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Case #000013

Researcher: Max Beddoe

Subject: Friday the 13th (1980)

Friday the 13th is a bit of a strange case. None of the characters even know they’re being hunted until nearly two thirds into the movie. Because of this, it becomes difficult to pin down a solid fear experienced by the characters. Perhaps The Dark, as most killings happen at night and come out from the shadows? The Hunt, as is common for slasher movies? The Spiral, evidenced in Mrs. Voorhees’ compromised mental state and the presence of “Crazy Ralph?”

I personally suspect The End as these murders were done in revenge rather than for the thrill of it, and the victims often never knew they were being stalked until moments before their death. The dead coming back to haunt the living is also a very telltale sign. But I also fear the answer may not be so simple. Which brings me to my next point:

Is there an entity that feeds on the fear of guilt? There is no mention of this anywhere in the documents so graciously provided by Agent Cane.

A slasher with seemingly such a strong moral message leaves me no choice but to pursue this possibility. After all, fear of guilt is a strong tool in the hands of preachers and religions the world over. We have seen religiously-themed events and entities before, so we know that the Entities are certainly not above exploiting this resource.

Perhaps on some level, these victims knew that their actions would be rejected by the society they lived in, as shown when they lied to the police officer. Perhaps they sought refuge from the isolation of the woods in each other. Perhaps there is a reason that each victim was picked off as soon as they strayed from the herd. Perhaps Mrs. Voorhees wanted everyone to feel the loss that she had felt when she lost her son. Perhaps, as each member of their group was killed they began to feel more and more... Lonely.

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Speculative Notes, Entry #7

Researcher: Max Beddoe

Subject: the news

Over the previous few years, the news has generally been grim. It perpetually seems that the world is in a constant state of entropy and decline, and that there is little anyone can do about it. It always seems that each generation is dealing with the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. No matter your political views or background, the general consensus seems to be that, to quote an acquaintance of mine, “everything’s going to shit”.

I am a scientist. I do not engage in entirely baseless conspiracy theories. The Fears are a recent… development. But it seems awfully convenient for the Fears that such ideas are broadcasted the world over. Is it because we live in an increasingly fearful society that these entities have become manifest? But if that were the case, why not manifest during even more stressful times, such as under the threat of nuclear armageddon during the Cold War? Is it a cumulative amount of Fear that is required to create such beings?

I am also loath to entertain the idea that the US government is already using the mainstream media to purposefully spread fear. If that were the case, my job seems largely redundant.

Perhaps I am overthinking things again. Perhaps it is humanity’s nature to seek out fear. To study and learn about that which can threaten our safety. Though ironically enough, this fuels the very things that are most likely to bring about our destruction.

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Case #88224646-BA

Researcher: Max Beddoe

Subject: Cabinet Man, by Lemon Demon

Report: On a surface level, it seems that the Flesh is the Cabinet Man’s patron, since there are many references to internal organs, teeth and blood. This seems to be the Cabinet Man’s “ideal self” that he achieved through extensive self-mutilation. The Cabinet Man also admits to eating maintenance men. However, the Flesh is not subtle. It doesn’t hide its nastiness behind a screen, and certainly doesn’t deal with technology.

The Cabinet Man also references “driving kids to madness”. Themes of obsession, deception, and self-deception run throughout. Math and technology aren’t that far apart, conceptually. All of this leads me to suspect the Spiral. However, key pieces of information are missing.

What was the game itself like? We only know that it was supposedly unbeatable and unknowingly being controlled by a human mind. If themes of mazes, hallways, spirals, doors, and technicolors appeared within the game (all common features of arcade games), then the proof would be more concrete. A description of the outside of the cabinet would be useful as well. What was originally painted on it? What was the game called? If any themes mentioned above are present on the outside of the cabinet, that would be useful as well.

As it stands, Cabinet Man seems to exist as an avatar that spread madness as well as death, which while suggestive of the Distortion, is hardly definitive proof. Any power could theoretically cause madness if they push their victims to the breaking point, even if it is not their specialty. Perhaps the Cabinet Man exists in some sort of limbo between the Flesh and Distortion? Or the subject of some unknowable tug-of-war between the two? I can’t imagine they overlap much, if at all.

