The SCP Foundation Explained

What exactly is the SCP foundation? Let's investigate what this strange organization is all about.

November 1, 2023・

19 min read

Picture this: In August 2005, in the dead of night, a mother and her two-year-old infant twins were snatched from their home. The kidnappers transported them to an undisclosed location where grueling and extensive tests were carried out on all three hapless victims.

Their captors were comprised of ruthless professionals, directed to separate the mother from her babies despite her desperate pleas. From there, the helpless children were handled by a staff made up of death row prison inmates, men and women who had committed truly unspeakable crimes.

Instead of a nursery, they were confined inside a cell with all openings sealed by airlocks, filters or simply welded shut. Worst of all, the children were locked inside without any food or water. And barbarically, haven't been provided with any kind of nourishment since.

Since then, their names and records have been scrubbed from the face of the earth. They're now only known as SCP 400 A and SCP 400 B. And despite their mother's frantic appeals, the children will never return to her, nor will any of them ever be released. All because of their eternal captors, the SCP Foundation.

As unbelievably cruel as this entire operation sounds, you'll be amazed to learn that the SCP Foundation are actually the good guys. That's because SCP 400 A and B aren't in fact babies but colonies of brainwashing insects.

For over two years, the mother had been under the influence of the bugs' mind-altering pheromones, which have the unnatural ability to twist human perceptions. So instead of two parasitic colonies, she only saw her beloved newborns, completely unaware of the truth, she believed she'd been protecting and feeding her twins for just three months, when in fact, she had been nursing the insidious insects for almost two years.

It was only through the SCP Foundation's intervention that the supernatural infestation was contained, protecting new mothers everywhere from suffering from the same breakdown-inducing horror. But SCP 400 is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the terrifying and mind-bending phenomena that are kept under the protective shield of the SCP Foundation.

They're an incredibly illusive organization, whose work ventures into the paranormal, supernatural, and downright horrifying in order to defend the greater good of humanity by any means necessary. And they really do use any means! Let's dive into the classified archives of this secret organization and find out exactly what they never wanted you to know.

What Are SCPs? What Does SCP Mean?

The entire operation can be boiled down to the SCP acronym, which stands for secure, contain, protect. In their own words, the foundation operates to contain anomalous objects, entities, and phenomena that pose significant harm to humanity.

In that regard, they deal with things in our world that don't make sense. Things that don't belong. Things that don't fit in with the way we view reality. In extreme cases, they even deal with existential anomalies that pose a significant threat to all human life on Earth. Once an anomaly is identified and contained, it's referred to as an SCP and is given a corresponding number.

Today there are around 5,000 SCPs logged in the Foundation's archives, with the number growing larger every year. Even though that sounds like a lot to deal with, the foundation must work under the guise of total secrecy. Maintaining a sense of normalcy for the billions of average Joes around the world is the ultimate goal.

So all operations must be kept tightly under wraps. Ultimately that is because all SCPs are different. While you've already witnessed the reports of one that's horrendously bad, others can sound too good to be true. Take, for example, SCP-458.

SCP-458: The Never-Ending Pizza Box

At first glance, it's easy to assume this SCP is quite simply a Little Caesars pizza box but when it comes into contact with humans, it instantly produces the holder's preferred choice of pizza down to the favorite sauce, cheese, crust, and topping.

The prospect of infinite pizza sounds like a dream come true to many but just to think of the lengths that big companies that the millionaires would go to in order to possess and study such a wondrous item for their own nefarious means.

Imagine if they discovered a way to hot wire it to instantaneously produce medicine or money or people. Entire armies and empires could be born in minutes but the chaos and fallout it would lead to would be apocalyptic.

Because society wouldn't be able to handle the existence of something like SCP-458, which science simply can't explain, it's been hidden away from the hungry mouths of the world. But before everyone writes about how terrifyingly unjust that is, it's important to note that the Foundation works with the approval of every major national government in the world.

That means they're not constrained by the red tape of international law, so there isn't a single human authority above them. As frightening as that sounds, it does make sense. After all, what would be the point of the Foundation following the highest human laws, if there were no humans left to protect?

SCP-231-7 And The 110 Montauk Procedure

The perfect case proving that point would be the inhumane treatment of SCP-231-7, a young and heavily pregnant woman. To quote Article Five of the laws of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "No one shall be subject to torture."

However, that SCP has endured a state of constant unending torture for most of her waking life. The abuse itself is too horrific to be described and a procedure, known only as 110 Montauk has been put in place to ensure she never becomes accustomed to the pain.

