The train passes away (~1850 words)
Word Count: 1.9k
This document has been retracted: Both the procedures and the description are out-of-date. For current information, please refer to the Old Kent Road Incident Report.
Distribution of SCP-8576 instances
Item #: SCP-8576
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Foundation assets will monitor Greater London for residents who express delusions of parenthood (DoP). If a resident is confirmed as an instance, a dispatch team will be deployed. Resistance is expected.
Description: SCP-8576 is an anomalous disorder limited to the Greater London area. Similar to individuals with DoP, instances believe they are parents despite being childless.
SCP-8576 does not respond to antipsychotics requiring instead a course of amnestics. This treatment subdues the anomaly providing remission from the delusions.
While the criteria for relapse is poorly understood, recurrence typically follows when an instance views an item they consider sentimental. Such keepsakes often hold additional effects. For example, an instance may describe a portrait as a family photo with their child. The portrait in question is their couple's photo.
The Old Kent Road Incident Report
Before the incident
From December 2025 through mid-January, the Foundation entered its annual holiday shutdown. With the reduction in staff, the Department of Information Control was delayed from its filing of page takedowns.
During the delays, Cath's Diary — an Evernote1 journal — was deemed suspicious.2 The journal belonged to Catherine Jone who along with her spouse Thomas Jone, were under the influence of SCP-8576.
A background check also confirmed the Jones had no children.
Cath's Diary
Cath's Diary could not be seized until time permitted. Instead, a mandate was put in place to review the findings later. In the meantime, Foundation webcrawlers would retain the following posts:
Christmas 2025 plan (abridged)
Guest list
- Nancy
- Lewis
- Dominic
- Trent
- Lisbeth
- Waylon
- Benji
- Emma ~ needs the baby seat
Dinner
- Spatchcocked roast turkey au jus
- Braised short rib pot roast
- Cream of mushroom soup ~ no salt so Emma can eat
- Yorkshire pudding
- Roasted root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, pumpkin)
- Cranberry shortbread trifle
- Pavlova ~ something to remind Benji of home
First time hosting Christmas! Dinner went well, perhaps a little skimp on veg. Benji sang Aussie Jingle Bells all through the night. No one told him it wasn't the original.
We prepped so hard there wouldn't be a disaster but cleaning came as an afterthought. We've got a tree to move and a real mess to split so better get a wriggle on.
Christmas cleanup todo
☑︎ Clear garbage
☑︎ Pack fairy lights
☑︎ Glen 20 the guest bedroom
☑︎ Deep clean the house
☐ Call in the lost stuff
Phone calls
- Nancy and the boys
- Lis and Waylon
Huh. I hauled ass finding things and no one owns it. You kidding? Whose was it then? Assholes.
Can't even keep the shoes. They'd look ridiculous on a baby.
List of things that aren't ours
Nancy Lis you pieces of shit. How much did you leave here? I swear to god there's a valley of shoes under a mountain of toys.
- Lego suv
- Converse all stars
- Mr tickle and the dragon
- Thomas the tank engine playset
- Titanic scale model
- Andromeda jigsaw puzzle
—— 23 items hidden —
- Nike?
There's a shipping label. We bought it. It's ours. It has to be ours. Can't be Nancy. Can't be Lis.
Can't remember when.
Since when do I forget things? When was this?
📎 transactions-d8058e83.pdf
| Date | Description | Withdraws |
|---|---|---|
03/12/2025  |
NikeStore MONZO-PAY | £49.99 |
| Date | 03/12/2025 |
|---|---|
| Description | NikeStore MONZO-PAY |
| Withdraws | £49.99 |
…
📎 transactions-df9d9b98.pdf
| Date | Description | Withdraws |
|---|---|---|
| 23/11/2025 | ToyzWorld MONZO-PAY | £31.99 |
| 15/11/2025 | RC-HEAVEN MONZO-PAY | £19.98 |
| 07/10/2025 | jigsaw-puzzles-limited MONZO-PAY | £7.99 |
| Date | 23/11/2025 |
|---|---|
| Description | ToyzWorld MONZO-PAY |
| Withdraws | £31.99 |
| Date | 15/11/2025 |
| Description | RC-HEAVEN MONZO-PAY |
| Withdraws | £19.98 |
| Date | 07/10/2025 |
| Description | jigsaw-puzzles-limited MONZO-PAY |
| Withdraws | £7.99 |
?!?
Whys the guest room lived in
- Birthmark on knee. Crown of tree
- Allergic to grass
- Allergic to ants
- Likes trains
- Likes cars
- School report
- ID card
- Train receipts
Latest date train receipts
📎 TfL_adult_74adaca9.pdf
📎 TfL_adult_aa1f5347.pdf
📎 TfL_child_4f28c91c.pdf
Near trains
- Bridge?
- Fire station?
- Alley mall?
Too much to search
Someone must have seen
- Phone?
- Witness?
- Station tape
Discrepancies
On January 7, 2026, the holiday shutdown reached its end. With a return to office the note page was taken down. Fulfilling the prior mandate, the Review team re-examined the journal and background check. Discrepancies previously unfound were identified as a priority. Jonathan's birth certificate was in the background check.
A clerk, believing that the discrepancy had been a clerical error, reported the certificate to their supervisor. That supervisor when asked for a follow-up could not recall the conversation. It was realised that only those who read the journal could remember the certificate. SCP-8576 was determined not to be a disorder, but an antimeme.
While an effect had been identified, its mechanism was poorly understood. Further insight would come upon a team-wide review of the surveillance tape.
