for the trees

Item #: SCP-9XXX

Object Class: Euclid

SCP-9XXX

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-9XXX is to remain on display in wing A9 of Site-357's Anomalous Artifacts Appreciation sector.

While on display, SCP-XXXX should be distanced from any possible viewpoints, at minimum obfuscating the object to a static observer with 20/20 vision. This is most efficiently done within a recessed niche, but alternate solutions include placing it as the centerpiece of a whispering gallery, or hanging it from a high ceiling.

SCP-9XXX should be entirely covered during reinstallation.

Description: SCP-9XXX is the oil on canvas painting Jäger in sommerlicher Waldlandschaft mit Birken by Karl Buchholz.¹ Object has been reframed for ease of containment, but otherwise remains in good condition, having sustained minimal damage beyond some fading due to sun exposure. Sun damage has not impacted the detailing of the work, a portion of which is significantly more precise than should be possible with a conventional brush.²

SCP-XXXX's primary anomalous property concerns variation in the qualities of its apparent subject: a Hunter, who is some distance down a forest path. Viewers often observe contradicting details, such as the subject facing towards or away from them. Upon prolonged viewing, those who see the painting often discern more specific details regarding posing or expression. Viewer-specific observations remain consistent across separate viewings, and persist whilst viewed simultaneously with those with differing observations. A log of transcribed observations has been included.³

LOG-I

Dorine Bannings

---

"There's a forest and- there's a path. [Pause.] There's something at the end of the path, but it's too blurry. Might be someone walking away?"

-II

Clayton Holt

---

"-there's three trails, and at the end of one of the trails is a Hunter, but they're looking into the forest. Yeah, yeah- I think they're standing there and resting on a gun like a cane. There's a dog there too- maybe. Yeah? Yeah I think that's it."

-III

Smith Rowell

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"-and where the bushes open up, a Hunter is standing there, looking off to the side. He's not doing anything yet, but his ear is quirked to the sky, like he's heard something, and that's why he's holding onto his rifle like that. [Pause] Oh uh- he's, uh- holding it at an angle in one hand. But like, he's not ready with it yet. It's just that he's heard something. His ear is really, uh- clear? You can see the ridges on it, and the shadows. Ears are weird. I don't know how to explain it well."

Note: In a follow-up, Rowell expressed that he was struggling to draw his focus away from the ears of those around him, to a degree that it was diminishing his ability to work and socialize. He has since been referred to an onsite para-optic specialist.

-IV

Clarice Mills

---

"-you can even see some of the mud on the Hunter's boot. He's walking towards the perspective, and the dog's next to him. Looks tired. Spent. Not carrying any game, and the dog's tired too, matted and limping. I think it must have gotten caught in something, but I can't tell if there's blood. Definitely not on the Hunter, but he's covered in mud, and he's damp from the rain- and his expression. [Pause] His face is really distinct. Bags in his eyes, sullen. They're blue, piercing, not looking at us though, just surveying. That's why he's holding his rifle like that. I don't know if he plans on using it- he's just hopeful. He hopes he can find something. You can see it in his eyes."

-V

James Ackerman

---

He's standing there, and he's looking right at us. His stance is firm. Pointed, but relaxed. You see it in the hound too, the way it's primed. Ready, maybe- to run. I don't know. But he's waiting, I think. Aiming. At least, I would assume that, but I can't see his face because of the gun. It's old. Not just now old but then old. I can tell from the wooden handle, the way he holds it. It's the way his father held it, and the barrel- It's short. He's aiming right down it, looking at me, and he knows that I'm looking right back. I'm looking right back, at him, but his face is blocked so I'm looking down into the dark of the barrel instead. [Pause] His finger is on the trigger- But that's strange, right? [Pause] Yeah- It's a muzzle-loader, but I can see all the way down the barrel and there's nothing in there. He's so far away but I can see it so clearly- the brushstrokes making up the darkness. The darkness that is so empty and so deep in the center of the barrel. I can gaze into it and see nothing but it, because there's nothing in there. Nothing.

Note: Ackerman was hospitalized 3 months post-observation due to a seizure, and soon passed due to the associated complications. Post-mortem investigation identified thousands of new folds emanating from a concentrated node of layered brain matter in his occipital lobe.

Footnotes

1. (1849–1889)

2. These may have been made after the initial creation of the work.

3. Excerpted when relevant contents were noted.