Item #: SCP-3945

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3945 is to be kept in a Standard Containment Locker. The object should be covered entirely by a thick cloth at all times. SCP-3945 should never be viewed with the naked eye, with all interactions taking place via remote means.

As of 12/2, experimentation with SCP-3945 is to be suspended indefinitely.

Description: SCP-3945 is the remaining biological tissue of an anomalous animal of unknown origin and species, currently contained on a Ford 150 truck tire. The tire itself displays no anomalous properties or unique material composition. All animal blood on the tire appears fresh and still maintains a vibrant red color. A golden bell attached to shreds of a collar is crushed between the tire's treads. The bell's side is engraved, determined to read "SHADE". Remote attempts to remove biological matter from the tire have failed.

SCP-3945 induces hallucinations via direct sight in viewers who do not have a living pet. If the viewer has never owned a pet, this will manifest SCP-3945-2. Otherwise, SCP-3945-1 will manifest.

SCP-3945-1 are hallucinations of the viewer's pets, usually of the animal purported to be the "best" or "most beloved".

Viewers describe their hallucinated pets as "different" than they remember, reporting elongated or shortened limbs, matted hair, dark pits instead of eyes, etc. In some cases, viewers reported that the SCP-3945-1 manifestation doesn't appear to be their pet at all, instead appearing as a dark shadow only similar in size and breed. Hallucinations occur in 5 - 60 minutes in 97% of cases.

In each hallucination, SCP-3945-1 appears for a few minutes before it is killed. SCP-3945-1's death is inconsistent with the original pet's cause of death. Notably, 95% of tests have resulted in SCP-3945-1 being disemboweled or devoured by an unknown predator. After the anomaly is killed, the hallucinated remains will disappear upon breaking sight line. This hallucination pattern will repeat endlessly.

Upon repeated hallucinations, subjects begin to exhibit extreme emotional distress leading to depression, mental instability, and suicidal ideation. ██ suicides have been recorded as a result of the phenomenon.

SCP-3945-2 manifests when the subject has never owned a pet. This instance always takes the same shape and form as described by subjects: a large panther shrouded in black smoke.

Discovery: SCP-3945 was discovered after the Mayor of Lockford, CA was found dead in his family home of an apparent suicide. One call was made before his death to his wife, wherein he described seeing and hearing his childhood dog, Bass, in hysterics. A log of the call is included below.

Call Log

Time: 9:41 PM

Janelle, it's Bass. My fucking dog when I was 8. Bass is here and then she's not, she's dying or dead, and I don't know…I've seen her rib cage, her heart and stomach opened over and over. She's got too many legs and a tumor on her face that I don't…remember, what's happening to me, I can't even think anymore, I can't go outside or inside or sideways without seeing THAT FUCKing DOG…

(Unintelligible. Loud banging noise. Yelled profanity in the background. Call ends after 1 minute, 32 seconds of static and background shuffling noises.)

Shortly before the Mayor's death, Lockford experienced a massive rise in its suicide rate. Foundation agents were dispatched after an article describing mass hallucination of family pets was run in the local newspaper. The anomaly was subsequently discovered when Agent Brinks began hallucinating his former pet iguana while inspecting the Mayor's truck. Agents removed the tire after the rest of the truck was determined to be non-anomalous. Despite administering amnestics, Agent Brinks still hallucinates. He is under careful supervision and Foundation psychological evaluation.

Experiment Logs:

Experiment Log 3945-1a

Hide Experiment Log

Experiment: Testing Reactions to SCP-3945

Personnel: Dr. Booker, D-6512

Dr. Booker: Please proceed into the test cell and inspect the object.

D-6512: Alright.

(D-6512 walks into the test chamber. She touches the tire, looking at all sides. She makes direct eye contact with the remains of SCP-3945 and wrinkles her nose.)

D-6512: This shit's pretty gross, doctor. Roadkill looks kinda fresh…

(Five minutes pass. D-6512 begins to hallucinate.)

D-6512: What the fuck. Skippy?

Dr. Booker: Can you describe what you're seeing?

D-6512: This probably sounds wild, but I can see my old dog Skippy in here. But he's been dead for like, 8 years or something. C'mere, Skip.

(She gestures towards the empty air and frowns.)

D-6512: Something is off about him.

Dr. Booker: Can you explain?

D-6512: Uh, he's just weird looking? I'm not sure how to explain it. His legs seem too long. But not in like a tall way, like in a "extra bones" kinda way.

(She pauses and holds her stomach.)

D-6512: Doc, I'm not feeling so great. That's not Skippy, I know that for sure. Skippy had cute little brown eyes. This dog either doesn't have any eyes or they're just, dark? I dunno. Oh fu- oh fuck.

(The subject's eyes widen. She retches, then vomits on the floor, falling to her knees. She is muttering something with tears in her eyes. Intermittent low sobs come from her throat.)

D-6512: Doc…Skip's gone, he…fuck. Something just…opened him up. He's all inside-out, his blood and guts are all over the place. Please let me out of here.

Researcher Note: Direct line of sight required to the anomalous animal. Working on ways to make this process somewhat less "gross", not sure that's possible.

D-6512 expired four days after testing. Guards report she began to scream before bashing her head against the wall repeatedly. Found dead in her cell the next day with a pen stabbed into her throat. - Dr. Booker

Experiment Log 3945-1b

Hide Experiment Log

Experiment: Testing Reactions to SCP-3945 w/ Interview

Personnel: Dr. Booker, D-1422

Dr. Booker: Alright, we're recording. D-1422, we're going to go through a brief interview before we start the test, okay? Can you first tell me what kinds of pets you've had in your life?

