SCP-3846
rating: +70+x
Item #: SCP-3846 Level 2/3846
Object Class: Euclid Classified
Walden_Pond.jpg

Walden Pond, Circa 1908.

Special Containment Procedures: Foundation operatives planted in distribution and reception facilities for literature in the state of Massachusetts are to examine all copies of Walden and contain SCP-3846 prior to shelving, preferably through the discreet removal of pages containing SCP-3846. Agents exposed to SCP-3846 in this manner are to keep a dream journal for a period of six months, or until dreams caused by SCP-3846 stop occurring for at least two weeks.

Description: SCP-3846 consists of three pages of anomalous text appearing in approximately half of all editions of Henry David Thoreau's Walden1 that are sold within the Massachusetts Bay Area, including Boston, Salem, Lexington, Concord, and the gift shop at the Walden Pond Visitor's Center. SCP-3846 typically appears as a foreword or afterword, but has also taken the form of a note from the publisher.

The content of SCP-3846 is critical of the life and work of Henry David Thoreau, and appears to be written by an individual or individuals that knew of intimate details of their life not present in historical documents. The exact phrasing of SCP-3846 varies, but it is identifiable by the inclusion of the following portion:

Hypocrite, hack, inspiration, saint, visionary, abolitionist, misanthrope, overrated, simple-minded, and several other phrases have been used to describe Thoreau and his work. The damage he has done to Walden Pond is immeasurable. I aim to correct that.

Individuals who read SCP-3846 will have dreams depicting scenes and actions related to Thoreau, as viewed from an exterior perspective. These scenes and actions do not necessarily correspond to Thoreau's actual life experience, and seem to be largely allegorical or metaphorical.

Excerpts of the dream journal of oneirologist William Applegate, who voluntarily exposed themselves to SCP-3846, follow:

Despite being known to the Foundation for over fifty years, there have been fewer than sixty reported instances of SCP-3846. Foundation scholars believe that this is due to the fact that, despite the fact that several thousand copies of Walden are sold in the Massachusetts Bay area each year, less than 1% of them are ever read.

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