Just- just don't be afraid of the dar-



SCP-3553: They All Go Into the Dark

Author: Tufto, written on their original account. More of their work can be found here.

Item #: SCP-3553

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: All SCP-3553 instances discovered are to be seized by the Foundation. Due to the impossibility of ever comprehensively finding all SCP-3553 instances, it is not presently known how many SCP-3553-A instances currently exist. All SCP-3553-A instances are to be taken into Foundation custody.

Attempts to protect SCP-3553-A instances from SCP-3553-B events have met with no success thus far. These attempts have centred around ensuring constant observation and physical contact with SCP-3553-A instances during the timespan given by SCP-3553 instances of SCP-3553-B events. Researchers are currently investigating more advanced methods of SCP-3553-B prevention, such as the use of Scranton Reality Anchors.

Description: SCP-3553 refers to a recurring phenomenon affecting cardboard milk cartons distributed in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. A total of nine SCP-3553 instances have been discovered so far.

SCP-3553 manifests as a written message, usually accompanied by a photograph, concerning the disappearance of a child under the age of 16. It provides details of the disappearance such as the name of the child, age, appearance, location and date of the disappearance. The date of the disappearance is always several years into the future. The style of writing and presentation is somewhat reminiscent of the Milk Carton Appeal in the 1980s and 1990s1, but with some deviations, notably the absence of a phone number. The disappearances thus far have all occurred within the United Kingdom and the United States, countries in which the Milk Carton Appeal and similar initiatives took place.

All of the children mentioned are real; they are henceforth referred to as SCP-3553-A instances. All of the disappearances mentioned occur on the specified date without fail; these are henceforth referred to as SCP-3553-B events. Attempting to observe an SCP-3553-B event has proved functionally impossible; all attempts to do so have resulted in some impediment to the observer's field of vision, although Foundation personnel have only been present at two three SCP-3553-B events as of 19/08/2016 08/07/2017.

SCP-3553-A instances have occasionally signalled some foreknowledge of SCP-3553-B events in the moments immediately preceding their disappearance.

SCP-3553 was first discovered on 05/09/1991, when a Foundation researcher coincidentally discovered an SCP-3553 instance while shopping in her local supermarket in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Due to this, and the fact that at least one SCP-3553-A instance is the child of a Foundation researcher, it is believed that the creators of SCP-3553 instances are aware of the Foundation's existence. The oldest SCP-3553 instance found seems to date from the mid-1970s, well before the Milk Carton Appeal began.

+Incident Log

-Incident Log

Below is a list of all known SCP-3553 instances and details concerning them. The list is ordered chronologically by presumed appearance of each SCP-3553 instance.

SCP-3553-A instance: Jonathan Brown. DOB: 19/05/1965.

Date of SCP-3553 appearance: Early-mid 1970s; discovered 12/11/1992.

SCP-3553 text: Jonathan Brown has been missing since 04/04/1978. He is 12 years old, 5'4, with brown hair and blue eyes. Jonathan was last seen entering the ██████ Forest in Washington Stat [sic]. If you have any information, please contact us.

Details of SCP-3553-B event: On 04/04/1978, Jonathan Brown left his home to take a short recreational walk. He was last seen five minutes later by a neighbour, Hillary Cox, as he entered the ██████ Forest.

In 1999, a jumper worn by Brown was discovered in the ██████ Forest. No other remains have been recovered.

SCP-3553-A instance: Sally Cartwright. DOB: 29/01/1979

Date of SCP-3553 appearance: Circa 1980. Discovered 08/01/1994

SCP-3553 text: Sally Cartwight has blue eyes, blonde hair, is 6 years old and is MISSING. She disappeared from Castlemorton Common in Worcestershire 7 days ago. She likes to draw. Please contact us now with any information.

Details of SCP-3553-B event: On 07/08/1985, Miss Cartwright and her parents were walking across Castlemorton Common. Miss Cartwright became suddenly agitated, and ran ahead of them. Her parents reported her writing in a notebook she often used for drawing while she was running. Sally momentarily left her parents' field of vision, having run down a small slope; when her parents caught up with her, she could not be located. Only her clothes, her notebook and a pencil were left behind. On the final page of the notebook were written the words "their [sic] all dreaming down there".

SCP-3553-A instance: Joanna Smith. DOB: 08/12/1986.

Date of SCP-3553 appearance: Circa 05/09/1991, the date of discovery.

SCP-3553 text: APPEAL TO ALL WHO HAVE INFORMATION. Joanna Smith went missing in Standard Humanoid Containment Cell 18 of Site 109 on 12/12/1996. She is 10 years old, 4'1, with brown hair and green eyes. She likes to write poems and enjoys sunny days.

