What are Apollyon SCPs? Apollyon is a containment class for a specific subset of anomalies: those that are impossible to contain and that will inevitably break containment.
During my time on the wiki, and while I put together my list of the best SCPs of all time, I read a fair number of them.
I came to enjoy many, because they always operate on an entirely different scale from everything else. What began as a designation for an especially dangerous Keter SCP soon became the de facto class for anomalies that would eventually bring about the apocalypse and end the world.
As always, I enjoyed some of them more than others. Here are my eight favorite Apollyon SCPs.
This is a different sort of Apollyon SCP, since it doubles as a Thaumiel one. Once you read it, it becomes clear why it carries both classes. It’s also the most complex, complicated, and confusing entry on this list, and for a good reason. The writing is fantastic, and it’s well put together, though you’ll likely need multiple read-throughs, or the declassified thread on Reddit, to make sense of it. Once you do, you’ll see just how genius it is.
A 001-proposal and probably the most popular Apollyon article on the entire wiki. Where most Apollyon SCPs detail a dangerous entity, this describes the apocalypse itself, a horrible, Lovecraftian one. It’s one of the few genuine horror proposals, and far more character-driven than you’d expect, concerned above all else with how a person comes to terms with the end of the world.
SCP-4005 – The Holy and Heavenly City of Fabled China by Tufto
The Holy and Heavenly City of Fabled China stands apart from other Apollyon SCPs. It describes the end of the world, but not in a horrible fashion. It’s positive, even wholesome. Written by Tufto, one of my favorite writers on the wiki, it blew me away. The anomaly is an old glass lamp, and anyone who stares into it sees a strange, mysterious dream city, then grows obsessed and sets out to find it. The diaries of Omar Ibn Rashid, an Egyptian novelist who went looking for inspiration and found the lamp instead, are among the best parts. One of the best Apollyon SCPs, albeit an unusual one.
One of the longest and most ambitious Apollyon SCPs. I love the idea and appreciate the many pieces of art accompanying it. It revolves around a small, leather-bound book written by one Jean Arp (Hans Arp), which seems harmless at first and turns out to be far more dangerous, capable of ending the world. Some sections feel overblown, but I loved it anyway.
Meta-SCPs and pataphysics are always a tough sell, which makes this one of the weirder entries here. It builds on Swann’s 001-proposal, the one arguing that the writers of the wiki are the true SCP-001, and pushes it further: not just the interaction between Foundation and writers, but what happens should those writers die, and the horrible consequences for the world they created. One of the most interesting Apollyon SCPs, though it won’t be for everyone.
HarryBlank is easily one of the best writers on the wiki. This one centers on a time paradox with potentially apocalyptic consequences, and it’s among the most complex and well-assembled Apollyon SCPs out there. To fully appreciate it, you’ll want familiarity with his other works and the characters populating them. His writing is always worth reading, and this is no exception. Easily one of the best articles on the entire wiki.
Apollyon articles are usually dangerous, world-ending affairs, so how does the Wanderer’s Library fit in? Read it and you’ll find it fits perfectly. This is one of the greatest SCPs on the wiki, worth reading for Rounderhouse’s prose alone. It’s also one of the more wholesome, less grimdark Apollyon SCPs, which is exactly what makes it so satisfying. The tale of Tilda Moose and her character is what I loved the most.
Anyone who’s looked into the wiki knows SCP-682, the Hard-to-Destroy-Reptile. I was never a fan of the original, though it’s a classic and earns its place. This is a love letter to the old reptile and its experimentation log, but brings far more to it. One of the most complex and in-depth articles on the entire wiki, and an outstanding piece of writing, and one of the greatest Apollyon SCPs of all time.
If you’ve spent any time on the SCP-Wiki you’ve heard about SCP-001 and the many 001-proposals.
When I put together my list of the best SCPs of all time, I didn’t ignore the 001-proposals of course. No, I read all of them.
Over the years, many people had ideas about what SCP-001 might or should be. Some thought it should be the first SCP ever discovered, others reasoned it had to be the most dangerous or important one.
Before long, however, it was decided to keep the slot open and instead fill it with various proposals of what SCP-001 could be.
In the universe, this was explained by SCP-001 being so dangerous, it had to be kept a secret. For this reason, a variety of false entries were created. What this means is quite simple: you’ll never know which the true SCP-001 is. It could be any of them, it could be all of them, or it could be none of them.
The 001-proposals are often a writer’s most ambitious and grandest articles. Because of this, they are the cream-de-la-crop. The best SCPs on the entire SCP-Wiki. After I was done reading all of them, I had to agree wholeheartedly. Many of them are absolutely outstanding.
So for this article, I put together a list of my twelve favorite 001-proposals.
The Children is the very first of djkaktus 001-proposals and the first part of the Ouroboros cycle. It’s yet another SCP that paints the Foundation as a place that does questionable things for the greater good. I loved the overall story that was told; the deeds done to the children and, of course, the Kingdom of Abaddon. Yet, there are many other things going on here, things that are more interesting and tie in well with the rest of the Ouroboros cycle.
The Broken God is the third part of the Ouroboros cycle. It’s another 001 proposal I consider a favorite of mine. As a fan of the Broken God, I really loved this SCP, the descriptions and, of course, the writing. The actual entity was terrifying, of course, but what I loved even more was where it came from, which was quite the surprise. I also enjoyed the inclusion of SCP-2399, which is another one of my favorite SCPs. Overall, this is a truly great 001-proposal.
And here we have it, the last part of the Ouroboros cycle, The Way it Ends. This is by far the longest 001 proposals and one of the most ambitious SCPs on the entire SCP-Wiki. It includes a multitude of tie-ins to other SCPs, tales and general SCP-lore. This 001-proposal centers around a man named Calvin who sets out with a group of trusty allies to end the SCP Foundation and its various overseers. It’s a fantastic story, one that’s more a pulpy action-novel than an SCP. And yet, I had an absolute blast reading it and I’m sure any fan of the SCP Foundation will love it.
The Solution is one of the most complex 001-proposals on the entire SCP-Wiki. It’s an incredibly complex, well put together SCP, but also one that’s extremely complicated and confusing. It’s a well-written and well-done piece, but one you’ll have to read multiple times or consult the related declassified thread on Reddit. The moment you understand this 001-proposal, however, you’ll realize just how good it is. It’s a truly fantastic piece of work.
05-13 was a 001-proposal I truly and wholeheartedly enjoyed. While many other 001-proposals are grand, high concept SCPs, this one’s more humorous. I loved everything about this SCP and I had an absolute blast reading it.
