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SCP-8994: "Spellsteal"

Written by redredred

Content Warning: Descriptions of violence, body horror, hallucinations, murder, and death. References to rape, Hell, demons, and other dark themes. Reader discretion is advised.

Item #: SCP-8994

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8994 is contained on-site. The surrounding area is contaminated with stray Satanic energy. Only persons with a strong connection to an Abrahamic religion are permitted, with special priority given to Roman Catholics. Personnel should wear Class 12.2 hazmat suits when interacting with SCP-8994, and cleanse themselves with holy water before and after the interaction. They should then be examined by a priest and a psychologist for signs of demonic influence.

As of the time of writing, little more knowledge can be gained from SCP-8994. SCP-8994-5 is uncooperative with staff: he refuses any more tests and interviews. He is currently being treated for prolonged demonic possession sickness. He is expected to die within the next 8 months. His death will take the lingering effects of SCP-8994's curses with him.

Update (03/05/2015): SCP-8994-5 has died in containment. SCP-8994 has been submitted to the NASCPF Research Board for review and reclassification as 'Neutralized'. This file will remain open for ten years following this, in case any developments occur.

Description: SCP-8994 was a witch named Bianca Kuhler (August 21, 1996 - c. October 10-11, 2014) who was murdered in an abandoned distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A. She was clothed in a black t-shirt, blue denim skirt, and black running shoes, which have now all decayed. Her body radiates a high amount of Satanic energy which gradually corrupts and destroys objects that depict her. Photographs decay to ash after thirteen days, audio files corrode until they are unintelligible, and digital files rot in strange ways. Her body acts as a kind of beacon for demonic activity. The disembodied voices of demons and other malevolent spirits can be heard inside of her containment area. Personnel also report unexplainable feelings of rage or paranoia and direct encounters with demonic entities. There have been four attempted possessions since capture.

Kuhler died after she was attacked by five of her classmates (SCP-8994-1 through -5) from Central High School in Phoenix. She had been creating a magic circle made of salt, pig fat slurry, and her menstruation blood in the early hours of the morning when they confronted her. She was beaten for around ten minutes before being stomped on the face, which created a violent skull fracture leading to an intracranial hemorrhage. Kuhler began to have a seizure, exacerbating her blood loss. SCP-8994-5 (David Marullo) then cut her throat with a knife, killing her.

The five classmates were victims of curses Kuhler had cast during the preceding months. The majority of these were primitive jealousy and paranoia curses, along with demonic conjurings, visions of Satan, and dreams depicting the punishments of Hell. Notably, two days before the murder, Kuhler cast rage curses on all five classmates, damning them to Hell after they died.

Four of the classmates died soon after the attack, in violent ways (see Victims). The only one to survive was Marullo, likely due to slicing Kuhler’s throat. The act was made under highly emotional circumstances by an individual who was already suffering from immense spiritual fatigue, in the proximity of a magic circle. Therefore, the act could have constituted a kind of rage ritual that protected him from death. Marullo's body was possessed by a demon after the murder, suggesting that he offered partial control of his body in exchange for protection. It is unclear whether there were additional costs to this exchange, as Marullo does not remember or was not fully aware of himself when the exchange was made. It is unlikely the demon has any relation to Kuhler.

Though Kuhler kept a private blog detailing her plans to harm her classmates, she never gave a reason why. A working theory, given her age and circumstances, is that she was a victim of intense bullying at school which led her to form a relationship with Satan. The severity of the sins she committed was due to both emotional trauma and manipulation from demons she was in communication with. She cursed her classmates both as a form of revenge and permanent spiritual suicide.

Kuhler, as an apostate and devil worshiper, will suffer the effects of each of her sins on Earth thirteen times over, for thirteen times as long. After review, it was determined that each classmate was damned for around 1,000,000 years. Therefore, Kuhler will be damned for 66,100,000 years (65M for the rage curses, 1.1M for other sins). Her soul will be destroyed following punishment. She will not be offered a reprieve by God.

