Hazardous Memetics

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Cellular phones, audio or video recordings, and material with linguistic symbols of any kind (including literature, labelled products, tattoos, and electronic documents) are prohibited within ten km of SCP-XXXX.

No device with internet capabilities is allowed within 25 km of SCP-XXXX. If an internet-capable device is discovered or reported within this radius, Procedure 628-Permian should be readied and deployed conditionally on no less than 90 unexplained fatalities in internet-capable locations.

The book in which SCP-XXXX resides is to be contained in a Faraday cage encased in concrete. Dimensions should be similar to those of a standard containment locker. The physical iterations of SCP-XXXX must remain under redaction and containment in a standard containment locker until the exact nature of SCP-XXXX is known.
In the event of a suspected containment breach, Procedure 624-Lazaretto is to be put directly into effect.

Only D-Class Personnel without body tattoos or labelled clothing, including tags may be involved in the handling, experimentation, or transport of SCP-XXXX. Surveillance should not be recorded and experiment footage should be first previewed to ensure a lack of contamination.

Description: SCP-XXXX is an augmented memetic device, in the form of a phrase of unknown length, capable of spreading directly through proximity to textual or recorded audio/video media, including cellular phones. (See Incident Report: Breach 5a)

The original iteration of SCP-XXXX is currently contained in a copy of Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo. The precise maximum range of SCP-XXXX’s transfer effect is unknown, however it does not appear to spread beyond ten km. Subjects visually or aurally perceiving iterations of this phrase are considered contaminated and are usually identified after emitting a short burst of laughter following contamination.

The effects of contamination by SCP-XXXX begin roughly six hours after perception: serotonin and endorphin levels abruptly fall and the subject exhibits a heightened fear response, including conversation with an entity yet undetectable. This entity is not classified as hallucination and is identified as SCP-XXXX-1, as subject(s) and entity appear to interact, ultimately ending in subject death by apparent strangulation. (See Experiment 6b Log)

SCP-XXXX has previously inhabited works including Gaston Leroux’s Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and a single-volume compilation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Iterations of SCP-XXXX reside in other media: SCP-XXXX-2,3 are found in footage of Breach-5a and SCP-XXXX-4 is under redaction in Transcript 4a█. All other iterations of SCP-XXXX have been expunged. Iterations of SCP-XXXX do not appear to exhibit transfer properties when within ten km of the original.

As of current, approximately ███ personnel have been exposed to SCP-XXXX. There is no known procedure to counteract the effects of SCP-XXXX. (See Experiment Series 9 Log)

Addenda:
WARNING: MEMETIC HAZARD