Item #: SCP-694
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-694 is to be kept within a sealed containment area. The containment area is to be maintained with surveillance cameras and adjustable lights. The exterior of the area is to be regularly be checked for cracks and damage, which is to be repaired immediately. Entrance into the containment area is forbidden without signed documents from Site Command. Any items being used for testing must be cleared with Site Command. All personnel are to wear hardened armour environmental suits when in the containment area. Any damage to protective gear will result in immediate quarantine upon exit of the containment area, followed by a full medical evaluation.
Any confirmed outbreaks outside the containment area are to be sterilized immediately, and all civilians involved are to be terminated. “Natural disaster” or “terrorism” are to be given as explanations whenever possible.
Description: SCP-694 is a species of communal pack hunting life form, with an appearance visibly similar to that of a large black spider with luminescent red eyes. Members of SCP-694 vary in size from approximately 10 cm in diameter, including legs, to approximately 2 m. The average weight has been compared with that of a large house cat, approximately 1 kg to 3 kg. Evidence suggests that SCP-694 is sapient but non-communicative.
SCP-694 hunts and eats animals, and is capable of taking down prey many times larger than itself. They possess a tendency to hunt humans, despite less intelligent or easier to capture prey in the area, suggesting a preference in prey items. SCP-694, after capture of an animal, will paralyze it with venom and encase it in web, similar to some arachnids. The animal will remain conscious for several days before death, and will sometimes be kept alive with food and water for months. It is believed that this pattern occurs as a method of maintaining food availability for famine, drought, illness, or other events that might interrupt the food supply.
The eating and digestion process of SCP-694 is similar to that of most spiders. SCP-694 injects lethal doses of venom. This is followed by internal liquefaction of the animal. Finally SCP-694 drinks the fluids out of the husk of its prey.
In the case of SCP-694 size is an effective model for age. Most members of SCP-694 die of natural and unnatural causes before exceeding 60 cm. The younger “spiders” can exceed 60 m/s2 of acceleration for a period of up to 0.5 seconds. Members of SCP-694 are capable of lifting approximately three times their body weight individually. The younger members tend to chase the prey, frequently herding it towards traps.
The larger members of SCP-694, past breeding age and of sizes between 80 cm and 2 m, are less aggressive. They are also less capable of rapid acceleration then juvenile and adult members of SCP-694. However, their chitin has been rated as class IIA bullet resistant armor and they show signs of intelligence, including increased creativity when not stimulated with a variable frequency, and patterns of rapid twitching when exposed to large numbers of stimuli. Post-adult members of SCP-694 have been known to develop traps using their web and components from the environment. These traps become increasingly complex as the spiders get older, frequently reaching the point where it has taken a team of Foundation scientists extended periods of time to figure out what the trap does.
SCP-694’s breeding pattern involves the female planting eggs in the brain of an animal host with a long, sharp, hollow ovipositor of approximately 0.5 mm diameter at the thinnest part. The entry point is through the eye socket. This is done without significant damage to the eye or the optic nerve, though younger members of the species cause more obvious damage and scarring than older members. Once the female has performed this action, the male injects caustic sperm. This caustic sperm sterilizes important centers of the brain. In humans this causes a sense of extreme docility; in most other mammals, a similar behavior pattern is noted.
SCP-694 then uses the egg-carrying life forms as bait to bring in others of their kind. Sometimes an egg carrier is successfully removed from the nest. Incubation typically lasts months, but occasionally can last several years until the right conditions occur. The current conditions are unknown, however they appear to be somehow linked to the population density of SCP-694, and a form of pheromone emitted by them. When the eggs do hatch, the newborn members of SCP-694 eat their way out of the carrier’s brain, most commonly causing death. It takes a specially trained doctor to properly diagnose SCP-694 infection, which can be mistaken for retardation, chronic depression, or a side effect of lobotomies.
