SCP-7187 - And The Forest Fell Silent

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F.A.Q.

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Sequoia National Forest, California

Item №: SCP-7187
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Occurrences of SCP-7187 within civilian-accessible woodland are to be attended to by Mobile Task Force Gamma-4 (“Green Stags”) and any additional witnesses, amnesticised. Should the phenomenon manifest itself in an area repeatedly, the Department of Paraecology is requested to carry out a survey of the region for any observable abnormalities.
Foundation personnel are advised to exit an area with immediate effect in the event of experiencing SCP-7187-like conditions or sighting unidentifiable entities within forests.
Description: SCP-7187 is a phenomenon that manifests as a near-complete cessation of all auditory stimuli within a forest or similar wooded area within North America. The reasons behind SCP-7187's onset, initial creation or circumstances for occurrence remain unknown, despite extensive records of the event.
While the phenomenon initially presents itself by creating unusually quiet environments, it has been noted that upwards of 70% of cases have resulted in the sightings of anomalous entities in the area's proximity. While such organisms are occasionally known to the Foundation, they are commonly unidentifiable and presumed to be uncontained anomalies at-large within deep woods. It is presently believed that in the remaining 30% of cases, the individual involved is simply unaware of the entities' appearance.
Current theories suggest that SCP-7187 is itself non-anomalous and is rather a state created by the presence of an anomalous organism or group of organisms.
Addendum 7187.1: Reported Cases
Since 1902, around 700 instances of SCP-7187 have been officially recounted to local authorities or the US Fish and Wildlife Service, usually in an attempt to achieve identification regarding their experience. While many of these accounts are incomplete or lack evidence, the following is a record of prominent recent manifestations known to the Foundation as of 10/10/2022.

7187 Instance #004:1 11/07/2009, Mt Hood National Park
Details: A lone hiker (James Son, 26) was walking through Mt Hood National Park at midday before allegedly feeling as though he was under observation. Son's concerns grew as the sound of distant rocks being thrown was audible and the ground cover became thicker. Ultimately, SCP-7187's effect would take place at around 14:38 when the subject took note of a lack of all sounds aside from those created by himself. He froze before gazing towards a small ridge in a forest clearing, atop which stood a bipedal entity that appeared to be attempting to camouflage as a tree, albeit unsuccessfully. Both stared at one another before the entity took a staggered step forward and the subject fled the scene.

7187 Instance #011: 14/10/2011, Sequoia National Forest
Details: Subject (Millie Harris, 38) was partaking in a group hike throughout the Sequoia Forest area before unknowingly stepping off-trail and becoming situated in an isolated position. In panic, she begun to call to the party and attempt to regroup, though following 8 minutes of calling realised that her vocalisations were the only sound present in the wood. It was shortly thereafter that the subject reportedly begun to notice a consistently shaped bush that progressively followed her for around an hour. Having begun to run at this realisation, the subject was able to identify that the object was in fact a humanoid wearing a “ghillie suit”. The subject regrouped with her party following the encounter.

7187 Instance #038: 27/04/2013, North Cascades National Park
Details: A civilian (Neil Fisher, 24) was patrolling the westernmost boundary of the North Cascades in light woodland while walking his domestic dog. An hour into the trek, the subject's dog begun to behave irrationally and suddenly paused before sprinting into the underbrush without barking; an act uncharacteristic of canids. Fisher chased after the animal into deep woodland for around 10 minutes before noting that SCP-7187's characteristics had taken place and the only prevailing sound was that of the canine running up ahead. Eventually the subject emerges into a glade where his dog is stood, still, pointed at a bush. As the animal begins to bark, a large instance of SCP-6644 stands up, its arms containing a bundle of fungi. It stares at the canid before slowly walking away. The subject grabs the animal, runs in the opposite direction and in wake of the encounter alerts authorities. A visit to the site found only a scattered trail of mushrooms leading back to Howling Woods National Park.

7187 Instance #052: 06/09/2015, Tongass National Forest

Tongass National Forest, Alaska

Details: Subject (Rupert Morris, 56) is watching television in his home in rural Alaska, bordering the National Forest. He briefly pauses his viewing in order to prepare himself a meal from the kitchen, during which time no anomalous activity is reported, though CCTV displays a sudden lack of movement of tree foliage suggesting an immediate drop in wind conditions; this remains as one of the only occurrences of SCP-7187 that also prompted a lack of sound via the weather. Upon return to the living room, Morris seems intrigued by something outside. A single white rabbit is seen to be moving outside within reach of the tree line. The subject opens the back door and exits the home in an attempt to coax the animal into feeding from his hand, though once it tastes the offering, it immediately appears disgusted. The animal is dragged backwards, revealing it to be attached to a thin tree limb that retracts into a hollow in a mechanism similar in nature to that of an anglerfish. The tree promptly uproots itself and walks away utilising it's large root system.