Victims: The five classmates are described below in more detail. They are ordered by date of death (descending).

SCP-8994-1: Barbara Mue, 17, female. Mue experienced feelings of intense paranoia, rage, and self-hatred. She ended all of her friendships and withdrew from her family. She was plagued by nightmares in which she was chased through her abandoned home by a demonic creature that was repeatedly whispering the phrase, “I’m sorry, it’s not enough”. Her body was found a week after the murder in a wooded area just outside her home. She died after being stabbed in the throat four times. She suffered an additional 32 stab wounds across her body, and a long gash cut along the length of her back.

SCP-8994-2: Victoria Lemond, 18, female. Lemond suffered from near-constant head and stomach pain. Her menstruation bleeding became heavy and lasted longer each cycle. She experienced seizure-like fits where she would speak in tongues, bleed from the eyes and ears, and cough up blood and bile. She was staying at the Zenith Health clinic in Phoenix when, on the day of the murder, she disappeared from her hospital room. Her escape was likely supernatural, as she did not trigger any of the hospital’s alarm systems and did not appear on any cameras. She was found two weeks after Kuhler's death in an alleyway in Tempe, Arizona, having drowned in a small pool of her own blood.

SCP-8994-3: Jordan Rodriguez, 18, male. Rodriguez was haunted by a demon that would attack him in his bed. The attacks left numerous lacerations, most notably bite marks, on his neck, nose, nipples, buttocks, penis, anus, and tongue. He never sought medical aid for his wounds, and his friends and family do not remember seeing him with any marks on his skin. He might have been hiding them for unknown reasons. Three weeks after the murder, his body was found in a dumpster outside of the warehouse with his skin covered in magical symbols. The cause of death appeared to be a seizure that led to an ictal asystole.

SCP-8994-4: Feby Canaday, 16, female. Canaday received visions where she was attacked and dissected by a shadowy mass that claimed to be Satan. Two days before the murder, she went missing. Her body was found four weeks after the murder in the back of an abandoned church. Her head was swollen and caved in, and her features were distorted as if her face had 'melted'. Her skin was rough and rubbery, and her eyes and teeth had migrated to other parts of her face. Her scalp was completely hairless. Her body was covered in her blood, though there were no visible sources for it. The positioning of her body suggested that she was panicked before her death. The cause of death is unknown.

SCP-8994-5: David Marullo, 17, male. Marullo began hearing the voice of Satan daily. He suffered from delusions that his body was being controlled by an outside force. He attempted suicide twice, both by hanging, before the murder. Marullo is the only victim of Mahler to have had confirmed contact with her at Central High, as they were both in the same History class the semester before her death.

Discovery: The SCP Foundation discovered SCP-8994 during the police investigation of Kuhler's murder. Marullo was arrested on October 14th, 2014, and was interrogated for two hours at the Phoenix Police Department. He admitted to murdering Kuhler, claimed that she was a witch, and described several of the curses she inflicted upon him. These comments flagged SCPF webcrawlers, and an investigation was opened. Though Marullo's testimony did include some problematic information, he will likely be seen as insane by the general public. The records of the interrogation were thus not confiscated or redacted.

Marullo was awaiting trial at the Durango Juvenile Detention Facility when two Foundation agents inserted themselves into the employee structure. On October 20th, 2014, these agents interviewed Marullo for four hours. During this interview, the Veil was broken to Marullo and he was transferred to Foundation custody. Kuhler's testimony, along with segments from Kuhler's diary, construct most of what we know about SCP-8994. One additional interview was conducted at intake at Site-11, which lasted for 28 minutes, but after that, Marullo refused to speak. While additional interviews might provide some small amounts of new information about SCP-8994, the toll it would take on Marullo's health and the possibility of Marullo forgetting or misremembering events makes it impractical.

Below is an excerpt from the analysis of the transcript which describes Marullo's during the murder1.

