“she doesn’t call me every day like she used to. we both have our own friends and boyfriends. will the number of days when we don’t think of each other increase? but that’s okay”
schrodinger’s chekhov’s gun. a detail in a story that looks like it should have some big payoff but it’s too early to tell if that’s relevant or if the author just has a passion for lovingly describing guns.
schrodinger’s chekov’s occam’s razor: you find an inconsistent or inaccurate detail in a work that would be brilliant if it was foreshadowing a plot twist later on, but it’s too early to tell whether the author expects you to be smart, and the simplest explanation is that they fucked up
So, I was going to make a post where I rate popular/commonly recommended horror SCPs based on how scary I think they are, but I forgot about all the ones that didn’t have much of an effect on me and I don’t feel like rereading them. So. Here’s what you get. A short selection of best horror SCPs.
Or, my best ones that I have been able to find again. I will probably add to the list as I track down others.
Its been a while since I’ve fully read some of these so I don’t remember everything, but, SCPs are generally pretty heavy on gross/unsanitary stuff, gore, body horror, and unreality stuff, so be warned.
SCP-2951: 10,000 YearsThis is one of my favorite SCPs ever, both in terms of the story and the way it subtly screws with formatting. The narrative revolves around exploring a mine full of spatial and temporal anomalies after a collapse that left potential survivors still trapped down in the mine.
I am a HUGE fan of the “exploring creepy anomalous area that’s bigger inside than outside” type of SCP and this one is a good example. The sense of dread that it builds and the ambiguity is haunting. If you know the podcast “Old Gods of Appalachia,” there’s a really similar energy here.
SCP-3005: A Light That Died A great article that messes with your head. I still have no idea what specifically is actually happening here but it’s somehow compelling as hell, how warped everything feels through the subtle screwing with the formatting and the writing.
SCP-4157: WANT DOGNot strictly a horror SCP? It’s kinda horrific but like equal parts funny and horrific. It made me scream with laughter at a couple points. A nice short one if you’re not interested in a long ass narrative.
SCP-1165: Minus Level: You know how in Minecraft everything is infinite and you’re alone and buildings sometimes generate wrongly? If that makes you feel a little weird you’ll be into this.
It’s basically about an alley in a city that opens into an warped alternate version of the city that goes on forever. It is one of the first SCPs I can remember reading, and it took me FOREVER to find it again.
SCP-2194: Filth Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin! I would like to unread this thanks. Not among the scariest on the site per se but one of the earlier SCPs I read and it…left an Impression. So here ya go.
SCP-1730: “What Happened to Site-13?” So, FYI, this is the longest SCP on the site, if memory holds. It’s novella-length. Which makes it impressive that it held my attention the whole time.
There are a lot of good SCPs that build a connection with their characters, but this one is an extraordinary example, because you really start to get invested in the main characters’ survival. It’s another expedition-into-creepy-anomalous-place style SCP. It’s not specifically horror-focused but it is like, suspenseful with SCP typical horror elements.
I would actually say that it probably makes a good introduction to the SCP world.??? since it hits a lot of the major worldbuilding things and gives you a good sense of what this world is like.
SCP-455: The Cargo Ship- An absolute favorite. This one has a narrative that is super engaging and it’s scary af. The interview logs, audio transcripts and dialogue really hit the spot with the mixture of ambiguity and horrible specificity. There is a big jumble of horror tropes here but the main compelling thing about this is just the journey into an abandoned cargo ship that has waaaay more floors from the inside than outside.
And the ending is a gut punch I will never forget.
SCP-1981: “Ronald Reagan Cut Up While Talking” Fucked up. I think this one is pretty well known? This is one of the few SCPs where a creepy image enhances the SCP for me, and it’s also just fucked up.
SCP-835: Expunged Data ReleasedHORRIBLE. NO. HATE. Do not click if you’re not prepared for body horror and to be generally grossed the fuck out.
You know the [redacted] meme? Yeah, so, SCP’s often build horror around putting redactions in their articles, because sometimes leaving ambiguity is more horrifying than specifying exactly what is going on—and THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE INSTANCES HOLY SHIT.
SCP-2614: Sometimes I Go Out in Pity For Myself This one isn’t scary per se. But it’s extremely eerie and it HAUNTS ME. I just have SO many questions. I want to be the researcher to perform experiments with this thing holy fuck.
Running low on the Busan and Jeju-do travel posters! This may be the only time you can get all six posters because once they’re sold out, I will not be restocking them! ><
do you guys even know what anne carson is like. you reblog her quotes all the time but are you aware that seeing her in person is a spiritual experience
she came to my college in the spring of 2019. she was wearing
a flannel under a pinstripe suit, cuffed trousers and bright red sneakers, and
she had her hair up in a messy bun. I didn’t take a picture but here’s my
artist’s rendition
the whole room was full of Classics wlwTM and we
Absolutely Could Not Handle This Like Even a Little Bit. I got so distracted
thinking about her during my workout today that I accidentally did 15 more
jumping jacks than I was supposed to, which I think is the gayest sentence I’ve
ever written.
how do I describe the way she speaks? it’s this very floaty,
dignified, vaguely curious, uncompelled, but very intentional style of diction,
like if you met god at a garden party and she handed you a pitcher of cream and
asked you why you think you should get into heaven. I wrote down the phrase
“Your ridiculous little glasslike soul” and I don’t remember in what context
she said it, but THAT’S the vibe.
she is screamingly funny but relentlessly deadpan.
“You know Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for—” she pulls down her glasses and looks
at us, like a librarian who moonlights writing erotica – “sodomy.” She had us do
an “interactive portion” during one of her poems, instructing the right side of
the audience: “Your part is simply the word Deciduous? With a question
mark at the end.”
She has flawless comedic timing, and she does not use
filler words. Remember this line from Elektra? it sums up her sense of humor
PERFECTLY:
She spices up her wit by dropping in the occasional
mind-blowing quote like “Tears are all about the weeper, aren’t they?” and “Roses
and hurricanes are too much as they are to be anything else, to be damaged by
metaphor.” and “Do I frighten people, saying there’s no back wall? Nothing
between you and your heart of darkness?”
like. she is an incredible writer and I’m not about to denigrate
her translations by saying she didn’t put work into them, but I honest to god
think that is just How This Woman’s Mind Works. she is on “not to me, not if it’s
you” and “someone will remember us I say even in another time” levels of galaxy
brain wordcraft, but IN REAL LIFE.
I came up to her after the reading and asked her to sign my
Bacchae copy. I did not say much to her besides that I was a fan, because I got
the sense that if I formed a complete sentence in her presence she would see directly through me and reach into my body and swallow my entire ribcage like a snake.
she signed my book “regards, A.C.” I’ll never forget her.
Hey my sister’s favorite bookstore burned down on the 4th of July and they lost their entire inventory. The place is owned by a really sweet Asian lady in Chinatown and they hosted all sorts of really good and fun events. She asked me to pass this on and forward it if anyone is willing to pitch in to help restore it ^^
No pressure regardless, but felt I’d pass it on cause damn that’s so unfortunate.
you could be reading a book aloud to me right now, yet here you are on the accursed website once again. shame upon you for ten years (biggest number there is)
“why would we make plans in front of you if you weren’t invited?” babe i was left out of everything growing up, i need 100% confirmation you want me there or i simply will not go
