SCP-4173 - The House on Hadley Hill

BY ORDER OF THE OVERSEER COUNCIL

The following file describes a hostile anomalous entity,

and is Level 2/4173 classified.

Unauthorized access is forbidden.

4173

Item#: 4173

Containment Class: euclid

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: dark

Risk Class: caution

SCP-4173.

Special Containment Procedures: Access to the structure containing SCP-4173 is forbidden. Personnel may only interact with SCP-4173 with permission from the current Site-94 research head. Individuals affected by SCP-4173 are to be remanded to the Site-94 infirmary for analysis.

SCP-4173.

Description: SCP-4173 is a small access door in the cellar beneath an abandoned house near Mt. Zion, Georgia, USA. The abandoned house is colloquially known as the "House on Hadley Hill", named after the ridge on which the house is located, Hadley Ridge. Access to the house was limited significantly after heavy rains in 1993 washed away the road leading to the structure, forcing individuals to climb the steep incline of the ridge behind the house ("Hadley's Hill") if they wanted to access the home.

If SCP-4173 is left open for a period of time1, persons nearby will hear a voice coming from within the wall past the door. This voice will inquire who the individual is and why they took so long to come, and will then ask to see the subject's hand, as the voice has trouble seeing. If the subject puts their hand through the door they will invariably experience a sharp jerking motion and, upon removal of their arm, will find their hand severed at the wrist, as if by a sharp metal instrument.

Afterwards the voice will thank the subject, and assure them not to worry about their severed hand, and that it will be replaced. Sometime later as the subject is sleeping a decaying, elderly hand will appear somewhere on or in the subject's body. This hand will share no genetic similarities with the subject. The hand's proximity to the severed wrist appears to be directly related to how polite the subject was when interacting with the voice within SCP-4173. Subjects who experience this phenomenon often report feelings of uncertainty and paranoia when observing the hand.

While the hand is fully functional regardless of where it appears on the body, it will continue to decay2 until it passes through putrescence and becomes bone. The hand will continue to function, though affected subjects report having no feeling in the hand past this point, except for an occasional warm, wet, lingering sensation.

Subjects who refuse to put their hands into SCP-4173 after engaging with the voice will be violently pulled through SCP-4173 if they attempt to leave. How this happens is unknown, but is invariably fatal. Subject are pulled by the point on their body closest to the door, and forced through despite the obvious disparity in size between the door and their body. In most cases this results in an immediate shattering, splitting, and spilling of the body as it is pulled through.

After all interactions with SCP-4173, the door will close on its own afterwards.

Addendum 4173.1: Local Folklore Concerning SCP-4173

According to local legend, the house was previously occupied by an unnamed elderly woman. The legend states that when the road was washed out in the early 90s, the woman was no longer able to get into town for food and had no family to check on her. In her desperation and starvation, she consumed her own limbs to survive.

Having consumed her own hands, she was unable to free herself from the cellar after accidentally falling in while searching for insects or vermin to eat, and died there. Locals who have encountered the house have described hearing rubbing against the walls, and the woman's voice speaking to them from beneath the ground.

Appropriately, the urban legend surrounding the anomaly is referred to as "Old Hadley".

Addendum 4173.2 Testing Log

Note: The following test was conducted using D-94-322 with the permission of Dr. Tanner Barnes, Site-94.

D-94-322: It's dark as shit down here - what am I supposed to be seeing?

Dr. Andrews: Walk towards the east wall. The ceiling is low over there, so watch your head. You'll see it when you get there.

D-94-322: East?

Dr. Andrews: Turn left.

D-94-322: Oh, alright. (Pauses) Man, this place is spooky as shit, you know that?

Dr. Andrews: I promise, there's nothing in that room right now that can hurt you.

D-94-322: Right now?

Dr. Andrews: Just keep walking. Once you're done down there, we'll pull you out.

D-94-322: Alright. (Pause) Ah, fuck.

Dr. Andrews: Watch your head.

D-94-322: I know, I know, shit. Just on edge, is all.

(Silence)

D-94-322: Alright, here's the wall. What am I supposed to be seeing here?

Dr. Andrews: There's a little door, maybe five feet to your left. You see it?

D-94-322: Hang on… (pauses) Yeah, I see it. It's closed.

Dr. Andrews: Open it.

D-94-322: What's in there?

Dr. Andrews: Nothing, just open it.

D-94-322: That's bullshit, we both know it. (Sighs) Alright, hang on.

(Sound of the door being opened.)

