Item #: SCP-1896
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-1896 should be stored with the rope-portion coiled and fastened with a sturdy cable tie; a sealed plastic cover is sufficient protection for the tire-portion. The item is currently stored with the other Bonifay family artifacts at Research Sector-09 (see Addenda).
Description: SCP-1896 is a crudely-made swing, consisting of a hemp rope (approx. 3m in length) and an old automobile tire.
If left unattended, SCP-1896 will fasten itself to an invisible anchorage. The object will hang with the tire portion suspended 1m above the ground, rope stretching vertically and looped as if encircling a horizontal support.
For unknown reasons, this phenomenon will not take place while a human subject is physically observing the object. Video surveillance, however, has revealed that the rope-portion of SCP-1896 does not levitate but moves jerkily, as if it is being tossed. This “toss” will sometimes fail several times in succession before the rope "lands" successfully and anchors itself with several loops.
Once suspended, the anomaly will remain hanging indefinitely. Attempts to sever the rope while the object is suspended have been unsuccessful; however (with some difficulty) the anchoring knot can be unfastened by hand, and SCP-1896 will fall to the ground. These efforts have revealed that the object's apparent "anchor" is not only invisible but intangible: subjects have extended an arm through the taut loop without struggle or side-effect.
While levitated, the anomaly has been observed to rock and sway as if in response to a breeze, even while contained in a draftless room. Less frequently, the tire-portion will sag as if supporting weight and swing at measured intervals. If SCP-1896 is touched at this time, its motions will still and the "weight" simply vanish.
Tests with human subjects suggest that SCP-1896 is capable of temporarily distorting the sensory perceptions of those who sit or stand on its suspended surface. The intensity of these distortions increases in proportion to time spent in contact with the object.
Test 1 (5-15 min)
Procedure: Subjects are seated on SCP-1896 in its suspended state or permitted to stand on the tire-portion while grasping the rope. Subjects are instructed to remain in the same position, unmoving, until the designated time has elapsed. Subjects are prompted throughout the test to describe any unusual sensations.
- After 20-40 seconds, the majority of subjects report feeling a slight breeze, although all tests were conducted in a sealed room. Three of the subjects describe a sensation like sunlight— warmth, but without accompanying brightness.
- After 4 minutes elapse, subject and object begin a gentle swinging motion. Whether this motion is unconsciously caused by the subjects or the result of the anomalous breeze is unclear.
- Almost precisely at the 5 minute mark, nine of the ten test subjects visibly react to some stimulus invisible to research staff. The only subject who does not react is D-4399, a 35 year old male who has been deaf since birth. These reactions are notably positive— subjects glance around the testing room attentively, and several smile or laugh.
Results: All nine subjects, with the exception of D-4399 (who only experienced the tactile distortions), gave a similar report at the test's conclusion: as time passed, each individual had become less aware of the testing room. The majority experienced the sensations of sun and wind, with several claiming to have heard the rustling of leaves or grass.
When questioned about their visible reaction at the 5 minute mark, subjects described differing sensations with a common theme: some claimed to hear distant sounds of laughter, two described the sound of a woman singing, and a few heard children chanting, as if playing a game.
It is worth noting that the few test subjects who regarded the experience as disturbing or unusual did so only in retrospect— subjects invariably described their state of mind during the test as peaceful.
Test 2 (20-35 min)
Procedure: (as described in Test 1)
- The first 20 minutes of the test proceed with the same results described in Test 1; after 30 minutes have elapsed, however, subjects grow markedly less responsive to audible or visual cues from research staff.
- After breaking physical contact with SCP-1896, subjects revert to prior levels of responsiveness and communicativeness.
Results: Subjects described stronger and more varied sensations— predominantly tactile, but also olfactory and audible. Some remembered hearing the rustle of dry grasses or the sounds of insects, others detected the distinct scent of smoke or wet earth.
Subjects were unable to reconcile certain remembered details with prior memories or experiences. For example, while in contact with SCP-1896, one subject claimed to hear “katydids”; however, after completing the test, she could not recall hearing the sound of "katydids" (or even the word, a colloquial name for Tettigoniids) prior to the experiment.
Test 3 (45min-1hr)
Procedure: (as described in Test 1)
- The first 35 minutes of the test proceed as previously described. After the 40 minute mark, however, subjects grow unresponsive to the point of appearing catatonic. The arc of SCP-1896's movement increases significantly. Regardless of this increase in speed and motion, none of the subjects appear to be in danger of falling.
- After 50-55 minutes, the object's measured back-and-forth motion gives way to erratic, slowing spirals. The motion continues to slow until the predetermined hour is passed, sometimes ceasing altogether.
- Despite the increase and decrease in motion, subjects remain unmoving and insensible until a second party makes physical contact with SCP-1896. At this point, some subjects fall forward and others startle, as if waking from sleep.
Results: As suggested by the results of Test 2, the longer contact with SCP-1896 was prolonged the more vivid the subjects' sensory experiences grew. In every case, recollected sounds and smells gave way to waking-dreams of swinging under a tree in a wide field. Subjects described a similar setting with different details: six of ten subjects recalled the sight and smell of burned grass, five subjects felt and saw bright sunlight, and two remembered a damp heat and glimpses of thunderheads.
One detail was consistent in all ten tests: at an unspecified point after the 40 minute mark, subjects claimed to have heard a voice calling out to someone. Some described the voice as a child's, others as a woman or man's— but all ten reported a similar reaction. The following excerpt from the post-test interview with D-8526 typifies the subjects' descriptions of this encounter:
D-8526: Yeah, I recognized her voice right away. I'm positive it was a woman's voice, but deeper than mine, you know?— Maybe older. It was the same woman who was laughing, before, but now she was calling someone. [researcher questions, subject appears perplexed] No. I can't really remember what she was saying. I just know she was calling someone— it made me feel really, like, I dunno. It's weird, but I thought about playing outside as a kid, in the street. Everyone would get called inside for dinner, and you'd ignore your name a few times and pretend you didn't hear— but when you heard your full name it really meant business, and you'd just jump and run, you know? [subject shakes her head] Whatever. It sort of felt like that.
[researcher questions] No, it wasn't my name she was calling, I'm pretty sure, but I still felt like I should answer. [a pause, subject rubs her eyes] I couldn't see anybody, but her voice kept coming closer— and first it sounded mad, like, "get your ass over here, now!" But she just kept calling and calling and no one answered, and she started sounding really scared, like "please, please"… [subject is visibly distressed, but collects herself] …like, just really helpless. I never saw anybody, but I felt like she went right past me. I couldn't move or shout or say anything. Then she stopped calling.
Addendum 1:
A similar tire swing has been identified in ten of the twenty-six photographs contained in SCP-1890. Close examination of these images (particularly the distinctive rubber tread, which corresponds to models from the 1920s) as well as the results of Test 3 strongly suggest that the object in containment and the object in the photographs are one and the same.
Addendum 2:
See SCP-1928.
