“Attention, everyone here,” the SCP logo is calling. The emblem seems to hypnotize the user and move him to the portal of another reality. The symbols point to a special device that helps track dangerous activity and move to eliminate it.
The SCP Foundation began on June 22, 2007, when an anonymous 4chan user known as “S.S. Walrus” posted a short horror story in the form of a bureaucratic report. The entry described SCP-173, a concrete humanoid statue that moved whenever people stopped looking at it. Written in the style of a cold containment document rather than traditional fiction, the post quickly spread through the 4chan paranormal section and inspired users to create similar entries.
During early 2008, dozens of new SCP articles appeared across multiple discussion threads. On January 19, 2008, fans launched the first SCP wiki on the EditThis platform to organize the growing archive. A few months later, the project moved to Wikidot and adopted the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. That decision later allowed the community to expand freely while preventing the universe from being owned exclusively.
By 2009, the site faced a quality-control crisis because of the growing number of weak submissions. Administrators responded with a large-scale review process that introduced the voting system still used today, which removes poorly rated articles. In the early 2010s, international branches opened in Russian, Japanese, Korean, French, and other languages, turning SCP into a global collaborative writing project.
The audience expanded dramatically in 2012 after Finnish developer Jonas Rikkonen released the free horror game SCP: Containment Breach. The game popularized SCP through YouTube videos and streaming culture, especially its blinking mechanic tied to SCP-173. By 2013, the archive contained around 3,000 articles, while later debates over the original SCP-173 artwork led the community to remove the image from the site in 2022.
Meaning and History
The paranormal research team creates a sense of the reality of what is happening. To do this, she uses a strictly regulated style of documentary articles describing the “studied” objects, many of which exist. They are recorded and numbered. For example, SCP 087 refers to an endless staircase leading down into uncharted space. In the dark, an entity of SCP 087-1 appears on it with a frightening face without lips, nostrils, or pupils.
There is also a sculpture of SCP 173, from which you cannot look away or blink, as it remains motionless. However, when blinking, it approaches and strangles the viewer. SCP ID 294 is a mysterious IKEA supermarket with a vast space that goes nowhere, and humanoid beings in store uniforms who attack in the dark but are harmless in the light.
What is SCP?
SCP is a secret community, website, and open-source horror computer game. All events are associated with threats posed by otherworldly forces intending to harm humanity. The name stands for “Secure. Contain. Protect “.
Users still suggest many other creepy images, since the core part of the project is textual content submitted as internal documentation describing anomalies. But there are also full-fledged fiction stories. All this led to laudatory reviews because the academic presentation style perfectly conveys a sense of horror. The SCP Foundation has inspired much work, including the video game Containment Breach.
Moreover, the Secret Service is constantly working to maintain normal life on the planet so that the civilian population is unaware of the ongoing confrontation. The task of the organization’s members is to prevent terrible incidents and to enable people to lead a normal existence without doubt, fear, or mistrust. In addition, the secret society supports humanity’s independence from extra-dimensional and extraterrestrial phenomena, creatures, and anomalies. This concept is directly reflected in the personal SCP mark.
Complemented by dry articles and statistics, classic fears, and horrors exude a sense of real events. These facts are also reflected in the logo. Moreover, he got into a scandal when Andrey Duksin, who had been promoting the project for some time, decided to get a patent to appropriate and monetize it. However, he was refused. It is now an independent circle-shaped symbol that resembles a drawing part.
The logo has a print shape with three rectangular projections at the edges, which is very symbolic. Three arrows are directed from them to the center. These are the designations of three missions:
- Secure, which embodies the continuous work to identify otherworldly entities.
- Contains anomalous manifestations and suppresses the spread of information about them to prevent their impact on humanity.
- Protect, which protects people from the negative effects of dangerous objects.
They also make up the abbreviation “SCP.”
In the middle is a white space with arrowheads. A wide black stripe surrounds them. Each country has its own color adaptation since there is no officially approved version. But the basic elements remain the same.
Font and Colors
The text can be anything since it is not used in the main version. The palette is limited to monochrome black (shapes, arrows, lines) and white (background).
FAQ
What is the SCP logo based on?
The SCP logo was designed by Far2 using free graphics from the Adobe Illustrator “Mad Science” resource library. This image is based on the familiar ESD warning symbol. The brand used this symbol because it fits well with the theme of handling unusual, dangerous objects.
Aelanna later improved the logo by creating a high-resolution PNG version, making it clearer and suitable for various online and print purposes. This version retains the original design while improving performance across various platforms. Using the electrostatic charge warning symbol in the logo helps convey a sense of caution and danger.
When was SCP made?
SCP was founded in 2007 on the “paranormal” board /x/ on 4chan. It all started with an anonymous post from a user, later identified as Wesley “Moto42” Williams, which introduced the first SCP file, SCP-173. The post included an image of Japanese artist Izumi Kato’s sculpture Untitled 2004. This first file intrigued other users and sparked the creation of a community dedicated to writing about supernatural entities and unusual artifacts. Over time, this community has grown into a large writing organization with many stories and media exploring this fictional universe.
What does the SCP logo represent?
The SCP logo symbolizes protection and secrecy. It features geometric shapes such as circles and arrows, and a central structure with three trapezoidal protrusions resembling a mechanical device, which together indicate precision and coherence. The circles and arrows symbolize containment and direction, aligning with the brand’s goal of controlling supernatural beings. The trapezoidal shapes enhance the sense of structure and protection, emphasizing the theme of safeguarding against the unknown.
Is SCP illegal?
The SCP community and its content are legally licensed under a Creative Commons license. This license allows users to share and modify the material if they give credit and do not use it for commercial purposes without permission. The SCP website is also legal and serves as a central place for fans and writers to contribute to SCP stories. Although the community is legally recognized, it has no formal legal powers.
How many SCPs are there?
As of 2021, there are over 6,600 entries, with approximately 4,200 detailed on the SCP Wiki. This number continually increases as participants add new objects and entities. The brand is dynamic, and the collection of stories is constantly growing. The actual number may be higher than reported due to active community participation.


