Call of cthulhu

Call of cthulhu

Abandonedclarity 28 Dec 2019 05:37

A leather bound copy of the short story Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft, that causes anyone close to it to feel the need to read it. Once they begin reading they can't stop until they finish the story. Once they finish the story they believe that they are Cthulhu, even to the extent of attempting to harm and modify their own body to look more like that of Cthulhu. They also believe they have Cthulhu's telepathic abilities. They are incapable of being convinced that these are not true, or even perceive the existence of their previous identity.

I want to know if anyone thinks this could make a successful SCP as well as what I could do to improve it. Thank you for reading.

Last edited on 28 Dec 2019 05:38 by Abandonedclarity Show more

Re: Call of cthulhu

Doctor Fullham 28 Dec 2019 06:26

What you have currently is the "thing that does a thing" or "X that does Y" concept. An SCP article is much more than simply an anomalous item, being, place, or event. The true meat of the SCP is the story around the anomalous thing. The thing itself is a vehicle that the narrative is attached to. To give my best example from Series 1, look at SCP 093: The anomalous item itself is a rock that turns mirrors into interdimensional portals. The thing that makes this SCP shine is the story; the history of the dimension that it leads to.

I recommend reading several items on the Guide Hub:

How to Write an SCP

Clinical Tone: Declassified

Things What Do a Thing: An Essay On Anomalies That Are Things That Do A Thing

Essay Regarding SCPs, Narratives, and How They Can Share a Page

There are other guides there that can be very helpful, but these are some of the most often recommended for first-time contributors.

General Notes

causes anyone close to it to feel the need to read it.

Compulsory effects are going out of style on the wiki these days. You may want to re-think this.

We need to know more than just "it's a book that makes you believe you are Cthulhu." What story are you going to tell - How The Foundation found it, Who or what created it and why, did someone use it to some end? (These are not all questions that must be answered, these are some possible narrative hooks.) You need something that differentiates this as an SCP, instead of just an Anomalous Item.

I also recommend reading several (at least 10-20) of the top-rated SCPs from the last several months, and avoid reading series 1 SCPs for inspiration. Many series 1 SCPs would not last a day under current SCP standards, and a few are only still around because of their history with the wiki itself. (This does not apply to all series 1 SCPs, as you can see I mentioned 093 earlier, but many of these were written before the wiki's style had really been cemented.)

The anomalous object, while important, is not actually the main focus of the SCP. A good story, a compelling narrative, something that makes the reader feel something - that is the goal of an SCP article. What feeling do you want to evoke from the reader? Horror? Empathy? Sadness? You need to create a narrative around this object and its effects.

I am not saying this to discourage you, I just want you to understand the amount of effort that goes into creating a successful SCP.

If you can revise this idea with a story that you want to tell, we will be able to give you much more meaningful and constructive critique.

The anomalous item is the vehicle, the narrative is the person driving, the readers are the passengers. You can have the shiniest, most polished, most interesting vehicle in the world, but without the driver, the passengers aren't going anywhere. Where is the narrative taking the readers, and how is it getting them there?

Re: Call of cthulhu

Abandonedclarity 28 Dec 2019 15:54

Thank you for the feedback, I will try and find a way to put a story into the document.

Re: Call of cthulhu

(account deleted) 28 Dec 2019 16:05

I’ll just add to the previous comment: along side X that does Y items, compulsion effects ,or X that makes you do Y aren’t viewed very popularly either as it’s a very worn down topic on the site.

Some narrative suggestions:
Perhaps this is what Lovecraft intended Cthulhu to be, a form that people try to imitate? You could get some memetic fuckery going on with the book. That’s just one idea for it but you are free to develop it in any way