 Item Number – SCP-518 Object Class – Euclid Special Containment Procedures SCP-518 is to be monitored by a field research team, consisting of at least three staff and one project lead, supplemented by two security staff. This team shall be based at Remote Observation Site 18, three kilometers from SCP-518. An automated security perimeter surrounding SCP-518 is to be established and maintained. One physical copy of SCP-518-1 is authorized to exist at any given time for the purposes of research. This copy is to be kept at all times in an opaque protective sleeve sealed in a locked container and kept in storage locker 742 in restricted access wing 1 of Site 93. One electronic copy is permitted to be accessible from authorized terminals at Site 93 and Remote Observation Site 18. Any unauthorized instances of SCP-518-1 discovered by Foundation personnel are to be destroyed immediately. Description – SCP-518 is a localized anomalous phenomenon, catalyzed by the dissemination and exposure of SCP-518-1. SCP-518 is, currently, a complex in a small valley consisting of 11 wooden structures in varying states of repair, designed and built in the style of structures common in newly settled areas of the American West during the mid-19th century. These structures are arranged in a manner inconsistent with an established settlement. Buildings are arranged in a roughly circular pattern, with no regard to road systems or natural topography. One structure is currently located on top of a creek. SCP-518 is located in rural Deschitz County, Oregon, United States, in the vicinity of the Metolius River. SCP-518-1 is a short narrative, first documented upon the initial exploration of SCP-518. Whenever SCP-518-1 is read in its entirety by a sapient, comprehending individual, SCP-518 undergoes spontaneous physical changes. In most cases, these changes entail the movement of structures in relation to each other, rearrangement of the interior features of these structures, and a small amount of subsidence in the immediate geographic vicinity of SCP-518. In some cases, readings of SCP-518-1 will cause new structures to appear, or existing structures to simply cease to exist. Research has determined that these physical changes occur either instantaneously, or at speeds beyond the observational capability of current technology. The buildings that make up SCP-518 superficially resemble commonly found structures of the region during the 1850s and 1860s. In addition to several houses, there are currently a barn, a three-story hotel, and a sawmill. However, the interiors of these structures are atypical of traditional dwellings and establishments. Features such as walls, floors, and ceilings tend to be arbitrarily constructed. Houses have been observed to have rooms with no doors, non-level floors. One dwelling is constructed with a floor at a 37-degree angle, ceilings of a height of 1 meter or less, etc. Furniture and household items typical of the period are also present, but are arranged haphazardly. In several cases, chairs and beds have been observed nailed to walls and ceilings. Other buildings contain no features inside, while the barn merely covers an open shaft, extending to a depth of 120 meters. The land area comprising SCP-518 is gradually undergoing conversion into a sinkhole and is currently experiencing subsidence at a rate of approximately 2-3 meters per SCP-518-1 event. Other projections estimate that SCP-518 will be completely submerged by the local water table after 25-30 additional SCP-518-1 events. Below is a partial transcription of SCP-518-1. This is the last will and testament of me, Asa Rutledge of Gretz Hollow, Kentucky, made this 11th day of February 1859. I bequeath no material possessions, having none. Though my soul be condemned to hell for what happened here, I direct that my final wishes be carried out in full. This place and all that happened here shall be forgotten by man and buried under the earth until the day of judgment. Though nothing is hidden from the Almighty, this being the only atonement I can now offer, I will it thus. By the power left to me, which I pray is still sufficient to this task, let this testament be the means to conceal my shame, and let the tools of remembrance be turned to the act of forgetting. May Providence hasten the vanishing of this place from the earth. Since the establishment of containment, the Foundation has documented 15 spontaneous changes in the composition of SCP-518 that can be reasonably traced to the reading of SCP-518-1. Of these incidents, 13 have occurred under controlled research conditions. Expansion log, 518-1. Upon initial containment in February of 1992, in the establishment of Remote Observation Site-18, staff undertook an initial exploration of SCP-518. Note, at the time, SCP-518 consisted of nine structures and included a church and a school house that do not currently exist. The sawmill structure and two current houses had not yet manifested. A team consisting of four D-Class personnel was dispatched to the site, equipped with two-way radios, flashlights, water, emergency