D-94-322: Alright, it's open. Now what?

Dr. Andrews: Do you see anything in there?

D-94-322: Uh- (pauses) -no. It's just dark. Some cobwebs. Dirt. (Pauses) Why is this little door here? Is this some pet door or something? You'd have to be… I dunno, pretty small to get in here.

Dr. Andrews: Agreed. Just hang tight, and let me know when you hear anything. We won't keep you there long.

D-94-322: Alright.

34 minutes pass. Extraneous dialogue removed.

D-94-322: Whoa, shit!

Dr. Andrews: What happened?

D-94-322: Something just fucking moved past the door. Holy shit. I definitely saw that. Holy shit. What was that shit?

Dr. Andrews: The entity in the wall is why you're down there, we-

D-94-322: The fuck, you said there wasn't anything down here.

Dr. Andrews: Nothing down there that can hurt you, yes. If you follow my instructions, you'll be fine. Can you hear anything?

D-94-322: I don't- hang on. (Pauses) Hello? There's someone talking. Who's there?

Unidentified Voice: Oh thank goodness. I wasn't sure you'd be able to find me. What took you so long?

D-94-322: I don't, I-

Dr. Andrews: Tell it that the road is out, and you had to find another way up.

D-94-322: Uh, the road is out, I had to find another way up.

Unidentified Voice: Oh yes, the rain washed it out. I was worried I wouldn't ever get to see another person again, being stuck up here. (Pauses) Can you see me?

D-94-322: I- uh, no, Dr. Andrews, who is that in the-

Unidentified Voice: Come over here a little closer, I can't see you properly either.

Dr. Andrews: It's fine, you can get closer. Just don't touch the door.

Sound of shuffling.

D-94-322: Hello?

Unidentified Voice: Oh, there you are. (Pauses) I'm sorry, I can't see like I used to. It's so dark in here, and it's been so long. Reach out here and let me feel your hand, so I can tell you're really there.

D-94-322: What? No, what the fuck? Hell no. I'm not putting my hand in there.

Unidentified Voice: Come now, don't be rude. I just want to feel that you're there. It's been so long. Just a touch.

D-94-322: Get fucked bitch, I'm not getting my hands anywhere near this spooky-ass hole in the wall.

Dr. Andrews: Alright, look, you're going to have to. We haven't been able to recover anyone who refuses to do this - I can't guarantee your safety unless you put your hand in the wall.

D-94-322: What the fuck? Are you kidding me? Let me guess - I don't put my shit in there and I end up dead?

Dr. Andrews: We're not certain. You will need to put your hand in the wall, though, if you want to get out of there.

D-94-322: This is bullshit. (Pauses) God dammit, this is bullshit. (Pauses) Alright.

Shuffling sound.

D-94-322: Alright, I've got my hand in there. Now what?

Unidentified Voice: Oh, I can see you now. You're right there. Thank you for coming. It has been so long since someone came, and with a gift as well? Sweetling, you're so kind. So kind to me.

D-94-322: Gift? What?

Unidentified Voice: It's so dark and lonesome, and I've just been so hungry for such a long time. Thank you sweetling. I'll take it from you - your gift. You're such a rude little shit, you don't deserve it. You've had it for too long, and you don't deserve it. It's mine now. Mine for my belly. Thank you.

D-94-322: Wha-

Sound of D-94-322 being pulled against the wall followed by a thick, wet, ripping sound.

D-94-322: Oh god, oh god, oh fuck, oh- (passes out)

Unidentified Voice: Don't worry, you ungrateful whore child. Don't worry. I'll fill you up too. You can have mine. I'll give it to you. Sweet boy. Good boy. Fill you up.

Sound of door closing.

Shortly after the end of this exchange, an extraction team entered the cellar and removed D-94-322, who had passed out from shock. D-94-322 was moved to the Site-94 infirmary and stabilized.

After two days in observation at Site-94, D-94-322 was observed to have a large, pustulous growth emerging from the right side of his head. Upon realizing this, the subject panicked, and the growth on his head began to put excessive pressure on his brain. The subject was rushed into the site trauma care center, but died en route.

During the autopsy, it was discovered that the growth on the subject's head was in fact a decaying, elderly hand that had appeared between the subject's brain and skull, breaking the skull and putting considerable pressure on the brain. The hand continued to clutch and claw at the brain for several hours after death.

Footnotes

1. Typically between 20 minutes to one hour.

2. This process can be slowed somewhat by keeping the hand submerged in embalming fluid.