SCP-1076
The Only Child
SCP-1076-H
Special Containment Procedures
Each specimen of SCP-1076 is to be held in a 1.5m x 2m x 2.5m unfurnished cell with a windowless door. Food should be provided three (3) times daily.1 Bedding and plumbing facilities are not required. Soundproofing is not strictly required but should be provided if possible, to reduce psychological stress on guards. One (1) armed guard is to be assigned to each cell, chosen from personnel with no children under the age of 21.
Access to specimens of SCP-1076 for experimentation requires level 3 clearance and written approval following a thorough psychiatric profile. In no circumstance will access be granted to researchers with children under the age of 21.
Due to their territorial behavior, specimens must be kept separate from each other at all times. To guarantee this, it is recommended that no two specimens be held in the same building.
Description
Instances of SCP-1076 appear to be children between the ages of 3 and 5 with an unwashed appearance and long matted hair, barefoot and dressed in ragged clothing. Cursory physical examination reveals signs of moderate to severe malnutrition and bruising and scarring consistent with physical abuse. Specimens of both sexes have been encountered, and normally appear to be of the majority ethnicity of their place of discovery.
Specimens seem to comprehend simple statements but have not displayed any signs of verbal ability. Vocalizations are limited to simple grunts, sighs, and (when disturbed) loud shrieking and sobbing. Specimens are reluctant to meet the gaze of any individual and tend to look downward in the absence of outside stimulus. They will respond to simple questions by nodding in the affirmative or negative.
Initial encounters with SCP-1076 occur when a parent2 discovers the "child" in a state of apparent distress. These incidents occur in isolation; there are no known cases with any third-party witnesses. Subjects report an "overwhelming feeling of pity" for the specimen and, in every recorded case, take it into their home.
Once established in a home, SCP-1076 begins to monopolize the attention of the parents to the exclusion of their own children. Children in the home begin to show signs of neglect and malnutrition and become depressed, sullen, and withdrawn. Behavioral problems such as truancy and running away become frequent, which may attract the attention of school authorities or social welfare agents. Upon investigating, these authorities become obsessed with the welfare of SCP-1076 and subsequently ignore the children.
An infestation typically ends with the deaths of the parents and other caretakers as they neglect their own well-being in order to attend to SCP-1076, eventually succumbing to starvation or disease. In the few cases where the Foundation was able to contain an infestation before this occurrence, subjects separated from the specimen became violent or nearly catatonic, and repeatedly demanded to be reunited with their "baby".
If two specimens of SCP-1076 meet, they will attack each other with great force, using teeth and fingernails, until one or both are dead. Any personnel witnessing such an attack should be treated for possible psychological trauma.
Request 1076-1: Dr. ███████ has requested access to an SCP-1076 specimen for vivisection. Request denied at this time, pending completion of less invasive physiological analysis.