Meta-SCPs can be hit or miss. This one, however, works very well. It’s an addition, or at least related to Swann’s 001-Proposal, which states that SCP-001 are the horror writers of the SCP-Wiki themselves. This is where some of the deeper meta-stuff, the author-inclusions and patapsychology, come from. Story of Your Life, however, goes deeper and adds another layer to it. What I enjoyed the most, though, were the characters and their dialogues. It was outstandingly well written.
Fishhook is one of the weirder 001-proposals on the SCP-Wiki. It’s different from all others for a very specific reason. Fishhook is an extremely creative and incredibly well done 001-proposal. While you might be unsure what exactly is going on, it will all be cleared up near the end and you will truly understand how great this 001-proposal is.
The Frontispiece might be my favorite 001-proposal out of all of them. At first I wasn’t sure where things were going and I thought the earlier parts dragged on a little. When things got going, however, characters and plans were introduced, everything fell into place. I really enjoyed all the characters in this one, be it the Foundation members, Elizabeth Crocker or even Thilo Zwist. They were all well developed and their dialogues were extremely enjoyable. The greatest thing about, however, was the story, and its many turns and twists. The Frontispiece is a long 001-proposal, one of the longest ones out there, but it’s an absolutely fantastic work.
MEMENTO MORI is the first of Rounderhouse’s 001-proposals. While his other 001-proposal AMONI-RAM is an origin story, this one is a story about things ending. It’s a sad and melancholic piece, yet it’s also strangely beautiful. We’re led from room to room and learn more about the people who made up the overseer council and how the Foundation ended up breaking all of them. It’s yet another fantastic 001-proposal.
AMONI-RAM is an absolutely amazing proposal, one that details the origins of the Church of the Broken God. I loved the world-building and the description of the old city of Amoni-Ram. It’s seldom that I found myself so involved in pseudo-history. The slow development of the story and of Robert Aram was well done, and he soon became one of my favorite characters on the entire SCP-Wiki. What made this 001-proposal so great was the writing. Despite its length, the story felt natural, and the pacing was well done. It’s without a doubt one of the best 001-proposals on the entire SCP-Wiki.
When Day Breaks is one of the most popular 001-proposals out there and for a good reason. It’s one of the few genuine horror proposals, Lovecraftian horror even. A sudden change to the sun brings forth an apocalypse like no other. While When Day Breaks is a horror SCP, it’s much more character-driven than one might expect and details how someone handles and comes to terms with the end of the world. It’s a truly fantastic work.
There’s a reason I’m such a big fan of Tufto’s work. His writing’s just absolutely fantastic. The Scarlet King is a grand, artistic article, one that’s more concerned with philosophical discussion than anything else. It’s a well-written article that develops slowly and brings forth one of the more interesting interpretations of the Scarlet King. It’s without a doubt one of my absolute favorite 001-proposals.
To put together my list of the best SCPs of all time, I also had a look at many of the Series VII SCPs.
Series VII might be the newest series on the site and not complete yet, but it already features some absolutely fantastic SCPs.
While I love many of the SCP-contests on the SCP-Wiki, the SCP-6000 contest might be my all-time favorite contest. It features several outstanding and well-written articles.
The quality I’ve seen in Series VII so far might be the best I’ve seen on the SCP-Wiki. Many of the articles I read were amongst the best SCPs of all time.
For this article, I put together a list of my favorite twelve Series VII SCPs of all time.
How would the Wanderer’s Library work as an SCP? If you read this fantastic Series VII SCP by Rounderhouse, you’ll learn that it works extremely well. This is an absolutely fantastic article, one of the absolute best on the entire SCP-Wiki. It’s extremely well-written. It’s overall, less grimdark than many other articles, but it’s also an immensely satisfying one. The tale of Tilda Moose and her characterization are incredibly well done. It’s truly one of the best articles on the entire SCP-Wiki and very well worth reading.
I absolutely loved this Series VII SCP and I think it’s one of the most beautiful on the entire SCP-Wiki. The world depicted here is beautiful, full of life and extremely interesting. The dialogue is not only well-written, but also flows extremely well. It’s full of life and fantastically well done. The ending is also great, beautiful even. This is one of the Series VII SCPs I can’t help but love.
All Creatures Great and Small is one of the greatest Series VII SCPs. This Series VII SCP is about man going haywire and the damage we do to the nature. It’s a fantastic, sad and almost melancholic SCP. It’s a tale of a tree, a tree that contains the genetic information of any living being in the entire world. We also learn, however, what man would do with an entity such as this. The greatest thing, however, is the story of Dr. Wildcard, which is one of the deepest and saddest on the entire SCP-Wiki, a true gut punch. It’s another truly fantastic SCP.
Tufto’s done it again and proved once more that he’s one of the most popular writers on the SCP-Wiki. He always puts out extremely well-written articles and this one’s no different. It’s a beautiful SCP, but a long one. It shows the evil parts of the SCP Foundation and how far certain members will go to contain anomalies, even if it causes terrible things to happen. What made this Series VII SCP so great is the slowly developing story. The greatest part, however, is the ending, which is one of the strongest, most satisfying on the entire SCP-Wiki.
The True Empire is a Series VII SCP that follows the idea of SCP-140 – An Incomplete Chronicle. The Daevite Empire is described as one of the worst, most dangerous civilizations in the history of our planet if one believes the chronicle. This SCP describes what happens when the book’s finally completed and the Foundation has to prepare for the emergence of the Daevite Empire in our day and age. It’s without a doubt one of the best Series VII SCPs and worth reading for anyone interested in the Daevite Empire.
This might be one of the most complex, well put-together SCPs on the entire wiki. It’s probably the longest of all Series VII SCPs on this list, but also one of the most enjoyable and complex. It feels more like reading a novel, or a series of novellas than an SCP, but it didn’t deter my enjoyment. The writing’s fantastic and the individual tales are extremely well done. The only problem might be that it’s a bit too complex and related to too many other SCPs and characters on the SCP-Wiki. And yet, it’s one of the grandest and best pieces of writing on the entire SCP-Wiki.
DINOVLOGS! is a comedy SCP, and it’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s about a YouTube channel titled “TheLifeOfRex” which details the daily life of a juvenile tyrannosaurus rex as video blogs. The silliness, however, doesn’t end here. This entire Series VII SCP centers on a Zoom conference of a group of academics who discussed the YouTube channel. It’s even more ridiculous as it sounds, but without a doubt one of the funniest of all Series VII SCPs.
