SCP-3998 - The Wicker Witch Lives.
Anomalies in the SCP Universe exist for a variety of reasons and purposes.
Some are created through happenstance or otherwise unknown processes, without any sort of intelligent
design.
Others are created specifically by certain individuals or groups to achieve a specific
purpose.
Others come into existence as a reaction to some other event, an anomalous glitch in the
system that shouldn’t exist, but was created because something else went wrong first.
It’s this third type that we’re going to be looking at today with SCP-3998, an anomaly
that was created because of a great injustice.
Sometimes, monstrous actions create monsters.
Let’s take a look.
SCP-3998 is a human cadaver, which expired sometime in the late 17th century.
It lacks any legs, and is covered in extensive fourth degree burns.
Sometimes after its death, the cadaver was gathered and fashioned into a scarecrow, held
together by wicker, nails, and wire.
Along with the severe burns, the corpse appears to have suffered blunt force trauma to multiple
regions of the body, and it’s unclear how exactly the individual died.
More anomalously, the corpse constantly exudes a flammable liquid from its bones, which is
composed primarily of ethanol and human fat.
Every night, between 11 PM and 4 AM, the corpse ignites and is engulfed in flames, but despite
being highly flammable, the cadaver doesn’t suffer any structural damages.
When it is on fire, and when not contained properly, the nearest person who meets certain
conditions will also spontaneously ignite.
These conditions specifically target those who have killed or physically abused a romantic
partner, although this does not include those who killed in self-defense or in an accident.
If 3998 is unable to ignite itself for whatever reason, its targets will also not be ignited,
and instead they will only develop brief, mild pains to either their chest or the back
of their head.
If someone is ignited though, large quantities of boiling ethanol will appear in their stomach,
which typically induces vomiting, causing further external burns and often causing permanent
nerve and organ damage if they survive the initial burning.
Eventually, their body fat, particularly in the torso and stomach region, will begin to
melt in an extremely rapid process, often causing massive internal damage if the target
is successfully extinguished before they die.
If left to burn,, the combination of melted fat and ethanol will cause the stomach to
violently rupture, often bisecting the victim in the process.
Those that 3998 affects cannot be extinguished until it itself is also extinguished.
What follows is a series of addendums containing material related to scp-3998, as well as related
articles discovered on the property where it was originally found.
First is a handful of journal entries found in the town of Salem, dated to the late 17th
century.
The entries read,
1682
We attended the wedding of Aiden Hayes and Candice.
Candice seemed rather distraught.
The lady's father went through all that trouble to see her married, it would be a shame if
she did not appreciate it.
Especially with a sir as respected as Aiden Hayes.
1683 Candice has been different.
She used to keep her hair tied, but now she's been keeping it long.
I see bruises on her often.
She's been looking for every excuse to be alone, just so she can wend to the forest.
1683
Something piqued my interest today.
Margarete pointed out how Candice shies from her chores lately, and I heard that she might
be a bad wife, making Aiden angry.
Bruises make sense now.
1691 I was out washing the laundry, and I heard
Candice shouting at her husband.
I went out to ask her what was wrong, but she snapped at me, calling me "nosy".
The amount of disrespect and scorn in the mistress is remarkable, though to be expected.
I have half a mind to complain.
1692 I've been hearing some troubling things about
Candice lately.
Ever since she wed Aiden, she's been wandering off more.
Plus, I've heard rumors that her interests are not with men.
The Devil must have a hold on her.
Maybe Aiden will know what to do.
I'll just have to tell him tomorrow.
Next is an interview between Candice Hayes and Judge William Stoughton that took place
on June 8th, 1693.
The judge informs her that she’s under suspicion due to her husband’s testimony, her refusal
to speak until she was branded, and that she fled when presented with a warrant for her
arrest.
Candice in return says that she shall not lie, and the accusations are true.
She admits to being a witch and to consorting with a spirit, although she says that it is
not an evil spirit at heart.
The judge asks what in the name of god would lead her down such a path of performing detestable
acts, but she says that they are not detestable.
They would work for anyone, whether they worship god or satan or no one, as they are merely
tools.
She did not ask to marry Aiden, and he treats her like his property.
The judge counters that this is a woman’s place, and all she had to be was a faithful
wife.
She yells at him to be quiet however, and says that she can’t be faithful to a man
she detests.
She loves only Clovis, and she’ll be damned if she’s with anyone but her.
It’s her dying wish to see Aiden on his knees, treated as she has been.
The judge asks if Clovis is the devil that she has summoned and that has bewitched her.
Candice agrees that she was bewitched, but not in the manner he thinks.
The judge replies that it doesn’t matter, as they have her confession, and since she
is so brazen about it, she’ll be burned at the stake instead of hanged.
She’ll see how her Clovis treats her in hell, and may god have mercy on her soul.
A formal announcement was made that Candice would be executed on the tenth day of June,
1693.
Aiden Hayes had caught her consorting with the devil and one of his evil angels.
She has been justly convicted and shall be put to death by burning.
The announcement asks people to come to the center of town if able, as they’ll need
good men willing to stand between satan’s whore and their women and children.
Aide, being an honest god-fearing man and the victim of the witch, has requested to
be the one to start the flame himself.
We’re next given a letter that was written to Candice by the individual named Clovis.
It reads,
“Dear Candice,
If you are reading this, something has gone wrong.
You must be angry, confused, maybe depressed.
You've given your soul to me when you were young, and we've been together since.
But now that you have died, this means your soul is supposed to be mine now.