I would prefer to conduct an interview with Neil Cicierega aka “Lemon Demon” to ascertain the true nature of Cabinet Man and other horror-themed songs by him, though I have been informed that due to the secrecy this project operates under, we cannot bring him in for questioning. I have instead requested that he be followed in order to gather potentially useful information.

Edit: this second request has been denied as well, citing a “poor use of resources”. Damn bureaucrats.

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Case #000001

Researcher: Max Beddoe

Subject: Alien (1979)

Hello. My name is Max Beddoe, and I shall be working on this project along with my associate Lara Beaufort. Our mission statement is to catalogue the influence of media, primarily movies but also mediums such as video games, books, and perhaps even music, on the propagation of the newly-discovered Fears. Media such as these have shown a remarkable power to shape society and the public consciousness. Could the Fears be harnessed indirectly through the manipulation of the general public’s fear?

I will begin with the most cut-and-dry example of a single Fear at work that I will be likely to find. Alien, the famous science fiction horror movie from 1979. I will state outright that the obvious Fear at work here is the Hunt.

The Xenomorph antagonist of the film utilizes both strength and stealth to kill its victims, each stage of its life cycle evoking a different flavor of death-by-unstoppable-predator. From the vice grips of the facehuggers, to the small yet ferocious chestbursters, to the massive bladed form of the fully grown Alien, this film oozes Hunt.

Which brings me to my next point. According to all data I have collected and been supplied with, the Fears have been a recent and spontaneous development. It may not seem odd that they fit so perfectly with our own fears, if they did indeed spring fully-formed from our own psyches. But that begs the further question, why now? Why have they appeared so suddenly? And if they did not develop from our own collective consciousness, why do they fit us so well? Much more research must be conducted in order to determine the true nature of these “Fears”.

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Hello! Breaking character for a second to say that we’re going to be deleting, re-writing, and re-posting a lot of our posts to make it all fit better into canon! This will probably take a while so hang tight.

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Case #030007

Researcher: Lara Beaufort

Subject: Se7en (1995)

Report: Se7en presents an interesting, but not unprecedented, blend of influences from the Viscera and the Web. The audience view for this film is limited to the perspective on the main character only; the viewer follows as Detective David Mills unwinds the insidious messages left for him by an agent of grotesque vendetta.

The combination of body horror and unknowable mystery is a popular one throughout the horror film genre, as it targets two distinct, common fears. Whether by the visceral wrongness of the gory scenes, or by the elaborate detail in the cryptic messages, the attention of audiences is captured completely. These two influences frequently find themselves juxtaposed throughout media. 

For the purposes of this project, Se7en and films like it should be further investigated; though relatively unambitious, the seamless, forgettable story line lingers because of this particular film’s ending. There is potential for utilizing this structure, though it would need to be done delicately. 

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Case #050601

Researcher: Lara Beaufort

Subject: Halloween (1978)

Report: This classic cult film captured the minds of audiences so profoundly the main villain of Halloween, Michael Meyers, has appeared in no less than half a dozen sequels and cross-over films. I credit this to the core reason for success in any slasher flick: the incredible violence. 

There are two identifiable layers to the film which match up with some Smirke’s 14. First, and most obvious, is the Hunt, evidenced by the slow chase scenes, where Michael seems to relish meandering leisurely after his prey on his path to revenge. And then, once he has them, as he seems to always catch his prey, their inevitable and gruesome death. Importantly, it doesn’t seem to be the violence itself that Michael is after, and the distinction is clear in that he kills only whom he intends, and anyone who stands in his way.

The second layer is hinted at by the mask Michael wears. It would seem that this was a random costuming choice, but it makes the film all the more sinister. Were it not for his identification by his psychiatrist, Michael behind the mask could be anyone at all. This seems to be an element of the Stranger, the underlying fear that people are not who they appear to be, and anyone could be wearing a mask. 