rations, crowbars, and a camcorder. Dr. Lupe Carmona, then the Research Director for SCP-518, supervised the exploration from Remote Observation Site-18. Selected transcripts are reproduced below. Dr. Carmona. Supplies have been checked and accounted for. All personnel present. D-3299-5, do you read me? D-3299-5, copy. Dr. Carmona, time is 1,405 hours. Please proceed to the first structure in your field of view. D-9423-7, please keep the camcorder trained to your front in order to maintain our video feed. D-9423-7, copy. Video feed shows exploration team proceeding to an SCP-518-A structure resembling a house. Team reaches the front door and attempts to enter. Door is locked. D-3299-5, it won't budge. Dr. Carmona, you are authorized to force entry. D-2234-3 and D-9423-7, forced door open with crowbars. D-3299-5, it's pretty dark in there. Dr. Carmona, illuminate the area and get video of the interior. Flashlights from off-camera reveal that the interior of the structure is typical of a structure of the apparent time period, with the exception of a dresser mounted on the ceiling and a floor sloping at a pronounced angle towards the southern wall. D-9423-7, you seeing this? Dr. Carmona, affirmative. Please proceed carefully into the house and document the surroundings. After six minutes and 58 seconds of visual documentation, a small door in the northwest corner of the structure is visible in the floor. Dr. Carmona, D-4898-3, please open the door in your field of view and document your findings. D-4898-3, copy. D-4898-3 opens the hatch in the floor. After other exploration members illuminate the opening, a crawl space is revealed to be accessible through the hatch. Dr. Carmona, D-4898-3 and D-2234-3, please proceed into the space in front of you. D-2234-3, I don't know, man, I think... Dr. Carmona, please proceed into the space in front of you. D-2234-3, copy. D-2234-3 and D-4898-3 take the camcorder and their flashlights into the crawl space. All indications are that it is an ordinary crawl space until D-2234-3 pauses. Dr. Carmona, you've stopped. Have you found anything? D-2234-3, there's holes all over the place in here. Almost sprained my damn ankle. Dr. Carmona, please describe what you're seeing in detail. D-2234-3, there's a bunch of little rectangular holes in the dirt here. About 50 centimeters or so long, maybe a little bigger, narrow. Dr. Carmona, is there anything in the holes? D-2234-3, hold on. Let me take a look. Um, it's, uh... What is that? D-4898-3 positions the camcorder over D-2234-3's shoulder. D-4898-3 appears to be handling an undetermined object while crouched over a hole. Dr. Carmona, what are you handling? Please refrain from any unnecessary forensic contamination. D-2234-3, it's, uh, it's nothing. There's nothing in any of these. Dr. Carmona, I don't believe it's necessary to remind you of the terms of your... D-4898-3, it's nothing. There's nothing in here. Dr. Carmona, please spend another few minutes documenting this space and then proceed to the next staging point. Video feed indicates that the floor of the crawl space is filled with dozens of holes, corresponding to D-2234-3's description. D-4898-3 and D-2234-3 then rejoin the other exploration members without incident and leave the structure. Video feed is turned off until the exploration team reaches the church structure, then present at SCP-518. Dr. Carmona orders the team to proceed inside, where they discover an entirely empty structure. The exploration team documents the interior until D-3299-5 pauses at the southwestern wall. Dr. Carmona, D-3299-5, do you have an observation? D-3299-5, there's some writing on the wall over here. Hey, get that camcorder over here. Dr. Carmona, is the writing legible? D-3299-5, mostly, it's kind of smudged in some places, looks like it's written in soot. Here, let's get the video feed in here. Camcorder is brought to the writing, identified later as an instance of SCP-518-1. D-3299-5, this is the last will and testament of me. Not sure what this is. Dr. Carmona, please transcribe it as best you can. D-3299-5, copy that. D-3299-5 attempts to copy down SCP-518-1 on a small notepad. Discussion occurs between D-3299-5, D-2234-3, and D-9423-7, as to possible word choices for smudged portions of the original text. After approximately 25 minutes, D-3299-5 finishes writing and appears to read his notes. A low rumbling sound immediately starts and the camcorder appears to start shaking. D-9423-7, what? What the hell? What's going on? D-2234-3, sh**. Dr. Carmona, what's happening in there? D-2234-3, we gotta get out of here. Now, now! Dr. Carmona, permission to abort denied. Stand by and... D-4898-3 can be heard in the background to be softly laughing. An unidentified member of the exploration team starts screaming. A loud crashing noise is heard before audio and video contact is lost. Dr. Carmona, D-3299-5, do you read? What's going on in there? Do you read? End transcript. Lesson complete. If you missed the previous orientation, go watch SCP-517, Grammy knows, right now, or for the complete course, watch this playlist.