None of the victims knew each other before being cursed. Even when they did eventually meet, Marullo said they were all cautious of each other. Marullo may have been projecting his own paranoid feelings onto his classmates, as they did at least band together to murder Kuhler, but at the time we took him at his word. The victims did not speak with each other during the attack. Marullo described the whole thing as "awkward," and "like a dream". He was likely dissociating during the attack.

Marullo seemed emotionless, even after being told about the existence of the SCP Foundation, anomalies, God, witches, and Heaven and Hell. He did perk up a little when the rage curse was mentioned, but since none of us knew for how long he would be damned, we described it optimistically. It seemed like he believed us at the time. He gave the impression that he was trying to find a rational explanation for the curses that didn't involve the anomalous. We chose not to press the issue further.

We asked Marullo what led him to know that Kuhler was in that specific building. He described a "pulling feeling" that drew him there, like "[he] was hearing someone calling [his] name". It is unclear whether this feeling was supernatural. He told us that he walked for thirteen miles to the warehouse, where he saw "the other four standing there" in the parking lot. He said that they were all looking at the ground, staring into space, but when Marullo arrived they all turned and walked inside together. Marullo didn't seem to remember what happened once he entered the building, or at least did not want to remember.

…

My partner stepped out to grab a water for him, and we sat alone for a few minutes. I asked him in an unprofessional manner why he thought Kuhler did this to him. He shook his head and said that he "didn't care". He said that he believed that "this was bound to happen to him at some point". I asked him to elaborate, and he mumbled something. I only caught the word "bitch" and something about God. I asked him if he thought he deserved to suffer like this, and he mumbled something else but would not explain. I didn't catch anything from that.

My partner stepped back in and we asked a few more questions, but it seemed like he was tired of the interview. He kept shaking his head and mumbling to himself. He was likely still in shock from the murder and the Veil being lifted. I advise intensive end-of-life counseling for him. Right now, he is likely nearing rock bottom in terms of morale. It seems like his only desire now is to die.

Addendum 1: At 0211 hours on May 2nd, 2015, Senior Agent Francis-Jael Heber, better known under the pseudonym Dr. Alto Clef, entered Marullo's holding cell. The visit was not authorized (see Postscript). Clef's presence caused Marullo to speak, the only time he has done so after being contained. Below is the transcript of the conversation that followed.

+ show block

– hide block

[Clef enters. He grabs a chair that is by the door and sits by Marullo's bed. Marullo stares at the ceiling, and droplets of blood drip out of his nose and fall upwards, defying gravity. The ceiling is covered in a thin layer of blood which is washed off daily. Clef's dialogue is tagged as 'AC' while Marullo's is tagged as 'DM'2.]

AC: You awake, kid?

[Clef flicks Marullo on the cheek.]

AC: You're gonna want to talk to me. I know it's painful to talk, real painful, but I've got important things to say and it's not like you've got anything better to do while—

DM: Go away…

AC: Yeah.

[Pause.]

AC: So, you're gonna die within the next week. This is only gonna get worse, and then either you're gonna kill yourself in here or your throat is gonna get choked up with blood until you stop being able to breathe. You also know that that girl you killed was a witch. You know that you're damned to Hell on the fifth layer for a million years. Or… it might be the sixth layer actually, I forgot. Once you get past the fourth it's all kind of [static sounds].

DM: Why are… you talking to me?

AC: Wouldn't you like to know what's gonna happen to you?

DM: We… are all gonna burn. Yeah… There's nothing left to do.

AC: Y'know, when I first heard about—

DM: Who are you? Oh… I know you. I've heard your name before. Your name… Oh, good man, good man! What is your name?

AC: Ah, hello there. You can't know my name, it's classified. You can call me "Walden" if you want, or "doc", or "asshole". I won't mind.

DM: Heheh… You are a real cock… sucker… Good man…

AC: I need to talk to the kid right now.

DM: Okay… Wal— den.

[Pause.]

