WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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Kids get bored.

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It’s just part of growing up.

00:00:04.310 --> 00:00:08.250
Or at least, that’s what their parents would
always say.

00:00:08.250 --> 00:00:13.020
Living in a small town in England, you run
out of things to do by your fifth birthday.

00:00:13.020 --> 00:00:16.070
By your tenth, you want nothing more than
to move out.

00:00:16.070 --> 00:00:20.870
By your fifteenth, half the kids end up in
hospital doing something stupid.

00:00:20.870 --> 00:00:24.420
The Kid entering the churchyard tonight is
no exception.

00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:28.150
As he ducks under the gap in the chainlink
fence, he catches the corner of his cast on

00:00:28.150 --> 00:00:29.150
the metal.

00:00:29.150 --> 00:00:33.380
The cast is already so covered in nicks and
scratches that the new tear barely makes a

00:00:33.380 --> 00:00:34.380
difference.

00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:37.980
He has been trying to cut the cast off with
kitchen scissors for the last three weeks.

00:00:37.980 --> 00:00:41.360
He’d broken his wrist riding his bike off
the roof of his house.

00:00:41.360 --> 00:00:46.230
It would have worked if it wasn’t for the
postbox being a little too close to the building.

00:00:46.230 --> 00:00:48.080
His brother calls out to him from up ahead.

00:00:48.080 --> 00:00:50.420
He’s already at the door to the church.

00:00:50.420 --> 00:00:53.720
The Kid hears his best friend shuffling around
nervously behind him.

00:00:53.720 --> 00:00:57.739
He waits for her turn to duck under the fence
and follow him into the churchyard, away from

00:00:57.739 --> 00:00:59.280
the road.

00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:03.860
Even in the middle of nowhere in total darkness,
the Kid can tell she’s scared to break the

00:01:03.860 --> 00:01:05.059
rules.

00:01:05.059 --> 00:01:08.610
The pair of them rush over to meet the Kid’s
brother at the entrance to the church.

00:01:08.610 --> 00:01:10.450
The older brother grins at both of them.

00:01:10.450 --> 00:01:14.359
At 21 years old, he may as well be 41.

00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:18.619
Towering over the two of them, with a few
scraggly chin hairs and a tattoo on his neck,

00:01:18.619 --> 00:01:21.560
they can’t imagine what his life must be
like.

00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:26.369
Going to university in London, driving a car,
getting tattoos, drinking alcohol that costs

00:01:26.369 --> 00:01:29.380
more than £10 and doesn’t come from the
corner store.

00:01:29.380 --> 00:01:30.380
What a life!

00:01:30.380 --> 00:01:32.340
There isn’t a door to kick open.

00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:34.909
The church building is in total disrepair.

00:01:34.909 --> 00:01:37.599
Only the limestone structure is left standing.

00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:42.079
The windows have all been smashed in long
ago, and the pews rotted away, leaving only

00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:45.999
some moss, creeping its tendrils into every
nook and cranny.

00:01:45.999 --> 00:01:49.890
As the three of them make their way inside
they look up to see the starry night sky above

00:01:49.890 --> 00:01:52.429
their heads, no roof left intact.

00:01:52.429 --> 00:01:56.689
In fact, the only part of the building that
seems to still be half-standing is the tower

00:01:56.689 --> 00:01:58.249
at the far end.

00:01:58.249 --> 00:02:03.060
Even in the dark, they can still make out
a tight spiral staircase, hewn into the stone,

00:02:03.060 --> 00:02:05.779
disappearing up into the collapsing tower.

00:02:05.779 --> 00:02:07.119
The Kid grins.

00:02:07.119 --> 00:02:08.800
What to explore first?

00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:12.420
They all split up, wandering around different
parts of the church hall.

00:02:12.420 --> 00:02:15.730
The Kid makes a beeline for a toppled-in patch
of wall.

00:02:15.730 --> 00:02:20.180
He clambers up onto a window ledge and hoists
himself up onto the wall, looking down at

00:02:20.180 --> 00:02:21.180
the other two.

00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:25.040
A stone gives way under his foot and almost
sends him tumbling, but he throws out his

00:02:25.040 --> 00:02:28.400
broken wrist just in time to balance himself.

00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:31.459
Across the hall, his best friend is checking
her flip phone anxiously.

