Image of SCP-4375 recovered from Seabrook's personal cellular. Highest quality image avaliable.
Item #: SCP-4375
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: The front door to SCP-4375-1 is to remain locked with a special Foundation padlock. Inquiries by neighbors are to met with Cover Story M-22 ("Family request for privacy"). Ingress outside of testing is strictly prohibited.
Further exploration is undergoing reconsideration following Attempt #6.
Description: SCP-4375 is an unidentified cassette tape inserted within a 1997 Sony Walkman. Both SCP-4375 and the Walkman are located in the second-floor bedroom of SCP-4375-1, an uninhabited brick town house located in ████████, North Carolina, USA. SCP-4375-1 was formerly owned by NC resident Cory Seabrook (1999-2024), a barista for ████ █████ Cafe. All of his possessions remain within the property.
The interior of SCP-4375-1 is greater than its exterior dimensions should allow, being mostly composed of additional hallways and mimicries of the foyer and main living rooms. Despite this, it remains relatively easy to traverse. SCP-4375-1 is in a state of moderate disorder, with items and refuse scattered about; this is believed to have carried over from its pre-anomalous state.
Any individual who enters SCP-4375-1 will become aware of SCP-4375 and obtain limited knowledge about it — specifically, that it is an environmental song track and is supposedly of high quality. However, attempts to access the Walkman and listen to the song are stymied by the sudden onset of various mental roadblocks and anxieties. These mostly consist of worries over being in "the correct headspace" or "the right mood" to enjoy SCP-4375 to the maximum extent possible. Subjects display stress over physical or mental distractions that may detract from the experience of listening to SCP-4375 for the very first time (see addendum 1).
Any person who expresses noticeable1 hesitation towards listening to SCP-4375, for whatever reason, will find themselves transported back to the entrance of SCP-4375-1. This is preceded by the subject's immediate vicinity rapidly expanding in size to the point that all nearby objects are pushed out of view. Repeat attempts at entry are impossible, as the front door will refuse to open. To date, no subject has been successful at finding and playing SCP-4375.
SCP-4375 was originally discovered on October 10th, 2024, following Mr. Seabrook's death in a high-speed collision. Family members arrived at his residence to pick up his belongings only to find all lights within turned off. Attempted entry resulted in discovery of aforementioned properties. Follow-up interviews with Seabrook's coworkers revealed that he claimed to be an avid fan of city pop and ambient music and that he had recently come into possession of a cassette tape donated to him by a friend (see addendum 2). When questioned on whether or not he had listened to it yet, Seabrook would repeatedly reply that he had not yet but would eventually.
Addendum 1: Below is a log of excursions into SCP-4375-1.
Attempt #1
Subject: D-3846
Result: Test is conducted in the early morning. Subject enters the foyer and approaches the nearest window to look at the sky. The foyer expands rapidly and the subject is transported back outside. When interrogated, subject states he felt SCP-4375 would best be experienced at "that weird time of the day between twilight and full night", rather than in daylight. All subsequent attempts occur at ~8-9:00 PM.
Attempt #2
Subject: D-6447
Result: Subject makes it into the living room. After stepping foot on the stairwell, subject complains about feeling sweaty. He is unable to answer whether the sweat came from anticipation or warm temperatures. Subject's breathing quickens as he attempts to distract himself from the sensation, but it appears this only causes him to sweat more, increasing discomfort. He bites his tongue and looks backwards. Living room expands rapidly and the subject is transported back outside.
Attempt #3
Subject: D-7273
Result: Subject successfully climbs first stairwell, entering an unidentified labyrinthine structure of hallways. She makes multiple wrong turns leading to either dead ends or slightly modified versions of the living room. One such room contains a 2024 calendar pinned to the wall; when opened to the month of August, all of the day boxes were crossed off. Some appear to have been circled before being crossed out, with a couple having labels reading "Prepare yourself and listen to that 'cool album'".
Subject declares the situation "too mysterious for her", stating that "all of these vintage anomalies always have some bullshit leading up to them [sic]" and that "nothing about this is 'environmental', and the ambience is all wrong". Room expands rapidly and the subject is transported back outside.
Attempt #4
Subject: Junior Researcher Lemuel Townsend2
Result: Rsr. Townsend navigates the hallways correctly and comes across a second stairwell. He is keeping a physical notepad to log aspects of his environment. As he begins to climb the stairs, he starts reciting the contents of All You Need to Know About Tape Wear, Disc Rot, and the Rest (2017) by Dr. Bernard Prescott. He then begins theorizing about possible secondary properties of SCP-4375 and its contents, which turns into wondering about the musical elements employed therein.