7187 Instance #075: 21/10/2019, Appalachian Trail
Details: A hiker (Mel Cottis, 41) is part-way through a 3 day trip through the rural Appalachian area. Around midday, she departs from her temporary shelter, noting the disappearance of several items of silverware from her kit, though continues regardless. The subject is travelling through a somewhat regularly used trail, though is alone for the majority of the afternoon, including the evening. At approximately 19:50, she gazes upwards and photographs early ‘stars' appearing in the night's sky. The objects in question shine a dull red and are, in fact, not believed to be stars. 30 minutes pass before Cottis recollects the notion that all ambient sounds had ceased aside from that of the fire's. Atop a ridge 20 metres from the subject's camp stands a malformed deer. The subject stares at the entity, thought to be an instance of SCP-6448, before it rears up on its hind legs and begins to ambulate towards Cottis, at which point she retreats to her tent. According to the subject, the instance remained outside of the shelter for the duration of the night before the sound of birds returned upon daybreak. Trail cam footage revealed the instance to have been sitting at the campfire consuming roasted marshmallows.

7187 Instance #082: 18/05/2021, █████ [OPERATION LOCATION REDACTED]
Details: Operative Myers of MTF Gamma-4 was patrolling █████ Woods in rural Washington State during the containment of an unrelated anomaly before breaking off from his team in order to cover more ground. Myers soon discovered a small cave that showed limited signs of habitation and hence showed relevance to the ongoing search operation; the operative soon alerted Task Force members and requested an aerial survey of the area. Nestled within a collection of rocks and foliage, a single sheet of A4 paper read “don't go back” and, ignoring the message, the operative turned towards the cave entrance as silence had suddenly occurred. In a small opening in the trees a few metres from the cave stood a humanoid entity resembling Operative Myers. Seconds after this, a helicopter light illuminated the area, causing the entity to demanifest. A subsequent search of the area revealed no evidence of the individual's presence.

As this log compiles only confirmed, detailed accounts of the phenomenon, this represents a limited fraction of total SCP-7187 manifestations; the full amount of which is unknown. Many were publicly explained under cover stories 190Ω “UFO Fever” or 898Γ “Missing 411”.
Addendum 7187.2: Containment Update
On 15/10/2022, Director Woods of Site-198 consulted with Researcher T. Davis (Head of SCP-7187 Research) regarding proposals surrounding a more direct approach to the anomaly's containment, specifically the use of hostile force in order to capture and study anomalous entities. The abridged conversation is found in the following:

+ Proposal Log

- Proposal Log

Location: Site-198, Department of Paraecology
Personnel Involved: Dir. Woods, Researcher Davis

[BEGIN LOG]
Researcher Davis: Where're you going with this?
Director Woods: I'm advising that we use more… direct methods of containment towards SCP-7187.
(4 seconds of silence)
Researcher Davis: How so?
Director Woods: Use of lethal force to attempt to capture anomalies we observe alongside SCP-7187.
Researcher Davis: (Stutters) I know I have a duty to study these entities in more detail if possible, but I don't think this is where we should have our priorities, Director. I understand your consideration of terminating the entities if possible, but I don't think that's the right course of action. It's worth noting that very little, none even, of the encounters result in hostility and, ignoring my stance as a researcher, maybe we should allow them to be left alone.
Director Woods: Really? Well if you think they're harmless then why do they cause their surroundings to go quiet? Isn't that an indicator that other organisms in the woods take them as a threat?
Researcher Davis: No. I think it's like, uuh, a similar effect to when it rains.
Director Woods: You think this is caused by the rain?
Researcher Davis: No! I'm saying that, like when it rains, the wildlife quietens down because they all hide and shelter from the downpour. An animal doesn't know what rain is, or that it poses no direct threat to their life, but still they remain quiet.
Director Woods: Right. Either way, there're hundreds of unidentifiable anomalies in our woodlands so I propose that we begin termination attempts until we can at least ID what they ar-
Researcher Davis: You're missing the real point of 7187, Director! Of the 700 reports, how many were we able to identify?
Director Woods: Uh. Something like 203, 204.
Researcher Davis: Exactly. It serves as a reminder of how much we don't know, but if this is really what you want to do, I suggest you get to work. The woods go deep, Director, deeper than you realise.
(Davis' phone receives a notification)
Researcher Davis: And that's 701. Mobilise Gamma-4.
[END LOG]

Following recent accounts of SCP-7187-like occurrences spawning outside of North America, active hunting of its related entities has been authorised. Further research is ongoing.

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Footnotes
1. Numerical classification beginning from the year 2000.