This Series VII SCP might be the grandest in the entire djkaktus universe yet. Once more, there’s a lot of world-building here. What I loved the most about it was the inclusion of many other SCPs. I especially enjoyed the retconning of SCP-343, which was very satisfying to see. What I had mixed feelings about were the changes to SCP-1000. While I thought it was an interesting depiction of the Children of the Night, it also felt a bit too different. It’s a fantastic article, one full of world building and grand events. Even though I’m not too big a fan of djkaktus’ universe and Project Paragon, I have to admit how well each article is done. This one’s no different and I recommend anyone to read and especially to check out djkaktus’ universe.
Genuine horror has become less common in the modern days of the SCP-Wiki. And yet, “Mama?” is one of the most disturbing, bizarre and sad Series VII SCPs. This Series VII SCP is full of body horror, of sad events and horrible implications. It’s well-written, the emotions are strong, and the horror, especially the ending, will make you cringe. It’s a fantastic horror SCP, but one of the most fucked up and disturbing on the entire SCP-Wiki.
Return. Return. Return is another great Series VII SCP. It details a strange document that was found on the Foundation servers. It details a room in the basement of a steel factory in which a microcosm of floral and faunal life exists. To get rid of it, the higher-ups forced a worker to torch the entire room. Unbeknownst to him, however, other rooms within the factory soon showed similar properties. From here on out, this Series VII SCP goes through multiple iterations, detailing how things continue to escalate. It’s a long but well put-together read, one I truly enjoyed.
Anyone who’s familiar with the SCP-Wiki knows about SCP-682, the infamous Indestructible Reptile. To be honest, I was never really a fan, and I honestly consider it one of the weaker classics. And yet, it’s still there for a reason, to show just how powerful a monster can be. This Series VII SCP, however, is an homage, a love letter to the good old reptile. It goes even so far as to include other classic SCPs, such as SCP-005 and even several extermination logs. Yet, it’s so much more than that. It’s one of the craziest, in-depth and complex articles on the entire SCP-Wiki. It’s an absolutely outstanding SCP and without a doubt amongst the best Series VII SCPs out there.
Does the Red Moon Howl, is a weird Series VII SCP, but I can’t help to love it. At first, I thought it would be one of the weaker articles on the SCP-Wiki. When I started reading it, I couldn’t help but think of it as ridiculous and yet, all that changed when I got to the exploration logs. They were absolutely brilliant and amongst the best on the entire SCP-Wiki. Even more so was the ending, which I thought was incredibly well done. What I enjoyed even more was how it agreed very much with my philosophy about life. While parts of this Series VII SCP might be weaker, the fantastic ending more than makes up for it.
While putting together my list of the best SCPs of all time, I read a good number of Series VI SCPs.
Series VI brought a fresh wind and a wave of new writers to the SCP-Wiki. Once again, people tried new things and pushed the boundaries of what an article could be.
Format screws, multi-page articles, and entirely new forms became the norm during this era.
Where Series V leaned hard into horror. Series VI stepped away from it. In its place came a run of silly and humorous SCPs, many of which I enjoyed enormously.
The writing is on the same high level as Series V, and I found plenty of outstanding Series VI SCPs, several of which I’d count among the best SCPs ever written.
This was the first Series VI article I read, and I missed a great deal of it until I reread it. The world-building is fantastic, and the sequence of events is excellent. It seems simple and straightforward at first, then turns out to be genuinely confusing: you get the events, but never any concrete answers. That doesn’t matter much, though. The writing is great, the escalation is gripping, and the many SCPs offered throughout make it a delight.
Megalomania is a comedy SCP by djkaktus that’s reminiscent of the lolFoundation style popular back in Series I. There’s a lot to unpack here: magicians and witches, demons, the 2016 election, and the Foundation’s grand plan to manipulate it. It’s magnificently mad, and one of the most ridiculous things I’ve read on the wiki. It’s not for everyone, but if you enjoy South Park-style humor, you’ll have a great time.
Lamplight is another SCP by Tufto, and as always, it’s superbly done. Lamplight is a place at the end of the multiverse, the most remote settlement ever built by any sentient creature, and it became an enclave for writers and artists of every kind.
I loved the world-building and the descriptions of the place itself, but even more so the atmosphere hanging over it, delivered through general descriptions and through the research of Junior Researcher Sofia Ramirez. The best part is her interview with poet Juan Lumiere. There’s a nihilism running underneath all of it, a sense of artists and writers drawn irresistibly toward death and the unknown. It’s probably my favourite among all Series VI SCPs on this list, for its outstanding descriptions, great dialogue, and some of the strongest atmosphere on the wiki.
I’m usually wary of comedy SCPs, since most of them don’t click with me. Goosed is one of the funniest and most ridiculous things in Series VI, and on the wiki in general. I laughed out loud several times over this very short article, purely because of how silly it is. It’s a fantastic, unique Series VI SCP, and absolutely worth your time.
Meta-SCPs and pataphysics are hit or miss for me, and this is one of the weirdest. It continues from Swann’s proposal, which stated that the authors of the SCP-Wiki are the true SCP-001, and pushes the idea even further. What would the interaction between the Foundation and its writers actually look like, and what would happen when those writers die? It’s one of the most interesting pataphysical articles, and one can tell how much effort went into it.
Time travel is one of the hardest things to do well in fiction, and harder still to make it interesting. Our Stolen Theory does both, and it’s without a doubt one of the greatest Series VI SCPs out there. The characters, the science, the ending, and above all, the emotions make it exceptional. Any fan of the wiki should read it.
Another one of the more humorous Series VI SCPs, but it’s more than a comedy piece. It starts normally and turns into a crime-noir action, centered on Everett Mann seeking revenge on the Administrator of the Foundation, Francis Fritzwilliams. I had an absolute blast reading it, especially with how ridiculous every character was. One of the most enjoyable rides on the wiki, and the ending is fantastic. Just don’t take it too seriously.
Nicki Knows is one of the best Series VI SCPs and a horror article. I loved the atmosphere and the way it’s told. Nicky Ludo’s early life and her rise to talk-show host is interesting enough on its own, but when we get to know the entities and what’s really going on, things get considerably better. The ending is what I loved the most. Overall, this article just flows incredibly well and is a delight to read.
Probably my favorite djkaktus article, and one of the best Series VI SCPs. There’s a lot to unpack, and it can get confusing, but even with some questions left open, it’s a fantastic read. The writing is excellent, but it’s the way the story is told and the way it ends that stays with you. An atmosphere of sadness hangs over the whole thing, and it shows exactly how far a father will go for his son.
