An SCP-289-JP instance engaged in observation.
Item #: SCP-289-JP
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-289-JP instances are to be separately contained and raised in moisture-retentive cages of at least 120 cm x 45 cm x 45 cm, which are to be installed in a standard biological containment unit maintained in a tropical, humid environment. Terminated D-class personnel are to be used for human experimentation for research purposes. The Foundation is currently conducting capture operations in the SCP-289-JP habitat area; in the event that the number of instances exceeds the prescribed limit due to the containment of new instances, they should be disposed of.
Description: SCP-289-JP is a related species of coconut crab (Birgus latro Linnaeus) in the family Coenobitidae, with a body length of approximately 30-40 cm. It has more developed appendages than typical coconut crabs and can travel at speeds in excess of 10 km/h on flat surfaces and walls. SCP-289-JP is highly timid and cautious, and is rarely spotted, as it typically dwells in rock crevices and burrows.
The most significant characteristic of SCP-289-JP is its unusual habit of using the human head in the same manner as hermit crabs occupy empty seashells. By inserting its lower body into the brain ventricle of a severed human head, SCP-289-JP takes control of the human head's visual functions — such as eyesight, refractive index adjustment, eye movements, and binocular vision — and thereby acquires visual abilities equivalent to those of humans, in addition to its existing sensory organs. The process that makes this possible is currently unexplained. Since SCP-289-JP constantly secretes antiseptic fluids, the human head can be preserved for a much longer duration than a normal corpse, although its visual function begins to decline after a few months due to the deterioration of the eyeballs and other factors.
SCP-289-JP is known to regularly engage in hunting activities targeting humans to "replace the shelter" when its visual function begins to deteriorate. Its typical hunting method begins with lurking in the vicinity of a human's1 residence and observing the target and its living environment from outdoors. During this activity, SCP-289-JP avoids exposing its own body to the target, and instead uses the eyes of the human head. Since these observations are conducted mainly at night, with SCP-289-JP clinging to a wall and peering through the edge of a window or a gap in a curtain, the target only perceives the human head even in case they notice such activities. SCP-289-JP quickly moves along the wall and hides whenever it is detected, making it difficult for the target to perceive the main body of SCP-289-JP.
After two weeks to a month of such behavior, SCP-289-JP begins to observe the target from closer range. This change is believed to be due to its progressive deterioration of visual function as well as reduced opportunities for observation from outdoors due to the target's increasing cautiousness. In the final phase, SCP-289-JP enters the target's residence and crawls into the attic, under the bed, or storage space, where it waits for the target to fall asleep and then proceeds to kill them by attacking the neck with its developed chelicerae. After completely detaching the neck with the chelicerae, SCP-289-JP completes the "shelter replacement" by puncturing a hole in the temporal bone and inserting itself into the skull. In most cases, the previous human head abandoned in this process is brought back to the burrow to be consumed as food.
SCP-289-JP was discovered in 19██ when a series of abnormal deaths intermittently occurring in the surrounding areas of ████████ Prefecture caught the Foundation's attention. As the victims had reported being stalked and the presence of strange individuals prior to their deaths, these incidents were initially investigated as related serial homicide cases. To date, the Foundation has secured and contained ███ instances of SCP-289-JP.