Details of SCP-3553-B event: Joanna Smith was immediately taken into Foundation custody. She was interrogated, and found to know nothing about SCP-3553. She was kept in Standard Humanoid Containment Cell 18 of Site 109. At the time of her disappearance (14:43 on 12/12/1996), she was being observed in her cell by two Foundation agents; a power failure caused the lights and camera feed to go out, breaking the guards' vision of Miss Smith. After 5 seconds, the power was restored; the SCP-3553-B event had taken place.

One of the guards- Agent Mullins- later reported hearing Miss Smith say "I don't like the dark" shortly before the power outage.

SCP-3553-A instance: Ali Khan. Subject could not be located or identified.

Date of SCP-3553 appearance: Circa 15/06/1994.

SCP-3553 text: MISSING. PLEASE CALL US URGENTLY. Ali Khan was taken from his mother's womb on 07/08/1999. Information desperately wanted. IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING, CONTACT US.

Details of SCP-3553-B event: Unknown.

SCP-3553-A instance: Mike Kaczynski. DOB: 20/10/1993

Date of SCP-3553 appearance: Circa 2000. Discovered 20/01/2006.

SCP-3553 text: PLEASE HELP URGENTLY. Mike Kaczinsky was last seen leaving Wilson's Candy Store on 5th Avenue, NYC, on 17/05/2004. He is 4'4, with blonde hair and grey eyes, and is scared and alone. It is dark where he is. CONTACT US PLEASE.

Details of SCP-3553-B event: Mr. Kaczinsky was last seen by one James Wilson as he left Wilson's shop, "Wilson's Candy Store". Neither he nor any of his effects have been seen since.

SCP-3553-A instance: Jacob Montauk. DOB: 17/06/1994.

Date of SCP-3553 appearance: Circa 01/03/2003. Discovered 24/07/2016.

SCP-3553 text: BRING HIM BACK SAFE. Jacob Montauk is missed by his aunt. He disappeared on 25/05/2008. He is 14 years old, 5'6, with light brown hair and green-grey eyes. He is an overly-verbose writer and wants to come home dearly. It is so cold. PLEASE GET HIM OUT GET HIM OUT.

Details of SCP-3553-B event: On 25/05/2008, Jacob Montauk did not return when walking home from school. His clothes and effects were later found undisturbed on the same day, beneath an oak tree. Montauk was noted to have been looking around him nervously on security camera footage taken 50 metres away.

SCP-3553-A instance: Jane Farmer. DOB: 09/07/2010

Date of SCP-3553 appearance: Circa 07/08/2007.

SCP-3553 text: BABY JANE JUST WANTS TO COME HOME. Jane Farmer disappeared from Foundation custody at 3pm on 21/08/2012. Her mother and father miss her dearly. PLEASE HELP- she has brown hair and green eyes, and an unabiding fear of the dark. PLEASE MAKE THE DREAMS STOP.

Details of SCP-3553-B event: Jane Farmer and her immediate family were taken into Foundation custody shortly after her birth. On 21/08/2012, Miss Farmer was taken to Outdoor Testing Facility 9 at Site 44, with 10 agents and a camera feed observing her. At 15:04, the camera feed went dead, and all of the agents present were momentarily blinded from a sudden flash of intense light in the nearby window of Testing Facility D. This had been caused by experimentation on SCP-███. During this momentary absence of observation, the SCP-3553-B event took place.

A large number of recording and tracking devices had been surgically implanted into Miss. Farmer. These failed to disappear with Miss. Farmer.

SCP-3553-A instance: Robert Fenchurch. DOB: 26/02/2006.

Date of SCP-3553 appearance: Circa 18/08/2001. Discovered 09/04/2015.

SCP-3553 text: HAVE YOU SEEN OUR SON? Robert Fenchurch was last seen at 02:04 at Site 1010 on 08/07/2017. He has brown eyes. His mother, Dr. Fenchurch of Site 1010, sorely misses him. Robert is a sweet child who just wants to let his mother know he's alright, he's alive, he's scared but he's fine. PLEASE DRAG HIM BACK.

Details of SCP-3553-B event: Not yet occured; date is in future. Mr. Fenchurch has been taken into Foundation custody. Please see Addendum 1 below for more details.

SCP-3553-A instance: Anna Singer. DOB: 01/09/2003.

Date of SCP-3553 appearance: Circa 05/06/2013

SCP-3553 text: BRING HER BACK FROM THE DARK. Anna Singer is 5'3 with brown eyes and blue hair. She loves to ride horses and is so cold in the dark. She wants her parents back. Why does she not have her parents back. She disappeared during the great containment breach on 08/09/2018. And now she dreams in the dark. If you have any information as to her whereabouts, PLEASE HELP BRING ME BACK FOR GOD'S SAKE.

Details of SCP-3553-B event: Not yet occured; date is in future. Miss Singer has been taken into Foundation custody. There are no longer any containment procedures in place to prevent the impending SCP-3553-B event; research is ongoing.