HarryBlank is one of the wiki’s finest writers, and this one centers on a time paradox of real complexity, possibly too much complexity for some readers. It leans heavily on other articles and on familiarity with their characters to land its emotional impact. His work is always worth reading, and this is among the best and most complex Series VI SCPs.
This is Where I Died is another meta-SCP, and one of the most popular on the entire wiki. You can see immediately how much work went into it. I loved the overall idea and thoroughly enjoyed the individual stories, though I found the ending a bit weak. Even though it’s one of the most creative articles in the series.
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.
Photo by Mike Prince / CC BY 2.0
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When I put together my list of the best SCPs of all time, Series IV might have been the one series I explored the most.
Series IV is popular for the high number of Meta-SCPs that were released. Quite a few of the Series IV SCPs twisted tropes in various creative ways or played with them.
In Series IV, some of the most bizarre and creative articles of all time were released on the SCP-Wiki until then. Author-inclusion, Meta-narratives, format screws and many other concepts not only came into play but become popular during its time.
Meta-articles were something to stay and over time they would involve, but Series IV can be considered the most meta-heavy series on the SCP-Wiki. And yet, Series IV doesn’t solely comprise Meta-articles. No, it comprises a plethora of fantastic articles, many of which I consider among the best SCPs of all time.
For this article, I want to present you with my twenty-eight favorite Series IV SCPs.
Anantashesha is one of the best SCPs Series IV SCPs out there and one of the most well-written SCPs of all time. What starts slowly soon develops into a fantastic story. It’s not merely one about an anomalous entity by the same name, but one about personal journeys, believes, memory deterioration and much, much more. It’s truly one of the best SCPs on the entire SCP-Wiki and any fan should read it.
Red Reality tells the story of a paradoxical pocket, or a non-dimension. During an experiment, Dr. Scranton was transported into this same pocket. What makes this is SCP so great, however, are Dr. Scranton’s logs and what happens to him while he’s there. It’s a story of a man entirely alone, a man who’s slowly eroding both mentally and bodily. It’s a terrible, disturbing and sad story, but it’s also a fantastic one. This Series IV SCP truly packs a bunch and proves to be one of the best Series IV SCPs out there.
The End of History is another great Series IV SCP. It’s an SCP full of world-building which details an interesting, alien but strangely human society. The descriptions of the society and how it functions are fantastically done and well thought out. What I truly loved about it, however, was the ending.
I wasn’t a big fan of SCP-2852 – Cousin Johnny because I felt it was full of needless body horror and gore. This one ties into it, but it’s also vastly different. I loved how it ties into Christianity, but most of all, the description of the entity which can only be called truly Lovecraftian. What makes it even better, however, is its ending, the final tab and what it entails.
World of Two Artists is an absolutely outstanding Series IV SCP. What’s first assumed to be about dreams of a strange cityscape soon turns much darker and more complex the more’s revealed about the place. What makes it so great, however, is that the horror wasn’t revealed by words alone, but pieces of art. This makes it an entirely different experience. Coupled with the descriptions of the cityscape, the horror and death all around it and the Lovecraftian implications the SCP itself holds make it truly great.
The Infinite IKEA is one of the most popular articles on the page and for a good reason. I really love extradimensional SCPs and the Infinite IKEA might be the best of them. The idea of being trapped in a world that’s nothing but a giant IKEA is creative and fantastic in its own right. The reason this Series IV SCPs so great, however, is because of the long diary of a person who escaped from the Infinite IKEA.
The Counting Station is another strange Series IV SCP. It’s a horror SCP concerning a counting station. What makes it so great, however, are the descriptions and the many details. The SCP isn’t merely a description of the anomalous object, but it includes an interview, audio analysis, and even incident logs. All of those details help to shed more light on what the Counting Station truly is, or might be. It’s a fantastic SCP, but its ending is truly great. One can’t help but wonder what would happen if the count ever reaches zero again.
Murphy Law is yet another format screw and one of the best one I’ve come upon. This Series IV SCP is written as a thriller noir from the perspective of the titular character. It’s such a strange idea, but such a well-written and well-done Series IV SCP. I can’t help but truly love it.
There are many strange Series IV SCPs out there, but bzzip.exe might be amongst the strangest ones. It’s an SCP that combines great humor with bizarre horror and imagery. What I loved the most were the increasingly simplified summaries of Hamlet. They were truly funny and had me laugh out loud multiple times. In later parts, however, this Series IV SCP changes its tone entirely and turns from humor to nothing short of horror.
Indeterminate Source is another hard science-fiction SCP and one of the best Series IV SCPs. It’s an idea that’s as fantastic as it’s weird. The entire SCP is one about disorientation, twisted memories, and a confusing order of events. It also provides us with some very interesting future world-building. While it might be confusing and heavy on the scientific details, it’s very much worth reading.
There are many horror SCPs on the SCP-Wiki, but A Monster-Shaped Hole is entirely unique. It’s a Series IV SCP that’s more about concepts, more about thoughts and imagination than an actual monster. This, however, is exactly the reason that makes it so great and elevates it above many other Series IV SCPs.
How do you contain something you know nothing about? This question is at the center of this Series IV SCP and makes it a paradox. The descriptions are great and well-written, but more so is the mystery behind it and the danger the entity holds. It’s without a doubt one of the best Series IV SCPs and one of the best on the entire SCP-Wiki.
I don’t know why, but robotic SCPs and the Church of the Broken God have always been amongst my favorite creations on the entire SCP-Wiki. The entity described in this SCP is no different concerning a liquid metal organism. It’s one that’s not only able to alter its form but also create smaller entities. What made this article so interesting, however, were the historical details about the entity and the attempted containment breaches.
There is No Canon might be amongst the strangest SCPs on the entire SCP-Wiki. Reading this SCP is a strange experience and it will most likely leave you wondering what exactly is going on in this article. And yet, there might not be a clear answer, and it might just be another, unresolved mystery.
The Aristocrats is one of the longest Series IV SCPs. It’s, however, extremely well-written and tells a fantastic story. What starts out with strange murder cases in Vienna soon grows in scope. I truly loved every single part of this Series IV SCP. While it takes some historical liberties, it shouldn’t deter from its enjoyment. I believe it’s one of the best Series IV SCPs and one of my all-time favorites.
