Tag: Internet Fiction

Content Notes: Discussions of Ableism, Gamergate, Paedophillia, Rape, Racism, Right Wing Radicalisation and Sexism

In the previous essay we covered the numerous versions of SCP-166 and the larger extrapolations that could be made from them. But the SCP Foundation is an online collaborative forum. Unlike some writing forums where someone simply uploads a poem and gets critiqued, each piece is part of a vaster web created by the community. And therefore, any story is not just a tale of its creators but of those who interacted with it too. Therefore let’s look at what the community can tell us about SCP-166.

A History of Horny Demons

I believe one of the most pervasive and evergreen comments regarding the SCP 166 article is how Epon (it’s primary focus) had to drink sperm. How the act of spermophagia for sustenance was quite literally integral to the idea of a succubus and could not be separated from it. From user Wishun on 30/1/2013:

“Succubi, at their core, are sex eaters. They sustain themselves via intercourse and that is their defining characteristic. Wether [sic] that feeding is spiritual, emotional, phsyical[sic], etc. varies by mythos. If this is going to stay true to the core idea, there needs to be something linking to that universal theme.”^[1]

Straight away one could argue a historical link doesn’t explain why Epon has to be a teenager, but let’s tackle the comment in a alternative way. Perhaps it is due to ignorance on my part, but I was never aware of sperm sustenance being an inextricable tie to succubi lore. At most I associated them with the kiss of death. Moreover they were consistently just innately desirable beings in a sort of vague way whenever I encountered them in media. But I will admit my asexuality may have hampered any exposure to contemporary portrayals of succubi.

Therefore with this ignorance began my research to find some reliable accounts of succubi history. A goal that ended rather disappointingly. Alot of the academic writing borders on flowery and magical language, making it difficult to distinguish historical records from mythologising by the writers. The best account I could find was an excellent book by Walter Stephens, however he primarily covers Christian theology on sexual demons and witchcraft. And does not touch much on early Jewish scholarship.

One of the earliest accounts for succubi starts with Thomas Aquinas, a name synonymous with Christian medieval philosophy.^[2] Although not a primary focus of any writing, Aquinas popularised two aspects of demonic copulation. Firstly, that demons (and angels as well) possessed virtual bodies. That is to say, bodies made of air that looked like ours but did not interact with matter normally.

They did not need to eat or drink but some demons were interested in a separate bodily act. Essentially, demons could sire sinful mortal children by altering their shape to a charming lady to bank a male’s semen and then shift into a comely man to impregnate a woman with said sperm. Therefore, we can consider them early recycling icons.

Until Heinrich Kramer’s unfortunately influential Malleus Maleficium (1486), a treatise on witchcraft, most stories of succubi and incubi portrayed their actions as lacking consent.^[2] It is in Kramer’s account where the idea of witches making deals with sexual fiends to enact harm on others was first introduced.

On top of this, we get a slight change to the game plan of demons. Through the method above, Kramer argues they are creating half demonic children which we call cambions but he referred to as changelings. Furthermore, incubi and succubi were still not understood as a unique class of demons, but rather the name for any fiend who sleeps with a human.

Of final importance is “The Witch; or On The Illusion of Demons” by Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola. ^[2] This is a fictional account of the Mirandola witch trials between 1522 and 1525 that saw seven men and three women killed for witchcraft. The text makes use of accounts Mirandola himself had gotten from torturing the witches, even utilizing one as a named character who speaks on the matter of witchcraft. It is in essence, a play justifying governmental murder. As well, it includes the baffling addition that demons genitals feel like densely packed flax and are bigger than humans.

I state these strange details not just because of their hilarious nature, but to evidence Stephen’s aspersion that Mirandola primarily communicated this out of spiteful hate for the seven men who purportedly experienced otherworldly sex.^[2] I agree with Stephens that the history of the succubi and incubi is littered with jealous guys. On top of this, I would include that it does often come across as if they get very little physical contact of their own. It seems impotent rage remains a timeless behavioural issue.

Substantiating A Succubus

So apart from being an excuse to research demonology, I wanted to discuss the origins of succubi for two reasons. Firstly, that the idea of them stealing sperm to somehow gain your spiritual essence is a more recent addition to the mythology. And secondly to show the early writing on succubi was largely Christian fear-mongering in an effort to induce a literal satanic panic for religious leaders to capitalise on control.

This is not to say that semen sustenance is therefore unimportant to the mythology, but rather that any assertion of its integral nature is a post hoc justification. People liked SCP-166 with the addition of this succubi lore and therefore considered Epon eating sperm as an indispensable story beat. Without it, she will lose her demonic aesthetic trappings, and these fiendish references cannot be replaced with other parts.