+Addendum 1: Experiment-3553-3

-Addendum 1: Experiment-3553-3

Subject: SCP-3553-A-8.

Time & Date: 02:03 on 08/07/2017, the time of SCP-3553-A-8’s scheduled disappearance according to the corresponding SCP-3553 instance.

Setup: SCP-3553-A-8 was placed in the Secure Testing Facility of Site 1010. 12 floodlights were aimed directly at SCP-3553-A-8, each connected to a separate power source. 15 Foundation personnel were observing SCP-3553-A-8. Dr. Fenchurch and Dr. Jones were holding SCP-3553-A-8’s arms and hands. Several candles and mirrors were placed around SCP-3553-A-8. In order to ease the mental stress on SCP-3553-A-8, he was informed that this was a religious ritual which would drive away "demons". Several active Scranton Reality Anchors had been placed around SCP-3553-A-8. Dr. Fonseca was the presiding researcher, viewing the event through 10 camera feeds.

SCP-3553-A-8's mother, Dr. Fenchurch, had requested access to SCP-3553-A-8 during the experiment. The request was approved by Dr. Fonseca.

Based on the results of prior experiments, the experiment was considered to have a low chance of success.

<Begin Log>

Dr. Fonseca: OK, Robert, we have you in our sights. Physical contact will be maintained by your mother and Dr. Jones. Are you feeling alright?

SCP-3553-A-8: Y-yes, thank you, ma’am.

Dr. Fonseca: I’ve told you, call me Maria. OK, T-2 minutes. Hang in there, Robert.

One minute passes with no communication.

SCP-3553-A-8: Um, Mum?

Dr. Fenchurch: Yes, Robert?

SCP-3553-A-8: Do- do you think I will be OK? It's just… I keep feeling like something's coming.

Dr. Fenchurch: I-

Dr. Fenchurch pauses for a moment, and visibly tenses.

Dr. Fenchurch: Y-you're going to be absolutely fine, Robert. Nothing can hurt you here. Everyone here is a friend. You're perfectly s-safe.

SCP-3553-A-8: It’s just that since I, um, I heard someone saying-

Dr. Fonseca: Nothing is going to happen to you, Robert. There’s no way that it can. We've made sure of it. So hang in tight, ok?

SCP-3553-A-8: …I’m scared, Mum.

Dr. Jones: It’s alright, Robert. It’s OK. Look around you. There’s no way the demons can get you. There are lights shining all about us. Nothing can get near you.

Dr. Fenchurch: Don’t worry, bean. I’ve got you. It’s going to be OK.

SCP-3553-A-8: …Alright.

Dr. Jones: T-30 seconds, Dr. Fonseca.

Dr. Fonseca: Thanks. Come on, Robert, be a brave boy!

SCP-3553-A-8 has begun to silently cry.

SCP-3553-A-8: Maria?

Dr. Fonseca: Yes, Robert?

SCP-3553-A-8: I think I know what the cartons are.

Dr. Fenchurch: Wh- What? Robert? What do you mean?

SCP-3553-A-8: They're… the others, they're dreaming of home… they're just trying to warn us…

Dr. Fenchurch: Robert, stop it! How do you know about that?

Dr. Fonseca: Dreaming of home? What does that mean, SC- Robert?

SCP-3553-A-8 remains silent for 4 seconds.

Dr. Fonseca: Robert? Are you alright?

Dr. Fenchurch: B-bean, it's fine bean, it's all going to be fine…

SCP-3553-A-8: M-Mum, I love you. It’s not your fault, OK?

Dr. Fonseca: Robert, there is no need to- look, if you can tell us any more-

SCP-3553-A-8: It's not because you're you, Mum, it's not your fault… it's just what parents do. They're afraid. And this is what comes after.

Dr. Fenchurch: W-what?

SCP-3553-A-8: Just- just don't be afraid of the dar-

At this point, a power failure occurred, cutting of all video and audio links, as well as the floodlights. Upon restoration of power 10 seconds later, SCP-3553-A-8 had disappeared, and the personnel on-site were in a state of considerable distress. All of the candles had been extinguished; the Scranton Reality Anchors were found to have completely burnt out. In the confusion, nobody was able to observe the disappearance of SCP-3553-A-8.

Dr. Jones let go of SCP-3553-A-8 at the moment of the power cut, apparently momentarily startled. Dr. Fenchurch, however, did not; she later reported feeling SCP-3553-A-8 being “dragged downwards” over the course of 2-3 seconds.

<End Log>

Note: Following this incident, Drs. Fonseca and Fenchurch have requested to be transferred to different projects. These requests have been granted.

Footnotes

1. An initiative in the United States and some other countries wherein the faces and details of missing children were printed on the side of milk cartons.