THE FOUNDATION is a Series IV SCP about a board game which was created by Dr. Wonderteinment for the Foundation. It’s a bit of a weird SCP, one that honestly doesn’t feel like an SCP. Instead, it’s merely a description of a game with rules, cards and everything else it contains, albeit an anomalous game. It’s an extremely interesting, enjoyable and complex article, however, one should remember that this is more a description of a board game than a true SCP.
Tower is another extradimensional Series IV SCP. This one’s about a fire lookout with a top door. This top door leads to another lookout above, which sprouts another top door. All those lookouts stacked on top of one another create a tower. Yet, the higher one climbs, the stranger things get. The SCP comprises several exploration logs, which slowly reveal more about the strange tower. What makes this Series IV SCP truly terrifying is the last exploration log in which we learn what happens to those who make it to the top of the tower.
SCP-3444 – She Took The Midnight Train Going Anywhere… by Tufto
She Took The Midnight Train Going Anywhere… really wasn’t my type of SCP. It’s long, ambitious and creative. As many other SCPs by Tufto, it’s well-written, well-done and, at times, even humorous. As I said, this is not what I’m looking for in an SCP. One has to admit that a lot of effort went into writing it. While it’s not for me, other people might truly enjoy it. Read it and see for yourself, but I think for the writing and the idea alone, it’s worth a read.
Unearth is another genuine horror SCP, but a rather bizarre one. It’s about claustrophobia, about being stuck and full of surreal and nightmarish imagery. What I enjoyed the most were the dialogues, which were heavy with emotion and truly made you feel the futility and, of course, the claustrophobia the D-Class suffered from. It’s a truly twisted Series IV SCP.
This was another very interesting Series IV SCP with a nice little twist in it. It’s interesting to see how far people will go to keep themselves safe. What I loved the most, however, was the ending which I thought was fantastically well-played.
This is a rather simple Series IV SCP, but one I truly came to love. It’s a fantastic diversion from the general SCP tropes and it’s very, very creepy. What makes it so great, and so terrifying, however, are the interview logs, at least once you understand what’s truly going on.
Well, we’ve officially entered bizarro world. Mind-Milk™ by Moosphere, Inc. might be the most bizarre Series IV SCP out there. It’s full of surreal ideas and imagery and a wild ride I think needs to be imagined. It’s an SCP about disgusting milk slowly taking over the world, people being changed into udders and much, much more. While it can be confusing in parts, it’s also extremely well-done and well-written. If you like bizarre SCPs, this one’s a must-read.
SCP-3838 – Nomads of the 4th-Dimensional Steppe by Tufto
Nomads of the 4th-Dimensional Steppe is another Series IV SCP by Tufto. He’s, at least in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best, writers in terms of prose on the Wiki. Once more, he doesn’t disappoint. This Series IV SCP is one of the most creative I’ve come upon. It’s about nomad tribes who all live in the same area, but not at the same time. Instead of space, they divide up time as their living space. It’s such a weird, yet well-done idea, but of course that’s not all. No, there’s more going on.
Here we have another truly strange SCP, but one that’s absolutely outstanding. It’s another entry by djkaktus and this Series IV SCP might be my absolute favorite of his. Imagine a space that doesn’t exist, and that’s simply not there. What would you see if you stare at it? That’s what this Series IV SCP is all about. It’s an extremely strange and unsettling SCP, one that toys heavily with pattern recognition. As so often, though, that’s not all it’s about.
Another Series IV SCP by djkaktus. This SCP is about another small town in which strange things happen. At first, the SCP only concerns the local high school, which is plagued by strange incidents. Soon, however, the SCP turns darker as more and more details about the town and the events that happened there are revealed. Not all the information, and not all that’s going on, might be apparent right away, however. Once things fall into place, however, one might realize that this SCP is all about a different type of horror.
There are a few Series IV SCPs as clever as this one, but it’s also really long. While I enjoyed it for what it was and appreciate the effort that was put into it, I think parts of it were a bit too long. Overall, though, the twist, the ending and the explanation of what was actually going on were extremely well done. You should definitely check this one out.
The Observatory of Genghis Khan is another Series IV SCP by Tufto. Yet again, it’s extremely well-written. This SCP concerns a mysterious observatory in which the body of Genghis Khan is entombed. What makes this one so great is the mystery of the place and the outstanding writing. The best part, in my opinion, however, is the ending. The last line is one of the best in the entire SCP-Wiki.
The Bone Orchard is a Series IV SCP feature the horrors of sarkicism. It features a space-time anomaly in Syria, one that turns out stranger than originally thought. What makes this one so great are the exploration logs. They show just how much is going on and what sorts of horrors are out there. The descriptions, the imagery and the many entities we encounter are all extremely well-done. It is, however, heavy on references to and information from other SCPs related to sarkicism.
During Series III, things grew in size. Over the course of Series III, there’d be much more world-building. We’d see higher concepts and quite a few of the best SCPs of all time.
Series III SCPs are often longer and more story-driven than those in earlier series. They are grander in style and often concern anomalous creatures and concepts different from what was there before. Series III SCPs weren’t just about monsters in cages. No, they were, at least at times, about entities that could threaten the entire SCP Foundation.
Series III also gave us a clearer picture of the many groups of interest and their motifs.
During Series III, the tone of the SCP-Wiki changed once more. The grimdark tone of Series II was replaced by one that was more ambiguous. The SCP-Foundation was still an unethical organization, but all it did was to protect humanity and keep the world a safe place.
Series III as a whole is great, and it contains some of my favorite SCPs of all time. For this article, however, I want to present to you the twenty best Series III SCPs of all time.
Deus Ex Machina is a worthy winner for the SCP-2000 contest. It’s heavy on scientific detail, but it’s one of the most popular and important articles on the entire SCP-Wiki. It’s an SCP that changed the scale of the Foundation. What was once a secret organization that contained creepy objects and entities had now become something different, something much, much more powerful. For the machine bellow Yellowstone is exactly that, a Deus ex machina, and if you read this Series III SCP, you will find out exactly why.
Preferred Option was one of the first SCPs I read that was about different realities and dimensions. This Series III SCP is special and doesn’t only talk about how to learn about the future, but also how to manipulate it. It’s one of the most interesting Series III SCPs and one I truly enjoyed. While I enjoyed the entire article, my favorite part was the last Addendum.
LA U GH IS F UN is one of the most bizarre SCPs I ever read and it’s for this exact reason I like it so much. This Series III SCP concerns a television series, but things are much stranger than what one might expect. The reason I enjoyed it so much is just for how bizarre the imagery was and how detailed the descriptions were.
