To kill for entertainment is harmless.

SCP-8869 investigation, c. 1967

Item #: SCP-8869

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: Dedicated Artificial Intelligence Conscript FLOORBOARDS.aic has been assigned to analyze and cross-reference provided SCP-8869 instances with cases outside the Foundation's jurisdiction. Ongoing cases, "cold" cases, and conventionally solved cases both in the criminal and civil circuits are included in its databank.

Conclusive leads are to be immediately reported to the SCP-8869 Research Team, currently located at Site-433.

Description: SCP-8869 designates a collection of sixteen (16) American police reports brought to the attention of the Foundation during a 2024 information exchange with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Unusual Incidents Unit. The details of this exchange remain restricted to personnel with 4/BLUE ROSE Clearance.

The files describe a series of unrelated unsolved murders occurring in a variety of locations between December of 1967 and October of 2022. None of the individuals mentioned within these documents appear to exist — despite this, corroborative evidence suggests the homicides described did in fact occur in the area they were reported.

Addendum — Selected SCP-8869 Instances

The following is a summary of five (5) SCP-8869 casefiles. For access to the full SCP-8869 database, contact your on-site RAISA Liaison.

Casefile Designation: 8869-450293

Date: 10/5/2022

Location: Los Angeles, California

Summary: At 2300, local hairdresser Catherine “Kitty” Woodhouse leaves her local movie theater, having viewed the popular 1960 horror film Psycho. It was reportedly her favorite movie and she had seen it thirty-seven (37) times since its opening.

At 2304, Woodhouse receives a call from her mother, Betty Woodhouse. They speak on Betty’s recent divorce.

At 2311, Woodhouse’s mother’s phone dies and the call abruptly stops.

At 2315, Woodhouse enters a 711 convenience store and purchases one (1) pack of sour gummy bears (Haribo brand). She pays in cash and while doing so was reported to make casual flirtations with the clerk, Francine Bates.

She leaves at 2320, eating her candy.

At 2325, Woodhouse stops and throws out her bag of gummy bears, now empty.

At 2339, while walking near Kennedy Alley, Woodhouse is set upon by an unknown masked assailant and stabbed three (3) times in the back with a sharpened butcher’s knife. Arthur Franklin, an electrician living in the area, claimed he could hear Woodhouse screaming but did not intervene as he believed that it was merely a domestic dispute. Franklin’s testimony is considered suspect due to the fact that Woodhouse’s lungs were punctured, meaning that she would be unable to scream loudly enough to be heard.

Woodhouse collapsed to the ground and was kicked in the sides at least four times by the assailant. While this was happening, Woodhouse removed her personal cell phone from her pocket and used it to take three (3) photos of the assailant. However, poor lighting quality combined with damage to the phone after-the-fact have resulted in the near-uselessness of this evidence. It is believed that at this point Woodhouse lapsed into unconsciousness and the assailant killed her by stabbing her through the chest at least five (5) times, puncturing several internal organs. Following this, a number of injuries were inflicted upon her post-mortem:

The peeling of the skin from her face. It was discovered three (3) feet from her body, with approximately half of it bitten off;

The gouging out of Woodhouse’s eyes;

The severing of her right index finger and right pinky. They were found thrown into a trash receptacle seven (7) blocks west of the crime scene;

The forcing of a DVD copy of an unknown film down her throat. It broke on its way down, causing severe lacerations to her throat;

Further opening of Woodhouse’s chest via the knife. Her left kidney was removed. It has not been recovered;

The carving of the phrase “This is where she died” into Woodhouse’s lower torso;

Several times throughout the night, Woodhouse’s mother attempts to call her. There is no answer.

The body was found at 0732 the next day by locals during their morning commute, covered in dried blood and autumn leaves. Woodhouse's corpse was identified by Caelum Knight, her landlord. The assailant was nowhere to be found.

Notable Cross-References: Female-Victim, Fifth-Church, Night, Flensing, Knife, Singular-Assailant, Unknown-Killer, Surgery, Hairdresser, Ghost, Cinema, Los-Angeles, Cannibalism

Casefile Designation: 8869-300812

Date: 12/7/2020

Location: Santa Monica, California

Summary: At 0200, a fishing trawler grounds itself on the Santa Monica State Beach. It is in a state of dilapidation, and carries approximately ninety (90) kilograms of Entosphenus tridentatus (pacific lamprey), sorted into thirteen (13) wooden boxes strewn across it upper decks.

At 0245, emergency services arrive to assess the situation. Two (2) paramedics and four (4) police officers boarded the ship — upon entering the captain's quarters below decks at 0255, the corpse of American animator and voice actor Justin Roiland was discovered.

