What Is SCP-1678? Everything You Need to Know

SCP-1678, also known as UnLondon, is one of the strangest SCPs because so little of it has been explored. This underground city appeared one day underneath London, and the SCP Foundation still hasn’t been able to figure out the exact reason why. We partnered with a horror expert to help us learn more about SCP-1678, like what it is, what entities live there, where it came from, and how it’s contained.

SCP-1678: UnLondon Explained

Horror expert Robert Cook says SCP-1678 is a 1:1 mirror-image reconstruction of the British city of London during the Victorian Era, located 1 km below the original city. It’s commonly called UnLondon and is considered a Euclid-class SCP. It may have been created as a shelter for XK-class, world-ending scenarios.

Section 1 of 7:

What is SCP-1678?

Download Article

SCP-1678 is an underground copy of London set in the Victorian era. Cook says, “SCP-1678 is a one-to-one scale mirror-image reconstruction of the British city of London during the Victorian Era.” He adds that it’s located 1 km beneath the original city of London and is commonly called UnLondon.^{[1]
X
Expert Source

Robert Cook
Horror Expert

Expert Interview}
- According to the SCP Foundation site, all of the buildings in UnLondon are the same size and shape as the ones above ground, but they’re made with Victorian architecture and use gas lamps.^{[2]
  X
  Research source}
- SCP-1678 has only been partially explored near the Hyde Park district, but the SCP discovered that the roads and building sizes were all the same as the actual London.
- Even though buildings have the same shape and size on the outside, they may have different architecture and layouts inside.
Meet the wikiHow Expert

Robert Cook is a horror expert.

Section 2 of 7:

SCP-1678 Entities

Download Article

1
SCP-1678-A are Bobbies made from human corpses. Cook says that UnLondon contains entities dressed as Victorian-Era “Bobby” policemen. “These entities are constructed from human corpses that have been dismembered at the head, wrists, knees, and elbows, and then reassembled with industrial hinges and screws, with bandages wrapped completely around the head.”^{[3]
X
Expert Source

Robert Cook
Horror Expert

Expert Interview}
- Cook says that these Bobbies are “extremely hostile to Foundation members.” He says that when they attack, they “emit a loud police whistle-like sound as orders are shouted over the city’s loudspeakers, as the bobbies cannot speak.”^{[4]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Robert Cook
  Horror Expert
  
  Expert Interview}
- When someone approaches a bank or police station, they’re warned about it being a restricted area, and a Bobby is sent to escort (or attack) them.
- It’s believed Bobbies originate from a place in UnLondon called “Bryson’s Home for the Poor,” but that info has not been confirmed by the Foundation.
- Bobbies are extremely tough, and only high-caliber rounds and explosives work to take them down.
- Cook adds that during XK-class end-of-the-world scenarios, like SCP-001 (When Day Breaks), the SCP-1678-A entities seem to defend the city's occupants. So, he says that there seems to be some level of coherent action.^{[5]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Robert Cook
  Horror Expert
  
  Expert Interview}
An Eye in the Sky has a video camera for a head, and a fleshy red mass held together by a copper exoskeleton. They have bits of feathers and plastic that give them a slight resemblance to pigeons. While SCP-1678-B can fly and record the Foundation’s movements, it’s not clear if they communicate with Bobbies or other entities.
3
SCP-1678-C are Wretches that resemble people dressed in rags. Wretches usually look like an old woman on the corner of the street begging for food or money. If someone provides them with food, they start weeping and disappear in a cloud of black smoke.
- Even though Wretches have never been violent, most SCP Foundation members avoid contact with them. A recording that plays over loudspeakers in UnLondon even says, “Do not pity the Wretch. Allow them to pay the price of their betrayal for all eternity.”
4
SCP-1678-D is Dr. Goody’s Wonderfood that alters a person’s mind. Dr. Goody’s Wonderfood is the primary food source in UnLondon, and it’s a synthetic gel that resembles porridge. While SCP-1678-D provides a lot of necessary nutrients, it also has unknown compounds that make anyone who eats it more obedient and less afraid.
- Even though it provides some nutrients, the SCP Foundation discovered it doesn’t have enough protein or fat. Within 6 weeks, anyone who only eats the Wonderfood may be severely underweight or prone to illness.
- SCP-1678-D is served from vending machines with pumps for “Just a farthing a bowl!”

