Item #: SCP-573
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Do not sleep in the study area more than two nights in a row, to prevent the development of sleep disorders, including but not limited to insomnia and night terrors. Additionally, the nightlight is there for a reason. Individuals who do not use it because of misguided ideas of maturity or machismo get what they deserve. Survivors will be disciplined. Individuals daring others to sleep in the study area without the nightlight will be formally reprimanded and placed on Keter duty.
Every two weeks, the usual researcher shall be replaced by one D-class personnel, who will sleep there without the use of the nightlight in order to observe SCP-573's feeding habits. On these nights, the room shall be monitored by an infrared camera.
Description: This creature, nicknamed the "grue" by some researchers, is a nocturnal being of unknown species or origin. Its exact appearance is not known, as it has only been known to emerge in complete darkness, but witnesses have speculated on specific details based on observations during encounters with the creature.
It was discovered living in Room #███ in the D-class dormitories of Sector-17 when D-83592 started suffering from nightmares and insomnia, stating, "There's something under the bed!" and refusing to even consider retiring for the night until security checked both under the bed and in the closet (containing, respectively, a pair of D-83592's shoes and a number of dust bunnies, and the work uniforms used by all D-class personnel) and brought him a glass of water. Two nights later, D-83592 vanished from the dormitory. After a thorough search of the complex turned up no sign of him, it was determined that he had escaped by some method, and another D placed in the dormitory once the room and all potential escape routes were secured and re-checked. When the second D started suffering similar symptoms two weeks later, the room was checked more thoroughly, and researchers found themselves experiencing feelings of unease and fear when they approached the bed.
It was decided to place the room under video and audio surveillance before lights out, to determine what the problem could be. D-55239 was directed to sleep there for monitoring purposes. The subject was pre-screened for paranoia and sleep disorders, to prevent false positives. Dr. ███████ monitored the audio, while Agent █████ monitored the room visually via standard and infrared cameras.
Surveillance Log
Dr. ███████: Can you hear me okay?
D-55239: Yeah, I hear you. Jesus, this room is creepy.
Dr. ███████: Could you clarify?
D-55239: I mean, it's about like my old room, but… I don't know. I feel like something's hiding in here with me. You checked under the bed, right?
Dr. ███████: Yes, we did. We also checked in the closet, too. We're going to turn the lights out now, so try to get some sleep.
[The lights are extinguished. The microphone picks up sounds of D-55239 settling in.]
[A few minutes pass. Heart monitor attached to D-55239 picks up increased pulse rate.]
D-55239: [whispering] Did you hear that?
Dr. ███████: What did you hear?
D-55239: [whispering] Oh god… I can hear it moving.
Dr. ███████: Can you describe the sound?
D-55239: It's like… [silence, tense breathing] It's like… something dripping on the floor. Something drooling. Something big. [pause] Claws scraping on the floor.
Dr. ███████: Agent █████, do you see anything on the monitor?
Agent █████: No, Doctor. Not even on infrared.
D-55239: It's coming up the side of the bed!
Agent █████: I still got nothing - wait.
Dr. ███████: What is it?
Agent █████: [EXPLETIVE]! The camera went out!
Dr. ███████: Try to get it back. D-55239, what's going on?
D-55239: It's… it's right there! Right by the bed!
Dr. ███████: Can you see it? What does it look like?
D-55239: I can't see a thing - but I can hear it breathing… and… and it smells… it smells horrible. Like the third floor men's room. Jesus Christ - get me out of here! Get me the [EXPLETIVE] out of here! Help!
Dr. ███████: Lights! Now!
[The lights are turned on, and two Security Personnel are sent in. They find D-55239 huddled in the front of the closet, curled in a fetal position, gripping the closet's doorframe with one hand and sucking the thumb on his other hand, his eyes wide with terror. He has urinated on himself, but he appears to be physically unharmed. The bedclothes are damp with urine and in disarray, as though D-55239 were dragged from the bed to his current position]
Afterwards, D-55239 was examined thoroughly and found to be mostly healthy save for a large bruise on his lower leg, approximately 30.5 cm wide and encircling the entire limb. He remained inarticulate and in a state of near-catatonia until morning.
When questioned, D-55239 said that he got a sense of something dangerous under the bed, a feeling amplified when the lights were extinguished. In the darkness, he could hear something crawling out from under the bed, stating further that "I just knew it was going to get me, like it would try to eat me or drag me off, I don't know." He then felt something grab his ankle and start dragging him off the bed, at which time he called for help. "It was a hand," he reports, "It was definitely a hand, but like a gorilla hand, you know? With huge claws, like a bear or something."
Since its discovery, those researchers brave enough to study it up-close have observed that it is able to mentally project an impression of something terrifying, which usually brings to mind whatever its target is most afraid of. It appears to feed on either the mental distress this causes, or else the adrenaline produced by terror. The specific purpose of dragging away its victims has not yet been determined,
Psychically sensitive individuals are particularly able to differentiate the creature's influence from normal anxiety or nightmares, and thus seems better suited to resisting the effect. Additionally, they report that appears to be somewhat intelligent, though attempts to communicate with it have all met with failure.
The creature's chosen "lair" appears to be confined to room ███. So far, there has been no evidence of it traveling to other rooms within the complex.
So far, it has not been possible to visually observe SCP-573 while it is active.
Addendum:
15-04-09: D-83592 has been located. He turned up in a supply closet two days ago, his hair bleached white from some mental or emotional trauma. He was not combative, and allowed himself to be led from the closet, but did not respond to attempts by security personnel to communicate with him.
So far, the exact cause of his catatonia has yet to be found.