Morning Never Comes: An SCP Inspired Tale

Item #: SCP-1363

Classification: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: An instance of SCP-1363 is to be contained in the center of a chamber with dimensions 30 m x 30 m x 30m. An incinerator is to be placed in one corner of the room. Prior to entry to the room, all traditional writing surfaces (papers, whiteboards, etc.) must be removed. Once a month, a single piece of paper is to be "fed" to SCP-1363 by placing it within 20 meters of SCP-1363 and left for an hour, followed by immediate incineration. All personnel interacting with SCP-1363 are to be given a Class-C amnesiac immediately after interaction, followed by a week of thorough psychological analysis.

Description: SCP-1363 is a free verse poem titled "Morning Never Comes," written by ███████ ████████ and is composed of one stanza with twenty-six (26) lines. SCP-1363's exact date of composition is unknown. The earliest discovered instance of SCP-1363 is on a parchment estimated to have been created during the early 16th century, though older, undiscovered instances of SCP-1363 are likely.

Instances of SCP-1363 have the ability to spread to other materials exclusively purposed for writing within 20 meters of it, usually creating another instance within 30 minutes to an hour of being in its proximity. SCP-1363's spreading ability seems to be bounded only by its 20 meter range and not by any physical barriers between it and the new surface. It has been observed creating new instances despite being separated from the new material by solid iron walls, glass, and even a vacuum. New instances created by display identical spreading properties, essentially spreading like a virus. Instances have commonly been observed on notebooks, book margins, chalkboards, whiteboards, papyrus, and stone tablets.

SCP-1363 instances also exhibit a "hunger-like" quality when unable to spread to other writing materials for more than two months. SCP-1363's hunger seem to increase the materials that SCP-1363 can embed itself on. While hungry, instances have been observed on leaves, concrete walls, and even [DATA EXPUNGED], but materials are always within 20 meters of the original instance. The papers and other materials that hold instances of SCP-1363 are not anomalous and can be destroyed normally.

When an unedited version of SCP-1363 is read in its entirety, readers begin to feel a lingering sense of fear and paranoia, but only when consciously thinking about SCP-1363 or any fragments of the original poem, including its title. With every subsequent recollection of SCP-1363, victims experience more intense feelings of fear. Common effects of SCP-1363 include:

• Sudden drops in ambient temperatures.
• Goosebumps.
• General uneasiness and discomfort.
• A feeling of being constantly watched.
• Perceived rapid movement in peripheral vision.
• Anxiety attacks.
• Insomnia.
• Sudden bursts of irritability.
• Visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations.
• Suicidal tendencies.

To date, roughly 45% of victims exposed to SCP-1363 committed suicide within a year of initial exposure, while 80% of total victims suffer from severe psychological trauma. Times between initial exposure and suicide vary from subject to subject. Shortest recorded time until suicide: 6 days. Longest recorded time: 37 years.

SCP-1363 was discovered on ████████ ██, 20██, after a local news station in █████ █████, ██ reported a mass suicide of students attending a local school, attracting Foundation attention. Mobile Task Force Zeta-6 (aka "School Boys") was sent to investigate. Ten instances of SCP-1363 was acquired for analysis, all other instances discovered were destroyed. Class-B amnesiacs were applied to the entire town and the school was demolished. See Incident 1363-01.

The Purge

12 hours. That's all we have to endure. Once a year, every year, we have to make it through one night. Twelve hours. That's all.

Because once a year, every year, all crime is legal in America. All crime, including murder. Especially murder. There will be no government intervention, no police, no ambulances, and no firefighters available during the entire night.

Why does this night exist? The government claims that it "purifies" Americans, lets them "vent" their negative emotions.

But that's true only for those who can afford weapons, those who can afford protection, and those who are important enough to be exempt from the killing. Everyone else that doesn't fit into those categories dies.

I can't afford weapons. I can't afford protection. I'm not important to society. And neither is my seven year old daughter.

Behind Closed Doors

Ten years, I've lived in this house with my parents. I've been allowed to roam the entire house, explore every speck, tile, and corner of every room. I know the exact layout of every room, closet, and bathroom, down to the furniture.

Except for one. A wooden door, exactly the same as the other ones. Painted snow white, with a glossy finish. Cold and smooth to the touch, like a silk curtain. A brass, round doorknob with a small keyhole. Father says to never open it under any circumstances.

