SCP-3193
Closed Circle
Special Containment Procedures
SCP-3193 is to be closed off to the public under grounds of being a protected historical site. Groups of D-class personnel are permitted access under controlled testing conditions only. Any surviving instances of SCP-3193-A are to be given B-class amnestics. In the event that a clean-up team is required, no more than two personnel are permitted to enter SCP-3193 at any time. Given SCP-3193’s apparent capacity for self-maintenance, however, clean-up is needed only in highly unusual circumstances1.
Description
SCP-3193 is a 14th century castle, built on an island in the centre of Lake █████, Scotland. Its layout and construction appear to be standard for the location and time period. The anomalous properties of the grounds were only discovered recently, in 19██, upon an attempt to reopen the property as a tourist attraction.
The castle begins to manifest anomalous properties when any group of three or more enter the castle grounds. Whenever a group fitting this criterion arrives on the island, several anomalous effects begin to occur. These effects have included:
- The rapid onset of extremely severe, stormy weather, generally involving frequent lightning strikes.
- The water in Lake █████ becoming extremely choppy and turbulent, preventing safe use of boats, despite the weather being otherwise calm.
- Doors and gates within the castle closing and locking, apparently of their own accord, thus entrapping subjects within the building.
- Subjects attempting to navigate the castle frequently become confused and disoriented, having difficulty finding exits to the building, despite maps of the castle showing a simple and standard layout.
When one of these anomalous effects begins to occur, it will remain in effect until all but one of the subjects on the island have been killed. Most commonly, this takes the form of one of the subjects, designated SCP-3193-A, killlng the others with weapons found within the castle grounds. These have included ceremonial swords, kitchen knives, and a large variety of blunt objects. Despite the ancient nature of this weaponry, it shows no signs of rust or decay. At least one instance has been recorded of an accidental death due to falling masonry, but it is unclear if this was part of the anomalous effect or simply due to SCP-3193‘s age.
Of particular note, each instance of SCP-3193-A goes to great lengths to hide their identity from the other subjects in their group. The other subjects, simultaneously, will become increasingly obsessed with discovering the identity of SCP-3193-A, although this may be out of a survival instinct rather than any anomalous effect. In any instance of events where identity of SCP-3193 is discovered, an altercation has always been shown to follow, inevitably resulting in the death of SCP-3193-A. If two or more people remain in the group afterwards, one of them becomes a new instance of SCP-3193-A. Which member of any group becomes an instance of SCP-3193-A appears to be entirely random, with criminal history, tendencies towards violence, and personality having little to no effect. SCP-3193-A instances often seem to be acting entirely at odds with their known character.
As previously noted, anomalous effects cease when one survivor remains, allowing them to be retrieved from the island. After the subject has been retrieved, all evidence of altercations appears to vanish entirely. This includes the corpses of deceased subjects, spilt blood, and marks made by weaponry on the walls or floor. In essence, the castle appears to return to a “default” state.