SCP Foundation

[Eden]

The SCP Foundation is a fictional organization that exists within an online collaborative writing project. SCP stands for Secure, Contain, Protect, and the Foundation's purpose is to secure and contain anomalous objects, entities, and phenomena that pose a threat to humanity or violate the natural laws of the universe. The Foundation operates in secrecy and employs various methods to contain these anomalies, including research, experimentation, and, in extreme cases, termination. The SCP Foundation has a vast catalog of entries detailing various anomalous objects, entities, and phenomena, which are written in a standardized format for ease of reading and comprehension. The SCP Foundation has gained a large following online and has inspired numerous creative works such as video games, comics, and podcasts.

I am personally a big fan. Though nowadays my #1 way to consume the content is via the YouTube channel: The Exploring Series. The channel kinda turns a lot of the project's content into audiobook format, essentially. Lord Bung has a legendary short-series: Confinement that is only fully enjoyed having immersed yourself significantly in the universe as a whole.

Many of the SCP stories I've read, listened to or experienced have left me reflecting and thinking more often than not. Even if not the stories themselves, but the underlying ideas and discussions they can promote are worth having a space for I feel.

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The following are a personal list of my favorites that you may enjoy experiencing while getting started. Since there tends to be so much diversity with the writing in the project, I'll be sorting them by whether they are more horror, mystery, narrative or emotionally focused.

1. Favorite Horror SCPs
This is a difficult type because what I find horrific / disturbing, you might not. And there are quite a few other articles besides these that are equally if not more scary, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- SCP-1981 ~ RONALD REGAN CUT UP WHILE TALKING
- SCP-1733 ~ Season Opener + Audio Version
- SCP-2614 ~ Sometimes I Go Out In Pity For Myself + Audio Version

 

[CognacDefender]

It's a shame it kinda sucks now.

 

[Jade]

SCP-3333 was my personal favorite, it's a damn shame what happened to it. Fortunately you can still find archived versions of the original on several different sites and read-throughs of it

 

[Eden]

SCP-3333 ~ The Tower
Article
You should be able to change the article version history to read the original one Jade is referring to.

Audio Version

It's a great SCP. I also recommend.

 

[Some_porcupine]

remember "Teenage succuba"? yeah, wild times...

 

[Fig]

I think it's cool! Recently bought an scp patch for the bro for him to put on his backpack or something. SCP 999 is my favorite! Silly little fella!

 

[Andy Kaufman]

I can never remember the numbers but here's the most memorable ones and probably universally considered among the best:

The vending machine(?) that stands on the SCP facilities that has like several settings (coarse, fine, liquid?) and creates stuff from seemingly nothing but comes with a price.

The tomatoes that attack bad jokes.

The tape of the basketball game that is its own dimension and after several replays people in the stadium realised that they're caught in a time loop.

The copy of our world where everything died with wierd zombie giants running around. Was really well written and the reveal at the end was nice!

The giant rusty gear box cube that makes noises that make everyone who hears it go insane.

and finally the best one ever is the one you're not allowed to talk or write about so the entire SCP article is told via pictograms. Easily peak SCP and creativity.


The repeating stage play with the scary marionettes/puppets is an honorable mention.

 

[Eden]

The vending machine(?) that stands on the SCP facilities that has like several settings (coarse, fine, liquid?) and creates stuff from seemingly nothing but comes with a price.

SCP-914 ~ "The Clockworks"
Audio Version (with an accompanying origin story: Clockwork Time)
Article

Clockworks is the most famous. It's not really a vending machine, though. So on the off-chance Andy was confused:

SCP-294 ~ "The Coffee Machine"
Article
SCP-261 ~ "Pan-Dimensional Vending Machine"
Article
Audio Version that covers both (and a few other adjacent ones).

The tomatoes that attack bad jokes.

SCP-504 ~ "Critical Tomatoes"
Article
Audio / Video Version
Footnote: I am much more of a "The Exploring Series" shill. But some videos from other channels seem fine too.

The tape of the basketball game that is its own dimension and after several replays people in the stadium realised that they're caught in a time loop.

SCP-1733 ~ "Season Opener"
Article
Audio Version (it's the last one in the video)
Footnote: I'm not linking with a timestamp because I believe the videos are worth listening to in their entirety.

The copy of our world where everything died with wierd zombie giants running around. Was really well written and the reveal at the end was nice!

