SCP-783 - There Was A Crooked Man

many children across the english-speaking world  grew up hearing mother goose nursery rhymes about   mice running up clocks old women living in shoes  and one unfortunate egg by the name of humpty   dumpty but have you ever heard the rhyme about the  crooked man most of us who heard that particular   poem remember it like this there was a crooked man  and he walked a crooked mile he found a crooked   sixpence against a crooked style he bought a  crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse and   they all live together in a little crooked house  a little bit odd but hey most nursery rhymes are   when have you ever seen a little girl sitting on  a tuffet eating some curds and whey what even is a   tuffet honestly what are curds and whey let's just  move on residents of the sleepy english hamlet of   tembi and oxfordshire hear a more menacing version  of the rhyme about the crooked man sung as a song   on playgrounds shared in hushed tones when the  grown-ups aren't listening it goes like this   there lived a crooked man who made a crooked deal  he kept a crooked cane and his catch in crooked   creel he stole a crooked child who cried a crooked  squeal and that crooked little man was broken   on the wheel it sounds just as inscrutible as any  other nursery rhyme but there is a dark tone to it   that seems a bit out of place especially when you  compare it to the other somewhat cheery version   this creepy alternative to the crooked man nursery  rhyme seems to only be found in the town of tembi   and unfortunately for the residents of that  town there is a deadly truth behind its words   many years ago the scp foundation became aware  of a mysterious pattern in this unassuming town   every 12 years over a period of roughly 70 days  something horrible would happen to townspeople   who happened to be alone and indoors after dark  when they were discovered by a neighbor a family   member a friend or even the police they would be  unresponsive suffering from full-body paralysis   or appearing to be effectively brain dead  this was not the most unusual aspect of the   phenomenon though the victims were all grotesquely  transformed their long bones covered in dozens of   compound fractures combined with excess cartilage  and osseous tissue their limbs would become   distended stretched and deformed into long gnarled  appendages like the limbs of an ancient tree   one of the recovered victims had a forearm  measured at over 2.4 meters long another had   to be placed in a specially outfitted hospital  bed as his spine and legs had stretched to the   point where he was 12.5 meters tall local police  and doctors alike were left scratching their heads   what had happened to these people clearly  something horrible had been done to them   but there was no actual evidence of a crime no  one had been murdered and there was no evidence   of forced entry at any of the victims homes there  was however one other piece to the crooked puzzle   just before a victim was found their place of  residence would visibly degrade and warp the   structure itself breaking in places until portions  collapsed in or became slanted roofs would tilt at   an unsafe angle chimneys would fold over and door  frames would twist until no ordinary person could   pass through them safely this happened every  12 years for decades and none of the people of   tembe could do anything about it in fact they  rarely ever so much as spoke of it terrified   of admitting the truth of their town's curse in so  many words instead they spoke about the phenomenon   in innuendo meaningful glances and pleas to keep  loved ones company at night and through a simple   children's rhyme one doctor tasked with treating  survivors of the horror decided to do something   as the 12 year mark began to approach once more he  reached out to a researcher he had known years ago   a man who specialized in the unexplained things  that modern medicine had no answer for this man   had left medicine behind and was now working  for the scp foundation at the time of contact   there were approximately six months to go until  the phenomenon would begin to strike once more   the foundation needed to act quickly  in order to collect more information   and hopefully find a way to stop the terror  of tembi once and for all with about a month   to go until the danger would reappear a member of  d-class personnel referred to as d-209 was placed   in a foundation-owned house in town audio and  visual equipment were installed throughout the   house in order to monitor it for any anomalous  activity and to make sure d-209 remained at his   post for the first month of his stay d-209 did  not experience anything unusual he spent his   time drinking tea baking pies and catching up  on his reading he even thanked the foundation   for the unexpected staycation unfortunately on  his 43rd day in tembi things changed as d209 sat   in bed reading a novel by the lamplight the camera  feed in the living room began to glitch a vertical   distortion appeared with a jagged pattern that  began to make its way across the room from the   front door it was as if something was coming  inside but the