Item #: SCP-212-KO
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: The Foundation ordered local medical facilities to implement tetanus awareness campaigns at least once a year. Foundation patrol agents are educated to report when discovering objects that resemble SCP-212-KO-1 and to never touch them with any part of their body. Drones are used to move SCP-212-KO-1. SCP-212-KO-3 should be moved to Site-██ when discovered, as it is harmless to touch. On discovery of people affected by SCP-212-KO-1, SCP-212-KO-1 is to be forcefully removed by a robot. The affected person is then moved to the Site, treated with C-Class amnestics, and released.
Description: SCP-212-KO-1 is a rusty old spade. Its manufacturer is unknown, and it resembles a common spade. When a person holds the spade with their hand When a person touches the spade with any part of their body, they feel an impulse to dig the nearest ground with the spade. The victim will then proceed to dig a 2m x 1m x 1m hole for one to two hours depending on their condition, after which they will lie down with their hands crossed. The victim then immediately falls into a state of apparent death. Analysis showed that victims in this state were in a state similar to cerebral death. Victims in the process of digging can be safely rescued, but the impulse to dig down lingers. C-Class amnestics were proven to be very effective at counteracting said impulse. Even if the victim cannot dig due to being restrained, severely injured, or even lacking arms, they attempted to dig down.
SCP-212-KO-2 is an unknown black humanoid entity. It manifests when the victim lies down in the hole, piling back the dirt the victim dug up with a black spade. All attempts to physically interact with SCP-212-KO-2 have failed, but digging up the victim during the burial was possible. In this case, SCP-212-KO-2 immediately disappears after excavation. When uninterrupted, SCP-212-KO-2 immediately disappears after its work is done, and SCP-212-KO-3 manifests.
SCP-212-KO-3 rises from the ground after SCP-212-KO-2 finishes its process. It is a rectangular stone tombstone, with the victim's name, date of birth, and the current date (date of death) chiselled on it. Sample analysis showed that SCP-212-KO-3 is an ordinary granite tombstone incapable of causing other anomalous events. Touching it caused no particular side effects. However, it is uncertain as to how the tombstone has the victim's name and date of birth.
Using a spade, the Foundation dug up where the victims were wholly buried but found that it was filled with dirt, with no human residue. The SCP-202-KO-1 entity buried with the victim also disappeared, reappearing in another location. Physical attempts to contain SCP-212-KO-1 have been made, but after three to four hours in containment, SCP-212-KO-1 vanished and manifested somewhere else. Attempts to attach location tracking devices on SCP-212-KO have all been unsuccessful.
SCP-212-KO-1 usually manifests in places with less foot traffic, such as in a mountain, trekking routes, and the shoulders of highways. There have been no cases of it being discovered in places with high foot traffic, such as crowded streets or residential districts.
