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SCP-3561: An Unfinished Work

Author: The Great Hippo

Image: Link, Link, Link, Link, and Link.

Music: Climbing Up the Walls (Radiohead)

Next: [SCP-4054]: The Seventh Door

More by The Great Hippo:

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SCPs

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[SCP-3079]
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[SCP-3561]
An Unfinished Work

Despite multiple reports from neighbors who claimed to have witnessed members of his family standing at the windows, no trace of Theodore Holdstock's wife and children could be found.

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The Seventh Door

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SCP-3561-1 (Upstairs Hallway, 1905; oil on canvas). Refresh page for changes.

Item #: SCP-3561

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3561-1 through -6 are to be kept on-site in a climate-controlled containment vault under the supervision of a Foundation art conservator. Care is to be taken to minimize exposure to dust and moisture.

Once per week, each instance is to be removed and examined for changes, then cleaned by a certified oil-canvas preservationist.

Description: SCP-3561 is the collective designation for six oil paintings (SCP-3561-1 through -6) produced by Theodore Holdstock between 1905 and 1907. Each painting depicts an interior view of Holdstock's home (located outside of Bautzen; Saxony, Germany).

Although the perspective of each painting remains constant across viewings, details will periodically change. This includes (but is not limited to) the position of furniture, opened or closed doors, lighting, and the presence of silhouettes. Via repeated viewings, researchers have determined that no more than a total of five silhouettes are visible at any given time.

Addendum 3561.1: Depictions

TITLE
DEPICTION
NOTABLE FIGURES

SCP-3561-1: Upstairs.Hallway
A hallway with a chair, two paintings, and three open doors (one to the viewer's right and two ahead). A window is visible through one of the doors.
A silhouette sometimes stands in the shaded portion of the next room, facing the corner.

SCP-3561-2: An Old Stove
A cast-iron wood-burning stove on the left and a doorway leading to a hallway straight ahead.
A silhouette stands either in the hallway or beside the stove.

SCP-3561-3: A Girl's Bedroom Window
An open window ahead, with a chair directly beneath it. A bed is to the right, and a dresser to the left.
A silhouette sits in the chair, turned to face the window, head bowed in prayer. When absent, the chair is gone and the window is closed.

SCP-3561-4: A Living Room
A doorway to the left, leading to a living room with a painting, cot, table, and urn; to the right is a cabinet, with a mirror above it.
A silhouette is sometimes seated on the cot, head bowed in prayer. Another silhouette's reflection can be seen in the mirror.

SCP-3561-5: A Dining Room
A darkened room with a table and a single lit candle atop of it.
Up to five silhouettes are seated at the table, heads bowed in prayer.

SCP-3561-6: The Foyer
A table to the left with two lit candles; a window straight ahead, with a doorway next to it. It is night.
A silhouette sits besides the table, head bowed in prayer. Otherwise, when all five silhouettes are present in SCP-3561-5, a hand can be seen pressed against the window's glass.

Addendum 3561.2: History and Recovery

SCP-3561-4 (A Living Room, 1906; oil on canvas). Refresh page for changes.

Theodore Holdstock moved to Bautzen with his family (three daughters, two sons, and wife) in 1902 for undisclosed reasons (likely related to his wife's deteriorating mental state). Initially well-regarded, Theodore and his family grew increasingly isolated from their neighbors as rumors regarding his wife's illness spread.

In 1904, Adelaide Weber (the wife of a general store owner who had moved into town the year prior) wrote an account in her journal regarding a 'strange family' who never emerged from their home, save the husband — and only to purchase supplies. Concern regarding the family's status reached a peak in 1905, when local police were asked to intervene. No documents regarding this initial confrontation survive; however, Theodore Holdstock continued to live in his home until his suicide in 1909.

Despite multiple reports from neighbors who claimed to have witnessed members of his family standing at the windows, no trace of Theodore Holdstock's wife and children could be found. All of Mr. Holdstock's possessions (including SCP-3561) were subsequently auctioned off, with the paintings eventually finding their way into the possession of Basil Ottinger (a Swiss banker and collector of anomalous art). SCP-3561 was recovered in 1985 alongside several other anomalous pieces during a Foundation raid conducted in Romandy, Switzerland.

SCP-3561-6 (The Foyer, 1907; oil on canvas). Refresh page for changes.

Renovations made to the Holdstock estate in 1987 revealed a previously unknown sub-basement. There, police uncovered five well-preserved bodies which fit the age and description of Holdstock's two sons, wife, and two of his three daughters.

Each body had been tightly wrapped in a black hood and shawl, obscuring its features; the hands were bound with wire in prayer. The remains had been chemically treated to prevent decay and suppress their odor. A crude brass framework with pose-able joints had been surgically inserted into each body, permitting them to be posed in various positions.

As of this date, Marie Holdstock (Theodore Holdstock's eldest daughter) remains unaccounted for.