camera could not pick up its   image the distortion continued through the hallway  until the camera placed there cut out entirely   suddenly closed his book as the sound  of scratching came from the floor below   he began to slowly climb out of bed listening  for further sounds as the entity continued to   make its way through the house toward him movement  was apparent on the video feed but there was too   much interference for any image of the creature to  be made out d-209 froze in his tracks as he heard   footsteps slow and certain coming up the stairs  toward him he ran to the window attempting to pry   it open and make an escape but it would not budge  with increasing desperation he grabbed his bedside   lamp and threw it at the window attempting  to shatter the glass the lamp broke apart   but the window remained stubbornly intact as he  scrambled for an escape route something knocked at   his bedroom door d-209 called out toward the door  who is it who's there but there was no response   identify yourself still whatever stood on the  other side said nothing holding the remains of   the lamp in one hand as a makeshift weapon d-209  slowly reached for the doorknob and opened the   door with a sudden pop every light bulb in the  vicinity burst including foundation provided   floodlights positioned outside of the house there  was the sound of snapping and then an agonized   scream the camera adjusted to the lack of light  in the room allowing for a clear image of d209   he was wailing and holding his right arm which  appeared to be broken just above the elbow   the arm began to stiffen and elongate  indicating impossibly fast bone growth   screw this you're not taking me i'm getting out  of here alive he yelled running down the hallway   he collapsed as another snapping sound echoed  throughout the hall my legs broken set out please   he called to someone anyone who might be watching  the feed slowly painfully he pulled himself to   his feet he lifted his right arm to the camera  showing that it had been broken again below the   elbow pointing in the opposite direction of the  first break what are you doing help me he screamed   it it doesn't even hurt anymore that can't be  right i don't know what's happening to me as he   continued to yell at the cameras he limped towards  the stairs attempting to make his way down to the   first floor he missed a step lost his balance  and fell all the way down twelve loud snaps were   heard as he went when he landed on the ground his  bones were broken in several other places only to   be immediately set where they had broken as he  screamed he dragged himself into the living room   battling against his own body which had become  something foreign to him his arms were growing   longer now around two meters long and his legs  stretched out of the camera's view presumably into   the hallway suddenly he stopped crawling his eyes  widening no no no no he whimpered before suddenly   being dragged backwards out of the camera's view  due to the presence of the entity interfering   with the cameras all visibility was lost at this  point there was however still a live audio feed   the microphones picked up an hour of snapping  and screaming until d-209 eventually went quiet   then all that could be heard was a wet sucking  sound followed by a thumping meanwhile at the   hospital 27 other victims of the entity were lying  in hospital beds as d209 met his unfortunate fate   all of the hospitalized victims began to  experience seizures at the same time and seized   for several minutes five patients were killed  and two researchers were injured in the chaos   after the incident at the hospital reports  of a seismic event at the edge of town began   to circulate because there had been no actual  earthquake in the area the research team realized   that this disturbance had to be somehow related  to the phenomenon they planned to investigate in   order to learn more about the entity behind it all  which they had now officially designated scp-783   the crooked man a team of personnel were sent  to investigate the site of the seismic event   only to find a group of 10b townsfolk clustered  around the area in a field at the south of town   the crowd refused to let the researchers  through and would not budge until one researcher   agent collins pulled out her firearm and fired a  shot into the air the sound frightened the crowd   and they realized this mysterious foundation  really meant business where the crowd had   been agent collins could see toes unnaturally  long crooked toes poking up out of the ground   they were going to need some help and a lot more  shovels to uncover this mystery by the next day   a dig team had uncovered a mass grave filled with  victims of scp-783 there were dozens of elongated   bodies spread throughout the five meter wide hole  stacked on top of each other with their heads   facing down and their arms outstretched towards  the bottom of the pit their limbs had grown   around each other twisting together to the point  where they could not be removed one at a time   while trying to collect a tissue sample from one  of the bodies researcher singer lost his balance   as the ground beneath