SCP-XXXX-A prior to recovery.
Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXXX-A through SCP-XXXX-K are to remain stored in individual Medium livestock containers at Warehouse 3 of Site-76, and fed at Room W3-C between 4:00 am and 8:00 am. Instances are only to be fed after testing has resulted in accumulated damage, with the written permission of the lead Senior Researcher assigned to the project.
Transportation of an instance from Warehouse 3 to the adjacent Room W3-C is to occur without removing said instance from its container. On-site staff are not permitted to directly observe the feeding process; remote monitoring is obligatory to determine when the feeding process ends. Reentering Room W3-C to contain the instance of SCP-XXXX is permitted only after the feeding has concluded.
Description: SCP-XXXX refers to a series of rocking horse child's toys, measuring 1m in length and 67 cm in height. Instances of SCP-XXXX are covered in khaki-colored fabric and filled with soft foam; the horse portion of the toy sits rigidly attached to curved wooden rockers. As of writing, the Foundation has acquired of 11 identical instances, designated SCP-XXXX-A through SCP-XXXX-K.
Ultrasound scanning indicates that the mouth of an SCP-XXXX instance contains the entrance to a small fabric-covered tunnel, similar to a trachea, leading to an empty inner cavity resembling a stomach. Additionally, each SCP-XXXX instance possesses small (measuring ~3 cm tall) razor-like teeth; these razors are covered in such a way inside the jaw that they remain undetectable without the use of scanning equipment.
SCP-XXXX's primary anomalous behavior is typically observed between 9:00 PM and 4:00 AM local time. If not directly viewed by humans during this time period, an SCP-XXXX instance will spontaneously elongate its neck and "inspect" its immediate surroundings, supposedly in search of sleeping children between 6 and 11 years old possessing a full head of hair.
After locating a sleeping child (hereby designated SCP-XXXX-1), the SCP-XXXX instance will then proceed to shear off a small portion of the child's hair using the razors located in the horse's mouth. All hair collected in this manner will travel down the SCP-XXXX's trachea and remain stored inside the stomach cavity. At no point have the instances of SCP-XXXX been observed to "digest" the hair they collect during their active phase All hair collected by SCP-XXXX will be absorbed inside the walls of the stomach cavity and used to repair any damage the object has sustained. If the object is not damaged, or in case an excess of hair is not needed for further repairs, the remainder will be stored inside the stomach cavity for later use.
The ratio of hair volume used to fabric restored during the process is unknown, though hair quality and length are believed to factor into the efficiency. As such, the duration of the process also varies, according to the factors mentioned prior and the extent of the damage repaired.
Should an instance of SCP-XXXX be viewed when in its active state, the object will cease all movement, contract its neck to its original size, and remain inanimate until up to two full days have passed since the incident. SCP-XXXX incidents do not appear hostile upon being viewed, instead appearing to "play dead". Purposely damaging SCP-XXXX instances does not prompt a response.
Recovery: The first three discovered SCP-XXXX instances were taken into Foundation custody during the week of 22/10/199█ to 29/10/199█, from the town of N█████, Oklahoma. Foundation personnel were dispatched to the town following police reports detailing complaints from various households mentioning "unusual and unsettling noises".
The first instance recovered, SCP-XXXX-A, was discovered stored in the basement of the home it resided at. The instance had enlongated its neck to make use of an air duct and access the bedroom of the family's █-year-old son. At the time of discovery, the object's neck had been stretched at least 43 meters, and had become stuck within the vent. The Foundation removed the object from the house, provided a replacement, and distributed amnestics to all members of the affected family.
Upon extended search of all N█████ homes that had made similar noise complaints, SCP-XXXX-B and -C were recovered and sent to Site-76 for containment. Analysis of noise complaints in neighboring cities resulted in the recovery of additional instances of SCP-XXXX.
Approximately a year later (28/9/201█), an unusual instance (SCP-XXXX-K) was discovered in the town of ██████, Oklahoma. SCP-XXXX-K did not display any obvious signs of disrepair, with the exception of slight discoloration. Patches of unmatched dark-colored fabric were found on the outside of the object, and the wooden base also displayed similar discolored areas. Initial interviews with Matthew L████, father of ██-year-old Samuel L████ (who was considered the toy's owner), indicated that the SCP-XXXX-K instance was often the target of aggressive behavior from the child, who was frequently "rough towards his toys in general." Mr. L████ additionally stated that his son seemed to have a problem with giving himself "strange haircuts."
Two months after being transferred to Site-76, SCP-XXXX-K had been provided with regular "meals" to the point where it was seemingly able to recover from the mistreatment it had experienced. Its outward cloth had returned to a consistent color, and during some cases of testing, it would elongate its neck and refrain from engaging in the feeding process, seemingly content to simply lay its head next to the sleeping child. To date, SCP-XXXX-K is the only instance to have exhibited this behavior.
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This article is being written by Zyn and PausedAndWaiting. Image is taken by Paused of an object he sadly owns.