Old Kent Road Station Surveillance Log
| 08:56:21 | The Jones enter Old Kent Road Station through the concourse lift. |
| 08:57:34 | Catherine separates to purchase tickets while Jonathan turns to Thomas. The two engage in conversation before Thomas lifts Jonathan. Jonathan smiles and points at the second platform staircase. |
| 09:02:07 | Catherine returns from the kiosk. The Jones pass the ticketing machine. |
| 09:04:52 | Jonathan rushes toward the second platform staircase but Catherine grabs him. The Jones slowly descend the stairs. |
| 09:07:11 | On the platform the Jones are holding hands with swaying arms. |
| 09:08:30 | The 9:09 train approaches the station. |
| 09:08:43 | Jonathan pulls Catherine and Thomas forwards. The couple arrest his fall. |
| 09:08:50 | The train stops. The Jones walk towards the opening door. Catherine and Thomas cross but Jonathan seizes, misplacing his foot. He falls into the gap. |
| 09:08:52 | Catherine and Thomas spin; their expressions change in motion. Mid-turn their features relax. Their postures straighten returning to an upright pose. The door closes. |
| 09:08:58 | The train passes away. |
| 23:59:59 | Jonathan does not come out. |
Only reviewers who recalled the birth certificate remembered the tape. This observation led staff to establish a viewing order, which was, with later research, refined into the following table:
| Order | Definition |
|---|---|
| Perceptual | Direct observation of the instance.3 Includes visual and olfactory senses. |
| Semi-perceptual | Indirect observation of the instance. Includes photos and videos. |
| Extensive4 | Aware of considerable information related to the instance. Includes identifying details. |
| Cursory | Aware of basic information related to the instance. Includes name and age. |
| Adjacent | Aware of items owned by the instance. |
| None | No knowledge of the instance. |
Information of a given order can only be remembered if all lower orders are known. Prior staff had been unable to retain information beyond a cursory level.
Although Review now had a better understanding of the anomaly, the content they reviewed proved alarming. Sensing that an intervention was necessary, the Review supervisor made contact with the Coordination team.
Coordination Center Transcript
Caller: Review Supervisor Nigel Lewkowski
Callee: Task Force Coordinator Samantha Wright
Background voice: Coordinator in Training Li Min
Multiple calls are audible throughout the audio log. Irrelevant dialogue has been removed.
Samantha: What's up?
Nigel: Hey Sam. We're having a problem down in Review. Some of the tapes are acting up and we need a search done at Old Kent Road Station yesterday. It's uh, along the new extension.
Samantha: Okay.
Nigel: There might be a body. Somewhere along the platform 2 gap.
Samantha: Okay. Do you know how long?
Nigel: Half a month give or take.
Samantha: Half a month?
Samantha: [To background] Can I get a map?
Li: [From background. Shouting] What item number?
Nigel: 8576.
Samantha: [Shouting] 8576.
Samantha: Okay, okay. We'll send a team down.
Li: You're sure it's 8576?
Samantha: Yes.
Samantha: [Shouting] Where's my map?
Shuffling
Samantha: Thank you.
Li: There's nothing about a station.
Samantha: [To Li] Later.
Samantha: We'll have Pi-15 over in thirty.
Nigel: That won't do, we need Eta-10.6
Samantha: Okay?
Nigel: Not all of us can see the tape. The team thinks everything the kid touched went antimemetic. Hell, the kid probably is antimemetic.
Samantha: What kid?
Nigel: In the gap.
Silence
Li: Hey, what about Greater London?
Samantha: What about it?
Li: It's on the file.
Samantha: You think I don't know that? It's weird, but now's not the time.
Li: I just think we should widen the search to at least along the extension.
Samantha: I couldn't even if I wanted to. You know how hard it is to shut a station? Command won't let us shut a line without a good reason.
Shuffling
Samantha: What's this?
Li: Reason.
Silence
Nigel: Sam, is everything alright?
Samantha: Eta-10 are on their way.
Samantha: [To Li] Tell Command we need a shutdown.
Correlation between SCP-8576 and the routes of the London Underground.
An operation over the London Underground was approved the following day. The route will be searched in segments with an expected end date of December 2026.
Deployment
On January 7, 15:25, two deployments were given urgent priority. Old Kent Road Station was closed under the guise of emergency repairs with MTF Eta-10 sent in to investigate. A separate dispatch team would detain the Jones.
The task force arrived at 15:57. A foul odour was noted emanating from the station.7 At 16:05, one deceased child was discovered in the platform 2 gap.
The body was initially constrained by an unseen force. A plan to remove the body in pieces was organised but ultimately not necessary. At 16:39, all paranormal effects — including antimemetic — dissipated. The body was removed soon after.
While the body was assumed to be Jonathan Jone, a double confirmation was preferred for identification. The following report was compiled by medical staff:
PoI-6328 Autopsy Report
At 17:23, PoI-6328 arrived at the Site-21 medical bay. The subject's teeth were confirmed a match against the dental records of Jonathan Jone. The autopsy and examination revealed the following injuries:
- Fractured tibia: Break point protruding through skin. Surrounding tissue is necrotic from infection.
- Pressure ulcers: Sores developed through restricted movements.
- Eye injuries: Retinal vasculitis consistent with abrasive debris. Constricted pupils were overexposed to light.
- Perforated eardrums: Acoustic trauma from train noise.
- Bite marks: Self-inflicted on the wrists. Failed to break through skin.
The cause of death was starvation.
A selection of the medical report was shown to the Jones. After confirming the identity as Jonathan, the couple were amnesticised without incident.
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