But there were other avenues to explore in the lore, some of which is not innately sexual. A being with a virtual body comprised of air and succubi powers could have been a compelling discourse on the nature of visual attraction. Dissecting how attraction does not have to rely on physical substantiation. People can just catch a glimpse of a stunning face and be completely enamoured. Even be driven mad with rage or love because they will never grasp what they covet.

It would make for a fun evil SCP if the succubi utilized this to her advantage to torture others. Or a tragic one if she could never experience physical touch, even by those she loves. All this, without needing to focus on physical nakedness, sperm eating and barely legal teenagers.

There’s even wider social commentary to be made, how men sleeping with succubi inevitably generated a righteous anger in other men for the lack of sexual satisfaction in their experiences. As well they are invariably proven lacking when compared to the incubi lovers of women. These mythologies tap into the intimate insecurity of the most influential males who have to cover up how genuinely unfuckable they are with status symbols. A tale that has no bearing in the modern day of course.

It would have been another unique take on the succubi to suffer the insecurities of those around her being projected onto her. The desire to conquer a body that is pleasurable beyond measure whilst also needing to contain such lustful thoughts so as to uphold their social image. The feelings of inadequacy when faced with an otherworldly force you cannot compete with. The form of a succubus is bursting with cultural touchstones on the nature of love, sex and relationships. Touchstones that end up feeling completely ignored by SCP-166 and admittedly by most of the spin offs that followed.

Whilst I enjoy the subsequent writing, it does feel like none of them ever really grapple with the history of the succubus. Or the various diverse ways they have been portrayed in Christian theology and beyond. There is no interest in analysing how the succubus has been utilised in changing times, varied cultures and disparate people.

Instead, it is stripped to its barest essentials as an icon of cisgender heterosexual male appeal, with no consideration for actual historical use of such iconography. Instead, cursory overviews with no critical appraisal are uncritically accepted as the canonical versions of a millennia old mythological group. An uncritical acceptance that is born from a specific movement online.

E-Libertarianism? In My Nerd Community? More Likely Than You Think

When reading through the comments chain of SCP-166 there is a surprising level of reasonableness for a post-2014 online nerd space. However, there were some parts that rather lived up to my expectations such as this reply by user Puffinmasa on 31/12/2020, commenting on the current SCP 166 piece:

“I wasn’t really married to the old article, but the context added with the witches vs patriarchy vibe makes this very noxious. Every aspect of the article seems to serve one of two purposes; to ensure that it’s seen as a replacement/undermining of the old scip [sic] instead of it’s own thing, and to push that psudo-pagan[sic], earthy ‘wholesome’ aesthetic we’ve all come to associate with a certain clique.”^[1]

Before we get further into this, quick note, I am rebranding myself to be a pseudo-pagan, earthly wholesome writer cause that sounds fantastic. But to decode this comment is to inevitably reveal my side in various online culture wars (as if my writing already hasn’t).

In addition, it is worth noting I do not have special access to the intent behind Puffinmasa’s veiled language. However, I would argue it is reasonable to say there are aspersions of anti-progressive language, siding against what would presently be called “The Woke Mob”. And whilst not every user commenting on SCP 166 is like this, more than is strictly comfortable are.

In their extraordinary essay which you should absolutely go read, Faith Agostinone-Wilson examines the emergence of E-Libertarianism, which she describes as having the core belief that the internet is:

“a self-governing, neutral location with equal access for all that should not be interfered with by regulations of any kind”^[3]

This sounds reasonable on the offset, but there are 4 key tenets propping the belief up.^[3] Beginning with First Amendment Absolutism, a belief based on the United States First Amendment that governments should not censor speech. However, such rhetoric is extended to the idea that any censorship or moderation, even by private groups or individuals, is a slippery slope towards authoritarianism.

To suggest the removal of comments, the blocking of people or even just to critique any speech mildly is to allow for totalitarian beliefs to seep in. However, as Agostinone-Wilson points out, such proponents never address the opposite issue.^[3] That uncritical acceptance of bigotry will lead to normalisation of hate speech.

Next is the myth of the Internet being a neutral place. A realm where markers of race, gender and class are completely absent, and those who do show their marginalisation are associated with unjust regulation.^[3] This is where terms like Social Justice Warrior and Political Correctness are from. The idea that countering bigotry in all its forms is itself harming the impartiality of the internet. To sanitise or otherwise make cyberspaces comfortable for minorities, is to harm the foundation it was built upon.