AC: Once you get to Hell, it'll be what you imagine. Murder, pain, every kind of rape and torture and fear you can experience. The first two months will be the worst. You won't be experienced to it yet, you won't know what kind of things can throw. You'll think there's some line they won't cross, something sacred that they won't destroy, but I'm telling you now that there isn't. They'll pretend to be God and say they're saving you, they'll pretend to be your friends and betray you. You'll know what vomit and shit taste like. You'll know what it's like to eat until your stomach explodes. You'll know what it feels like to have your skin melted off with lava.

DM: Oh my god.

AC: After a little while though, you'll get used to it. You won't judge time based on hours or days, but by some other method that's useful. You'll grow numb to the pain. There's only so many ways you can hurt a person, only so many ways to scare them. At some point it'll all wash off of you like water. You'll meet one of your friends in there, and you'll do… whatever you teenagers like to do, I don't know.

DM: Shut up! Fuck you, man…

AC: Why do you want me to shut up? I'm trying to help you.

DM: 'Cause you don't… ah… give a shit. You're a… ah— fuck! I don't have any friends. I'm not gonna see anybody down there. I'm gonna be alone— alone because of some fucking… I don't even deserve this, I was good. I'm a good person. Why do I have to go to Hell?

AC: Witches are punished thirteen times worse as their victims. What you'll go through won't even compare — it won't even be a scratch — compared to her. You'll forget all about it before she's even halfway through.

DM: I don't give a shit! Fuck… h-her! I don't care what happens to her. I don't care, it's so dumb… This is so fucking dumb, d-dude…

[Marullo cries. His tears are also bloody, and burn his skin as they trickle down his cheeks. Clef takes out a handkerchief from his pocket and dabs them away.]

AC: Hey. What you're going through right now is unimaginable— unimaginable. It's happening though, and no amount of tears will get you out of it. You can't drink it away, you can't ignore it with dope or escape it with suicide, you can't do none of that. I'm telling you this because I want you to be prepared. I want you to be able to be happy once it's over. You're still gonna go to Heaven at the end of it.

DM: It won't help me.

AC: I know it seems like that, and in a lot of ways—

DM: Good man! Do you wish at night that we call you good man? You know we do. Trying to coach the little pup, it's so sweet of you Wal— den. Hopefully, God is looking down on you, looking down and seeing how good of a man you are. Do you think that? God doesn't give a shit about sentiment. There is no preparation you can give for Hell. There is no safety in Hell, there is no hope in Hell. Hope is fucked out of you like… oh! Like a shrewd woman is fucked into a good wife! [laughs]

AC: You don't know what God thinks.

DM: Oh, but you would know what it's like to rape the hope out of a woman, Wal— den. You would know how to get a shrewd bitch to beg like a good girl, wouldn't you? You… worm. You—

AC: I'm not playing with you anymore.

DM: You cheat. You snake. Your daddy Satan shall rape your fratrici—

[Clef slaps Marullo across the face. Then, there's a pause.]

DM: I'm… sorry.

AC: It's not your fault.

DM: Shut up. E-Everything about this is my… fault.

AC: And there's nothing I can say that'll change your mind?

DM: No. Just shut up for… a second.

AC: Okay.

[They sit in silence for two minutes and twenty-seven seconds.]

DM: Can I ask you something?

AC: Yeah?

DM: What was he… talking about? That… he knows you.

AC: You can't trust a demon on anything, much less what they say. They know a little bit about people on Earth if they're significant enough. And by 'significant', I mean significant by a demon's standard which just means they care about how big of a sinner you are— and I'm kind of notable if you catch my drift. I'm going down deep once I die. That's why I got this little mark on my forehead. You see this? It's called the Mark of Cain. It means you're a killer.

DM: Who did… you kill?

AC: I killed a… I killed one of the anomalies here. A guy. Did a lot of bad things to people, a lot of innocent people. He was a real… wild animal. A real cruel motherfucker. Just… cruel to everything. Uncaring, not even to people who deserve it. So I killed him.

DM: B-But there's a lot of… killers, aren't there? Why do you have the… mark?