The Way of All the Flesh is another one of the best Series III SCPs. What starts off with a strange man or entity who’s been alive for a long, long while soon goes down a different route. In its latter half, this Series III SCP becomes much more interesting. There’s even a little twist hidden at the end, one that makes the entire SCP so much better.
SCP-2132 – Most Dangerous Fighting Exhibition and Obstacle Resort by ahbonjour
A dangerous obstacle course is already a great idea, but this Series III SCP takes things even further. I really enjoyed the test logs and the results of different courses that were outlined, but it was the ending that made this Series III SCP so much better. It showed us that there were more things to this and that it was much more twisted than original thought.
The Demon La Hire and the Valley of Lust was one of the first SCPs by djkaktus I read and it’s a fantastic one. While it’s related to djkaktus’ greater universe, this Series III SCP works well on its own. It proves once again how far the Foundation will go to contain entities and what horrible things they will do. Yet, the entity, too, is terrifying. Even worse, however, are the implications near the end. Truly one of the best Series III SCPs out there.
In the Court of Alagadda is one of my favorite SCPs of all time. It’s one that hits all the right spots of Lovecraftian literature. What appears at first to be nothing but a simple door soon concerns itself with an interdimensional city state controlled by terrible entities. The descriptions are great, the world-building is fantastic and the Ambassador of Alagadda who learned about in SCP-701 proves to be a truly terrifying antagonist.
Here we got another space SCP, this one by no other than djkaktus. Once more, his writing’s fantastic and as a science-fiction fan, I really loved the entity this Series III SCP presents us with. What truly makes this a fantastic SCP, however, are the messages near the end.
The Laughing Man is another one of those Series III SCPs you love for how horrible it is. What’s described here is truly the stuff of nightmares. Once more, it shows what a horrible place the SCP Foundation can be and what they can do. The most interesting part, however, is that the doctor sees D-Class as nothing but irredeemable monsters. It’s, however, mainly because of his actions that they become exactly that. A truly brilliant Series III SCP.
Room Service is another truly weird and bizarre Series III SCP. The original entity, the room itself and the channels on the TV are great and weird all by themselves. What truly made this one of the best Series III SCPs, however, is the addendum. Here we learn the true horror of this Series III SCP. I absolutely loved it.
The Rainbow Body is one of the most complex, thought out articles on the entire SCP-Wiki. It features a lot of historical tie-ins, scientific details and philosophical discussions. I enjoyed it a lot and many parts of it were outstanding, but I thought it was a bit too long. Overall, it’s an incredibly ambitious piece, and I’m sure a lot of effort went into it. For that alone, giving this article a read is well worth it.
Got A Secret, CAn You Keep it? is a different Series III SCP, but one that’s still creepy. The biggest question here is not what the secret itself is, but why and especially how it is hidden. It’s an interesting spin on trope of small towns who keep terrible secrets hidden.
Cragglewood Park is a great horror SCP and one of the best Series SCPs. I loved the idea of strange dreams and hidden memories all concerning a creepy amusement park. The entire SPC is great, but it’s the implications near the end that make this one truly terrifying.
Sometimes I go Out in Pity for Myself is yet another SCP about recordings, but this time the concept is entirely different from what we’ve seen before. It’s not about a strange recording, but being able to move around inside the recording of a TV-show or movie. From here on out, however, you can go even deeper and enter other recordings that are shown within the recording you’re currently in. The creativity that went into this idea is great, and slowly, as we continue reading, things turn stranger and stranger.
The Blind Idiot is a Series III SCP about an alien entity that ends up in our universe. It’s one of the strangest, yet best SCPs I’ve ever come upon. The description of the entity and especially the dialogues are nothing short of fantastic. It’s the best depiction of an alien entity I’ve come upon in the SCP-Wiki’s entirety. An absolutely outstanding and well-written Series III SCP.
Lucibelle Perhacs has to be one of the most horrifying body horror SCPs on the entire page. Needles can be terrifying, but this Series III SCP makes this much, much worse. The descriptions in this SCP didn’t just make me uncomfortable, they made me cringe multiple times. It’s for this exact reason I love this Series III SCP so much. Other horror SCPs are scary or creepy, but this one takes it to an entirely different level.
On the Barcelona Skyline is another bizarre Series III SCP. There’s just something about weird SCPs like this one that I came to truly enjoy. The descriptions are great and the anomalous object is quite the creative idea.
There are many weird SCPs on the SCP-Wiki, but this one’s by the great djkaktus. The less is said about this SCP, the better. Read it, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It’s definitely one of the best Series III SCPs out there.
There are quite a few Meta-SCPs out there, many of which are good, but this one by minmin has to be the best one out of all of them. The writing is great, but the incidents and the media described are both extremely well done and really creative. What makes it truly great, however, are the implications at the end. The words ‘DATA LOST’ have never been as scary as in this Series III SCP.
Titania’s Prison is yet another SCP that’s part of djkaktus’ greater universe. I really enjoyed it, like many other parts of Project Paragon, but I have to admit that they aren’t really my type of content. Titania’s Prison, however, is extremely well-written and concerns the titular prison. It’s a place that contains or imprisons powerful entities and beings. It’s an interesting piece, one that ties in well with many other parts of the overall SCP-Universe. What I truly liked, however, was the description of the various prisoners. Once more, djkaktus delivers a truly great Series III SCP.
When I put together my list of the best SCPs of all time, I read a lot of Series II SCPs.
Series II was a time when a lot of things changed for the SCP-Wiki. It can be best described as a deconstruction of Series I.
Series I was a time when the SCP-Wiki didn’t have a general tone. Some people wrote more realistic pieces. Others wrote articles of a more wacky and over-the-top nature. These over-the-top articles would later be known as lolFoundation. In them, the SCP Foundation is a crazy place, one populated by insane characters.
These articles were soon frowned upon. Instead, we got Series II, in which the SCP-Wiki grew grimdark in tone. The world of the SCP Foundation transformed into a cold, hard place. Many of the articles in Series II mirror this in tone by being depressing and grim.
The SCP-1000 contest also influenced Series II markedly. Because of it, the SCP-Wiki moved away from its horror roots and included articles cantered around folklore, the fantastical and the unusual.
Series II was also the first time format screws were featured on the SCP-Wiki. These SCPs moved away from the more normal, general SCP format, disregarded it or included other elements.
Series II can be best seen as a transitional period in which the SCP-Wiki moved away from its horror roots and more towards the grander, more scientific style common in Series III.
