SCP-087 is an unlit platform staircase descending at a 38-degree angle with semicircular platforms every 13 steps, extending far beyond the physical boundaries of its host building. The anomaly contains an unknown entity designated SCP-087-1, a disembodied face that stalks explorers through impossible depths while distant crying sounds echo from below.
The Campus Discovery: How SCP-087 Was Found
SCP-087 was discovered on a university campus in [REDACTED], embedded within what appeared to be a standard academic building constructed in the mid-20th century. The anomaly’s entrance was located in a maintenance corridor, initially dismissed as a service stairwell leading to sub-basement levels. Campus security reports documented recurring complaints about disturbing sounds emanating from behind the door—specifically, the sound of a child crying from an indeterminate distance below.
Foundation involvement began when a maintenance worker descended the stairs to investigate a reported water leak and failed to return after six hours. A second worker sent to locate him reported seeing “a face in the darkness” before fleeing in psychological distress. Local authorities contacted Foundation liaisons after standard search and rescue operations revealed the staircase descended well beyond the building’s architectural plans, with rescue teams unable to locate the bottom or the missing worker.
The Foundation established containment protocols within 48 hours, administering Class-B amnestics to witnesses and reclassifying the building as condemned. The structure now serves as a front for SCP-087’s permanent monitoring station.
Architectural Impossibility: The Physics of Infinite Descent
SCP-087 represents a fundamental violation of Euclidean geometry. The host building stands four stories above ground with two documented sub-basement levels—a total vertical span of approximately 30 meters. Yet exploration logs confirm descent beyond 200 meters without reaching a terminus, all while the staircase remains within the building’s physical footprint when observed externally.
The staircase maintains consistent architectural features: each flight consists of exactly 13 steps at a 38-degree angle, followed by a semicircular platform approximately 3 meters in diameter. The walls are constructed of standard concrete, showing no unusual material properties when sampled. However, the space itself exhibits non-Euclidean characteristics—explorers report the sensation of descending in a straight line while instruments indicate impossible curvature.
Comparative analysis with other spatial anomalies suggests SCP-087 may exist partially outside conventional spacetime, with the stairwell serving as an interface between dimensions. The consistent 38-degree angle may be significant; this specific inclination appears in several other Foundation-documented spatial anomalies, suggesting a potential underlying geometric principle governing extradimensional architecture.
The complete absence of light sources presents another anomaly. Standard flashlights and electric lamps function normally but illuminate only 1.5 to 9 steps ahead regardless of luminosity. This suggests the darkness itself possesses anomalous properties, actively absorbing or redirecting photons beyond a specific threshold.
SCP-087-1: The Face in the Darkness
SCP-087-1 is the primary hostile entity inhabiting the stairwell, manifesting as a disembodied humanoid face lacking a mouth, nose, or any features beyond eye sockets. Witnesses describe it as appearing suddenly at the edge of illuminated areas, always positioned to maintain eye contact with observers. The face measures approximately 0.5 meters in diameter and exhibits no visible means of locomotion, yet moves with disturbing speed when not directly observed.
Behavioral analysis reveals SCP-087-1 functions as an ambush predator adapted to its environment. It exploits the psychological vulnerabilities created by sensory deprivation, isolation, and the primal human fear of faces in darkness. The entity demonstrates intelligence in its stalking patterns, appearing at intervals calculated to maximize psychological stress rather than immediately attacking.
Survivors report that direct eye contact with SCP-087-1 induces acute panic responses, with subjects experiencing elevated heart rates, hyperventilation, and overwhelming compulsion to flee. This suggests potential memetic or cognitohazardous properties, though the mechanism remains unclear. The entity has never been observed above the first platform, indicating either territorial boundaries or an inability to exist outside the stairwell’s deeper regions.
The relationship between SCP-087-1 and the crying sounds remains unconfirmed. Some researchers theorize the entity uses the sounds as bait, while others suggest multiple entities inhabit different depths of the anomaly.
Exploration Logs: What the Four Expeditions Revealed
The Foundation conducted four documented exploration attempts, each revealing progressively disturbing information about SCP-087’s nature.
Exploration I descended to approximately 60 meters (roughly 200 steps) before the subject reported hearing crying sounds growing louder. The explorer encountered SCP-087-1 at the 190-step mark, describing “a face without features staring from the darkness.” The subject retreated successfully but required psychological counseling for recurring nightmares.
Exploration II reached 122 meters using enhanced lighting equipment. The crying sounds intensified with depth, and the subject reported the sensation of being followed. SCP-087-1 appeared multiple times, each manifestation closer than the previous. Audio recordings captured unidentified scraping sounds and what analysts described as “breathing that doesn’t match human respiratory patterns.” The explorer terminated the mission after experiencing severe psychological distress.
Exploration III attempted to reach the source of the crying using a two-person team with continuous radio contact. At 213 meters, both subjects encountered SCP-087-1 simultaneously from different directions, suggesting either multiple entities or the ability to manifest in multiple locations. One explorer suffered a complete psychological breakdown and had to be physically restrained. The mission was aborted at 244 meters when the crying sounds abruptly ceased—a silence described as “more terrifying than the sounds themselves.”