While attempting to itemize which elements of SCP-4375 he should focus on during initial analysis, he stops climbing. He begins to stutter. Stairwell expands rapidly and subject is transported back outside.
Attempt #5
Subject: Dr. Bernard Prescott
Result: Dr. Prescott proceeds to the second stairwell by following Rsr. Townsend's exact path. During escalation, he notices the paintings on the right-hand wall, each of which depict various floral arrangements and natural scenery3. He takes time to analyze each and every one via the flashlight on his cellular; when asked why over radio, Dr. Prescott states that he is trying to "immerse himself in the gentle whims of nature, to best appreciate [SCP-4375]".
While he gives moderate time to most of the paintings, he scrutinizes the last (an alteration of Thomas Cole's The Oxbow) for much longer. He eventually proceeds only to double back to check on it again. Stairwell expands rapidly and subject is transported back outside.
Attempt #6
Subject: Agent Diana Forrester
Result: Agent Forrester successfully navigates foyer, living room, first stairwell, hallways, and second stairwell. She is equipped with an adaptive thermal suit; she does not pause walking, nor does she pay special attention to her surroundings outside of what is absolutely necessary. She emerges onto a final passageway, extending far into a shrouded region of the floor. Unlike the rest of SCP-4375-1, the darkness here is slightly illuminated by an ephemeral magenta glow of unknown origin. Agent Forrester steadily makes her way down the hallway, eventually reaching the door to the bedroom at the end. She reports back to command before swiftly opening the door.
The bedrooms appears to be mostly undisturbed. She navigates around the clothes scattered on the floor to reach the wooden desk on the other side. Underneath a shelf and between a laptop and several empty soda cans is the Walkman containing SCP-4375, connected to a pair of wired headphones.
Agent Forrester picks up the Walkman. She inspects it for any oddities before putting the headphones into her ears. She softly repeats what she knows about SCP-4375 to herself. She tugs on the headphone wiring to make sure it is secure.
She places her thumb on the play button and reaffirms to herself that she knows SCP-4375 is a good ambient song and than her surroundings are perfect for listening. She tells herself that she will hit play after a quick breath. She takes two breaths. Her thumb quivers.
The Walkman falls out of her hand and hits the floor. She clutches her head. She shakily mutters "I'm sorry, but not right now" under her breath. Bedroom expands rapidly and subject is transported back outside.
Further attempts are currently on hiatus.
Addendum 2: Below is a transcription of a letter provided by Mr. Seabrook's family to Foundation investigative agents. They claim upon initial entry, they found the letter taped to the wall above Mr. Seabrook's television. The author, Mr. Daniel Hurst, claimed no knowledge of SCP-4375 possessing anomalous properties.
Cory,
You know that feeling when you're looking through the bargain bin at Best Buy, trying to find some action thrill for cheap, and then stumble across some random-ass PS2 game for five bucks made by a company that went defunct two decades ago? And then you go home and pop it in, and then next thing you know you've just had what's only second to an enlightenment experience but nobody to talk to about it? I'm telling you, this album… That's exactly what this is.
I was coming home the other day and stumbled across it in some random ass store, don't even remember the name of it. But it looked interesting, had this cool picture of the night sky out in some midwestern town, no text even so I knew that shit was esoteric. That night, I'm out there, under the stars, and I remember that I had it, so I put it in. So I'm sitting there on the porch, staring out into nothing, and then the violins come in, then the synth, and then- and- and-
And then I realized, man. I was everywhere.
I'm not an expert in music, I don't know how to describe it. There's something about the chords, the way the silence comes and goes, it felt like the incarnation of New Port City or 2049 Los Angeles. But I was thinking about life, man. My head was up in the stars, looking down at the Earth and waving hello to everyone at the same time. I don't think I've felt that way since elementary school. For the first time in a long, long time, I felt good man. Truly, unapologetically good.
Part of me wishes it was raining back then, I'm sure that would have been transcendental. But it is what it is, yeah?
You're a J-pop fan, I know it. Hard to get that from a glance since you never frackin' listen to it!! But whatevs. Against all my wants and desires, I'm sending the tape over to you, cuz I don't want this to be a light held by only one. You have to listen to this. Do it. TO-NITE. Pull a chair outside, whatever you have, put it on and let it run through your veins, soul, chakra, whatever. Or not! Whatever you want man, but please, you gotta hear this before you die. All these experiences we live, they're only one in a million, and some can light the universe up! So let this be a part of your life.
Let yourself enjoy this.
Your fellow dreamer,
Danny H.