Series II is very well worth reading. Many of the Series II SCPs are amongst the best on the SCP-Wiki. In this article, I want to present to you my favorite 20 Series II SCPs.
Encyclopedia of Diseases is a fantastic Series II SCP. What makes it so interesting are the actual properties of the SCP and what happened throughout the many experimentation logs. The ending, however, and the revelation it contains is what makes it truly great.
Builder Bear is one of the most fucked up Series II SCPs and one ripe with body horror. The object itself seems safe, even adorable. Eventually, however, it turns out that it’s a truly terrifying entity. Even worse are the additional entities the Builder Bear created and what they did. It’s truly the stuff of nightmares.
Bifurcation Man is one of the more interesting and fun Series II SCPs. And yet, it still proves to be truly dangerous to the SCP Foundation. At the outset, this Series II SCP seems more like a joke and even develops in a more amusing way. At the ending, however, as ridiculous as this SCP is, you’re left with a feeling of genuine danger.
Buried Giant is one of the strangest Series II SCPs and one of the strangest SCPs in general. It’s truly bizarre. The descriptions are weird enough, but the interview truly makes you wonder what’s going on here. If you check out the author commentary in the discussion, you learn that there’s another, entirely different level to this SCP. I’m sure it will make you ponder about this SCP.
The Harbinger was the very first space SCPs I read. The writing in this Series II SCP and the emotional impact is truly fantastic. What I love the most, however, is one a single the SCP contains: ‘One voice is small, but the difference between zero and one is as great as one and infinity.’ It’s truly a great SCP and one of the most emotional on the entire SCP-Wiki.
Solve for Bear is probably one of the dumbest, most ridiculous Series II SCPs. It centers on a strange, mathematical equation which, when solved, has a very strange result. What can I say about this SCP? It’s ridiculous, it’s dumb, but that’s what makes it so great. When I was done reading it, I couldn’t help but sit here, laughing and shaking my head.
To the Makers of Music is another space SCP and one of the best Series II SCPS of all time. It’s a fantastic SCP, one that comes with some fantastic descriptions and extremely interesting world-building. What makes it truly great, however, is once more the emotional impact it provides. It’s a truly outstanding SCP.
The Old Man from Nowhere is another extremely interesting Series II SCP. It’s not about a dangerous entity or monsters, but about a man who’s followed by them. While the man itself holds no danger, the danger comes from what follows him and being around him. The greatest thing about this SCP, however, is the interview in which the man talks about the entities following him.
Tunnel Slide is another truly weird SCP. The general idea is silly, ridiculous even, but the way it’s told and unfolds is utterly creepy, unsettling and most of all mysterious. It’s one of those SCPs that’s not trying to explain the horror, but that simply plays it out. All we get is the pure horror in the form of various audio logs. It’s for this reason I consider it one of the best Series II SCPs.
UnLondon is another one of the most fascinating Series II SCPs. The city, its description and the mystery surrounding it are well done. Even better, however, are the various entities populating it. Yet, there’s more to UnLondon. There are implications about it. UnLondon can be seen as an Orwellian nightmare, but there’s a reason for it. I truly came to enjoy this Series II SCP, especially for its world-building and the description of the strange city of UnLondon.
Bag of Holding Potatoes is another truly bizarre SCP. One might wonder what’s so bad about a bag holding an infinite amount of potatoes. Once one reads the exploration log about the place the potatoes come from, one will know. It’s one of the weirdest, yet greatest, exploration logs on the entire page. I truly loved this strange Series II SCP.
Came Back Haunted is another creepy horror SCP and one of the best Series II SCPs. It’s an SCP that’s very reminiscent of the good old creepypasta. It’s pure horror, pure weirdness and once again, no explanation is given or needed for it to work. No, the mystery’s itself makes it so much creepier. It’s truly one of the best horror SCPs in Series II.
Trapped in a Game is one of my absolute favorite Series II SCPs. It’s nothing but a recording of the season opening game of 2010-2011. When watching the recording, however, certain people noticed strange details. This might not sound outstanding, but once you get to the experimentation log, you will understand why this SCP is as popular as it is. It’s an absolutely outstanding piece of writing and one of the most creative Series II SCPs.
You might wonder what could be dangerous about an old laptop. If you read this SCP, however, you will soon notice why it’s so dangerous. Obsolete Laptop is one of the best Series II SCPs out there. It also presents one of the most serious and existential threads in all of Series II. It also proves once more just how far the Foundation will go. Another truly fascinating SCP.
Cotton Blight is another truly ridiculous Series II SCP. The overall SCP, as well as the events depicted, are truly interesting, but the greatest part is the ending. The moment I finished the article, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. It’s a truly great Series II SCP, especially if you consider how serious most of the article and how ridiculous the ending is.
Life Over Geological Time is another truly great Series II SCP. It’s heavy on scientific details, very heavy. It’s worth reading, however, and the descriptions of the Cradle of Life, the way the scientists talk about it, and the ending make it very much worth reading. I really loved it.
The Crew of the HMS Wintersheimer is another fantastic horror SCP. I love the HMS Wintersheimer and its description, but most of all, I love the interview log with the D-Class, who became part of its crew. It’s another, entirely bizarre and weird SCP, once more with no explanation. And yet, the horror works fantastically and proves to be one of the best Series II SPCs of all time.
Escort and Officer is another truly weird and ridiculous Series II SCP. It details two strange, alien entities in Foundation custody. One is a strange, multi-limbed organism working as an escort. The other is a metallic sphere, an officer, who’s out to bring the escort to justice for her crimes. This might sound strange enough, but it’s the interviews with both entities that reveal how truly ridiculous this SCP is. The ending had me at a loss for words and I sat there, laughing and shaking my head.
RONALD REAGAN CUT UP WHILE TALKING is another SCP about a weird recording. I really enjoyed the weirder Series II SCPs, and this one is among the weirdest. I love the description of the recordings. The more Reagan’s body gets torn and cut apart, the more nonsensical his speech becomes. And yet, there’s even more to this recording as we learn near the end of this Series II SCP.
As someone who loves books, I love SCPs about books and libraries. This Series II SCP is the best of both. Imaginary Library is just that, a strange, never-ending library full of books never seen before. What’s truly great, however, are the various books and their descriptions. It’s a weird, yet extremely creative SCP, one I couldn’t help but love.
When I set out to create a list of the best SCPs of all time, I read a lot of SCPs. During that time, I also read many of the Series I SCPs.
