The SCP Foundation is one of the biggest and most popular fiction collaborations on the internet.
It all started back in 2008 on 4chan’s x board when a user posted a log-based creepypasta about an animate statue, SCP-173, and how to contain it which I also included on my list of the best creepypasta of all time.
The post quickly sparked the interest of other users, who soon began writing their own SCPs.
I first learned of the SCP Foundation and the horrors it contains back in the late 2000s when SCP-173 was frequently shared on 4chan and on other places online. Yet, I never looked deeper, never visited the actual SCP-Wiki and read none of the many other SCPs.
Since I’m a horror writer, I love all horror fiction, be it as books, manga, or creepypasta shared over the internet.
In recent years, the popularity of the SCP Foundation has grown significantly. Many YouTube channels small and big talk about various SCPs and several video games have been released.
Before long, my interest was piqued and at the end of last year, I finally checked out the SCP Foundation myself. And thus my deep-dive into the world of Secure, Contain and Protect began.
Table of Contents
- The SCP-Wiki
- Best SCPs – Honorable Mentions
- Series I
- Series II
- Series III
- Series IV
- Series V
- Series VI
- Series VII
- Best SCPs – 001-Proposals
The SCP-Wiki
To my surprise, the SCP-Wiki and many of its entries differed from what I’d originally thought. I’d expected that most of the articles would be containment procedures for anomalous objects or creepy monsters akin to SCP-173.
Instead, the content of the SCP-Wiki had evolved over the years. By now, it contains many different styles and genres. You can find horror, science-fiction, comedy, historical fiction and even meta-fiction, all in the form of SCPs.
The anomalous objects and monsters, too, have evolved. We can find articles about Elder Gods and monsters, but also concepts, dangerous thoughts, memes, parallel dimensions, the future, the past and so much more.
As part of this deep-dive I read as broad and wide as I could. Many articles, lists or videos concerning the SCP Foundation talk about the most popular articles, but that doesn’t do it justice. Overall, there’s over six-thousand SCPs out there by now.
I didn’t read all of them, of course, but I read a good part of it, almost a thousand entries.
While taste is subjective and not all the SCPs I read were good, I found quite a few that were truly amazing.
That’s why I put together my personal list of the best SCPs of all time.
Notice: All articles cited here are licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Best SCPs – Honorable Mentions
I included a small list of honorable mentions because I sometimes came upon articles I didn’t truly enjoy, but which were too well-crafted to ignore.
The articles here are all outstanding, well-written or took tremendous effort. Many of them are amongst the most popular articles in the SCP-Wiki. And yet, I had my problems with them. It could’ve been the narrative, the story told, the complexity, missing information or certain aspects I didn’t enjoy.
Still, I think they are all worth reading, or at least worth a look.
With that, I present you twenty honorable mentions that didn’t make it into my overall list of the best SCPs.
djkaktus’s Proposal I – The Children by djkaktus
Meta Ike Proposal – The Solution by Jack Ike
SCP-093 – Red Sea Object by NekoChris
SCP-2498 – The Rainbow Body by minmin
SCP-2932 – Titania’s Prison by djkaktus
SCP-3109 – Indeterminate Source by HammerMaiden
SCP-3301 – THE FOUNDATIOn by djkaktus
SCP-3444 – She Took The Midnight Train Going Anywhere… by Tufto
SCP-3939 – [NUMBER RESERVED; AWAITING RESEARCHER] by Croquembouche
SCP-3989 – The Bone Orchard by HammerMaiden
SCP-4205 – In The Eyes of the Beholder by Woedenaz
SCP-4231 – The Montauk House by thefriendlyvandal
SCP-4485 – Such Black Light by Woedenaz
SCP-4840 – The Demon Lancelot and the Flying City of Audapaupadopolis by djkaktus
SCP-5500 – Death of the Authors by Ihp
SCP-5956 – THEREISNOCANNON by HarryBlank
SCP-5999 – This is Where I Died by Shaggydredlocks
SCP-6500 – Inevitable by HarryBlank, Ihp, Grigori Karpin, DarkStuff, Aethris and Placeholder McD
SCP-6666 – The Demon Hector and the Dread Titania by djkatus
Series I
Series I is where it all started. Those are the very first SCPs, and they were written during simpler times.
