Credits
Author:
This article is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 License. In addition, content created by the authors, translators, or editors of this article is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 License unless otherwise stated.
"Content" includes text, images, sound, music, video, software, code and other information.
Samples of red spider lily, recovered from the location of a past event.
Item #: SCP-2707-JP
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Upon receipt of a report of a body presumed to have been affected by SCP-2707-JP, an effort is to be made to contain it and cover up its anomalous nature. While the procedures for this are to divert the Standard Body Disposal Cover Protocol α, interim operations may be planned and activated in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
The recovered corpse is cremated and pulverized, after which it is deposited as an unclaimed body at a cemetery management facility near the location of discovery.
Description: SCP-2707-JP is an anomalous event that causes the head of a human cadaver to split open, occurring around autumn, mainly in Japan. Since its discovery in 2002, the Foundation has confirmed a total of forty-nine cases as of 2021: two in Hokkaido, thirty-six in Honshu, six in Kyushu/Okinawa, one in Shikoku, two on other Japanese islands, one on the main island of Taiwan, and one on the coast of South Korea.
SCP-2707-JP progresses according to the following phases.
- Sprouting Phase: Human cadavers that meet certain criteria are randomly selected as targets. The required criteria are listed below; however, most cadavers are not targeted, even when they meet all of these criteria.
- The head is present and has not detached from the torso.
- The corpse is present in a manner that exposes it to the air within the affected area.
- The corpse has not been discovered by others for more than three days after its clinical death.
- There is no individual willing to claim the corpse .
- Budding Phase: Red spider lilies (Lycoris radiata) rapidly emerge and grow around the affected corpse. The presence of viable soil and its nutritive potential are not considered in this process; in one case, the roots were found to grow in a way that penetrated the concrete. With the growth of red spider lilies, fissures begin to develop in the skull of the affected corpse.
- Flowering Phase: Full-scale splitting of the affected corpse begins. The skull of the affected corpse opens with the flesh along the aforementioned fissures and takes on a form similar to the petals of a red spider lily. Red spider lilies around the affected corpse begin to flower as well, covering the entire corpse with petals.
The time from the Sprouting Phase to the completion of the Flowering Phase varies in each case, although it is generally completed within 24 hours. After the event, the affected corpse and the generated red spider lilies lose their anomalous properties and slowly decompose/wither through the normal process. The abnormally deformed skull remains intact.
If the affected corpse is discovered by other people during the process, deformation of the corpse and growth of surrounding flora ceases at that point — However, this only occurs when the corpse is directly observed in the vicinity (~30m), and not when observed from a distance or through surveillance cameras. Once away from direct observation, the deformation and growth resumes after an interval of a few tens of minutes; the process slows down and eventually reaches a permanent cessation if the corpse is discovered and appropriate actions1 are taken.
Addendum.2707-JP: Shūshū-In Records
During the search for documents related to SCP-2707-JP, several records from Shūshū-In were found that may have described this phenomenon. The oldest reference is estimated to date from around the Asuka period (593-710 AD), and researchers have proposed that SCP-2707-JP may have influenced the formation of a culture that associates red spider lily with death. Research activities under the Foundation Department of History and Culture - Japanese Folklore Section are ongoing.
An illustration accompanying one of the recovered documents. It is believed to have been drawn by an unidentified artist during the Heian period (794-1185 AD).