D-1422: Uh, yeah. I had a dog when I was a kid, a German Shepherd named Gus. We also had a couple cats that ran away when I was 12 or so. My mom thinks the coyotes got 'em. Then, when I was 25, I had an English bulldog named Purdy, best dog I ever had. Oh, and a bird. Well, more of my mom's bird.

Dr. Booker: The pets that didn't run away, how did they die?

D-1422: Gus and Purdy both died of old age. Not sure about the bird.

Dr. Booker: Okay. I just have one more question — do you have any history of mental illness in your family? Any psychosis, schizophrenia, anything like that?

D-1422: Not a shred.

Dr. Booker: Thank you for that. Please enter the test cell and inspect the object inside.

(D-1422 enters the chamber and makes eye contact with SCP-3945.)

D-1422: Christ.

(He continues to inspect the tire, looking it all over. He turns towards the glass and shrugs.)

D-1422: Is this a scavenger hunt? Is there something I'm supposed to find here?

Dr. Booker: Please continue to observe and report any phenomena that occur.

(Thirty minutes pass by. D-1422 suddenly surges out of his seat, getting on his hands and knees. His face lights up in glee.)

D-1422: Purdy! Now if you ain't the prettiest girl…I thought you were dead. Look at you, rollin' around on the ground. I missed you so damn much.

Dr. Booker: D-1422, can you tell me what you're seeing?

D-1422: It's Purdy! She looks almost good as new…a little bigger than I remember, though.

(D-1422 is now sitting cross-legged on the floor. He acts as though a dog is licking his face, laughing. After two minutes and forty seconds, he makes a guttural noise from his throat, holding his hands out as though he was reaching out to someone. Tears roll down his face and he begins sobbing.)

Dr. Booker: Can you tell me what happened?

D-1422: (sobbing) Oh fuck, Purdy girl…what happened to you… (D-1422 moves his hands as though he's gathering things into a bundle. He holds the imagined bundle in his arms as though it were a baby, rocking back and forth on the floor.)

Dr. Booker: D-1422, please describe what happened to Purdy.

(D-1422 is unresponsive to any questioning, still rocking and holding his arms in the same position. He is taken back to his cell.)

Researcher Note: It appears the anomaly SCP-3945 is causing hallucinations of pets, specifically of a pet the subject is fond of. Interestingly, thermal imaging shows nothing, though Hume readings correlate to anomalous activity in the testing cell.

D-1422 has been catatonic since testing. Doesn't speak, hasn't eaten anything, only occasionally drinks water. I've asked him if he still hallucinates, as the camera feed in his room shows repeated reactions to unseen stimuli. No dice.

I find it interesting that I've not hallucinated anything. My dog Shelly is still alive. Maybe there's a link there. Only dead pets? - Dr. Booker

Experiment Log 3945-1c

Hide Experiment Log

Experiment: Testing Reactions to SCP-3945, Interview + No Pets

Personnel: Dr. Booker, D-0909

Dr. Booker: Recording now. D-0909, I've got a few questions I'd like you to answer. Have you ever owned a pet?

D-0909: A pet? Nah. My pops always told me animals were too messy and I guess I just never really liked dogs or cats as a result. Shit everywhere and make the whole house smell.

Dr. Booker: To be clear, you've never owned a pet in your life?

D-0909: Nope.

Dr. Booker: Okay. Please proceed into the test cell. Inspect the object in the corner. Please make sure to view all parts of the object.

(D-0909 walks into the test chamber. He looks around and then walks over to the tire. He turns it over a couple times, rolling it from one side of the test chamber to the other while grinning at the test booth. He makes eye contact with SCP-3945. Almost immediately thereafter, he stumbles into the corner and begins screaming at the top of his lungs.)

D-0909: Holy fuck, what is that? Are you seeing this? Jesus, get me out of here, please open the door. (He attempts to turn the locked handle, growing more and more panicked.)

Dr. Booker: Please describe what you're seeing.

D-0909: (yelling) It's a massive fucking cat, a panther or something, just sitting there in the corner watching me with these big fucking red eyes. (stammering) It has a, uh, a bell and a collar on. (He cowers in the corner.) It's not even moving, just staring. Come on man, get me outta here, this isn't funny. (He starts frantically moving the door handle back and forth and banging his shoulder against the door.)

(At Dr. Booker's request, the guards open the door and D-0909 stumbles out. He scrambles into the furthest corner of the room, the guards moving to restrain him. His breaths are heavy and labored, eyes wide.)

D-0909: Doc, it's staring right at me right the fuck through that wall. One of you guys kill it, shoot it or something. I can't handle this crazy shit.

Dr. Booker: What do you mean "through the wall"?

D-0909: (agitated, aggressive) What do you think I mean? Fuckin' moron. (He moves erratically in the arms of the guards, bobbing his head.)

(After 30 seconds, D-0909 calms down, slumping in the corner. He speaks in a low voice.)

Its eyes won't stop watching me.

Researcher Note: D-0909 started yelling something specific today — "shade", same as the text on the bell. A name?

Interestingly, D-0909's description of the panther about matches the biomatter on the tire. As of now, D-0909 is in his cell shouting about the panther's eyes. He says they're following him throughout the facility, that he sees them at night, bobbing back and forth in the darkness like he's being hunted. More tests recommended to see if the panther is recurring. - Dr. Booker

Update 12/2:

D-0909 was found dead in his cell; massive gashes to the throat and stomach, entrails missing.

Also, there were tons of drawings in his cell. Lots of pairs of red circles.