Zyn: Okay, I've resized the image and done a quick tone cleanup of the containment procedures. I will need a bit more time to tackle the description and account for the material you've mentioned in the "expunged information" tab, but I should have time on Thursday at least (tomorrow/Wednesday there's a high likelihood my work meetings will run late).
Paused: Don't worry about time. The article won't be released until we are both satisfied with the result, at least that's what I think should happen. I am going to think of more ways to integrate the Expunged Information tab into the article, to make it a bit more obvious, since the "discoloration" part wasn't very clear. Some expunged information, like the victims' maximum age or SCP-4234-A's first presumed elongation length will also be added. Do you think the dates on the recovery log should be revealed too?
Zyn: I think it would be good to have the dates present, context clues are good for the readers.
I will try to go through the description tomorrow—I see a couple places where the wording can be trimmed down and clinical tone polished up. I'm on PST/GMT-8 time, and will likely be around in the afternoon or evening.
Zyn: So… as it turned out, yesterday wikidot was having errors and wouldn't let me log in until past midnight. I think I should be able to do a description revision session either Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon. Mostly trimming and reworking material.
Paused: A health issue has surfaced and I wont be able to look at the draft until Wednesday. We could resolve then. If you don't want to or can't write until then, don't worry.
Zyn: No worries, I actually forgot that the Daylight Savings time change was today and it messed up my sleeping schedule so I spent most of today catching up on various chores. I'm sorry to hear about the health issue and I hope you feel better soon!
Zyn: Okay, started going through the description to shorten the text and pretty up the clinical tone. Got unexpectedly swamped with staff policy stuff so this didn't happen as soon as I would have liked to get to it, but I should have time this weekend… hopefully!
Paused: Got enough time to check out the recent changes, and I very much like them! It makes sense that, since the toy was found in Oklahoma, it runs on CST (maybe it should even adjust to Daylight Savings time?). And "imaging analysis" seems like a better way to examine the inside of the toy without utterly butchering it, although much less specific. Maybe Ultrasound Scans would help specify how the trachea was detected.
I thought I'd try to get a picture of the thing in the dark and elongate its neck using Photoshop. It shouldn't be very hard. I'll see how it goes, and we could use it if we feel like it.
Zyn: I feel like there was a bit of confusion… I didn't actually add Daylight Savings time to the draft, I was talking about my own sleep schedule. I like the mention of ultrasounds; I've edited the draft to reflect that.
I look forward to seeing the image! I'll try to set aside time to finish up revising the description this week.
Zyn: Okay, finished going through the containment and the description. Will be revising the rest tomorrow if possible, or later in the week as I find time.
*Paused:** I saw the edits and they seem fine wi
Zyn: Okay, I've blocked out some time in my schedule to try working on the draft tomorrow. No guarantees, but I'll make an effort to get as much done as I can!
Zyn: Okay, we have a preliminary rough draft! I do feel like it could use another pass for gloss edits, so I'll handle those tomorrow. But right now we're close to being ready for reviewers.
At its core, I envisioned SCP-4234 as a living organism which needs not feed on anything to sustain itself, but rather uses children's hair specifically to repair damage it has sustained. Its form as a rocking-horse is an evolutionary disguise that lets it get close to its victims, but also limits it severely when it comes to movement and self-defence. Thus, SCP-4234 prefers to stay hidden in plain sight, perfectly repairing itself down to the color of its individual hair after it has sustained damage. To do so, however, it seeks for a certain concentration of melanin at the hair of its victims. Too much, it can handle, but too little and it needs more hair to perfectly repair its wounds down to the color.
SCP-4234-K sustained, due to the child's aggressive behavior, more damage than it could perfectly repair per night. So, it opted to compromise its color (slight discoloration / possibly sapient?) by using less hair than it had to.
Trimmed portions retained for records-keeping:
Incidents involving SCP-XXXX resurfaced during November 201█. In the span of three weeks, seven more objects were found undamaged and inactive at █ different factory warehouses near the town of ██████, Oklahoma. The objects were temporarily confiscated due to their identical appearance to instances of SCP-XXXX and were subsequently held in Foundation custody after initial testing.
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Concerning SCP-XXXX-K. The aggressive behavior of the child caused a severe accumulation of damage to the object. Due to SCP-XXXX-1's light-colored hair, SCP-XXXX-K was unable to [DATA EXPUNGED] and therefore "settled", in a way, by [DATA EXPUNGED], possibly resulting in the discoloration observed. Approval of further testing on this self-repairing process pending. ~Dr. F███████, Senior Researcher (at 2/10/201█)
Use this tab to share ideas on additions to the article. Writing potential pros / cons of the suggestion is welcome:
SCP-XXXX passively sheds hair / sheds hair when distressed: Turns up the creepiness factor - "finding remnants/clues that something is alive/sentient". Raises the question of how the properties/nature of the toy were not discovered by the families.
Victims of SCP develop fear of horses during late childhood: Chance to describe unsettling imagery via logs. Doesn't make sense from a logistic point of view - object tries to lure, not scare away potential victims. Why - in universe - would the shearing cause nightmares / phobia?
Per 