Series I was the very first series of SCPs. This is where it all started. The first thing one can say about Series I SCPs is that they were written during simpler times.
Many Series I SCPs are considered classics and are widely popular. They are, however, criticized today for being too simple and too poorly written. Their popularity is more a result of age and of being around since the beginning than actual quality. One only has to look at the now archived heritage collection. It’s a collection of some of the most popular SCPs of all time, but almost all of them wouldn’t hold up today.
Still, Series I SCPs might be criticized, but they can still be quite effective. In comparisons to more modern articles, they are simple, short and to the point. They are often reminiscent of creepypasta.
Series I SCPs are less grand and less imposing than modern SCPs. And yet, for this reason, they have a certain charm to them.
While I agree that quite a few are weaker and more poorly written, there are some that are truly great and still hold up today. In this article, I want to share with you the best Series I SCPs.
The “Living” Room is a great early SCP. It’s one of the most bizarre Series I SCPs I came upon, but also one that’s strangely scary. While an organic entity taking on the form of a room is scary enough, but that’s not all this SCP’s about. No, there’s something much scarier about this entity. It’s a fantastic, creepy and quite disturbing Series I SCP.
The Anti-Meme is one of my absolute favorite Series I SCP. It’s also one of the strangest SCPs on the entire SCP-Wiki. It’s an object you can’t describe, one you can’t even remember. Because of this, no one really knows what it is, and the object remains a mystery. The Anti-Meme also proved vastly popular and has been included in a variety of other, later SCPs.
The Red Sea Object is one of the best Series I SCPs and a favorite amongst many people. While the anomalous object itself might not be too interesting, it’s the story that slowly unfolds in the color tests that makes it truly great. It’s a long read, however, a very long read. While I felt some parts dragged on a bit too much and weren’t too interesting, the payoff and the ending are truly fantastic and worth the effort of reading it.
An Incomplete Chronicle is an outstanding Series I SCP. I absolutely loved the idea of a book that continues writing itself, outlining the history of a civilization. Yet, there’s more to this little book, something that makes this a truly fantastic SCP. It’s also the first time the Daevite Empire was mentioned, which should prove vastly popular.
Sauelsuesor was the first Thaumiel class SCP I read and one of the best Series I SCPs out there. At first I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy this SCP, but I soon came to love it. The idea of an entity out in space, helping to protect humanity and the planet itself, is extremely intriguing. It’s ending, however, the interview with Sauelsuesor itself and the many implications it contains is what makes this a truly great read.
The Architect might be my favorite Series I SCP. The object is interesting all on its own, but the exploration log set in Kowloon Walled City made it one of the best Series I SCPs. Traveling through ever-expanding labyrinthine and distorting rooms is as fantastic as it is creative. The exploration logs are full of fantastic imagery and serve as an absolutely outstanding read.
Special Personnel Requirements is one of the most iconic, fucked-up, but also best Series I SCPs. The reason it’s so well-known is for one reason alone, procedure 110-Montauk. It shows just how far the Foundation will go to keep the world safe. And yet, we never truly find out what the procedure truly entails. The article is full of omissions, of missing details. While it’s a controversial element, that’s frowned upon, it works very well here. It’s not what’s said about procedure 110-Montauk, but what we imagine it might be.
How dangerous can a single mass transit ticket be? If you believe this Series I SCP, it can be quite dangerous, deadly even. A Ticket to Ride is one of the longest but also best Series I SCPs out there. I absolutely loved the many details, the exploration logs and, of course, the ending. It’s truly among the best and most well-written Series I SCPs out there.
The SCP-Wiki features a variety of SCPs and a variety of genres. Series I, however, is most known for its horror roots and Beautiful Babies is one of the best and most disturbing SCPs out there. Everything described in this SCP is truly horrifying and disturbing, but what truly drives the point home is the interview at the end.
The Song of Genesis is one of the most interesting Series I SCPs out there. The song in question is a piece of music. If you listen to it, various things happen to you. At first, it revitalizes you, but the longer you listen, the more things will happen. What makes this SCP so great are the experimentation logs, the imagery and the sheer creativity at work here. It’s truly a fantastic Series I SCP.
I’m a big fan of body horror and Bone Hive is one of the best body horror SCPs and one of the most horrifying SCPs in general. The descriptions are fantastic, terrifying and disgusting. Yet, what makes it so great is the ending, a single line that makes everything depicted so, so much worse. Truly one of the best Series I SCPs.
I absolutely loved reading Scripted Nightclub. It’s truly one of the best Series I SCPs out there. The overall description of the club is good enough, but what makes it so great are the different scripts. In the article itself, we learn the details of three of them, but they are all outstanding. Scripted Nightclub is one of my favorite Series I SCPs and also one of my favorite SCPs in general.
The Flesh that Hates is a classic and one of the most iconic SCPs out there. It has prove vastly popular throughout the SCP-Wiki and has been featured many times in other articles. The imagery itself is powerful and I love the various flesh-organisms described in it. What makes it truly great, however, are the exploration logs. As we read them, more and more horrors and details are revealed to us. It’s truly the stuff of nightmares, and the SCP is very deserving of its popularity.
The Hanged King’s Tragedy is another fantastic Series I SCP. I loved the idea of the play itself, but the strange incidents happening during performances make it so much better. These are presented to us in the form of detailed incidents reports. There’s also the ominous figure of the Ambassador of Alagadda which will come up again in one of my favorite SCPs of all time, SCP-2264. Even on its own, however, The Hanged King’s Tragedy holds up as a classic and as one of the best Series I SCPs.
Industrial resolution is another take on Admin Bright’s SCP-001 proposal, The Factory. While Bright’s proposal describes The Factory as an origin of the Foundation, this SCP presents us with a different take on The Factory. Overall, though, I enjoyed this SCP more than Bright’s original. All parts of this Series I SCP are great, but it’s again the ending that makes it truly fantastic.
World Without Man is another one of the best Series I SCPs out there. What I love about it so much is not the object itself or the danger it holds. While it’s a great SCP by itself, it’s again the ending that makes it truly fantastic. I love it goes much further than just being about a dangerous object. No, it talks about the human condition in general. Truly a fantastic Series I SCP.
A Machine is one of those simple Series I SCPs I was talking about at the beginning of this article. It’s not grand and doesn’t hold deeper meaning. Instead, it merely details a mysterious and dangerous object. What really makes it great, however, is the interview which I truly came to enjoy. As simple as it is, however, this Series I SCP does everything right, and I believe it still holds up, even today.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