Today, Series I is often criticized for being poorly written, having no character development, or being too simple.
While many of the articles in Series I are considered classics and rank high on the best-of-all-time list, it’s often more because of age and popularity than actual quality. A great example is the now defunct heritage collection, which includes some of the most popular SCPs of all time.
And yet, for all the criticism Series I is getting, the articles here can be quite effective. They are short and to the point, often reminiscent of creepypasta, and can be best described as monster-of-the-week articles.
They are less grand, less imposing and there’s no bigger mythos surrounding them. It’s because of this that they have a certain charm to them, at least some of them.
Overall, I read a good chunk of Series I, especially the more popular articles. While I believe the consensus of them being weaker compared to later Series holds true, I still enjoyed some of them. It’s here, I want to share those hidden little gems from Series I that I included in my list of the best SCPs.
SCP-002 – The “Living” Room
SCP-055 – Anti-Meme by by qntm and CptBellman
SCP-140 – An Incomplete Chronicle by AssertiveRoland
SCP-179 – Sauelsuesor by Dr Reach
SCP-184 – The Architect by Dr Gears
SCP-231 – Special Personnel Requirements by DrClef
SCP-342 – A Ticket to Ride by name
SCP-400 – Beautiful Babies by HammerMaiden
SCP-407 – The Song of Genesis by Pair Of Ducks
SCP-439 – Bone Hive by by Multimoog
SCP-453 – Scripted Nightclub by Erku
SCP-610 – The Flesh that Hates by NekoChris
SCP-701 – The Hanged King’s Tragedy by tinwatchman
SCP-748 – Industrial Dissolution by Metaphysician
SCP-804 – World Without Man by Sorts
SCP-882 – A Machine by Dr Gears
Series II
With Series II, a lot of things changed for the SCP-Wiki. Series II can be best described as a deconstruction of series I.
During Series I, the SCP-Wiki didn’t have a general tone. While some people wrote more realistic pieces, others wrote wacky and over-the-top articles. Those would later be known as lolFoundation. In these articles, the SCP Foundation is a crazy place, populated by insane, over the top characters.
Series II was a movement against this. The SCP-Wiki grew grimdark in tone. The world of the SCP Foundation became a cold, hard place. It’s dark and horrible, and many of the articles in Series II mirror it by being grim and depressing.
Series II was also heavily influenced by the SCP-1000 contest and its winner. It turned the SCP-Wiki away from its horror roots and more towards, including folklore, the unusual, and the fantastical.
In Series II, we also encountered the very first format screw, articles who incorporated other elements, moved away from the normal SCP format or disregarded it entirely.
Overall, Series II can be best described as a transitional period, one in which the SCP-Wiki moved away from the creepypasta roots of Series I and more towards the grander, more scientific style of Series III. Still, Series II is well worth reading, and many of its articles are amongst the best SCPs on the SCP-Wiki.
SCP-1025 – Encyclopedia of Diseases by Lasergoose
SCP-1048 – Builder Bear by trennerdios
SCP-1157 – Bifurcating Man by Ink Asylum
SCP-1193 – Buried Giant by ophite
SCP-1281 – The Harbinger by DrEverettMann
SCP-1342 – To the Makers of Music by FlameShirt
SCP-1440 – The Old Man from Nowhere by Dmatix
SCP-1562 – Tunnel Slide by trennerdios
SCP-1678 – UnLondon by AstronautJoe
SCP-1689 – Bag of Holding Potatoes by llama66613
SCP-1692 – Came Back Haunted by AndarielHalo
SCP-1733 – Trapped in a Game by bbaztek
SCP-1739 – Obsolete Laptop by Chubert
SCP-1755 – Cotton Blight by Anaxagoras
SCP-1859 – Life Over Geological Time by Flah
SCP-1861 – The Crew of the HMS Wintersheimer by PeppersGhost
SCP-1981 – “RONALD REAGAN CUT UP WHILE TALKING” by Digiwizzard
SCP-1986 – Imaginary Library by Requitefahrenheit
Series III
Series III is where things grew in size. It’s here where we find higher concepts, much more world-building and quite a few of the best SCPs of all time.