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jesus motherfuckin christ, this dude has no sense of irony

-HnS

Case #004002

Researcher: Max Beddoe

Subject: the SCP wiki

This site is very obviously The Eye. There are certainly other entities at work, just as there are other entities stored within the archives of the Magnus Institute. But The Eye is the primary force at work, feeding on the fear of witnessing horror. There are far too many articles on the wiki for me to give good examples, but the overall feeling evoked by the site is exactly like that of the Institute, if more American-ized.

[Note: is this some sort of beta test for an online branch of the Institute? I thought The Eye had a more retro aesthetic. More research into the origins of the site must be made.]

This allows me to segue into another issue that has been on my mind the last few months on this project: Dr. Beaufort’s pet theory. That every entity has the ability to leech off of any other entity like The Eye is seemingly able to do within the Institute, piggybacking off of each other to create amalgamations of different forces within one creature.

Allow me to run through my personal analysis of this theory. Our overseers will no doubt read this, and as such I encourage them to draw their own conclusions from the both of us. I doubt any one mind has the capacity to truly know anything about the Powers, and as such the more minds we have analyzing this problem the better.

I digress.

One: There is precedent for entities to “steal” victims from one another. This precedent is of course set by The Eye.

Two: I personally find it more useful to think of the Entities not as gods, but as carnivores within an ecosystem. The Eye functions as a vulture in this respect, rarely going after live food and allowing other predators to do the work for it.

Three: No predator is too proud to be a scavenger. While the Eye may pick up scraps full-time, I highly doubt the others wouldn’t steal victims from each other when the opportunity arose.

Four: The first hole in Beaufort’s theory is that predators do not share. Either one species has a body, or nobody does. These amalgamations seem to either counter my own analogy, or pull apart Beaufort’s theory. I do not doubt that a certain entity or avatar could have been pulled from one into the other, or that The Hunt does not use the darkness to enhance the fear of its victims, but I do doubt that an avatar dedicated to multiple powers wouldn’t be either severely weakened at best or torn apart at worst.

Five: In the event that the entities have begun to truly amalgamate, to coordinate between themselves, then that is a frightening prospect indeed.

[tma-taxonomy]

Case #004002

Researcher: Max Beddoe

Subject: the SCP wiki

This site is very obviously The Eye. There are certainly other entities at work, just as there are other entities stored within the archives of the Magnus Institute. But The Eye is the primary force at work, feeding on the fear of witnessing horror. There are far too many articles on the wiki for me to give good examples, but the overall feeling evoked by the site is exactly like that of the Institute, if more American-ized.

[Note: is this some sort of beta test for an online branch of the Institute? I thought The Eye had a more retro aesthetic. More research into the origins of the site must be made.]

This allows me to segue into another issue that has been on my mind the last few months on this project: Dr. Beaufort’s pet theory. That every entity has the ability to leech off of any other entity like The Eye is seemingly able to do within the Institute, piggybacking off of each other to create amalgamations of different forces within one creature.

Allow me to run through my personal analysis of this theory. Our overseers will no doubt read this, and as such I encourage them to draw their own conclusions from the both of us. I doubt any one mind has the capacity to truly know anything about the Powers, and as such the more minds we have analyzing this problem the better.

I digress.

One: There is precedent for entities to “steal” victims from one another. This precedent is of course set by The Eye.

Two: I personally find it more useful to think of the Entities not as gods, but as carnivores within an ecosystem. The Eye functions as a vulture in this respect, rarely going after live food and allowing other predators to do the work for it.

Three: No predator is too proud to be a scavenger. While the Eye may pick up scraps full-time, I highly doubt the others wouldn’t steal victims from each other when the opportunity arose.

Four: The first hole in Beaufort’s theory is that predators do not share. Either one species has a body, or nobody does. These amalgamations seem to either counter my own analogy, or pull apart Beaufort’s theory. I do not doubt that a certain entity or avatar could have been pulled from one into the other, or that The Hunt does not use the darkness to enhance the fear of its victims, but I do doubt that an avatar dedicated to multiple powers wouldn’t be either severely weakened at best or torn apart at worst.

Five: In the event that the entities have begun to truly amalgamate, to coordinate between themselves, then that is a frightening prospect indeed.

