 Item number SCP-4310 Object Class Euclid Special Containment Procedures One instance of SCP-4310 is to be kept within an alligator enclosure with a soil culture that mimics that of Great Britain's temperate forests. Once per week, five live piglets are to be dropped into the enclosure. Well Task Force Lambda-12, past control, is responsible for sightings of SCP-4310. They are to kill specimens found in the wild. The Department of Analytics is to track current British children's literature for books at reference portals to fancy settings and alert Lambda-12 accordingly. Description SCP-4310 is an anomalous species of centipede. Fully grown, its total length, from head to anus, is approximately 6.5 meters. It has a pair of soft, extendable keratin flaps which can enclose its body, save for a portion of its posterior. When these flaps are fully extended, SCP-4310's exposed posterior segment roughly resembles the face of an old man, with movement of its rearmost leg simulating motion of the mouth and jaw. SCP-4310 is native to Great Britain and Ireland. Like most centipedes, it is carnivorous and spends most of its time burrowing underground. When hunting, it cocoons itself in its keratin flaps, extending its head and posterior from the soil, leaving the majority of its body buried. It then arranges its maximila pets and forelegs into a semi-circle, resembling an upright archway. Via an as-of-yet-unknown mechanism, this produces a spatial anomaly which leads directly into its stomach. Once prey enters, the anomaly closes. Paralytic enzymes combined with powerful acids are used to subdue and digest them over a period of several days. After consuming a sufficient quantity of meat, SCP-4310 instances will often burrow and hibernate for periods as long as 10 years. SCP-4310 uses two mechanisms to lure prey into its stomach. The first is the emission of a pheromone that induces mild euphoria, suppresses fear, and encourages curiosity in warm-blooded mammals. The second is a sound that also functions as its mating call. Its tail segment produces a repeating series of recognizable English phrases that resembles a heroic speech, typically describing a quest or prophecy that must be fulfilled by entering the archway. These calls last up to three minutes before repeating. Although each centipede's call is unique, no variation in a single centipede's call has been recorded over its lifetime. It is unclear how SCP-4310 learns to produce these sounds, as no specimen has shown any more intelligence than ordinary centipedes. SCP-4310 was first discovered in 1950 following a Foundation investigation into several disappearances reported in the town of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Agents noted the presence of teeth from several missing parties, and animal livens discovered in a nearby wooded grotto. The ensuing excavation uncovered three hybridating SCP-4310 instances, along with dropping piles containing the bones of over 70 children.