Addendum 694-1: Outbreak and recovery data
SCP-694 was first discovered in a castle in █████████████. Reports of the “booby-trapped” nature of the castle, and multiple reports of “monsters”, lead to a Foundation investigation. During the recovery attempt SCP-694 killed 25 team members in various traps. Recovery took three days. The decision was made that repeated recovery attempts were untenable and that all other instances should be met with site sterilization. Since then outbreaks have been noticed in [DATA EXPUNGED] on all six habitable continents, with large-scale outbreaks in California, Oklahoma, India, and England.
Addendum 692-2: A partial list of traps made by SCP-694 follows:
- A giant ball of webbing set to roll down a spiral staircase
- A suit of armor with a sword transformed into a lethal marionette puppet
- A stove rigged to belch flame 15 feet
- A power saw attached to webbing and set to swing like a pendulum
- An ultrabright flashlight used to temporarily blind prey
- A large stone set to fall from above
- A simple pit-trap lined by webbing
- A wall of dancing swords
- Three pounds of C-4 stolen from the recovery team
 |
| SCP-694 entrenchment, open. |
Item #: SCP-694
Object Class: Anomalous Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: A source colony of SCP-694 is to be kept in a top-accessed 3m x 3m enclosure on Bio Research Site-21. The enclosure is to consist of a shaft of at least 3m depth, lined with concrete, and filled with a layer of soil cca. 2m thick, with upper glasshouse section (see Document 694-Gamma for enclosure design specifications) to allow for limited ventilation and sunlight, but prevent escape of specimens.
The enclosure is to be seeded with grasses and herbs of species described in Document 694-Gamma, and a dry branch of a deciduous tree (oak recommended) at least 1.5 metre long is to be placed within, following SCP-694 entrenchment.
Post-entrenchment, a fresh pig carcass is to be introduced into the entrenchment cca. every 30-50 days, depending on colony size.
While SCP-694 are not directly dangerous to unharmed individuals, personnel entering SCP-694 containment is forbidden due to risk of specimen escape - if required for experimental purposes, specimens are to be harvested by means of mechanical traps attached to the carcass of a suitable small animal. While handling SCP-694, personnel are required to wear Level D Hazardous Materials protection made of slash-resistant fabric, including face protection.
Colonies of SCP-694 are to be neutralized by means of placing a tent over SCP-694 entrenchment, fumigating with sulfuryl fluoride for a period of at least 36 hours, then filling the entrenchment with soil.
Colonies of SCP-694 outside of urban areas are to be neutralized by means of placing a tent over SCP-694 entrenchment, fumigating with sulfuryl fluoride for a period of at least 36 hours, then filling the entrenchment with soil.
Inside urban areas, the presence of SCP-694 mandates sulfuryl fluoride fumigation of affected structure along with surrounding structures in a 150m radius for at least 72 hours, followed by a thorough inspection to assess and repair potential structural damage caused by SCP-694 action, and removal of dead SCP-694 from the premises.
Description: SCP-694 is the designation for Pseudoteraphosa habilis, an arachnid species closely resembling known members of the Trigonotarbida order, previously thought extinct.
Individual SCP-694 have a leg span of approximately 15-25cm, and a mass of cca. 90g, and vaguely resemble spiders of the Teraphosidae family, with a number of important differences.
SCP-694 lacks urticating hairs, its body being covered by a chitinous carapace similar to other members of its order. Furthermore, the lower side of SCP-694's abdomen has six functional spinnerets and SCP-694 does produce webs. Perhaps the most significant difference is relatively large, flat pedipalps with sharp edges, covered in a previously unknown organic substance of Vickers hardness ~550 MPa.
The most significant anomalous properties of SCP-694 relate to its etology.