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villager hunting in acnh is a manifestation of the hunt (tma)

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Case #000097

Researcher: Lara Beaufort

Subject: IT (1990)

Report: Following the lives of seven misfits from Maine, Stephen King’s masterpiece perfectly encapsulates what it means to be afraid of a Stranger. From the original novel, to the original film, to the remakes, each iteration is rife with the tense, chilling terror of something that is Not Quite Human. 

One of the main markers of the presence of the Stranger is something very evidently Not Human masquerading as one; anyone who has seen the film or even heard of it knows about the Clown. Further evidence supporting the presence of the Stranger is the reliance of this creature on the fear of the community to sustain it; it no longer appears as a clown to those who have overcome their fear. 

Another straightforward classification, and more than enough support for the project, given the popularity of this particular story. 

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Speculative notes entry #4

Researcher: Max Beddoe

Subject: missing Entities

A concerning gap in the potential of our research are fear Entities that seem largely absent from media in any meaningful sense. I have compiled some initial notes on the Entities in question:

The Vast: Incomprehensible heights, depths, and sizes are difficult to portray in film, let alone on the written page. It is not enough to simply describe or show the ledge that a character stands on, it will simply never be the same as if you were standing upon the actual cliffside*. Virtual reality seems like a promising development, however.

The Buried: Similarly, film has a difficult time portraying claustrophobia as well. While a person might feel fear watching someone squeeze and scrabble through a cave, it is nowhere near as powerful as the fear that The Hunt or The End can evoke.

The Lonely: The One Alone is not only muted by the effects of the fourth wall like the previous two examples, but also diminished through the culture surrounding films. Movie theatres and film parties can often take the edge off any feeling of crushing loneliness a piece of media might evoke.

The Slaughter: This may be a controversial pick for this compilation, but allow me to defend myself. Media is not a source of sustenance for the Slaughter, but rather an investment in the future. Video games and war films encourage their audience to sign up to experience the glory of war. These films do not fan the flame of fear, but they do bring more wood to the pyre.

This may seem like a detriment to our efforts, but I see it more as opportunity for growth. What kind of media can we produce that spread a fear of enclosed spaces as much as a fear of being hunted or killed? Find the content that evokes these fears, and then replicate and expand upon them.

*without the mind-warping effects of a Leitner, of course.

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SUPPL. Notes

Researcher: Lara Beaufort

Subject: Progress Report

Entry VI: It seems my supervisor feels the project is not progressing at the rate he had hoped. Mind, I promised nothing when I agreed to lead the project, and made it clear where my own interests were. 

I know he is reading these. I simply do not care. 

In any case, my new research partner seems enthusiastic. I suppose that’s good. 

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Case #000317

Researcher: Lara Beaufort

Subject: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Report: The tale of fledgling FBI agent Clarice Starling is not one for the weak of heart. A film with a dreary, muted color palette, The Silence of The Lambs plays with the mind of the viewer; from the opening scene in a gray forest, the viewer is imbued with a small sense of dread. 

There is little doubt as to the presence of the Web, lingering in every scene the infamous Dr. Lecter. Evidenced by the cryptic half-truths, Lecter’s insistence that Starling search for her own answers, and the feeling in the viewer that throughout it all, Lecter is in complete control. Even from behind bars, he is constantly planning, leveraging his knowledge, and waiting for plans, years in the making, to come to fruition. 

There is also significant evidence for the presence of the Flesh, and the reasons for this are obvious to anyone who views the film. Lecter himself is a cannibal; the primary antagonist, Buffalo Bill, skins his victims. The fears of the flesh are, as always, blunt. 

A note: there is obviously a tremulous balance in Buffalo Bill, aka Jame Gumb; Gumb has never felt comfortable in his own skin, and endeavors to recreate a wholly new skin. The Stranger has a very unique flavor; I believe there is evidence enough to explore this further. 

Whatever my own musings on the case, this film is a strong support for the project objective, showcasing not one, but three distinct entities. 