Roiland's body had been turned fully inside out, with the tendons, eyeballs, and skeletal system having been cleanly removed. All blood had been drained from the body.

In his left hand was his cellphone, with a video file opened in his Photos app.

The video, apparently filmed by the victim himself, took place in a desert at night. Six (6) pickup trucks were assembled in a circle around a bonfire. Though other individuals are present in the video, they are indistinct. Roiland, inebriated, communicates with a woman off-screen about the 2016 election. He suddenly stumbles, then plummets, having been standing on the lift of a pickup truck the whole time. When he stands, he is alone — the six (6) other pickup trucks, the bonfire, and the other individuals have seemingly disappeared. A howling is heard in the distance, which he approaches. He comes across a large pack of Canis lupus (Californian gray wolves); the pack surrounds him and proceeds to engage in typical prey-battering behavior. Once Roiland is knocked down (at which point he drops his phone in the sand dunes), audio suggests he is attacked and eaten by the pack.

The video's metadata states it was taken in Nevada at 0600.

Notable Cross-References: Male-Victim, Celebrity, Night, Religious, Ritualistic, Animal-Involved, Unknown-Killer, Beach, Ghost, Television, Santa-Monica, Sexual, Object-Unknown-Origin, Fishing-Accident

Casefile Designation: 8869-238321

Date: 21/10/2020

Location: Oakland, California

Summary: At 1230, Southwest Airlines pilot Erika Naylor lands Flight 594 successfully. The one hundred eighty-seven (187) passengers slowly began exiting the plane. At 1252, the plane is empty save for airline staff.

Naylor exits the plane at 1255, complaining of a stomach ache. She reportedly had been acting strangely during the previous flight, being atypically withdrawn. This was the last time she was seen alive.

Her absence became noticed at 1306 by the flight crew, as she had another flight scheduled. At 1312, 1333, and 1341, Naylor was called by multiple members of the flight crew. There was no answer. At 1346, a search commenced.

At 1445, Naylor was found dead within the ladies room at Terminal 27F with the stall door locked. Seven (7) deep scratches were found gouged into the floor. Origin unclear. Her lipstick was smeared across the wall and found to have been mixed with the blood of at least two (2) unknown individuals.

Cause of death was later determined to be asphyxiation resulting from strangulation. Materials recovered from Naylor's handbag led to speculation that she was interrupted in the middle of a suicide attempt. As Naylor was described by her peers as an extremely cheerful individual who had just gotten engaged to her fiancé, fellow pilot David Goldman, reasons for this remain unclear. Her face displayed an expression of extreme terror. There were no other wounds.

Witnesses who were within Terminal 27F's ladies room at roughly the time of Naylor's murder vehemently denied seeing her enter the bathroom or hearing any signs of a struggle. Due to several documents pertaining to this case being lost in a filing mishap, their names have not been recorded.

Several travellers within Oakland International Airport later reported witnessing an "inverted plane" crashing into the sky. Meaning unclear.

Notable Cross-References: Female-Victim, Aviation, Asphyxiation, Unknown-Killer, Satanism, Lysergic-Acid-Diethylamide, Strangulation, Airport, Vehicle, Day, Paranoia, Ghost, Oakland

Casefile Designation: 8869-332042

Date: 1/12/1986

Location: Healdsburg, California

Summary: At 0825, the neighbors of private investigators Stella and Stanley Beaumont notice a strange and unusual smell coming from the Beaumonts' apartment. It is described as similar to "grave dirt" and rotting meat. One neighbor, Jacob Fitzpatrick, phones the building superintendent, Mariya Columbo, to complain. They have a brief phone conversation in which Columbo complains about the early hour but agrees to visit the Beaumonts and pass on the complaint.

At 0845, Columbo makes her way to the Beaumont apartment and knocks repeatedly on their door. The door is locked and there is no answer.

At 0852, the muffled voices of the Beaumonts were heard behind their apartment door, although they did not respond to the superintendent's voice. This was later discovered to be the playing of an analog tape recorder. The recording was damaged later that day and its contents are unknown. It is unclear how the recorder was turned on, as there was no one in the apartment.

At 0904, Columbo calls the police, who arrive at 0916.

At 0923, the Beaumonts are discovered in the center of their living room with their throats slit, wearing formal clothing. Later investigation revealed that they were wearing the garb that they had worn at their 1992 wedding.

Autopsy revealed that they had been dead for approximately five (5) days. It also showed that their lips and hands had been crudely stitched together with black thread. Cause of death determined to be blood loss.

