SCP-3931
The End of Days
SCP-3931
Special Containment Procedures
Due to the immobile nature of SCP-3931, the park has been declared Provisional Site-3931. Observation Post 3931-A (35° 8' 1.6476'' N, 81° 22' 9.346'' W) has been established at the entrance to SCP-3931. Ostensibly a park ranger station, this post is manned by two armed personnel at all times in order to monitor SCP-3931.
SCP-3931 has been closed off from public access via a brick wall two meters tall at the main entrance, and locked metal gates at six (6) other potential access points. Cover Story KM-H3 is to be maintained by posted signs warning of ongoing cleanup from a major landslide.
Civilian attempts to access SCP-3931 are considered unlikely, but should be prevented if one should occur. Use of force is not advised, however, noncompliant persons may be detained at agent discretion under the Carpe Diem Protocol.1
Research into the effects of SCP-3931 and possible elimination or reversal thereof is ongoing, designated Project Akhenaten and currently led by Dr. Thorn. All 23 recorded SCP-3931-1 instances are to remain in Foundation custody at Site-███ indefinitely.
Description
SCP-3931 is a hiking trail located at King's Mountain State Park near Blacksburg, South Carolina. SCP-3931 is 1.93 kilometers in length, running through dense forest and connecting to family picnic areas. Before a Foundation presence was established, it was a popular nature trail, displaying significant diversity in flora and fauna. Notably, there were common reports of nocturnal animals sighted during the day (including badgers, owls and raccoons).
SCP-3931 outwardly displays no anomalous properties, and is safe to travel during the day. Its effects only manifest when a human being uses the trail after astronomical twilight.3 The person or persons, now designated SCP-3931-1, rapidly undergo significant alterations to perception and cognition, though in most cases these effects are not immediately noticeable.
SCP-3931-1 instances completely lose the ability to perceive "daytime," regarded as the period between sunrise and sunset. Subjects will still be aware of it as a concept, and remember it, but will be unable to experience it in any form. Sensory dissonance is especially concentrated in vision and mechanoreception. Medical exams show no problem with receptors themselves, yet the affected person(s) will insist that it is always dark and cold (unless artificial light and heat are introduced). This causes increasing distress in the subject(s) as the perceived "nighttime" continues without end. Prolonged observation indicates that the effect is permanent and may increase in severity over time.
4 for one minute, during which time all personnel within a thirty-meter radius reported experiencing headaches before later being positively identified as SCP-3931-1 instances. All ██ former personnel were been amnesticized and contained.
Fourteen days later, the event reoccured, resulting in the loss of █ additional personnel. The event has been designated LC-3931, and has been determined to follow the synodic calendar, repeating on every full and new moon. Project Akhenaten staff have implemented revised containment procedures as of 06/03/2018.
Addendum 3931-2" id="">Addendum 3931-1: At 23:58 on 05/██/2018, all SCP-3931-1 instances in containment experienced paralysis and mild epistaxis. All subjects were unresponsive for exactly 235.86 seconds. Symptoms were noted to be similar to sleep paralysis or "night terrors." The instances proceeded to vocalize unintelligibly4 for one minute, during which time all personnel within a thirty-meter radius reported experiencing headaches before later being positively identified as SCP-3931-1 instances. All ██ former personnel were been amnesticized and contained.
Fourteen days later, the event reoccured, resulting in the loss of █ additional personnel. The event has been designated LC-3931, and has been determined to follow the synodic calendar, repeating on every full and new moon. Project Akhenaten staff have implemented revised containment procedures as of 06/03/2018.
Addendum 3931-2 SCP-3931 has existed since the establishment of the park in 1934. Investigation has determined that its anomalous effects were not initially present. Confirmed photographs of various people using the trail at night from 1945 to 2002 have been catalogued in Document C/3931. Those present in the photographs have been identified and declared non-anomalous by Project Akhenaten staff.
The first documented SCP-3931-1 instance was Mr. Gerald █████, a leader in Boy Scout Troop ██. While the troop was camping at the park, Mr. █████ woke up and went for a "midnight stroll" on the nearby SCP-3931. Three days later (03/24/2006) he was involuntarily committed to █████ ████ Psychiatric Hospital for alleged delusions and hallucinations. Foundation Agent Diana Lowery reported him six days later, after his hospital record was flagged as potentially anomalous. The connection to SCP-3931 was not made until a second instance, Ms. Carol ███████, was detained in the park by security staff. Both were brought to Site-███, and containment procedures were approved on 04/09/2006.
Of note is that, six days before Mr. █████ was affected by SCP-3931, the Earth experienced a descending-node total penumbral lunar eclipse (a rare lunar event not estimated to occur again until August 2053). During this event, several reports of a "blue flash in the sky" were recorded from civilians within six kilometers of SCP-3931. Causality has not been established, but the possibility of a connection is being considered.