But I don't want it.
I want you.
I'm sorry we were caught.
I'm sorry for what was done to you over the years.
I'm still here for you, even if I'm not here with you.
So I've brought you back.
They put you to the pyre, but I only needed the bones to make you yourself again.
I had to remove your flesh, and I couldn't save your legs; they were too far gone.
I made do with what was around me.
I reaped from the field and wrapped your bones in wicker.
You'll have to find a replacement.
Speaking of, your husband restocked the shelf with gin, and while you are flammable, fire
will only make you stronger this time.
You won't be hurt from it ever again.
You have the power to make him feel worse than what you've felt.
Just a thought
Make him wish he could go to Hell.
I love you, and Farewell.
~Clovis”
That letter was found in the cellar of the estate, under a pillow, still sealed.
Next, we’re provided an excerpt from an urban legend website regarding an entity called
the “Wicker Witch.”
Given the supporting evidence, this is hypothesized to be referring to Candice Hayes.
The excerpt reads,
“There was once a young woman who was wed to a man against her will.
She hated the man, but obeyed her father's wishes for her to bear children for his church.
An evil spirit saw this, and came to her while she was out gathering in the woods.
The succubus took her hand and told her "I can help you live the life you truly wish
to live.
You need only to toss this one aside in exchange."
"Will you take my soul?" the woman asked.
"Yes," said the she-devil.
"Will I be rich?" the woman asked.
"You shall have power that money could not hope to provide."
the spirit told her.
"Will I have a real love?"
the woman asked.
The spirit paused.
"I do not know."
The woman pondered the offer, and asked one more time, "what shall you do with my soul?"
This surprised the devil, but it kept its composure.
It told her "it will be consumed.
Nothing more, nothing less."
The woman accepted, and met with the spirit everyday for ten years, and grew close.
She brought the spirit berries and trinkets, and it brought her advice and its companionship.
It answered her questions and taught her its magicks.
The woman became a witch, and she used her power to torment her husband the same way
he tormented her.
One day, her husband followed her and found her shaking the devil's tail.
He quietly went back to the town and gathered up a mob.
They tied her up to a stake, broke her legs, and hung her up like a scarecrow to burn.
They dumped her body down the mountain, but the devil found her, to give back her soul.
It wrapped her bones in reeds, and used the fire of her soul to keep her alive.
But the fire consumed her, and she wanted her old husband to burn with her.
In the middle of the night, she doused herself in her old husband's gin, and set herself
ablaze once again.
She dragged her husband out of bed and fell upon him.
She burned his face, and with her thumb, dug his eyes out of his skull.
She burned with him till his flesh melted to the floor, and the smell could be found
all across Salem.
She grabbed his legs, and pulled and pulled till they came loose, so that she could use
them to walk again.
Only one of them walked out of that burning house, and it was her.
His body was never found; some say that the husband futily crawled out of the wreckage
looking for his missing legs, others say that the witch took his body elsewhere, so that
she could continue to torture him, but many more say that he's in a hell of the witch's
own creation, burning over and over again, and bringing those like him down with him,
punishing them forever.
As for the witch herself, only one thing can be said for sure.
The Wicker Witch lives.”
Curiously, we’re then provided a medical report containing further examinations of
scp-3998, revealing some inconsistencies.
Most notably, the corpse is not that of a female, but of a male.
The corpse sustained severe damage to its ribs and skull, implying it was hit several
times with a blunt object.
4th degree burns can be found along its torso, arms, and skull, with damage around the eye
sockets.
Also, the legs appear to have been amputated postmortem.
The last addendum states that after scp-3998 was contained, there was a noted increase
in the number of murders per day in Massachusetts, increasing from 0.32 to 0.48.
A large portion of these deaths are arson-homicides, and the victims are known perpetrators of
violent crimes.
Victims appear covered in extensive 4th degree burns, and are gutted from the chest to the
pelvis.
Information on these murders could not be contained due to the corpses being discovered
in public displays and being attributed to the Wicker Witch.
The public has been led to believe that the perpetrator of these killings is a serial
killer using the Wicker Witch legend as an inspiration, that the wicker witch is fictional,
and that no witch burnings happened in Salem.
Changing scp-3998’s object class from safe to euclid is pending on the capture and containment
of the person responsible.
So, scp-3998 turns out to not actually be the corpse of Candice Hayes, but rather her
husband, Aiden, who has been permanently punished to burn for eternity.
I don’t think this one really needs a lengthy summary and epilogue.
Candice had promised away her soul to a female demon, and the two ended up falling in love,
a pretty doubly taboo relationship.
Candice ended up getting caught, and was burned at the stake, an execution method that never
actually occurred here in the colonies, but the article explains that Candice was a unique
exception, and the foundation has swept the history under the rug.
Now, she still lives, and continues to punish violent criminals, while her abusive husband
hangs as a scarecrow.
Witch trials and witch hunts have been, throughout history and into the modern day, a bloodthirsty
method of removing individuals viewed as heretics or otherwise undesirable.
Religious fanaticism certainly plays a part, but just as much was due to mob hysteria and
even people purposefully pushing for witch hunts against people they didn’t like or
trust.
Certainly the SCP Foundation has it within their capabilities to locate the actual wicker
witch, although perhaps containing her would be a little tricky.
While she seems like a somewhat beneficial SCP in the sense of going after only violent
criminals, it’s probably not the best idea to have an extrajudicial anomalous serial
killer roaming around, even if her anger is fairly justified.