Should her torturers ever try to help her escape, drug her, or put her out of her misery, they'll be executed on the spot. As horrendous as it sounds, that is the price that must be paid in order to keep humanity safe because if she ever drops out of the mind-addling-pain, she'll give birth to an anomaly that'll bring about the end of the world as we know it.

With the entirety of the human race at stake, the Foundation's ability to work unhindered by rules and regulations is vital to its world-saving mission. So with the weight of the whole world on its shoulders how does this secretive organization work to protect all of humanity? To understand that, you need to take a look back at the namesake slogan of secure, contain, protect.

Secure. Contain. Protect.

Secure refers to the Foundation's extensive global observation and surveillance tactics. By spreading a watchful eye over the entire world, they can act on the appearance of anomalies before they have the chance to interact with the wider human populace.

Contain consists of stoppering the influence or effect of the anomaly either by concealing, relocating, or dismantling them. It also involves suppressing any public knowledge of the anomaly by any means necessary. That can involve harmless methods like using advanced chemicals and technological devices to delete and rewrite the memories of affected citizens.

But if the effect is too far spread, it can leave the Foundation with no choice but to eradicate entire villages, towns, and even entire cities of innocent people. As we've established, sacrificing people for the greater good is completely permissible if the only alternative is a devastating apocalypse.

Protect means that the Foundation will stop at nothing to protect humanity from the effects of SCPs by capturing, researching, or even destroying them. One of those that poses an incredibly high risk is SCP-682, also known as the hard-to-destroy reptile.

SCP-682: Hard-To-Destroy Reptile

This SCP is an extremely large reptile-like creature that has astounding quick regenerative abilities but despite being able to regrow its body parts at the drop of a hat or limb, it unnervingly moves around with a body that's up to 87% rotten.

While that should be a reason to end it on principle, it's also exceptionally intelligent and shows a dangerously abstract hatred for all life on Earth. Seeing the serious threat that the SCP poses the Foundation has tried repeatedly to neutralize the reptile without the slightest hint of success.

Research is ongoing into a solution for that hard-to-destroy problem along with many other SCPs. It highlights the importance of the Foundation's "protect" element as they constantly strive to better their understanding and to reduce the threat of apocalyptically powerful anomalies.

But beyond establishing whether an SCP is chaotically good or evil, the Foundation is also tasked with putting all contained SCPs into some sort of order. They're held in specialized containment sites all over the world, with some requiring areas, as big as entire States to keep them far away from civilian life.

Object Classes: Safe

The way they categorize those active anomalies is through a series of primary object classes which are based on how difficult they are to contain. At the very bottom of that order is the safe class. That pertains to SCPs that require little to no resources to safely contain and pose a low risk of escape.

Members of that class include the previously mentioned SCP-458 because unless it sprouts the legs and runs off, it's not going anywhere. That class also includes the brilliantly bizarre SCP-999, a gelatinous orange blob, that has a loving dog-like temperament, and just looking at it is enough to bring a smile to your face. It also evokes feelings of immediate happiness and euphoria in anything that touches it.

It's so positively potent that it was once used in an experiment with a previously mentioned SCP-682 while the effect briefly lifted the murderous rage of the hard-to-destroy reptile, it quickly recovered and proceeded to turn the lab in question into a veritable slaughtering ground. Tests between the two SCPs have now understandably been put on hold.

Object Classes: Euclid

The second class from the bottom is Euclid. That class of SCPs requires more resources to contain because their behavior isn't entirely understood, such as SCP-895. It's an empty or Nate Oak coffin but it has inexplicably disturbing effects on all surveillance equipment within 170 feet of it.

According to reports, SCP-895 never physically moves from its containment area, but surveillance feeds show the coffin repeatedly disappearing and reappearing during brief blackouts.

Like that wasn't haunting enough, sometimes the walls of the cell appear to be dripping with blood or have the words get out, scrawled all over them. Other sections of the surveillance footage are so disturbing that watching it has caused several Foundation operatives to lose their minds.

While the effects of SCP-895 place it firmly in the Euclid class, others are more physically difficult to contain and comprehend like the incredibly bizarre SCP-3008. This SCP is an anomalous pocket dimension but a tiny universe sewn onto our own.

But unlike our universe, SCP-3008 contains an unknown number of faceless humanoid entities that are extremely aggressive toward humans. However, the strangest feature of that anomaly was that it was found in a large retail unit previously owned by Swedish furniture retailer, IKEA.