The articles of Series III are longer and often more story-driven than earlier ones. They are often grander in style, concerning anomalous creatures or concepts of an entirely different order. We’re not talking about monsters in cages anymore, we’re talking about entities that could threaten the entire SCP Foundation.
In Series III, we also get a much clearer picture of the various groups of interest, their motifs and the impact they have on the world and the SCP Foundation.
Once more, the tone of the SCP-Wiki changed. The grimdark tone that had taken root in Series III was replaced by a more ambiguous one. The SCP Foundation could still be unethical and often was. As a whole, however, it was concerned with keeping the world a safe place and protecting humanity.
SCP-2000 – Deus Ex Machina by HammerMaiden
SCP-2003 – Preferred Option by Kalinin
SCP-2030 – LA U GH IS F UN by PeppersGhost
SCP-2075 – The Way of All Flesh by Metaphysician
SCP-2132 – Most Dangerous Fighting Exhibition and Obstacle Resort by ahbonjour
SCP-2254 – The Demon La Hire and the Valley of Lust by djkatus
SCP-2264 – In the Court of Alagadda by Metaphysician
SCP-2399 – A Malfunctioning Destroyer by djkatus
SCP-2419 – The Laughing Man by The Great Hippo
SCP-2432 – Room Service by LordStonefish
SCP-2510 – Got A Secret, Can You Keep It? by Cerastes
SCP-2571 – Cragglewood Park by The Great Hippo
SCP-2614 – Sometimes I go Out in Pity for Myself by bbaztek
SCP-2682 – The Blind Idiot by faminepulse
SCP-2695 – Lucibelle Perhacs by Accelerando
SCP-2728 – On the Barcelona Skyline by DarkStuff
SCP-2740 – It Wasn’t There by djkatus
SCP-2747 – As below, so above by minmin
Series IV
Series IV is known mostly for how Meta it was. Many of the articles in Series IV played with tropes and twisted them in various creative ways.
It features some of the most creative and bizarre articles ever published on the SCP-Wiki. Format screws, Meta narratives, author inclusion and many other concepts came into play here.
While meta-articles were here to stay and would evolve, Series IV can be considered the most meta-heavy series out of all of them. And yet, as many meta-articles as Series IV contains, it also contains of a plethora of fantastic articles and many of the best SCPs of all time.
SCP-3000 – Anantashesha by A Random Day, djkaktus, and Joreth
SCP-3001 – Red Reality by OZ Ouroboros
SCP-3003 – The End of History by Communism Will Win
SCP-3004 – Imago by kinchtheknifeblade
SCP-3007 – World of Two Artists by Zhange
SCP-3008 – The Infinite IKEA by Mortos
SCP-3034 – The Counting Station by The Great Hippo
SCP-3043 – Murphy Law in… Type 3043 — FOR MURDER! by The Great Hippo
SCP-3045 – bzzip.exe by The Great Hippo
SCP-3117 – A Monster-Shaped Hole by The Great Hippo
SCP-3125 – The Escapee by qntm
SCP-3179 – The Seed by Tanhony
SCP-3211 – There is No Canon by Croquembouche
SCP-3288 – The Aristocrats by Metaphysician
SCP-3626 – Do not stop reading this document by kemoT01
SCP-3733 – Everybody Else by notgull
SCP-3739 – Mind-Milk™ by Moosphere, Inc. by Lt Flops
SCP-3838 – Nomads of the 4th-Dimensional Steppe by Tufto
SCP-3930 – The Pattern Screamer by djkatus
SCP-3935 – This Thing a Quiet Madness Made by djkatus
SCP-3986 – The Observatory of Genghis Khan by Tufto
Series V
Series V is one of the newer Series, and one I haven’t explored as deeply as some of the earlier ones, yet.
In Series V, the SCP-Wiki returned to its horror roots. Once more, many of its articles would center on horrible, ghastly and creepy creatures. It’s also in Series V that one of the most popular and best SCPs in the horror genre was written.