Because, building on Free Speech Absolutism, the internet should be a marketplace for all ideas. Only through the neutral competition of thought online can truth be found. This ignores how monopolies, the rich and politically powerful can influence algorithms in certain directions to make the search engines and social media lack any semblance of neutrality.

As well, it creates an acceptance of ignorance. Any facts or knowledge the users are not predisposed to knowing through academic gatekeeping, algorithmic manipulation and other forms of information control are simply not strong enough to compete in the market. In other words, those who shout the loudest are automatically right.

Thirdly, the internet is not real, a classic for trolls to this day. The idea that harassment, threats, doxxing and other deeds taken online cause no harm. ^[3] Anything that may support violent beliefs is reasonable as the media either does not directly call for harm or if it does, it’s never as bad as [Insert Pithy Fallacy of Relative Privation].

This extends to analysis of work created by internet users. Anything generated online, be it a Youtube video, Soundcloud song or fanfiction is considered to bear a less tangible connection to reality. And therefore such art should never be subject to the same standards as “real-life” creations. After all, you’re just taking this too serious; it doesn’t really mean anything if it’s on the internet. It can’t be harmful because it is not real.

Linking to this is the final belief, that harassment is the price of admission for a wholly free society. ^[3] The abuse marginalised people face is the price they must pay for freedom the internet affords. This can be as straightforward as the passive normalisation of harassment and dehumanisation of minorities, but sometimes rises to explicit acceptance of the behaviour.

Even if stories, artwork, commenters or anything else alienates, degrades or outright harms minority groups, it is a worthwhile tribute on the altar of freedom. As long as the libertarians don’t have to sacrifice anything that is. Like their imaginary underage wives.

The Harms of Being Edgy

You can see evidence of Agostinone-Wilson’s tenets of libertarianism throughout the comment history of SCP-166. Although it notably got worse in 2014 around the time of Gamergate, which solidified a lot of the more casual right wing internet users into a collective network.^[4] This is not to say that SCP users ever rose to the level of Gamergate actions but rather that the cultural mileau of online nerd spaces at the time leaked into this community in the worst possible way.

There’s examples of Free Speech Absolutism such as, if it makes you feel bad then its automatically good horror that needs protecting, from Jabal on 14/9/2019:

“There are plenty of articles that are supposed to make you feel uncomfortable or make your skin crawl. Complex and controversial themes if well handled should never be off limits in my opinion. The fact you have such a strong opinion about it and that it is well written means it is already a success.”^[1]

That the internet is neutral and needs to not be “sanitised” from Count DVB on 2/2/2019:

“Never really saw her as something overtly sexual. Sex is part of life and existence and trying to “sanitize” it for the sake of being “serious” is… maybe a little ridiculous.”^[1]

The Internet is not real, in response to a commenter saying that SCP-166 perpetuated rape culture, Anonymouse99 said on the 16/8/2013:

“There’s a knife SCP that makes you kill people, but I sincerely doubt the author was making an argument about how knives need to be regulated. You’re looking wayyyy too much into this.”^[1]

And that harassment is the price of admission, specifically to be in the SCP fandom is to normalise the sexualisation of young girls/women, from The Raven on 16/12/2010:

“It’s creepy, but hot in a way. Yes, I’m strange.*volunteers for “feeding” duties* .”^[1]

Note: In fairness, The Raven did edit this comment to no longer be creepy. Though this was only after being directly called out.

I mention all of this not to cast aspersions that the SCP forums are secretly trying to radicalise you, but rather to show the inextricable political connections with SCP-166 and its defenders. The broader goal of e-libertarianism is to package conservative values as countercultural, inverting the movements of the 1960s to create an irony laden version of right-wing ideals.^[3] That to, for example, mirror paedophilic and sexist norms in a collaborative horror fiction forum is actually edgy and against the status quo.

It doesn’t even need conscious adoption of the core ideals to be effective. As long as the general trend online captures these ideas, the radicalisation happens on an discrete level. Exposure, even thoughtless exposure, is the only requirement.

Therefore these kinds of stories and defences do not exist in a vacuum. They were and are, part of a vaster network of a right-wing pipeline into extremism. As Agostinone-Wilson notes the pathway towards white supremacy in online spaces often starts with more “harmless” contrarian trolling and espousal of less radical E-Libertarianism.^[3] The uncritical appraisal of fiction like SCP-166 leads to real life harm, not just in the sense of inspiring even more barely legal pornography and espousing libertarian philosophy on consent.

