**Item#:**8928
Clearance Level 2: Clearance
Containment Class: safe
Secondary Class: archon
Disruption Class: #/dark
Risk Class: #/notice
A map of the New Jersey Pine Barrens
Special Containment Procedures: Any reports of encounters with SCP-8928 are to be catalogued, with follow-up interviews conducted as needed. As the anomaly is considered a part of local folklore, disinformation campaigns are only to be enacted in extreme circumstances.
Direct containment of the object has been deemed unnecessary and impractical at this time.
Wireless trail cameras have been set up around various campgrounds in the area in an effort to record manifestations.
Description: SCP-8928 is a spectral canine entity residing within the New Jersey Pine Barrens, reported to resemble a large dog with thick, black fur. Due to its incorporeal nature, little else is known about its appearance.
Local folklore suggests that SCP-8928 manifests nearby individuals who become lost within the forest. Evidence seems to support this, with most reported encounters coming from amateur hikers or tourists unfamiliar with the area. Testimonies also state that the anomaly appears during or after a dangerous event. It is unknown if SCP-8928 is causing these events or predicting them.
To date, there have been no reported cases of an individual interacting with the anomaly.
- Close Addendum.1: 10/29/12 Post-Encounter Statement
Date: 11/05/12
Subject: Tessa KingForeword: Ms. King was out on a camping trip with her family in the Pine Barrens when Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey. She is the only known case of SCP-8928 physically interacting with a person.
<Statement Begins>
Interviewer: Would you be able to state your experience of getting separated from your family for the record?
[King takes a sip of water from a provided cup.]
King: I guess, yeah.
King: It was around 4, I think, and we were getting ready to leave. We'd been out there for a week, no cell service, just an old hand-crank radio for emergencies.
King: Dad decided to spin up the radio, see if he could get some indication as to the traffic on our way back.
Interviewer: That was when you got the news about the hurricane?
[King nods]
King: I don't remember much about the scramble back to the car. It's all kind of a blur up until I realized I'd gotten split up from everyone else.
King: By the time I noticed I was alone it was starting to get dark, which really only made me panic even more. I didn't have time to stop and get my bearings either. Not that I would have been able to without a compass or a map.
King: At some point I just gave up and slumped down against a random tree.
[King takes another sip of water]
King: I mean, what was the point of running anymore? I could barely see my hands, the wind had started to blow like crazy, and it was really fucking cold.
King: I would have closed my eyes and let the storm take me if I hadn't noticed it.
Interviewer: You mean the dog?
King: Yeah. I could really only see its eyes at first. Thought it was a trick of the light until they started moving towards me. Then I saw the rest of its body, like it was glowing slightly.
King: I should have probably been scared but, I don't know, seeing a dog out there in the storm made me feel safer. Like, it was something familiar. I mean, everyone has heard stories about hero dogs saving those in need. It came up to me and licked my face like it was trying to show I could trust it.
King: Then it turned around and started walking away, stopping after a few paces to look back at me. Took me a moment to realize it wanted me to follow it.
Interviewer: And you did?
King: It's not like I had any other options.
King: Eventually we ended up at a little hollow dug out next to a fallen tree. It started to rain shortly after we huddled up inside of the hollow. Thinking back on it, I should have been freezing cold but somehow the dog's body kept me warm throughout the storm. I must have fallen asleep shortly after because the next thing I remember being woken up by some park rangers.
<Statement Ends>
Closing Remarks: After reaching their car, the King family was able to contact Search and Rescue before cell service went down. The S&R personnel who arrived at the park the following morning reported seeing a stray dog that led them in the direction of Ms. King. Cover stories and amnestics were applied as needed.