Anomalous Encounters: The SCP Casebook

SCP-6299 - The Sorrowful Sonnet

Item #: SCP-6299
Object Class: Cognitohazard (Euclid)

Special Containment Procedures:
SCP-6299 is contained within a soundproof, hermetically sealed storage locker located at Site-██. The storage locker is equipped with a failsafe lock that requires simultaneous biometric and keycard access from two Level 4 personnel. Under no circumstances is SCP-6299 to be read, recited, or listened to without direct supervision by Foundation mental health specialists.

Personnel handling SCP-6299 must undergo a mental health screening before and after any interaction with the object. If an individual is exposed to SCP-6299's text, they must be removed from the containment area and subjected to immediate psychological evaluation. Class-A amnestics are to be administered to those affected, though their efficacy may vary depending on the duration and intensity of exposure.

All research involving SCP-6299 has been suspended until more reliable containment protocols can be developed.

Description:
SCP-6299 is a 14-line handwritten poem, known as The Sorrowful Sonnet, written in a flowing, ornate script that initially appears indecipherable to all who view it. The sonnet's contents remain unreadable unless the observer attempts to actively understand the writing. Once the reader begins to comprehend the text, it becomes legible in the reader's native language, triggering immediate cognitive and emotional effects.

Within three minutes of reading SCP-6299, subjects experience intense and overwhelming emotions, primarily focused on despair, guilt, and profound remorse. The onset of these effects is rapid, often leaving individuals incapacitated and in tears. They report hearing faint whispers in an unknown language and a compulsion to recite the poem aloud. If the subject succumbs to this compulsion, the emotional effects intensify, leading to severe psychological breakdowns, including suicidal ideation and complete emotional collapse.

Prolonged exposure to SCP-6299 results in a progressive deterioration of the subject's mental state, causing vivid hallucinations and recurring visions of personal failures, losses, and unresolved traumas. The cognitohazardous properties of SCP-6299 are resistant to conventional amnestic treatments, and many subjects continue to exhibit symptoms of depression and emotional instability long after exposure. In extreme cases, subjects have been rendered comatose, reciting the poem in a barely audible whisper while in an unresponsive state.

Addendum 6299-A:
During a test conducted on ██/██/20██, D-Class personnel D-9412 was instructed to read SCP-6299 under controlled conditions. After two minutes of exposure, D-9412 began sobbing uncontrollably and muttering phrases of self-blame and remorse. At the three-minute mark, D-9412 recited the entire sonnet aloud, after which they collapsed to the floor, stating repeatedly, "I failed them." When questioned afterward, D-9412 could not recall what the sonnet contained but continued to experience vivid nightmares involving a family they claimed not to remember having.

Subsequent psychological evaluation revealed that D-9412 had no prior history of family trauma, leading researchers to speculate that SCP-6299 may implant false memories as part of its cognitohazardous effects. D-9412 was administered Class-A amnestics but continued to exhibit symptoms of severe depression for several weeks following the incident.

Addendum 6299-B:
It has been theorized that SCP-6299 is memetically linked to concepts of irreversible loss and despair, with exposure causing the subject to relive or construct deeply personal emotional traumas. Subjects often report visions of their greatest regrets or losses, even if these events did not occur in their actual lives. It remains unknown whether SCP-6299 taps into existing memories or creates entirely new experiences of loss for its victims.

Given the significant psychological damage inflicted by SCP-6299, further testing has been indefinitely suspended pending new containment protocols. Personnel are advised to avoid unnecessary exposure to SCP-6299, and all attempts to translate, interpret, or analyze the sonnet are strictly prohibited.