Hmmmm. I could be wrong here, but are you talking about:
SCP-093 ~ "Red Sea Object" (a personal favorite)?
Audio Version
Article

Additionally, SCP-093 has an amazing "Lord Blackwood Tale" associated with it:

Lord Blackwood in the Land of the Unclean​

Article / Story
Audio Version (this also introduces you to Lord Blackwood / SCP 1867; Article)
Footnote: Lord Blackwood is amazing, in my opinion. One of the best things to come out of the SCP lore.

The giant rusty gear box cube that makes noises that make everyone who hears it go insane.

Damn, I couldn't find this one...

and finally the best one ever is the one you're not allowed to talk or write about so the entire SCP article is told via pictograms. Easily peak SCP and creativity.

SCP-2521 ~ ●●|●●●●●|●●|●
Article
Here's a unique video for a unique SCP

The repeating stage play with the scary marionettes/puppets is an honorable mention.

Could also be wrong about this one:
SCP-6373 ~ "Stage Blight"
Article
Audio Version

SCP 999 is my favorite! Silly little fella!

SCP-999 ~ "The Tickle Monster" (a bit too cutesy for me)
Article
A cute video for a cute SCP

remember "Teenage succuba"? yeah, wild times...

SCP-166 ~ "Teenage Gaea (Succubus)"
Article
Video Version
Footnote: There are a lot of SCP animated videos, I'm personally not a fan of them as I believe they tend to negatively impact the author's original intention for a variety of reasons. But I'll occasionally include one here if there don't seem to be any better alternatives.

 

[Andy Kaufman]

SCP-914 ~ "The Clockworks"
Audio Version (with an accompanying origin story: Clockwork Time)
Article

Clockworks is the most famous. It's not really a vending machine, though. So on the off-chance Andy was confused:

SCP-294 ~ "The Coffee Machine"
Article
SCP-261 ~ "Pan-Dimensional Vending Machine"
Article
Audio Version that covers both (and a few other adjacent ones).



SCP-504 ~ "Critical Tomatoes"
Article
Audio / Video Version
Footnote: I am much more of a "The Exploring Series" shill. But some videos from other channels seem fine too.



SCP-1733 ~ "Season Opener"
Article
Audio Version (it's the last one in the video)
Footnote: I'm not linking with timestamp because I believe they're worth listening to in their entirety.



Hmmmm. I could be wrong here, but are you talking about:
SCP-093 ~ "Red Sea Object" (a personal favorite)
Audio Version
Article

Additionally, SCP-093 has an amazing "Lord Blackwood Tale" associated with it:

Lord Blackwood in the Land of the Unclean​

Article / Story
Audio Version (this also introduces you to Lord Blackwood / SCP 1867; Article)
Footnote: Lord Blackwood is amazing, in my opinion. One of the best things to come out of the SCP lore.



Damn, I couldn't find this one...



SCP-2521 ~ ●●|●●●●●|●●|●
Article
Here's a unique video for a unique SCP



Could also be wrong about this one:

SCP-6373 ~ "Stage Blight"
Article
Audio Version


SCP-999 ~ "The Tickle Monster" (a bit too cutesy for me)
Article
A cute video for a cute SCP


SCP-166 ~ "Teenage Gaea (Succubus)"
Article
Video Version
Footnote: There's a lot of SCP animated video, I'm personally not a fan of them. But I'll occasionally include one here if there don't seem to be any alternatives.

thanks for the research!

 

[№56]

I was really into the SCP foundation when I was in high school but stopped keeping up with the site after a point, and now I have a hard time getting back into it because of how complicated it's become. There are way more articles (I remember series IV being the newest) and most of the newer ones reference jargon and other SCPs that I don't recognize. I think the concept works best if each article is treated like a stand-alone story and references to the frame narrative (i.e. the backstory of the foundation itself, reoccuring characters and events, intereactions between different SCPs, etc.) are kept to a minimum. The original SCPs were written this way, but over time everything got more and more self-referential. I remember being really annoyed by wacky self-insert doctor characters and SCP power-creep (how many reality-destroying gods are there at this point?) back in the day, and from what I can tell it's only gotten worse. The multiple canons and spin-off sites don't help. Fortunately the old articles haven't gone anywhere (although it's hard for me to remember all the numbers) and some of the newer ones are pretty good.

Though nowadays my #1 way to consume the content is via the YouTube channel: The Exploring Series.

I've been listening to this guy's videos as background noise while I work and enjoying it a lot. He gives a summary of the article rather than reading the whole thing verbatim, but it's usually a good summary and I like how he never tries to pad the videos out. I liked his video on SCP-5000 a lot because he took the time to also summarize the other SCPs referenced in the article, many of which I hadn't read.