Unlike most large arachnids, SCP-694 lives in colonies cca. 200-300 individuals strong, usually centered around an entrenchment. A typical entrenchment consists of a pit cca. 2m deep and roughly 1m in diameter. When such material is available, the bottom of the pit will contain numerous sharpened segments of tree branches, bones, etc. The sides of an entrenchment usually contain a number of shallow tunnels, usually covered in webs, where individual SCP-694 tend to stay. The top of an entrenchment is covered in a web patchwork, intermixed with soil particles, leaves and other debris.
Aside from protection, the entrenchments serve as a means for SCP-694 to hunt prey. When an animal steps on the web covering, and falls into the entrenchment, SCP-694 will behave in two possible ways. In the case of small prey, SCP-694 will attempt to overwhelm the prey, using their bite, and the sharp pedipalps to inflict damage; upon success, the prey is cut into ~5cm segments, which are wrapped in silk and either devoured, or stored for later consumption, usually by attaching them to the walls of the entrenchment itself.
In the case of larger prey, SCP-694 will generally wait until it weakens or expires from damage inflicted by the fall, groups of ~20 members probing whenever the prey ceases to move significantly.
In the case of a lack of prey, or the number of members exceeding 400-600 depending on conditions, the colony will split, with ~40% of individuals remaining, and the rest splitting into groups of cca. 50 individuals, searching for a new suitable entrenchment. During this phase, SCP-694 tend to be drawn to animal carcasses in the vicinity, often choosing such sites for a new entrenchment even if a more suitable locale (such as a shallow pit) is available elsewhere.
The reproductive cycle of SCP-694 resembles that of other eusocial spider species, with females placing eggs into spun egg sacs, usually located in available cavities such as at the terminus of the habitational tunnels, wood hollows, empty skulls etc.
Recovery Log: SCP-694 came to the attention of the Foundation mid-199█, after a rash of tourist disappearances around the ██████ region, France. On ██/██/199█, the █████-district police received a distress call from a Juan G████, claiming he has "fallen down some damn pit and whenever he stops waving there's tarantulas everywhere." The police were able to trace the signal and attend to his rescue - his report and the footage obtained in situ resulted the Foundation liaison to interview (See Addendum 694-1) him and call for the dispatch of a containment team led by Researcher Alvarez. The containment team confirmed the veracity of information provided, and was able to localize and neutralize further ██ entrenchments in the area over the course of following months, after securing a host of 500 live specimens from the original site.
Addendum 694-1:
Interviewed: Juan G████, (further J.G), tourist of Spanish origin.
Interviewer: Agent P█████ N████, (further Agent N.) posing as an employee of the French Ministry of Enviroment.
Foreword: J.G was present at the [REDACTED] police station for the duration of the interview, having been examined by the medical personnel of a nearby clinic Asides from injuries consistent with fall, J.G. showed a significant number of short, shallow lacerations on his legs and back.
<Begin Log>
Agent N: Hello!
J.G. Hello… I … You would be…
Agent N: Yes. Jean-Albert Dupont, trustee of the Ministry of Enviroment. I believe you are some Juan G████, born in Mendoza, 1973?
J.G: Yes… yes sir.
Agent N: You know why I was sent here?
J.G: The officer said something of… poachers?
Agent N: Correct. There's been a rash of poaching cases, using pit traps. I was led to believe you were rescued from one such.
J.G: Sort of. I mean… it was a hole allright, just, It didn't look like…
Agent N: Let's start from Adam.What were you doing in the forest.
J.G: I was… I just off for a walk. I mean, I like walking, always did. Decided to… I had to… I mean, relieve myself, so I went to near a tree that was there, and as I stepped forward, I fell in.
Agent N: In the pit? Describe it.
J.G: It… I didn't see it at all. I just went through… had muck from it all over my face and mouth, because I shouted as I fell, and then, the leg. I … think the doctor said I snapped some lego…
Agent N: Ligaments?
