The Corner of your Eye

Summary:

The creature that exists in the corner of your vision, the one you feel right behind you when you turn of the lights.

The Corner of your Eye

CamusComprix 17 Sep 2020 16:55

Seeking Greenlights: Yes

Page Type: SCP Article

Genre (Optional): Horror/suspense

Page Layout (Optional): I plan to mainly use the regular SCP format, and have a section on discovery/ an addendum audiolog where a scientist studying this SCP goes crazy - Eventually leading to the change from Euclid to Keter, because it seems to indicate that the more you look for these creatures, the more they will taunt you to insanity

Elevator Pitch: Have you ever seen a figure out of the corner of your eye when turning of the lights, or ran to your bed from the lightswitch because it felt like something was following you? It turns out that feeling is actually a (or many? would love feedback on this) creature(s) that avoid being fully seen.

Central Narrative: An SCP researcher is studying this effect, and is on the verge of marking these creatures as explained (just human psychology), when they start to appear more to him, and he slowly goes crazy, eventually leading to him killing himself in an attempt to whip his head around while driving in his car. I think the format of this can be his personal research logs as he descends into insanity, which in my mind is reminiscent of SCP - 4205.

Hook/Attention-Grabber: To the best of my research, the closest SCP to this is 372, but in my opinion they seem different, maybe I could link the two pieces somehow? As long as it hasn't been done before, I think the thing that makes this piece interesting is just how common this is for everyone to experience. I can imagine if I do it right someone reading this and checking over their shoulder, feeling as if these mischievous beings are right behind them, and hopefully when people experience this they can think back to this SCP.

Additional Notes: I would obviously love any and all feedback, but there are three things that I would love specific feedback on. 1. Am I handling the classification correctly, in relation to Keter, Euclid, and Safe? 2. What are your thoughts on the addendum/ story of the doomed researcher. 3. Is this idea actually unique/ what other SCPs are similar/linkable to this piece. Thanks in advance!

Re: The Corner of your Eye

Cerastes 17 Sep 2020 19:45

Placeholder, will respond within 24 hours.

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It turns out that feeling is actually a (or many? would love feedback on this) creature(s) that avoid being fully seen.

Alright, so what kind of anomaly are we dealing with here? Is it a hunter? Is it something that's just very shy? Or is it something with human level intelligence, that has its own reasons for doing what it does? Probably a good idea to flesh it out.

and he slowly goes crazy, eventually leading to him killing himself in an attempt to whip his head around while driving in his car.

People going crazy due to an anomaly and killing themselves is rather overplayed, honestly. 4205 deals with that, yes, but it was ironically part of the ClicheContest- where they took tropes that people dislike or thought were overused and tried to give them a new light. As Pedagon said below, its also somewhat reminiscent of 1471.

This doesn't feel like it brings anything particularly interesting to the table, I'm afraid.

Last edited on 18 Sep 2020 08:09 by Cerastes Show more

Re: The Corner of your Eye

Pedagon 17 Sep 2020 22:35

Hello CamusComprix!!

Team of the Oinks Officer Pedagon here to be your first critter!

+ Specific Requests

1. Am I handling the classification correctly, in relation to Keter, Euclid, and Safe?

I do not believe so based on your description. These classifications are more about their containability rather than their danger level. If these things are really creatures that can be rounded up by the Foundation and contained then you have a euclid. If they cannot be contained and somehow exist in the side of the eye or appear through some other means then they might be keter. Give http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/object-classes a look.

2. What are your thoughts on the addendum/ story of the doomed researcher.

I don't really have any thoughts. This is a trope on the wiki but it is a trope for a reason. And that reason is because it works. Maybe check out SCP-4205 for an example of this trope being used effectively. But making this work really comes down to your writing and structure of your article.

3. Is this idea actually unique/ what other SCPs are similar/linkable to this piece.

Have you read SCP-1471 or SCP-178? They aren't direct parallels but you might find some inspiration in your dive into the idea of "something just out of sight"

+ Roses and Thorns

The roses are the idea itself. This is a very human experience and everyone can relate to it at least a little. It has been explored in some ways before but that doesn't mean you can't do it in your own way.

The thorns are that I can't really critique this idea in it's current form. This is a good narrative and the story logically flows, but there isn't much here about the actual SCP. What are these creatures? Where do they come from? Why are they in the corner of your eye but other people can't see them? etc. I need more information from you before I can give a real critique

Looking forward to hearing back from you! And welcome to the site! :)