One thing I noticed during Series V is that the writing was absolutely outstanding. It was here I discovered many of my favorite authors on the SCP-Wiki who’ve produced some of the most well-written and best SCPs of all time.
SCP-4001 – Alexandria Eternal by GentleGifts
SCP-4005 – The Holy and Heavenly City of Fabled China by Tufto
SCP-4511 – SWINE GOD. by DrAnnoyingDog and Rounderhouse
SCP-4666 – The Yule Man by Hercules Rockefeller
SCP-4774 – The Ninth Planet by MaliceAforethought
SCP-4833 – The Syncope Symphony by Tufto
Series VI
Series VI was yet another series that brought fresh wind to the SCP-Wiki. Once more, writers would try out new things and brought forth new ideas.
We can see an influx of different format screws, multi-page articles or entirely fresh forms of SCPs.
Series VI also took a step away from the horror and the more serious articles that dominated Series V. Instead, we saw a multitude of silly or humorous articles, many of which I enjoyed tremendously.
The writing, however, stayed on the same high level as during series V and I once more found many outstanding articles that make a worth addition to this list of the best SCPs of all time.
SCP-5106 – Goosed by DrAkimoto
SCP-5552 – Our Stolen Theory by Captain Kirby
SCP-5657 – Nicki Knows by T Rutherford
SCP-5935 – Blood and the Breaking of My Heart by djkatus
Series VII
Series VII is the current and newest series, but it already features some absolutely fantastic articles.
The SCP-6000 contents might be my all-time favorite contest and features some grand, outstanding and well-written articles.
Overall, the quality I’ve seen in the articles of Series VII so far might be the best I’ve seen on the SCP-Wiki so far. While Series VII is new, many of the articles can be considered among the best SCPs of all time.
SCP-6000 – The Serpent, the Moose, and the Wanderer’s Library by Rounderhouse
SCP-6001 – Avalon by T Rutherford
SCP-6002 – All Creatures Great and Small by bigslothonmyface
SCP-6140 – The True Empire by aismallard and stormbreath
SCP-6789 – Return. Return. Return. by Its A Bad Idea, Ralliston, and Trotskyeet
SCP-6820 – TERMINATION ATTEMPT by Placeholder McD
SCP-6996 – Does the Red Moon Howl? by Dysadron
Best SCPs – 001-Proposals
Anyone who’s spent some time on the SCP-Wiki has heard about SCP-001 and the many 001-Proposals.
Being the number 001, many people had ideas what SCP-001 was supposed to be. Some said it had to be the very first SCP ever discovered, others said it had to be the most important or dangerous one.
It was eventually decided to keep the slot open, and instead fill it with proposals of what SCP-001 could be.
In-universe, SCP-001 was so important and dangerous, it was to be kept a secret and well-hidden. To keep its identity a secret, a variety of false entries were created to throw off any unauthorized reader.
What this meant is simple. The true SCP-001 could be any of them, it could be all of them, or none of them.
The SCP-001 proposals are a writer’s most ambitious work, their grandest article and the culmination of their efforts.
It’s because of this that the SCP-001 articles are seen as the cream-de-la-crop and the best SCPs on the entire SCP-Wiki.
After reading all of them, I have to agree.
Many of the 001-Proposals are amongst the most ambitious and best SCPs on the entire SCP-Wiki. As the last part of this list, I want to present to you the best of the almost fifty proposals there are on the SCP-Wiki.
Captain Kirby’s Proposal – O5-13 by Captain Kirby
djkaktus’s Proposal III – The Way it Ends by djkatus
I.H.Pickman’s Proposal – Story of Your Life by Ihp
Pedantique’s Proposal – Fishhook by Pedantique
Pickman-Blank Proposal – The Frontispiece by Ihp and HarryBlank
ROUNDERHOUSE’s Gold Proposal – AMONI-RAM by Rounderhouse
ROUNDERHOUSE’s Proposal – MEMENTO MORI by Rounderhouse
S. D. Locke’s Proposal – When Day Breaks by S D Locke
Tufto’s Proposal – The Scarlet King by Tufto
TwistedGears-Kaktus Proposal – The Broken God by TwistedGears and djkatus