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Case #003045

Researcher: Lara Beaufort

Subject: Frankenstein (1818)

Report: Considered by many to be the first true work of science fiction, this hallmark of Gothic literature is also one of the earliest instances of the Flesh I have found.  The story follows the narrative perspective of three individuals, detailing the circumstances and consequences of a young man’s hubris, and the horrors following the advent of his creation. 

Shelley creates a layered tale, which questions and studies what it means to be living, to love, and to die. At the heart of the story is the impossibility of creating life, and creating it from dead flesh. This is the fascinating, terrifying reality Shelley has created; dedicated men abuse their knowledge and change the shape of life, in the most visceral way imaginable. 

The Creature, as it is called in the novel, is tortured and enraged by his existence, and inspires the deepest of fear in the hearts of all whom he encounters. When Victor birthed his Creature, I’m certain there was an agent of the Flesh, whispering in his ear, if he was not one himself. Either the consequences were intended, or they were not, and the Entity of Viscera drank in the fear regardless. 

In parallel fashion, I wonder if Shelley knew what she was doing; two centuries later and her own creation inspires true horrified revulsion across generations.

As far as support for my theory goes, here we find the novel’s only shortcoming; beyond the eminent presence of the Viscera’s influence, I can not find enough support for the presence of any other entities. This is disheartening, and I suppose my search with continue. In any case, it further supports our intended research objective.

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Case #000287

Researcher: Lara Beaufort

Subject: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Report: The story of Nancy and Glen and the many other victims is, more than anything else, desperately disconsolate. There is no “happy ending,” as is the unfortunate case with many of our research subjects; this first installment of Freddy Krueger’s gratuitous campaign of violence is particularly dark, for it involves children.

Without any doubt, this is a case of the Spiral, I am certain. The ominous nursery rhyme which precedes any appearance of the distorted man, as well as the impossible nature of the dreams he controls, lead me to believe the Mr. Krueger is an agent of the Spiral. Perhaps, as the parents of the town burned him alive, he was offered escape through a door. 

There is no nuance to the violence that follows the teenagers of Elm Street. They are pulled into nightmares that seem so utterly real, and tormented to the very last threads of their own sanity. Then, they each meet a cruel and sadistic fate. It is cut and dry, the combination of an evil man and an opportunistic Entity. Still, it remains just the one entity. 

Two notes regarding the events of Elm Street: The first, is my own curiosity towards the compulsion to burn the man alive, when they discovered his sins. Outside of any glaring symbolism, I wonder if the town may not be home to at least one agent of the Desolation. 

Second, I did further research into the writing and cinematographic decisions in the film. Perhaps this was just me, searching for evidence I knew would not be there. I did discover one point of interest, however; the Elm Tree is one heavily associated with the cycle of life, in particular, of death. I wonder if the residents of Elm Street were not doomed from the start. 

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Case #000035

Researcher: Lara Beaufort

Subject: SAW (2004)

Report: While the subsequent iterations of this particular franchise sound loudly of  formulaic violence, the first installment of the SAW media empire is a prime example of my working theory; if there is a case where one of the Entities is prominent, then other entities will involve themselves as well, thus increasing, and benefiting from, the fear in whichever unfortunate victim. 

Here, the most prominent entity is the End, no pretenses needed. The villain of the movie states his motivation as merely wanting others to “appreciate life,” as he feels they have not. We often see the entities working through avatars, and it is fitting that the End has chosen a terminally ill man as its vassal.

And yet, the labyrinth of Jigsaw’s hideout, and there many violent traps therein, as well as the repeating motif of puzzles and games (not to mention the very obvious face paint on the Jigsaw doll), I am forced to conclude the presence of the Spiral as well. 

My partner has encouraged me to include notes of the Web’s influence as well, the shadowed presence pulling the strings. Every character throughout the film is being manipulated in some fashion; these manipulations are not revealed until after the climax of the film, leaving the viewer alone to know the true depth of the horrors Jigsaw has created. 

This first iteration of the SAW franchise sparked a trend in Hollywood surrounding similar “murder games,” and incepted an entire generation of viewers with the fear of being caught up in one. I believe further investigation will produce evidence to support the conclusions I’ve outlined here. Is it possible for the fears to work together sustainably? Are there more examples of these partnerships?