue testing.

Redid testing again. No change. My mistake.

A call wouldn't go amiss, you know. An old man gets lonely.

I think I might have been to this place before. I-I dreamed about it last night, you see — now, I'm not sure if this was an actual dream, or a memory I've forgotten about, or a mixture of those, but it really was incredibly vivid.

In my… well, in this scenario, I was out playing with my friends, on our bicycles, when we stopped here for some reason. We were nine or ten in this scenario, children at any rate, and I just have this absolutely crystal — pristine image, really, of us crucifying frogs. Holding onto those slippery bodies and tying them to crosses made from those, um, those little sticks from ice pops. The name escapes me.

I remember, well, that all my friends looked as if they were enjoying themselves quite a bit. Laughing, chatting excitedly, pointing at the frogs squirming on their crosses. Eventually the frogs slipped free and hopped away, of course, but that didn't ruin the fun any for them. It was the sport of it, I imagine, more than anything.

Me, though? I recall sweat pouring down my face, my hands shaking as I did my best to hold the frogs down. It wasn't a game for me, in the dream at least, there was a real sense of… of urgency to it. As if, by crucifying frogs, I was maintaining some kind of cosmic balance. As if… if I didn't, the sun would crash right into the earth — or something of that nature.

Not true, of course. But that was my impression at the time.

That's always been me, I suppose. I don't know that I've ever actually done anything that I wanted to… or if I was just scared what not doing it would mean. School, my job, all this… all obligation.

The things I do want… I don't know that they're there for me anymore.

I'm going to be making a choice now. They're all over the windows. Thank you very much for letting me know you all.

Please don't tell Jamie. It would only upset him.

Due to the concerning content of this report, a team was immediately dispatched to check up on Professor Granger and confirm his safety.

Upon arriving at the property, the team received no response to calls or knocks. Upon forcefully entering the property, Professor Granger was not found until the team moved out into SCP-6142 proper.

There, Professor Granger was found to have expired.

Inspection of the body showed that Professor Granger had been crucified upside-down using two planks pried from the garden shed, together with the accompanying nails through his palms. Cause of death ruled as heart failure. Positioning of the body and the complete nature of his restraints confirmed that this crucifixion could not possibly have been performed by Professor Granger himself.

Revision of containment procedures is underway.