Series V is one I haven’t explored as deeply as the earlier series when I put together my list of the best SCPs of all time.
What I found was a return to the wiki’s horror roots. Many Series V articles center once again on horrible, ghastly creatures, and this is where you’ll find one of the most popular and best horror SCPs on the entire wiki.
What struck me the most, though, was the writing. The prose here is outstanding, and several of my favorite writers produced some of the most well-written SCPs of all time during this era.
For this article, I want to present you with my eleven favorite Series IV SCPs.
Fiction by René Rehn
Notice: All articles cited here are licensed under CC-BY-SA.
SCP-4001 – Alexandria Eternal by GentleGifts
Another library SCP, and not just any library: this one holds a book about the life of every human being who has ever existed. The prose is one of the most enjoyable parts of this SCP. What makes it interesting is that there are no monsters and no dangerous entities, only a mysterious place, though the experimentation logs show how much trouble one can cause. Better still, the library appears to be alive, and it judges people for what they’ve done.
SCP-4005 – The Holy and Heavenly City of Fabled China by Tufto
This is the first article by Tufto I ever read, and it blew me away. It might be one of the best-written SCPs on the entire wiki. It concerns a dream city glimpsed by people who stare into an old glass lamp, and everyone who sees it becomes obsessed and eventually sets out to find it.
What I loved most were the diary entries by Omar ibn Rashid, an Egyptian novelist who went looking for inspiration and found the lamp instead. Being a writer myself, that story resonated with me in ways I didn’t expect. It’s not only one of the best Series V SCPs but also, in a way, a description of a very particular kind of apocalypse.
SCP-4205 – In The Eyes of the Beholder by Woedenaz
In the Eyes of the Beholder is one of the most popular Series V SCPs and one of the best format screws I’ve come upon. It’s long and strange, and you’ll wonder more than once what exactly is happening. By the end, though, everything clicks. The presentation sets it apart, but it’s a fantastic read, regardless.
SCP-4231 – The Montauk House by thefriendlyvandal
The Montauk House is another format screw, and more a tale than an SCP. Anyone familiar with Procedure 110-Montauk will know what they’re in for immediately. Without saying too much, it’s an origin story, and one of the most complex on the wiki. It’s one of the most beautifully written Series V SCPs, but its length means it drags in places. Still, it’s very much worth reading.
SCP-4485 – Such Black Light by Woedenaz
Another extremely long and ambitious Series V SCP. I liked the idea behind it, and the many pieces of art woven into it are excellent. The ending was what I loved the most, even if the whole thing felt a little overblown when compared to other Series V SCPs. A fantastic article all the same.
SCP-4498 – The Plurality of Lachlan Cairns by djkaktus
This is a comedy SCP reminiscent of the lolFoundation articles popular in the wiki’s earlier days. Anyone who knows the Foundation’s more prominent characters knows Lachlan Cairns is a complicated figure. Now imagine several of him at once, and the chaos that follows. That’s exactly what this Series V SCP is about, and it’s absolutely hilarious.
SCP-4511 – SWINE GOD. by Jade Skylar and Rounderhouse
One of the weirder entries in the series, and one that recalls the wiki’s old-school horror. It concerns a large mechanical construct resembling a pig, sitting in the basement of a disused meatpacking plant, and it comes with a lot of fucked-up details and imagery, particularly in the experiments and test logs. There’s something more to the object, too, which is revealed near the end. SWINE GOD is one of the best Series V SCPs and a fantastic piece of horror.
SCP-4666 – The Yule Man by Hercules Rockefeller
The Yule Man might be the best and most twisted of the many Series V SCPs, and it’s pure nightmare fuel. It centers on an entity that appears around Christmas and targets families, either abducting one of the children and murdering everyone else, or leaving behind strange and disgusting toys.
As horrible as these visitations are, the article goes even further. The ending, and the final interview, is where the true horror lands. The most thoroughly messed-up article in the entire series.
SCP-4774 – The Ninth Planet by MaliceAforethought
This is one of the cleverest articles in the series. It concerns a planet that may or may not exist, and more precisely the act of observing it and what that observation might mean. It’s a genuinely interesting concept, and the last line truly makes it one of the best Series V SCPs.
SCP-4833 – The Syncope Symphony by Tufto
This is another of Tufto’s Series V SCPs. It’s a long read, and connects to the Class of ‘76, which I’m admittedly not well-versed in, but it works perfectly well on its own, regardless. The prose is top-notch, among the best on the wiki, and it’s well worth reading even without knowing the wider context.
SCP-4840 – The Demon Lancelot and the Flying City of Audapaupadopolis by djkaktus
Another part of djkaktus’ larger universe and Project Paragon. I’m not the biggest fan of Project Paragon, but there’s no denying this is a magnificent piece of world-building. One problem is that it’s dense, and it asks you to know a fair amount about his universe.
My biggest problem is thematic. I see the SCP universe as fundamentally Lovecraftian, one where humanity is essentially meaningless and preyed upon by the anomalous. In djkaktus’ version, we learn that the very first human was the most powerful being of all time. I have mixed feelings about this. That said, it’s a superbly written Series V SCP, and plenty of readers will love it.
