An instance of SCP-437-A. (Quercus alba, aka white oak).
Item #: SCP-437
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: A fenced perimeter has been established around SCP-437. Foundation horticulturists are to be kept on-site to monitor and care for SCP-437-A instances. Testing is prohibited pending review by the Ethics Committee.
MTF Iota-10 ("Damn Feds") is to investigate all PoIs associated with SCP-437 and place them in Foundation custody along with their children.
Description: SCP-437 is a large grove of trees located in Camp Lakewood, Illinois (USA). It contains 64 instances of SCP-437-A.
Carya ovata,
aka shagbark hickory.
SCP-437-A are numerous trees common to North America. Each instance has several cankers, atypical interior structures (see below), and — rather than sap — contains significant quantities of human blood.
SCP-437 was discovered by the Foundation in 2011, twenty years after the summer camp's closure. Employment records for Camp Lakewood have not been found. All persons who attended Camp Lakewood during the summer of 1991 are Persons of Interest, and are still currently at large.
Addendum 437.1: Interview
PoI-437-15 was brought in after genetic analysis of blood samples from an instance of SCP-437-A led to a match in Foundation hospital records.
AUDIO LOG
DATE: 2014/09/15
INTERVIEWER: Agent Bennet
SUBJECT: PoI-437-15 (Samantha Blanchette)
[BEGIN LOG.]
INTERVIEWER: Did you attend Camp Lakewood in 1991?
P-15: Is that what this is about? Uh, yeah — that was… wow. Two decades ago? Wow. I was fifteen, I think. That really takes me back.
INTERVIEWER: What do you remember from your time there?
P-15: Best summer ever. (laughing) It was an amazing place. I was so sad to go, especially when we found out it was closing. I made so many friends there — so many great memories. I think… yeah, it's even where I had my first kiss.
INTERVIEWER: Did you ever see any strange trees to the south of the camp?
P-15: Huh?
INTERVIEWER: 2 kilometers to the south, there's a grove of trees. Are you familiar with it?
P-15: I mean, sure. We all were.
INTERVIEWER: In what sense?
P-15: (laughing) I mean, it was goofy kid stuff, y'know? Stories the counselors would tell around the campfire. Spooky trees down the southern trail. Something trapped inside of them. Go there at night, press your ear against the bark, and you can hear it singing.
INTERVIEWER: Singing?
P-15: Yeah. Like I said, goofy kid stuff.
INTERVIEWER: Did you ever go there yourself?
[Silence.]
INTERVIEWER: Mrs. Blanchette?
P-15: Huh? Oh, sorry. No, I never went there. Too scared, I guess. Heh. That was a pretty crazy summer, y'know? Sometimes I really miss that place.
[END LOG.]
NOTE: Shortly after the interview, PoI-437-15 escaped custody via unknown (presumably anomalous) means. Subsequent investigations found all PoIs associated with SCP-437 have been recently reported as missing.
Addendum 437.2: Email update
▼ Close File
Quercus macrocarpa, aka bur oak. Identified as Samantha Blanchette.
DATE: 2016/07/20
FROM: Dr. Weiss <noitadnuof.pcs|ssiewt#noitadnuof.pcs|ssiewt>
TO: Site Director August <noitadnuof.pcs|tsuguaj#noitadnuof.pcs|tsuguaj>
SUBJECT: Recent Findings
Radiographic and ultra-sound imaging determined the presence of humanoid skeletal structures and soft tissue in each instance of SCP-437-A. Organs are 'woven' into the trees themselves, and appear to be semi-functional. Although severely deformed, most of the bones are consistent with adolescent humans between the ages of 13 and 16.
In several cases, deformation of the jaw has been minimal — this allowed us to identify certain instances via dental records taken before 1991.
I don't think your PoIs are the campers, Jeremiah. I suggest we sub-designate them as part of SCP-437. As for the SCP-437-A instances themselves — I want to look into the possibility of euthanizing them.
They've been in there for twenty years. When you press your ear against the bark, you can hear them.
It's low and muffled, but you can hear them just fine.