AC: Well… sometimes in the world, there are things that God thinks deserve to live. Most of the time, this makes sense: the Pope, charity workers, people like that. You understand why God blesses them. Then uh… sometimes, there comes a person who God wants to live who… does not deserve to. They get protected, they get forgiven no matter how many people they kill, no matter how much damage they do. That guy I killed— he was technically immortal. Would come back in a new body every time he died. Didn't matter if you shot him or blew him up or poisoned him. We cast every single spell we could imagine on this guy, we invented like fifty new death spells, and he would reappear the next day like it didn't matter. God just… wanted him to live.

[Pause.]

AC: And um… God's not too big on the whole talking business, so I can't ask him why this guy is so important. We try reasoning with him, we try containing him and that doesn't work. He would lie through his teeth and say he was better and say he wanted to help and then he'd slit a woman's throat in front of me. I um… got kind of desperate. Y'know, begging God on my knees to just say something. I got real angry with him, with everything. I took it out a lot of people. Most of the time they deserved it, but sometimes they didn't. I would try to justify it, but you know how that kind of anger goes. At some point even that stopped helping, and I got so mad that I stopped caring about the consequences. I thought well if God's gonna play favorites and God's gonna rig the goddamn game and God doesn't care, then I won't care. I'll cheat. I'll kill God. I'll make things right— and I killed him. Killed him permanently, and I got this scar. I saved more people than I can ever imagine, entire generations of people. They gave me a gold star here, named a facility after me. There's entire countries that wouldn't be here if it weren't for what I did, and what is my payment for that? What does he do? Well obviously, he punishes me worst of all.

DM: What is your punishment?

AC: I don't know. I get some visions of it sometimes, but I can't make it out real good. It's just some black void, y'know.

[Pause.]

AC: I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all that, I'm just uh… wired a little strange, David. Your name is David, right? I don't know what I'm doing here. I'm probably just going a little mad.

DM: N-No, it's fine. I… like listening to you. Makes me feel less…

[Pause.]

DM: That is really… really… bullshit.

AC: [laughs] I guess it is.

DM: Am I gonna g-go crazy in there?

AC: You want the nice answer or the real one?

[Pause.]

AC: Well, the nice answer is that the mind is really good at protecting itself. It is extremely difficult to get it to do something illogical. You can look at a schizophrenic who thinks he's Jesus and say, "Oh God, that guy is crazy," but if you were the one who woke up one day with a voice telling you it was God and saying you were Jesus, wouldn't you believe it? The brain adapts, makes the world understandable. You'll never have that movie moment where you lose your mind and turn into an animal. You'll just be… wired a little weird for a bit.

DM: What is… the other one?

AC: The real answer is that you'll probably forget who you are. Your life on Earth will be like childhood memories. You'll only know what Hell feels like, and you'll adapt to it. The pain will become normal. It'll be like you're living back here again, just a little worse.

DM: [laughs] A little worse. Oh-oh! T-T-There will never be nothing worse. For you, oh especially for you. You cannot talk yourself into some stoic defense, Wal— den. God is not some distant weapon, good man, he is active and watching. He saves those who deserve to be saved. You and this little pup bitch here aren't one of them.

AC: You love the attention, don't you?

DM: You think I'm evil. You think I'm trying to trick you, but I'm not. I'm showing the pup his punishment, just a little taste of his punishment. God doesn't save people; nobody in Hell is saved, you fucking liar. There are only great men in Heaven and small, small insignificant creatures like you and me. Only c-c-crackers and insignificant creatures like you and me. H-Human morality is all— all so s-small compared to… ah! Ah, oh… Oh my god… Oh my god…

AC: You okay?

[Marullo coughs out blood onto his blanket. Clef wipes away some of the blood that landed on his chin.]

DM: I don't w-wanna… Oh my god, I don't wanna…

AC: You're alright. You'll be alright.

[Marullo begins crying again. He leans over to Clef, and Clef embraces him.]