Section 3 of 7:

Where did SCP-1678 come from?

Download Article

It’s unclear when UnLondon was built or what created it, but it seemed to have appeared one day in its entirety. The SCP Foundation believes that the Houses of Parliament are the “epicenter” of the city because objects that are further away have more flaws, such as buildings made entirely of copper pipes or gas lamps that are just poles with floating lights.

Section 4 of 7:

What is the purpose of SCP-1678?

Download Article

SCP-1678 is meant to be a safe haven for survivors at the end of the world. “UnLondon seems to have been created as a possible shelter from XK-class end-of-the-world scenarios,” says Cook. He says that many of the buildings in explored areas seem to be built for mass cohabitation.^{[6]
X
Expert Source

Robert Cook
Horror Expert

Expert Interview}
- Cook adds, “The city even comes equipped with its own ‘wonder food,’ which is a starch-based paste laced with various nutrients and fats necessary for survival, along with other chemicals and such that make users dependent on the food—and docile because of it.”^{[7]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Robert Cook
  Horror Expert
  
  Expert Interview}
- When someone enters SCP-1678, they hear an audio message claiming that “the world as we knew it has finished,” and UnLondon is “the Last City” where people “prepare for the new beginning.”
- In the story May The Sun Never Set On the British Empire, a man named Jacob Hawkeswith records his thoughts as he’s sheltered in UnLondon after an event causes people to melt in direct sun exposure. As the story goes on, a wave of flesh overtakes UnLondon, and the characters escape on a boat heading to UnDublin.
- Even though SCP-1678 is supposed to be an escape, many of the buildings have mold or poor construction that make them uninhabitable. Cook adds that this corruption gets worse the further you get from the city center.^{[8]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Robert Cook
  Horror Expert
  
  Expert Interview}

Section 5 of 7:

How is SCP-1678 contained?

Download Article

SCP-1678 is only partially contained by the Foundation. Cook says that UnLondon is a dangerous, partially-contained Euclid Class SCP.^{[9]
X
Expert Source

Robert Cook
Horror Expert

Expert Interview} According to the Foundation, the SCP has only set up a safe perimeter around the Hyde Park district. While the SCP plans to build long-term research centers and bases to secure a larger area of UnLondon, the rest of the underground city is considered dangerous to explore.
- UnLondon is in the Euclid object class because it needs more resources to be completely contained, and the SCP does not fully understand it yet.^{[10]
  X
  Research source}

Section 6 of 7:

Is SCP-1678 real?

Download Article

No, all SCPs are fictional stories written by people online. The SCP Foundation is a collective writing project where any user can add their own scary stories and entities. While some SCPs are based on real people, places, or events, the stories posted on the site have never actually happened.
- SCP-1678 was written by the user AstronautJoe in 2012, who also created SCP-1227, SCP-1694, and SCP-1840-J.^{[11]
  X
  Research source}
- SCP either means “Special Containment Procedures” in reference to how they contain entities or “Secure, Contain, Protect,” the Foundation’s motto.

Section 7 of 7:

Similar SCPs

Download Article

Check out these other scary SCPs when you want to freak yourself out. If you’re hooked on SCPs and want to learn more about them, explore the SCP Foundation site to find all the stories collected in one place. Otherwise, check out our quizzes and SCP explainers for some of the spookiest entities out there.
- What SCP are you?
- SCP Fight Simulator
- Scariest SCPs
- SCP-1001: Ya-Te-Veo
- SCP-1471: MalO
- SCP-106: The Old Man
- SCP-049: The Plague Doctor