SCP-1828-JP.
Special Containment Procedures: The area around SCP-1828-JP is to be designated as a national park and excluded from entry, citing the protection of rare animals. An iron fence is to be installed to surround the area, and armed observation posts are to be established approximately every five hundred meters.
Individuals attempting to enter SCP-1828-JP are to be detained and interrogated, after which they are to be administered with Class A amnestics and released. While those who have already entered the inner area (more than two hundred meters from the boundary) are considered lost, they are to be brought back again if they are taken into custody by the internal exploration team. Upon retrieval, these individuals are to be likewise interrogated and released after administering amnestics.
Supplies and interactions with the internal exploration team are to be carried out during almost every connection event. Various supplies should be available at the observation posts at all times.
The internal exploration team is expected to conduct their research according to the dedicated protocols detailed in the attached document (Protocol-Hakala-Handbook.doc).
Description: SCP-1828-JP is an unnamed forest with an area of approximately 4.1 km2 in Päijät-Häme district, Republic of Finland, and is known as the "Foggy Forest" by the locals. While the vegetation and ecosystems in the area are similar to those found nearby, SCP-1828-JP is unique in that it is constantly filled with a high concentration of fog. This fog contains TX-135, a type of compound used in the production of amnestics, which interferes, albeit imperfectly, memory retention inside the area.
The internal space of SCP-1828-JP is connected to a pocket universe (designated SCP-1828-JP-α) at irregular intervals. This connection is resolved in an average of six hours.
SCP-1828-JP-α has generally the same climate, vegetation and ecosystem as SCP-1828-JP, and is also inhabited by a small community consisting of humanoid entities designated as SCP-1828-JP-β instances. A number of modified organisms created by SCP-1828-JP-β, classified as SK-BIO1, roam within the area. There is no fog in most parts of SCP-1828-JP-α, except at the edges of the space. While connected, SCP-1828-JP exists beyond this fog; when not connected, however, there is a continuous forest covered in fog without limits as far as can be ascertained.
SCP-1828-JP-β instances are humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) that have undergone anomalous body modification with the following characteristics.
- Abnormally long life span. The average age in the community exceeds eighty years.
- High immunity to diseases.
- Androgyny; all instances have both male and female genitalia, and the internal organs are expanded accordingly. Hormones seem to converge toward either sex as they develop. This appears to follow the will of the instance to some extent.
- Skull with a pair of horn-like extensions, averaging about six centimeters in length. The skin at the tips is red in young instances, and darkened in old instances due to melanin pigmentation.
SCP-1828-JP-β instances do not attempt to leave SCP-1828-JP-α. This is reportedly because their folklore states that they cannot go outside the area; since no experiments have been conducted, it is unclear whether or not any anomalous phenomena actually occur.
SCP-1828-JP-β believes and practices Sarkicism in their lifestyle. Particularly worshipped is Klavigar Lovataar, known in the community as Lovarakka, whose name is used as a sort of symbol to identify themselves. The worship of Ion is also prevalent, under the name of Yuon, and is revered as a savior (see the attached document for more information on their culture and folklore).
Due to their exclusiveness, the details of SCP-1828-JP-β remained unknown for a long time; recently, however, a research team led by Dr. Matthieu Desmarais successfully interacted with them and was granted permission to stay and research, under the promise of protecting their domain. Various studies are currently underway.
Addendum: Related Literature
Rauno Näränen, photo taken in 1971.
Through research of relevant documents and records, the Foundation discovered that the late Rauno Näränen, a Finnish civilian zoologist and anomaly researcher, was in contact with SCP-1828-JP-β in the past. He had mentioned it in his book "Visiting Strange Places" in 1958, and further investigation revealed that his journal at that time contained numerous valuable information about the culture of SCP-1828-JP-β. The following is some excerpts from the relevant sections.
Yesterday, I heard from Araya about a strange animal. He said it looked like a dog with bright red skin, a white carapace, mane, and countless tentacles2. Of course, I didn't care at first, saying it was impossible, but when he actually showed me the carcass, there was no choice but to believe him. It was not a fake. According to Alaya, the creature was shot dead this morning when it attacked a traveler on the road at the southern end of the "Foggy Forest".
We have heard many bizarre stories about that forest for years. I had always thought that they were just rumors with no value, but they might be worth investigating. I plan to visit the forest tomorrow. Of course, Araya will go with me.
We got lost. Me and Araya, both of us. No matter how far we advance, nothing but fog covers our surroundings. At this point, I don't even know if we are getting out of the woods or if we are heading deeper into it.
The howling of some creature I had never heard before was coming from somewhere. Araya said he had seen a girl with what looked like a stag's skull on her head twice so far. I warned him that it was probably a hallucination, but I just now saw her. Have even my senses been compromised?
I was separated from Araya.
There is something in the fog.
I won't write a farewell note. Because I'm definitely going to survive.
…
I came to find myself not in a forest covered in fog, but in some kind of building. At first glance it looked like a tree trunk, but given that the walls were quietly pulsating and there were holes repeatedly opening and closing along with the pulsation, it was probably something else.
As I was mildly dismayed, a girl walked up to me from the back. I asked her where I was, and all she answered was "on the other side of the fog." She handed me a cup of water — apparently made of bones — and said "Stay there," before walking out of the building.