Their next door neighbor, Robert Cartwright II, was briefly suspected due to an obsessive infatuation he was known to have for Stanley, but was released due to a certain piece of evidence becoming unusable for an unknown reason.

Notable Cross-References: Necromancy, Multiple-Victims, Unknown-Killer, Artistic, Ghost, Wedding, Day, Situation-Comedy, Knife, Obsession, Healdsburg, Male-Victim, Female-Victim, Sexual, Are-We-Cool-Yet

Casefile Designation: 8869-544278

Date: 5/3/1994

Location: San Luis Obispo County, California

Summary: At 1325, Diablo Canyon Power Plant security officer Sandra Starling is contacted by the plant's surveillance personnel and alerted that an unidentified individual was spotted near the nuclear waste disposal systems. At 1327, she begins her journey to the area for investigation, remarking to the surveillance personnel that she suspects it to be mundane trespassing, assuming the individual to be one of the plant's frequent protestors.

At 1331, as Starling is travelling to the waste disposal systems, she is contacted once more by the surveillance personnel that the trespasser was seen launched into the systems by a second unidentified individual, who quickly exits from the camera's view. Starling quickens her pace and orders the personnel to call local law enforcement, firefighters, and paramedics for assistance. She readies her weapon.

At 1336, Starling reaches the waste disposal, unable to spot the trespasser among the waste or the assailant. She contacts the security personnel, who reassure her that help is on the way. She continues to investigate the area, weapon drawn.

At 1342, first responders arrive to the scene.

At 1409, the trespasser's body is successfully recovered from the waste and is given to paramedics to be transported to the local hospital.

Due to the nature of the incident, the corpse was quarantined for several weeks due to its radioactivity.

The victim was unable to be identified during the subsequent autopsy, leaving her to be classified as a Jane Doe. Study of the body revealed the corpse to contain numerous stab wounds and miscellaneous lacerations which were not present on the security footage prior to the victim falling into the waste, which she would not have been able to otherwise receive. Notably, the corpse displayed no signs of radiation poisoning.

Notable Cross References: Female-Victim, Nuclear, Unknown-Killer, Day, Ghost, San-Luis-Obispo-County, Wound-Unknown-Origin, Object-Unknown-Origin

Addendum – Incident-2/5/2024-SCP-8869

On 2/5/2024, several calls were made to the police precinct of northern ████████, California in which a low, androgynous voice stated "there is a killer on the loose" before hanging up.

The call was traced to the abandoned Polanski Arthouse Cinema and a team of five (5) Field Agents was dispatched.

Due to requisitional issues, the team was only provided one (1) analog tape recorder to record the exploration. Unfortunately, it was lost in the process of exploration and only the following notable details have been able to have been gleaned from witness testimony:

All of the cinema's staff were plastic mannequins, dressed in appropriate attire;

Three (3) unidenified female cadavers were discovered in the men's bathroom in a stage of minor decay. The floors were caked in viscera. Wounds on the bodies suggested a link to Casefile-8869-450293;

The walls of the manager's office were covered in newspaper clippings and handwritten notes, related to an unsolved murder or murders that had occurred in the area;

Sound was heard in the building's one (1) theater and the team moved to investigate. The theater appeared to be playing the lost 1967 film Voyeurism;

The team viewed the film for approximately three (3) to five (5) minutes before being anomalously transported back to their vehicle, where they elected to drive back to Site-433;

As of 07/12/2027, the SCP-8869 Investigative Team has been disbanded by the Budgetary Committee due to the lack of new discoveries. Research is not to be continued.

Still from Voyeurism (1967)

Author's Note

Hide Author's Note

Hi everyone.

My boyfriend broke up with me two weeks ago so I've been watching a lot of movies to deal with the pain. I really like Ruggero Deodato!

I watch my movies on this comfy old spinny chair my mom ordered off Ebay and usually either pirate them on my computer or use my family's Netflix account. I own a really old VHS player but rarely use it unless I want to feel analog. While watching them, I turn the lights off and make myself popcorn. I make my popcorn with coconut oil since butter is too fatty and I'm trying to lose weight. Being fat is why my boyfriend broke up with me!

Movies are great for ignoring real life. While watching them you don't care about the outside world as much. It's pretty lucky for me that I managed to find out this trick since it's really easy to buy a gun in my region and I was considering going to his house, shooting his new girlfriend in the head, and then waiting for him to get back from his job at Macy's so I could murder him too. Afterwards I'm not sure whether or not I'd kill myself or if I'd turn myself over to the authorities.

But luckily I don't need to do that since I have movies!

Thanks for reading. ✌️

- Cathy Autumn