00:02:31.459 --> 00:02:35.590
She’d said earlier in the evening that she
needed to be back before 1 AM or her parents

00:02:35.590 --> 00:02:36.590
would be worried.

00:02:36.590 --> 00:02:37.960
It is already 12:45.

00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:41.230
The Kid’s older brother calls out across
the church.

00:02:41.230 --> 00:02:43.041
‘I need the toilet.

00:02:43.041 --> 00:02:45.709
I’m gonna climb straight to the top of the
tower and do it off the edge.

00:02:45.709 --> 00:02:47.450
Watch out for rain!’

00:02:47.450 --> 00:02:52.330
And with that, he disappears through the little
doorway and up the spiral staircases.

00:02:52.330 --> 00:02:57.590
Very quickly the sound of his footsteps disappears,
leaving the Kid and his friend alone together.

00:02:57.590 --> 00:03:00.210
The Kid looks over his shoulder out of the
church building.

00:03:00.210 --> 00:03:04.099
From up on this patch of wall, he is almost
at the perfect height to pick an apple from

00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:05.230
the tree next to them.

00:03:05.230 --> 00:03:07.909
If he can just stretch out far enough…

00:03:07.909 --> 00:03:08.909
There!

00:03:08.909 --> 00:03:10.489
He plucks two apples.

00:03:10.489 --> 00:03:12.790
One for him and one for his friend.

00:03:12.790 --> 00:03:15.659
He tosses it to her but she misses the catch.

00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:18.799
Looking up at him, he can tell she already
wants to go home.

00:03:18.799 --> 00:03:20.760
He grumbles and jumps down from the wall.

00:03:20.760 --> 00:03:24.790
The landing jars his leg pretty badly but
he clenches his teeth hard enough that no

00:03:24.790 --> 00:03:26.849
noise escapes his mouth.

00:03:26.849 --> 00:03:28.590
He grins at his best friend.

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She doesn’t return it.

00:03:29.910 --> 00:03:30.910
It’s late.

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She needs to get home soon.

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And the only way they can get home is in his
big brother’s car.

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‘Fine.

00:03:35.950 --> 00:03:37.930
I guess it’s probably home time.’

00:03:37.930 --> 00:03:40.189
She gives him her best attempt at a smile.

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The Kid walks over to the stairs, sticks his
head through the doorway, and calls out.

00:03:44.300 --> 00:03:46.079
No response.

00:03:46.079 --> 00:03:47.079
Great.

00:03:47.079 --> 00:03:48.260
How high do these stairs go?

00:03:48.260 --> 00:03:50.650
They can’t be more than a couple of stories
surely?

00:03:50.650 --> 00:03:52.519
He calls again.

00:03:52.519 --> 00:03:53.530
Still nothing.

00:03:53.530 --> 00:03:55.129
His best friend appears at his shoulder.

00:03:55.129 --> 00:03:56.689
They both peer up the staircase.

00:03:56.689 --> 00:04:01.200
It is such a tight spiral that they can’t
really see anything beyond the first 10 steps.

00:04:01.200 --> 00:04:05.099
It’s dark in there, almost too dark to see
where they’re going.

00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:07.629
He gets out his flashlight and flicks it on.

00:04:07.629 --> 00:04:09.760
That should be enough light for the both of
them.

00:04:09.760 --> 00:04:12.849
The kid plants his foot on the first step
and starts climbing.

00:04:12.849 --> 00:04:14.219
The steps feel well worn.

00:04:14.219 --> 00:04:17.840
They’re smooth in the middle and dip down
slightly from years of use.

00:04:17.840 --> 00:04:21.539
One step, two steps, three, four, five.

00:04:21.539 --> 00:04:23.360
His flashlight dies.

00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:27.300
He shakes it, knocking the back of it a couple
of times like they do in the movies.

00:04:27.300 --> 00:04:28.300
Nothing.

00:04:28.300 --> 00:04:29.300
Not even a flicker.

00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:31.380
He asks his friend if she has a flashlight.

00:04:31.380 --> 00:04:32.700
She doesn’t.

00:04:32.700 --> 00:04:35.030
So the two of them climb in the dark.

00:04:35.030 --> 00:04:37.740
Very quickly the stairs change shape.

00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:39.560
Or maybe that’s the wrong word.