J.G: Yeah, that. In my ankle, but I was lucky, where I fell, and on the feet. I … I don't think that was poacher work. I mean, they do take in the stuff they kill, right? Because there, it was bones, ribs and the like, I think I seen something's skull, but I'm not sure, it was dark, and I sort of freaked out. The bones, some of it broke with a crack, thank god. I mean, thank god I had my boots on, or it'd have gone through. I mean, I didn't really fall on my hands, and one cut me right here.
Agent N: Modern poaching methods are as insidious as they are dangerous to the public… you have seen it yourself. What did you afterwards?
J.G: Like I said to the officers. I first , when I found I'm whole, tried to pick myself up to see if I could get out… it was too high, I tried to reach. Then… I suppose I should have known sooner, but it occurred to me to use the phone. I looked for it, thanks Saint Anthony it wasn't broken, I went to call, couldn't get signal. Started looking for it, just carefully, like, moving my hands about, and then, it, they came out. I … Spiders, lots of them. Looked like tarantulas in all those movies, but there was so many. Maybe fifty, I dunno.
Agent N: Tarantulas?
J.G: Yeah… big ones black, like in that movie. Just that they, in the films they don't care much about people, but these… They started climbing over my legs and biting… they, look ,they cut my pants like this. I freaked out, started stomping on them. One of them bit me in the back, here… I tossed it off. My god, it hurt like fuck but I kept them off… They… when I started moving about, they got… like scared away. I tried to call again, but when I stopped moving, they were there again… more of them even. One of them got over my face, but I snatched it before it could bite. Sometimes, during that time,I got the phone to call… I called the police, left it on like they said. I… I found some rag in there, when I slapped it against the wall in a way… they got scared away, I didn't have to move so much. Still. I tell you, when I heard them shouting it was like the best thing I ever heard, like when the doctor said the liver tests came in clear.
Agent N: Good. I almost forgot. Can you tell me which tourist track it was you were on?
J.G: It was, [REDACTED]. I ,the officers that called you in should know, right.
Agent N: Thank you.
J.G: To you… I … if you can, arrest the fucks. I mean, putting it where people walk, like that - someone could have died there, or a kid could…
Agent N: We will do our best. Before I leave, I talked to doctor █████, we had to look through your injuries for when we'll file a case against the band responsible. Your leg still hurts?
J.G: Like hell…
Agent N: He sent me some analgesics for you to take. Here's the box, take one, should start working in half hour.
J.G: Thanks… I mean, you sure have some healthcare in this country.
<End Log>
Closing Statement: J.G. administered Class-A amnesiacs, and implanted with the cover story of falling into a poacher's trap; official records modified to this extent, with the location changed approximately [REDACTED] from actual incident site. Incident site contained animal and human skeletal remains, with personal items of an individual previously declared missing being found among the debris.
Addendum 694-2: Incident 694-1
On ██/██/20██, three colonies of SCP-694 was discovered during a police raid on an abandoned apartment block occupied by squatters . Foundation operative was alerted and MTF Alpha-16 "Spider Wasps" posing as workers from the Ministry of Public Health put the building into quarantine and interviewed its former inhabitants.
While two colonies showed behaviour analogous to colonies outside of urban areas, attempting to form pit traps in staircases and other soft surfaces, third colony (designated SCP-694-A) resorted to a different modus operandi entirely, using "trip wires" spun from thick web strands, usually located on or near staircases. In a number of locations, SCP-694 appeared to have damaged wall and roof structure, to the extent that significant displacement of attached web strands led to wall section collapse.
A number of inhabitants claimed that present SCP-694 also showed a marked tendency to attack sleeping or intoxicated individuals, if present within ~5 metres of features constructed by SCP-694.
MTF Alpha-16 proceeded to capture a host of ~50 live SCP-694-A specimens, and proceeded to fumigate the site as well as neighbouring structures.
Classification upgraded to Euclid.
Containment procedure updated to codify neutralizing SCP-694-A in urban areas.
Update to the main SCP-694 file pending further investigation of SCP-694 and SCP-694-A etology.