him gave way and he fell  he attempted to find a foothold and climb back   up but fell through the gnarled arms and down into  the pit thinking quickly agent collins grabbed a   rope and tied it around her waist she would lower  herself down into the grave and would signal   when she was ready for them to pull her out agent  collins descended into the pit over 20 meters down   before she signaled for the team to pull her  back out then she told them what she had seen   there was something down there the entrance to  another location beneath all of the bodies someone   asked if there was any sign of researcher singer  colin shook her head face growing pale she hadn't   seen him down there he was gone agent collins was  granted a temporary leave of absence and a d-class   d-2172 was selected for further exploration of  the anomalous mass grave he was outfitted with   a retractable harness communication and video  equipment as well as a photo ionization detector   a geiger counter a basic survival kit a firearm  and ammunition d2172 was then lowered into the   pit via a crane after 12 meters of descent there  was no longer any visible light inside the pit   and d 2172 switched on his headlamp a few moments  later d-2172 began tugging on the tether demanding   to be lowered more quickly when asked why he  insisted someone just touched my back at 18 meters   down d2172 began to feel a sense of confusion  and dizziness unable to tell which direction   he was going at this point in the pit gravity  had inverted forcing d-2172 to climb upward   in order to continue moving down as he crossed  into another world there was daylight visible here   again as d2172 climbed out from within the mass  of bodies there he found a seemingly identical   version of the town of tembi he was instructed to  take soil samples and the monitoring researcher   noticed something odd on the video feed there were  marks in the dirt around the grave that appeared   to have been made by fingers pulling across the  ground they decided not to relay this to d2172   after the soil samples came up normal d2172  was instructed to walk to a nearby cottage   and look for any sign of the missing researcher  singer he knocked on the door and with no answer   let himself in he saw no one inside and began to  walk through in the bedroom on the wall there was   a charcoal sketch of a humanoid figure holding  a staff of some kind command ordered him to   approach the drawing but he protested saying he  felt incredibly uncomfortable looking at it he   relented and began to approach but as he did the  quality of the video feed began to degrade until   it was filled with static d2172 was then permitted  to leave the cottage and further explore this   copycat village while walking further into the  village d2172 spotted a work boot on the ground he   picked it up and found it was a match for the one  researcher singer had been wearing he followed the   path to another house the door of which was wide  open he walked inside to find signs of a struggle   an overturned couch and table a hole in the wall  the broken pieces of a lamp scattered on the floor   the kitchen was just as much of a mess and as he  investigated it further he found a pool of blood   on the floor with significant blood splatter on  the walls and counter it looked like someone had   been attacked with a weapon likely a knife indeed  as he looked d 2172 spotted a butcher's block   with only one empty slot the one that should have  held a meat cleaver the investigation led him to   a locked door covered in scratches he broke it  down and nearly fell down the stairs into the   darkened basement instructed to head down into  the basement d-2172 switched on his headlamp   drew his weapon and descended into the darkness  the basement was empty except for a bloody meat   cleaver and a piece of pant leg caught inside an  exhaust vent leading out of the house the pants   resembled those worn by singer before his fall d  2172 peered into the vent for a closer look but   was startled by the sight of something scuttling  out of sight whatever it was it was fleshy and it   was not something he cared to see more of d2172  continued on his expedition walking north and   away from the town limits of tembi somehow in  spite of this he wound back up at the south side   where he had emerged from the pit but something  was different there were no bodies no open grave   and no tethered harness that he had taken off when  he climbed out he was trapped the harness had not   been retracted so where had it gone command could  not determine its exact location but proposed that   d2172 had entered another anomalous area and  was not in fact back where he started he was   instructed to follow the road back retracing  his steps until he wound up at the pit again   as he walked he commented that he had not yet  seen a single living thing in this place then   as he heard the sound of rustling leaves he turned  toward it to find the corpse of an scp-783 victim   he turned back to continue on his way only to see  another victim sprawled across the road he drew   his weapon then listening as the rustling began  again he spun around to look at the body