The dimension blends in seamlessly and contains an infinite version of the showroom, which unfortunate shoppers only discover when they try to relocate the entrance. As if being trapped and lost in an infinite IKEA wasn't hellish enough, the aggressive, faceless entities are all perplexingly dressed in the yellow and blue uniforms of Ikea staff.

But when it comes to creepy it's higher, there's only one Euclid class SCP with a truly infectious sense of style. SCP-049 is a humanoid entity that unnervingly wears the black robes and mask of a 17th-century plague doctor. But it doesn't just wear them, the thick hide-like material and bone-like protrusion on its face have grown out of its own body.

Though it appears intelligent and speaks a variety of languages, it becomes incredibly hostile when in contact with anything that carries what it calls "the pestilence". If left unchecked SCP-049 will attempt to kill the carrier through a singularly shocking method.

With nothing more than skin-to-skin contact, it will cause all functions of a live organism to simply stop, how it does that remains a horrifying mystery. However, once contained, the plague doctor becomes compliant and has so far not attempted to escape its confinement.

Object Classes: Keter

Keter is defined by the Foundation as anomalies that are exceedingly difficult to contain consistently. That might be because of a lack of understanding about how it works or because they don't have technology advanced enough to reliably contain it. One horrifying example that falls into that category is SCP-106, who has been given the unsettlingly simple nickname of The Old Man.

The vaguely humanoid anomaly is contained within a specialized cell comprised of 40 layers of lead-lined steel. Each is separated by a series of randomly located struts. It may sound like overkill for the containment of an elderly gentleman, but on closer inspection, it becomes horrendously obvious why such drastic measures are in place.

SCP-106's entire body displays an advanced state of decomposition and whenever it touches a nearby object an equally hideous corrosive effect starts to manifest rot or crack physical material within mere seconds of exposure, leaving a trail of the same black mucus-like substance that coats its entire body.

Although it has an inexplicable aversion to lead, it will still malevolently attempt to slowly corrode its way through its specially designed cell. However, it's easily confused by random structure assemblies like the struts, which delay its exit and give the site operatives a chance to react before it can escape.

Another Keter class humanoid the Foundation is currently harboring is SCP-2662, a 13-foot 440-pound entity that has 20 terrifyingly, large tentacles emerging from its back. While its description paints a horrifying picture, the creature is unexpectedly dull. If anything it expresses a desire to live a normal human life.

However, it has an unfortunate influence that distorts the cognitive functions of any human exposed to it for a long period of time. They become acutely aware of SCP-2662 wants and needs and will go to any lengths in order to fulfill them, such as offering sacrifices and performing satanic-style rituals.

According to one report, an agent assigned to its cell once killed and consumed her fellow operative in front of SCP-2662 while the creature itself looked on a ghast. A secondary inexplicable effect it has, is the spontaneous generation of its own religious followings in the outside world.

Approximately once a month, a group of those possessed fanatics will attempt to break into its containment unit and perform various bizarre rituals. Though SCP-2662 appears appalled by those occult-like occurrences, it doesn't seem to have any control over the effects it has and it's that element that makes it almost impossible to completely contain.

Object Classes: Thaumiel

Above Keter is the highest and most classified containment class known as Thaumiel. Those SCPs are so powerful that they can be used to contain other SCPs. They include SCP-3210, which at first glance looks exactly like a regular Samsung smartphone.

However, the device will only connect a call to a mysterious entity known as SCP-3120-1, which was believed to have access to all information in existence. The information it has provided to the Foundation has helped to resolve Keter class containment breaches and saved the lives of countless personnel, civilians, and at least several universes.

However, SCPs in that class aren't always so helpful, like SCP-4006, which encompasses the entire State of Massachusetts. According to the Foundation, the Northeastern State is under the veil of a probabilistic anomaly that sends out false information. It claims to have a government infrastructure and a working economy.

However, the Foundation reports saying otherwise. They state that Massachusetts has no history of any kind of human occupation and never has anyone claiming to live there or have visited is under the effects of the anomaly. However, the area it covers is so vast and the anomaly is so strong that it's impossible to deduce what's lurking beyond its state lines.

The Foundation sometimes discovers SCPs that are too dangerous to contain and must be destroyed or they simply stopped showing signs of anomalous activity. A perfect example of such a threat which demonstrates just how esoteric those anomalies can be is SCP-4991.

The SCP manifested on April 7th, 2016 as a series of strange social media posts referencing a non-existent apocalyptic event that appeared to be occurring on another plane of reality. Many of the posts refer to a wave of parasitic insects swarming across the globe, clambering into people's mouths, suffocating them, and leaving unimaginable carnage in their wake.