But you know... there's nothing as tempting as a locked door.

An Excerpt From A Chemist's Diary

I don't know what to make of these strange occurrences, and I fear that if I explain them to anyone else, I'll be branded a lunatic by society. So I write my observations this diary, both to keep my sanity and in hopes that if the unspeakable were to happen to me, someone in the future may be able to explain these events. Or, if not explain, then avoid entirely.

What I am about to write in these pages are true events, written to the best of my memory. At times, it may seem more like an outlandish horror story, but I swear, on my mother's grave, that these incidents are not fictitious. I realize that the bulk of the text may be overwhelming to some, so if you happen to come across this diary in the future, I offer one piece of advice to you.

If you ever find yourself alone, and you feel like you're being watched by something. Or, if you enter a room by yourself and are suddenly subject to inexplicable chills and feelings of panic, then it's there. Behind you. Hidden in plain sight. Staring you right in the back of the head. And if you ever find yourself in those situations, the only advice that I can offer is...

Do not look behind you.

Descent

Experiment Proposal
Subject ID: 50197
Research Conductor: Dr. ████
March 15, 2019

Purpose: To observe the effects of solitary confinement on the human psyche.

Procedure: Subject is to be held alone for ten (10) years in a windowless, temperate, well-lit, ventilated room 550m x 550m in size, with an 8m high ceiling. Scientific observation is to be made through two (2) dome CCTV cameras hidden on opposite corners of the ceiling, as well as through four (4) wireless microphones built into various furniture (Technical Specifications for the cameras and the microphones are in appendix A-50197-1-1 and A-50197-1-2). Subject is provided:

• *One (1) Desktop computer WITHOUT Internet access or a clock, bolted to a desk, to be used exclusively as a diary for the subject (Technical Specifications are in appendix A-50197-2). Comes with a wired mouse, a monitor, and a wired keyboard.
• One (1) White wooden work desk, bolted to the ground.
• One (1) White folding chair.
• One (1) White mattress.
• *One (1) White pillow.
• Food and drinkable water, to be dispensed via an automated slot in the wall three (3) times daily (See appendix A-50197-3-1 for more thorough detail on the mechanism). Food was specifically selected to simulate the subject's regular diet.
• One (1) Working toilet.
• Toilet paper, two-ply, to be replenished via a button-operated mechanism in the wall of similar design to the food dispenser.
• One (1) Working sink.
• *One (1) Working shower.
• Various hygienic products, including a toothbrush, toothpaste, a nail clipper, soap, and shampoo. Consumables replenished via observer-operated slots in the wall (See appendix A-50197-3-2 for full description).
• Clothes, to be dispensed via a weight-operated machine built into the wall of similar design to the toilet paper disposer (See appendix A-50197-3-3).
• One (1) Trash chute, button-activated.
• One (1) Television, with access only to On-Demand movies. Internal clock is disabled.
• One (1) Small white wooden table, bolted to the ground.
• *One (1) White couch.
• One (1) Item of the subject's request (must meet overseer approval).

(Note: Asterisks denote furniture with hidden microphones)

Subject Description: Subject is an American male, aged ██. Subject is 1.75m tall and 64kg in weight. Subject is in excellent physical condition, with a body fat percentage of 7%. 50197 has short brown hair and brown eyes. Subject is of average intelligence.

Subject, upon hearing the 10 million dollar compensation for the experiment, was the first (and only one) to volunteer in selection group O3-627-M. Prior to experimentation, subject requested an Xbox 360 and several games. Request granted, but online multiplayer access and internal clock both have been disabled.

Experimentation approved by Dr. ███████. Testing scheduled to begin on March 21, 2019.

On the Other Side

I'm not superstitious. I never believed in ghosts, or bad luck, or monsters under my bed. I always considered myself to be brave, and my friends did too. Whenever a new "cursed ritual" or "demonic ceremony" came up, they would always ask me to perform it for them so they could sleep well at night knowing it was just another fake Internet story. So when news of some "creepypasta" about mirrors started spreading, of course I didn't take it seriously. Just another "ritual" designed to make people paranoid.

The procedure was simple enough. Just look into a mirror, take a strand of hair from your head, measure it with a ruler, and compare the length of that hair to the one in the reflection. No big deal.