It normalises the dehumanisation of marginalised and vulnerable individuals under the guise of horror. This normalisation then leads to ironic acceptance becoming unironic. Marking the gradual descent downwards to right-wing extremism as can be seen in Gamergate amongst other online radicalisation movements.^[3][4] And the most troubling part of this, is horror does not have to be so thoughtless. Iconoclastic figures in horror like Jordan Peele have shown that the language of the genre can be employed to uplift the tales of the marginalised.

But even within the SCP Foundation, there is an excellent history of queer, disabled and racialised creators sharing their marginalisation using horror. Or even just tales that tap into resonant themes of these groups. My current favourite being SCP-818 an article inextricably linked to ableism faced by high support needs autistic individuals and the disposability of disabled black people. It’s terrifying and dreadful, but you always sense condemnation towards the treatment of 818. Something not present with the writers or many commenters for SCP-166.

Indeed when a more progressive outlook is achieved, when Epon’s humanity compels someone to think about their own culpability in a sexist society, the conclusion is not what I would call a beneficial influence. As shown by user Lummox on the 3/11/2013:

“Just knowing [Epon] exists leaves a mark of shame. Knowing that if I were to touch her delicate flesh with my rough, callused hand, it would leave a mark[…] She’s a damsel in distress, as rescued as she’s ever going to be, an ageless innocent trapped at the emergence of nubility. I need to be protected from her, and she from me.”^[1]

I do not want to disparage this user for providing an incredibly vulnerable self-reflection. There is no ill will on my part towards anyone I have shared statements from. But, from Lummox’s comments, it seems like all this tale does is feed sexist understandings of gender dynamics. Men are violent aggressors and women are damsels in distress.

A narrative that solely makes inter-gender relations and understanding worse. One bred not by a progressive feminist understanding on the nature of gendered discrimination, but on conservative gender essentialism where personality traits are dictated by chromosomes and genitalia.

It helps no one but right wing propagators to present this horrific bleak picture of humanity. Because if we are biologically hardwired to cause harm or be harmed, then more left wing notions of equality between people cannot be reached. All we can do is seek to prevent the harmful gender from hurting the vulnerable gender. Or give in to hopelessness and lean into our roles. But there is hope. And weirdly enough the SCP community shows it.

The Benefits of Community

On the first page of the discussion board for SCP-166 back on 7/11/2008, before Clef’s first rewrite, is this comment by user Dr Gears:

“…The pretty SCP girl who lives off semen seems like a send-up for a erotic fan-fiction. not [sic] saying there’s no hope for it, but our other succubus is pretty darn good…”^[1]

It’s not a lot, its not an amazing opus on the nature of sexism in nerd spaces, although to be fair neither is this essay. But, it is something that gave me hope. And throughout my research of this topic, I have found commenters and writers who pushed back against the messaging of SCP-166. And that, is of vital importance.

It obviously helped changed this specific article but also protected the community. The strength of collaborative fiction is not just in the nature of multiple writers contributing. It is in the communal critique of ideas. Even if the community as a whole moved at a glacial pace, I am glad it moved at all and had these conversations.

Ironically, in allowing for the dissent, and the back and forth by less than perfect humans giving less than perfect arguments, the community prevented a lot of the harm that SCP-166 could cause. In forcing people to defend their positions, in censoring trolls or hate speech and keeping individuals on track with dissecting the tale, it meant that others were ameliorated from right-wing libertarianism.

There are countless examples of commenters reading rewrites or proposed edits and finding them significantly better than the current version. And in doing so, realising the harm SCP-166 dealt in its current form outweighed the artistic merit.

I am not stating that it is the job of every marginalised person to have to be a voice of the oppressed. Rather, I am saying that it is the job of community heads, online and offline, to create spaces where marginalised people can easily speak. To prevent trolling and silencing of the most vulnerable.

Because whether you like the original SCP-166, the modern one, or one of the rewrites in between. By having a community that supported other writers, their visions, their perceptions, we got some excellent spin offs of 166. And some deeply personal tales of sexism and feminine experiences that changed how men looked at the struggles of women.

But those are tales we will explore next time.

References

1. SCP Contributors (2025). SCP-166/Discussion. Retrieved From:SCP Wikidot
2. Stephens, W. (2003). Demon lovers: Witchcraft, sex, and the crisis of belief. University of Chicago Press.
3. Agostinone-Wilson, F. (2020). Enough already! : a socialist feminist response to the re-emergence of right wing populism and fascism in media. Leiden ; Boston: Brill|Sense.
4. Mortensen, T. E. (2016). Anger, Fear, and Games: The Long Event of #GamerGate. Games and Culture, 13(8), 787–806. DOI