Item #: SCP-6490

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: There is currently no known means of physically containing SCP-6490. Due to the highly public nature of the anomaly, Mobile Task Force Mu-23 ('Quoth the Raven') has been tasked with intercepting all sightings of SCP-6490, and administering Class-A amnestics to witnesses as needed. Agents are to monitor the subject's activities, with all findings submitted in writing to Project Director Lyle Blanchard. Under no circumstances should agents attempt to engage with SCP-6490.

Edgar Allan Poe in 1849.

Description: SCP-6490 is a tangible monochromatic humanoid, visually indistinguishable from American author Edgar Allan Poe as he appeared in 1849.

Every January 191, between 0100 and 0300 EST, SCP-6490 will manifest in one of several urban areas located in the eastern United States2. SCP-6490 typically appears in the vicinity of bars, taverns and alleyways, although has also been sighted near libraries and college campuses. In all documented occurrences, SCP-6490 appeared to be heavily intoxicated.

Witnesses have described SCP-6490's appearance as disheveled, with unkempt hair and dressed in stained, ill-fitting clothes, similar to those worn by Poe at his time of death. Reportedly, SCP-6490 possesses a strong odor usually likened to a combination of whiskey and urine.

SCP-6490 has not demonstrated the ability to alter its appearance at will, and is incapable of phasing through solid barriers. For these reasons, SCP-6490 is not considered to be a true spectral entity under any categorization system currently in use.

SCP-6490 shows strong antisocial tendencies, and is generally aggressive towards humans and animals. Since classification, the subject's pattern of behaviour has remained largely consistent, and has frequently been sighted engaging in the following activities:

Loud, slurred recitation of misquoted verses of poetry and prose (all pre-twentieth century, mostly originating from Poe's body of literature)

Defacement of public property and infrastructure

Scavenging streets and waste containers in search of discarded food and liquor bottles

Kicking/throwing of cats, dogs and other small animals

Taunting and denigration of passing civilians (this has occasionally resulted in physical altercations, although due to its inebriated state, SCP-6490 is easily subdued).

SCP-6490 manifestation events usually last for a period of between thirty to sixty minutes. In all cases, the subject was seen collapsing to the ground in an apparent state of unconsciousness, before abruptly vanishing.

Addendum: SCP-6490 was first discovered in 1949 outside Gunner's Hall in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The subject continued to appear annually across several states for over fifteen years, until January of 1967, where no new sightings were reported. Mobile Task Force Mu-23 ('Quoth the Raven'), which had been dispatched in anticipation of SCP-6490's next appearance, was tasked with investigating potential causes for this change in circumstance.

Poe's cenotaph in Westminster Hall, Baltimore.

On January 20, a short news article was published in the Baltimore Tribunal, detailing an anonymous figure sighted at Westminster Hall shortly after midnight the previous day. This individual was seen visiting the cenotaph marking Poe's original grave site, where they placed three roses, before pouring and raising a glass of cognac.

After a follow-up investigation, this visitor was identified as 23 year old Augustus Reynolds, a local university student and self-described Poe enthusiast. When questioned, Reynolds showed no knowledge of SCP-6490, stating that he left flowers and raised a toast to Poe's memory out of respect for his literary accomplishments.

Notably, Reynolds spoke at length about what he described as the author's posthumous character assassination by critic and associate Rufus W. Griswold, who characterized the late writer as a misanthropic alcoholic and drug addict. Reynolds was subsequently administered Class-A amnestics, and these findings were forwarded to Project Director Lyle Blanchard.

On January 19 the following year, Reynolds' ritual was replicated by Agent Jacob Fletcher, and as expected, SCP-6490 once again failed to appear. SCP-6490's containment procedures are currently being amended to reflect these developments. In the interest of security, performance of this ritual is expected to continue annually for the foreseeable future.

Footnotes

1. Date of Poe's birth.

2. These include the cities of Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York.

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