SCP-040-JP before containment.
Item #: SCP-040-JP
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-040-JP is contained within a structure constructed to cover the area of the anomaly. The containment wing is under the jurisdiction of Site-8120. When inside the containment wing, personnel are advised to never look inside SCP-040-JP. If it is needed to look inside SCP-040-JP, it should be done through the camera and not directly with the naked eye. If it is necessary to view it directly, it is advised to use D-class personnel. Communication with personnel who have been exposed to SCP-040-JP is forbidden.
Description: SCP-040-JP is a well located in the village of █████, in the ██████ prefecture. It is surrounded by a wooden hut, measuring approximately 5 m in width and 4 m in length. The center of the hut houses a stone well presumed to have been built in ancient times, which descends directly underground. The well is anomalously deep and multiple probes have failed to determine its depth.
Although the hut was originally locked tightly with iron chains and multiple padlocks, they have since broken due to deterioration. SCP-040-JP was placed into containment after Incident [REDACTED] in 1967.
[Warning: After Incident-040-JP-001 in 19██, the following contents are prohibited from being viewed without memetic countermeasures. Personnel assigned to this project must be treated with Procedure-253 "Willow Ashes" at Sector-8120.]
When a subject looks into the cabin, they begin shaking, reporting that "there was a cat". Furthermore, the person will become obsessed with the idea that "the cat is here". This effect is not apparent in drawings or images; it only occurs when a person views the inside of the cabin with the naked eye. A camera image will only show the inside of the hut with no sign of the reported cats.
Exposure to the object will distort the subject's perception of all domestic cats (scientific name: Felis silvestris catus). During interviews with exposed subjects, they reported that any domestic cat seemed to look like an animal with two human eyes on its face without hair or other features, staring at them directly when viewed from any direction.
Furthermore, the exposed subjects will begin to report that the cat is constantly appearing in the darkness to observe them. There seems to be no consistency in the level of darkness required for the cat to be manifest in. It is unknown why the cat observes subjects.
An illustration of the observed cat is attached below.
According to a survey conducted by Foundation researchers, it was determined that the location where the cat appears is influenced by the position of the subject's ocular lens or the cornea. In other words, statistically, the sightings occur significantly more in the subject's peripheral vision. This property was demonstrated during experimentation with D-Class in 19██. According to the hypothesis proposed by [REDACTED], it is speculated that the dark places in the large depths of the underground structure inside SCP-040-JP have a clear influence on this.
[DATA EXPUNGED]
Subjects exposed to SCP-040-JP will actively tell others about the idea that "there is a cat". Those who have understood this idea to some extent suffer the same cognitive anomaly as the subjects who were initially exposed. It is not known whether the effect is transmitted through a general description or whether a specific trigger word exists, but it is a cat.
There is a cat. There are no particular restrictions on the medium necessary to convey that idea, and it is actually effective in all media such as speech, writing, images, and paintings. Therefore, it is speculated that the subjects themselves are not directly affected, but carry a memetic anomaly (refer to document [REDACTED]). It was there. Affected subjects do not act in a suspicious manner, making it difficult to judge whether or not the subject is under the influence of the anomaly after passing through the first stage of exposure. It was a cat
Thank you
[End of Memetic Hazard.]
Incident Report 040-JP-001: On ██/██/19██, a large-scale memetic disaster occurred in Site-8120 as a result of this report. It is believed that the assigned staff and the upper staff were exposed to the memetic effects of SCP-040-JP at the time of submission of the report. Exposed personnel were subjected to amnestic treatment or termination. From this point onwards, memetic countermeasures are to be applied to all subsequent reports.