The Foundation ordered the immediate shutdown of the social media platforms involved erasing all otherworldly posts from the web and thankfully all anomalous activities ceased two days later. Could you imagine what chaos might've followed if they hadn't neutralized the information in time? It could have caused a global panic with a disastrous collapse of society as a result.

SCP Personnel Classes

As complex as all their operations are the internal working structure of the Foundation is an incredibly simple setup which somehow makes it even more disturbing. Their personnel have classification levels ranging from class A to class E.

The most essential personnel fall into class A which consists of those who are deemed essential to the Foundation's strategic operations and are not allowed to come into contact with SCPs under any circumstance. A rung down that career ladder sits class B personnel who were considered vital to physical Foundation operations.

It's a class reserved for local site directors and other important administrative roles who may be granted limited access to SCPs, but only if they're deemed safe or harmless. Below them, sit class C personnel. Those are the staff that make up the eyes, ears, and hands of the Foundation more often than not. They're called to the situations that require direct contact with potentially dangerous SCP threats putting their lives at risk in doing so.

But below them on one of the lowest rungs of the ladder are class D personnel, except they're less like personnel and more like glorified lab rats. Class D is made of what the Foundation considers expendable people, typically drawn from ranks of prison inmates, particularly those on death row.

In the instance of SCP-400, it was death row inmates forced to handle and contain those creepy brainwashing insect colonies, that's because class D personnel are seen as a limitless supply of cannon fodder whose purpose is to help contain and engage with the deadliest SCPs in existence.

The final and provisional personnel class, class E, consists of personnel who have been exposed to the unknown and potentially dangerous effects of newly identified SCPs. Once exposed, class E personnel are quarantined and monitored closely. If they begin to display harmful changes, they're treated until they're deemed fit enough to return to their post.

Although it's not disclosed what happens to staff who don't recover. However, seeing as how ruthless the Foundation is in all other matters, their treatment has high death rates. In terms of how each of those class cogs fits into the machine that is the Foundation, it's best to view the structure as a pyramid.

At the very top sits a ruling committee of 13 individuals called the 05 Council. Those are the class A personnel who are the Foundation's highest-ranking directors. They oversee all operations with full security clearance but their own identities are strictly classified from the rest of the organization.

Below them are site directors, also class A personnel that oversee all operations in their designated facility reporting back directly to the 05 Council. Under their command, class B research and containment specialists work side by side to improve the understanding and containment of SCPs in their facility.

They're protected at all times by highly trained class C security and tactical response officers who are responsible for the physical safety of all personnel at their designated site. Those officers form the front line of defense against hostile SCPs, inside and outside Foundation facilities obediently laying down their lives to prevent any SCPs from escaping.

But in the terrifying event that an SCP does manage to breach all containment protocols or a brand new hell-raising anomaly discovered, field operatives are dispatched by the Foundation. Those class C agents are stationed all over the world and are rigorously trained to investigate signs of anomalous activity.

They can work undercover with law enforcement or our plants in local services such as emergency medical facilities blending in with the civilian population, giving the Foundation the upper hand in handling cover-up operations while controlling the threat at its source.

They're supported by mobile task forces who are ready to roll at a moment's notice. Those forces are comprised of veteran field personnel, cherry-picked from all over the Foundation to deal with SCP of a specific nature.

That may involve teams made of research specialists or heavily armed combat units, highly trained in engaging incredibly hostile and unpredictable entities. It's the working of that oiled pyramid machine that ensures the Foundation is ready to intercept an anomaly before it's ever exposed to the public eye and contains it so that it never will.

Fanfiction, Conspiracy, or Reality?

Even that detailed overview barely covers a fraction of the Foundation's history of extensive global operations. Most of those documents, reports, and files can be accessed online, which is coveted by conspiracy theorists and tin hat lovers alike because it all sounds beyond the realm of most people's imaginations.

Many people assume the existence of the SCP Foundation and everything within it is just pure fiction but wouldn't that be the most conveniently perfect cover for a secret organization like that? If it can be explained away as just another crazy conspiracy theory. It gives them room to continue working without being held accountable for their actions.

It's like that famous saying, "Where does a wise man hide his leaf? In the forest". Ultimately, the SCP Foundation are the good guys but it'd be more accurate to say they're the greater good guys. They're on the side of humanity, but they have no qualms about destroying you and everyone you love in order to keep the real secrets of the SCPs contained.

I hope you were amazed at this introduction to the SCP Foundation. Thanks for reading!