behind   him and found that it had stretched longer growing  closer to him behind him the other body began to   snap as well he turned to fire his weapon and  saw that this other body had stretched its neck   its head at eye level only a meter away from his  own face he fired several rounds but the corpse   did not respond ignoring orders d-2172 took off  running into the woods leaving the road behind   he stopped to catch his breath sat down and  reloaded his firearm after eating a quick mre   and informing command of his whereabouts he set  back off on his journey through the forest after   14 minutes of walking he began to feel movement  under the ground short sharp bursts of motion   reverberating through the earth he could also  hear a thumping sound coming from beneath him   on the video feed command saw what appeared  to be a silver birch tree lifting out of sight   then dropping down back into the forest shaking  the ground on impact d-2172 was instructed to   approach the object as command quickly realized  that this was no tree as he approached another   similar object landed near him he fired his weapon  at it and blood began to dribble from the wound   a scream ringing out high above him not knowing  what else to do he ran as fast as he could   begging for help from command for someone  to do something to get him out of there   as d2172 ran out of the forest making his way  back to town another one of the long pale objects   knocked him onto his back he looked up now able  to see what it was without the trees in his way   when he saw it he couldn't help but scream it was  researcher singer or at least it had once been   researcher singer he had become something else  something unthinkable his body was up in the sky   balancing on enormous impossibly long fingers  the creature that had once been singer shrieked   lifting a finger and preparing to bring it down  on d-2172 he fired several shots but none hit   so again he turned and ran he reached the main  road and kept running tasting bile in the back   of his throat and feeling his lungs begin to burn  he couldn't stop if he stopped the creature would   grab him in those awful fingers and he didn't  want to think about what would happen next   then he saw it the pit the bodies his way  out he sprinted toward the pit almost there   when a screech rang out and a massive finger  knocked him aside the video feed was lost   with only the sound of d2172 screaming and  running away after this d-2172 was considered lost   and attending researcher dr peterson ordered  that the team pull his harness back out agent   collins protested saying they had no evidence of  d2172's death peterson relented and they waited   for the signal eventually it came two tugs on the  tether d-2172 asking to be pulled out but when   they pulled the tether an empty harness emerged  something was caught on it holding it in the pit   as the team tried to draw it out it was d 2172's  hand gripping the harness as hard as it could   the harness broke free from his grasp and his  hand flailed searching for his chance at escape   another d-class rushed to help grabbing a hold of  2172's hand another d-class joined in along with   dr lafayette and private audi and the group worked  together to pull the fallen man from the pit   only as they pulled they realized that only his  arm had come out and it was continuing to come   more and more and more of his arm stretching out  to three meters in length bending and snapping   at gruesome angles they were too late after all he  was already gone despondent the group released him   and he sank back down into the pit with the rest  there is currently no way for the foundation to   remove the crooked man from tembi for containment  instead they must maintain a strong presence in   the town monitoring the community via a temporary  site five this area includes two houses and a   building near the local hospital their foundation  officers will track any signs of scp-783 activity   as well as continue to research the entity's  nature and any potential weaknesses it may have   in the event that scp-783 becomes active all  of its victims must be removed from the site   of the attack their bodies must be incinerated  and they will be added to the case file for now   there is not much anyone can do but wait and see  because the cycle isn't broken yet it's only a   matter of time the crooked man is coming back to  do his crooked deeds be thankful the foundation   knows what everybody needs if you want to stay  yourself protect your muscle flesh and bone then   you'd better heed this warning don't stay home  at night alone now go check out scp-2316 the   bodies in the water and scp-966 sleep killer for  more unsettling anomalies from the scp foundation

Channel: SCP Explained - Story & Animation

Views: 768,725

Keywords: scp, scp foundation, animation, animated, secure contain protect, anomaly, anomalies, anom, the rubber, therubber, tale, tales, containment breach, scp animated, scp wiki, scp explained, wiki, scp the rubber, scp therubber, scpwiki, anoms, scp-783, scp 783, scp783

Id: gYV_RluS5Q4

Length: 22min 1sec (1321 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 12 2022