The other side of the fog? Have I come to the afterlife? No, I clearly have a real feeling. This place is real. But there is too much mystery. …In any case, what I am most curious about now is that she had horns on her head.
When I woke up again, she had already returned. I asked her how I could thank her for saving my life, and she said, "Then I'll have some of your flesh." I was intimidated for a moment, but she laughed and told me that she was just joking. Her language seemed to be mostly Finnish, but a little archaic, with a few unfamiliar words mixed in in places.
When I introduced myself and asked her name, she simply replied, "Pärka." Apparently, that is her name.
…
They have a peculiar faith. I don't know much about it, and Pärka didn't give me any details, but it appears to be something akin to druidism.
After she left, I followed her and quietly observed their ritual from the shadows of a building. A bonfire was set in the center of the clearing, and the villagers surrounded it.
As the men brought the baby goats, an old woman came up to them to stroke them. Then — I'm still not sure if what I saw was truly real or not — she thrust her hands into their bodies and began to change their shapes, as if she were playing with clay. The final result was creatures that no longer retained their original form — they looked very much like the one that brought me to this forest. It was their livestock.
This is a forest of black mages. I never thought they still existed. Perhaps this place and the fog are a way to hide their faith and protect themselves. I intend to investigate a little further.
sak jaaŋ man kucu tadzka (?)
I tried to transcribe their incantations, but the details may be wrong. They recite these words at every opportunity. Before and after meals, as a hunting signal, during night rituals, etc. It seems to be some kind of prayer.
When I asked Pärka, she said that this is their old language and is a prayer to Yuon. I then asked her who Yuon was, and she said only that he was their savior, and refused to tell me any more than that.
…
Pärka is apparently curious about the outside world and asks me all sorts of questions.
Last night she wanted to know about my wristwatch. She looked at it with great interest and asked me how abundant machines are in the outside today.
When I replied that they were quite common, she pondered for a moment and then questioned if the Mekan'nya(?), machinery worshippers, were still alive and thriving. She seemed a little relieved when I laughed and said there were no such things. Apparently, they had been persecuted in the past by a machine people known as the Mekan'nya.
Thinking about it, since there are people like them, it might not be surprising if these Mekan'nya people existed as well. I didn't tell her that, though.
…
It's been six months since I've been here. I am surprised to myself that I have become so familiar with the place already.
Today I obtained some insight into their folklore. They used to live around Lapland, but were chased by the Persecuting King (Eric IX, perhaps?) and fled to this place. In doing so, they allegedly tampered with the forest, or more precisely, with the existence of a god who originally inhabited it. They succeeded in usurping the "underside of the forest," where the god had originally resided. But "eating" this god also bound them to this land forever. While I don't know what exactly this "binding" refers to, it seems to me to be sorcery in nature.
However, in light of this, it is all too strange that the dog was brought to the university so far from the forest. Was it because it was already dead? If so, will I ever get out of here alive?
I asked Pärka about that. She laughed and said she couldn't get out, but I could. That the curse is only inherited by those born in this land. It seems certain that the dead can leave the forest. More precisely, she said, only those who have become soulless flesh can leave the roots of the curse.
Too bad I can't let her see the outside world.
…
Today I attended their festival, which is apparently a celebration for their saint, Lovarakka. The "prey" enter the forest and the "predators" hunt after them — Of course, this is just a metaphor. To put it simply, it is a kind of romantic event.
I participated as the "prey". She was the "predator".
When she came to my hiding place, she leisurely called my name — "Raunie, you're there, aren't you?" I kept hiding, and then over twenty tentacles grasped my body and carried me to her. When I said, "You found me," she pulled me into her arms, and — I'll keep any more of this in my heart. Sometimes, there are events that are more beautiful when not described in words.
…
I told Pärka that I had to leave the forest soon. She looked deeply saddened, but when I told her about the people who were waiting for me and the many things I had left to do over there, she seemed to reluctantly agree. She said me to wait for a moment and then went off somewhere, returning a while later. She asked me to hold out my hand, which I did, and she handed me a bright red sphere.
At first I thought it was a gemstone, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be a human eyeball. I looked at her in surprise and saw a void where her right eye should have been. She told me that anyone who left this place would have their memories fogged up and would not be allowed to enter again. That it would be impossible for us to meet again. So she wanted me to take at least this eye back home with me, so that I could remember her, even if it was only a little.
I told her that I had the journal and it would be fine, but she insisted that I should take the eye with me. Maybe she wanted me to have a solid proof.
After that, she took my hand and led me through the fog, and the next thing I knew I was outside of the forest — I think. My memories disappeared as if the fog was clearing, leaving very little behind, but this little gem in my pocket and what is written in the journal suggest that this is what happened. It all seemed like a dream, but I don't think of it as a pipedream.
Apparently a year had passed since I had been gone. My funeral was already done, so I had to ask them unreasonably to rewrite all my documents. I would also need to reregister at the university.
Araya was also safe. He said that after he was separated from me, he escaped out of the forest on his own. I was surprised that he has now taken over my post as a professor.
I'm reading this journal again at home. I have learned that the world is full of countless wonders. I may need to rest for a while, but I will still go looking for new strangeness.
Her face is shrouded in fog, but still, it is a sure thing that happened. The eye on the desk certainly affirm this.
My research will continue.