Exploration IV deployed remote-operated drones with advanced sensors. The drones descended beyond 400 meters before signal degradation made further exploration impossible. Telemetry data showed temperature drops inconsistent with normal geothermal gradients and atmospheric pressure readings that violated known physics. The final transmitted images showed SCP-087-1 apparently observing the drone, suggesting awareness of non-human observers. All subsequent exploration proposals have been denied by Site Command.
Containment Philosophy: Why You Can’t Just Seal It
SCP-087 maintains an Euclid classification despite being a stationary location-based anomaly. This classification reflects not the difficulty of physical containment but the unpredictable nature of its effects and the potential for containment breach through spatial expansion.
Current containment procedures focus on access denial rather than neutralization. The entrance remains sealed with a reinforced steel door requiring Level 2 authorization for access. Continuous audio monitoring detects changes in the crying sounds’ frequency or intensity, which may indicate shifts in the anomaly’s activity state. Video surveillance covers the entrance, though cameras cannot penetrate the darkness beyond the first platform.
The Foundation has rejected proposals to permanently seal SCP-087 with concrete or demolish the host building for several reasons. First, the spatial anomaly may extend beyond the physical entrance—sealing the door might simply relocate the access point or create new manifestations elsewhere. Second, the anomaly appears stable in its current state; disruption could trigger unpredictable spatial effects potentially affecting the surrounding area. Third, SCP-087 provides valuable research opportunities for understanding extradimensional spaces and their interaction with baseline reality.
Ethical debates continue regarding the missing maintenance worker from the initial discovery. Some personnel advocate for rescue attempts, while others argue that anyone who has survived this long within SCP-087 has likely undergone transformation or assimilation into the anomaly itself, making rescue both impossible and potentially dangerous.
The Living Structure Theory: Predatory Architecture
Emerging research suggests SCP-087 may function as a predatory organism rather than a simple spatial anomaly. This theory, championed by Dr. ████████ of Site-19’s Spatial Anomalies Division, proposes that the stairwell itself is alive, using SCP-087-1 as a lure or immune response to draw organic matter into its depths for consumption or assimilation.
Evidence supporting this hypothesis includes the anomaly’s apparent responsiveness to human presence. The crying sounds intensify when explorers descend, suggesting the structure actively encourages deeper penetration. The darkness that resists illumination may serve as a digestive medium, breaking down matter that ventures too far from the entrance. Temperature and pressure anomalies recorded during Exploration IV align with metabolic processes observed in certain biological systems.
The consistent architectural features—the 38-degree angle, the 13-step flights, the semicircular platforms—may represent the anomaly’s internal structure, analogous to the chambers and passages of a digestive tract. The platforms could function as “stomachs” where organic matter is processed, with SCP-087-1 serving as a mobile enzyme or antibody that neutralizes threats to the organism.
This theory connects SCP-087 to other architectural anomalies in the Foundation database, particularly SCP-184 and SCP-432, suggesting a broader category of spatial predators that exploit human curiosity and the instinct to explore enclosed spaces. If confirmed, this would require reclassification to Keter and implementation of more aggressive containment protocols.
Frequently Asked Questions About SCP-087
What happens if you reach the bottom of SCP-087?
No exploration has successfully reached a bottom or terminus. The deepest confirmed descent was 400+ meters via drone, and the staircase continued beyond that point. The prevailing theory suggests SCP-087 has no bottom—it either extends infinitely or loops through non-Euclidean space. Subjects who descend too far and lose contact are presumed lost, either consumed by the anomaly or trapped in unreachable depths.
Is SCP-087-1 the source of the crying sounds?
Unknown. The entity has never been observed producing the sounds, and they continue even when SCP-087-1 is not manifesting. Some researchers believe the crying originates from deeper within the anomaly, possibly from previous victims or as an autonomous lure mechanism. Others theorize multiple entities inhabit different levels, with SCP-087-1 being only the most commonly encountered.
Can SCP-087 expand or create new entrances?
Currently, no evidence suggests the anomaly can expand beyond its single entrance point. However, the spatial violations it demonstrates make this a persistent concern. Containment protocols include monitoring the surrounding building and adjacent structures for signs of spatial distortion that might indicate expansion or the formation of secondary access points.
Why doesn’t the Foundation destroy SCP-087?
Destruction attempts could trigger catastrophic spatial collapse, potentially creating a larger anomaly or releasing whatever exists in the stairwell’s depths into baseline reality. The anomaly remains stable and contained in its current state—intervention risks making the situation significantly worse. Additionally, SCP-087 provides irreplaceable research data on extradimensional spaces.
Has anyone survived descending past 300 meters?
No human explorer has descended past 244 meters and returned. The psychological and physical toll of extended exposure to SCP-087’s environment makes survival beyond this depth unlikely. The drone that reached 400+ meters lost signal and was never recovered, suggesting something in the deeper levels actively prevents return or communication.