DM: Please help me. Please p-pull me out or something. Please do something.

AC: It doesn't work that way.

DM: Yes it does! You killed t-that… whatever fucking thing it was! [laughs, then cries] So fucking d-dumb! Why!? Why!? Just do something, please! You are so fucking… ah! [screams, then cries] Help me, mom… Help me, mom…

AC: I can't, David. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, David.

[Clef holds Marullo as he screams and cries for the next minute-and-a-half. Then, they sit in silence.]

AC: Do you want me to go?

DM: No, i-it's fine. I need s-something to wipe up the… tears. I can't do it.

AC: Okay.

DM: Do… hah… you have somewhere to g-go?

AC: I can get out of it.

DM: Okay.

[Marullo and Clef sit in silence for two-and-a-half minutes. Occasionally, tears flow out of Marullo's eyes and Clef dabs them away.]

DM: Why does God h-hate me?

AC: God doesn't hate you.

DM: Then why doesn't he save me?

AC: I don't know, David.

[Pause.]

DM: D-Did you… when you killed that guy, did you know you'd be going to Hell forever?

AC: Yes.

DM: Why did you do it, then?

AC: Because… it was the right thing to do. He was hurting people and there wasn't any other way to stop him. And y'know… it would be too hard to try and get someone else to do it. [laughs]

DM: It w-wouldn't matter, though. I c-couldn't… I'm such a coward.

AC: You're not a coward. Y'know… I'm not like you, David. I'm not the kind of person who deserves to go to Heaven. I'm a very, very selfish man who has done a lot of bad things to a lot of good people in my life. I hide in my job. I act like I don't care about shit, but I do. I love people, I love humanity. And sometimes in your life you'll have to put your shit aside for who you love.

[Pause.]

DM: God looks down on self-pity.

AC: Mm.

DM: God looks down even worse on pride. Helping out of pride is worse than not helping at all. Thinking you are some Jesus, thinking you will change… thinking you are different from… him… you were never different, Cl— ef… You r… rapist. You murderer.

AC: You don't know anything about me.

DM: You are made… of the most… jealous parts… You jealous, jea— lous boy… O-Oh… ho-ho, hahah!

[Marullo laughs hysterically. Then he coughs up more blood. Clef wipes it off of his chin. There is silence for another minute, as Marullo and Clef continue embracing.]

DM: Will I be able to s-see you… in Hell?

AC: You can if you want. I'll be pretty far away, but if you try, you should.

DM: O— kay.

[Pause.]

DM: Will you… r-remember me?

AC: I'll… yeah. Yeah, I will.

DM: Okay… okay…

[They do not speak for another thirty minutes. Marullo falls asleep during this time.]

Postscript: The next morning (May 3rd, 2015), Clef is found asleep on the floor next to Marullo. He is taken out of the room, and a disciplinary report is submitted to the SCPF Ethics Committee for failing to clear the interview with Site-11 staff. Six hours later, Marullo suffers a cardiac arrest. He undergoes cardiorespiratory resuscitation for 30 minutes but is unable to be revived and dies. A prayer for peaceful rest is given, and his body is buried in Greenwood Memorial Park in Phoenix, Arizona. His family is given Class A amnestics with cover story RG178 being planted in their minds and are allowed visitation rights.

On May 15th, Clef is suspended without pay for two months, although his interview privileges are not revoked. He is ordered to return to psychiatric care during this time, which he does willingly. See Dr. Clef's Personnel File, section "Other Documents" for documents relating to this case.

Footnotes

1. See Document 8994-5-IN1 and -IN2 for full transcripts and analyses.

2. Transcriber’s note: At certain points in this transcript, the demon possessing Marullo will appear to speak instead of him. Despite this, all of Marullo's dialogue will be tagged as 'DM'. This is not standard formatting, but after analysis, we determined that Marullo and the demon have melded together to such an extent that their thinking influences each other. It is also simpler to have only one tag, as to avoid debates about who is saying what.