00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:42.060
They aren’t changing shape, they’re just
shrinking.

00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:44.710
It’s subtle but definitely happening.

00:04:44.710 --> 00:04:48.300
The gaps between them are getting smaller,
and the undersides of the stairs above are

00:04:48.300 --> 00:04:50.710
bearing down on the Kid’s head slightly.

00:04:50.710 --> 00:04:52.950
The Kid stops and turns to his best friend.

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He can hardly see her at all in the dark.

00:04:54.850 --> 00:04:58.930
She’s just a slightly darker shadow standing
a couple of steps down from him.

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He asks if the steps are getting smaller.

00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:02.810
She tells him not that she can tell.

00:05:02.810 --> 00:05:04.870
He insists they must be.

00:05:04.870 --> 00:05:07.190
The stairs above their heads are getting lower
and lower.

00:05:07.190 --> 00:05:09.520
The space is closing in on them slightly.

00:05:09.520 --> 00:05:12.310
She says she has no idea what he’s talking
about.

00:05:12.310 --> 00:05:15.400
Tutting at her, he takes a couple more steps
up the staircase.

00:05:15.400 --> 00:05:17.419
The cast on his arm tightens.

00:05:17.419 --> 00:05:18.710
That’s strange.

00:05:18.710 --> 00:05:22.270
He keeps going and all of a sudden, it feels
like a vice.

00:05:22.270 --> 00:05:25.400
The blood flow is cut off almost instantaneously.

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His fingers feel cold and start to tingle,
his forearm swelling and bulging around the

00:05:29.349 --> 00:05:31.030
edge of the cast.

00:05:31.030 --> 00:05:34.840
The pressure building up inside it is ridiculous,
feels almost as if…

00:05:34.840 --> 00:05:37.610
The cast splits apart and falls off.

00:05:37.610 --> 00:05:39.470
Blood rushes back to his fingertips.

00:05:39.470 --> 00:05:42.400
He flexes them gratefully, turning to his
best friend.

00:05:42.400 --> 00:05:45.539
Even in the darkness, he can tell she’s
peering at him intently.

00:05:45.539 --> 00:05:48.720
He runs a hand over his arm, massaging it
gently.

00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:53.430
That’s strange, his arm feels different
from how it did before it went into the cast.

00:05:53.430 --> 00:05:58.740
There’s more hair on it now and the muscle
running along his forearm feels more pronounced.

00:05:58.740 --> 00:05:59.949
He flexes his wrist.

00:05:59.949 --> 00:06:01.729
No pain, no stiffness, nothing.

00:06:01.729 --> 00:06:05.660
He isn’t due to get his cast off for another
month at least.

00:06:05.660 --> 00:06:07.659
Those doctors clearly don’t know what they’re
talking about.

00:06:07.659 --> 00:06:09.550
‘Are you standing on your tiptoes?’

00:06:09.550 --> 00:06:11.169
his friend asks from behind him.

00:06:11.169 --> 00:06:15.039
He looks down at her shadow confused and tells
her no he isn’t.

00:06:15.039 --> 00:06:17.120
The Kid apparently looks taller.

00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:18.390
Must just be uneven stairs.

00:06:18.390 --> 00:06:20.300
Or a trick of the light.

00:06:20.300 --> 00:06:23.919
Come to think of it though his best friend
does look a little different standing there

00:06:23.919 --> 00:06:26.500
below him, even just from her silhouette.

00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:29.310
She isn’t any taller but her figure looks
different.

00:06:29.310 --> 00:06:30.950
Her voice sounds a little lower.

00:06:30.950 --> 00:06:31.950
His brother.

00:06:31.950 --> 00:06:32.950
That’s who they’re after.

00:06:32.950 --> 00:06:36.159
They’d get to the top of the stairs, find
him and see what was going on.

00:06:36.159 --> 00:06:39.979
Must just be some strange optical illusions
happening here in the dark.

00:06:39.979 --> 00:06:42.800
The two of them press on, continuing up the
stairs.

00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:46.500
Step after step they go, they must be up on
the second floor by now, surely.

00:06:46.500 --> 00:06:50.110
But there’s no light ahead of them indicating
any kind of exit.

00:06:50.110 --> 00:06:51.470
Just more stairs.

00:06:51.470 --> 00:06:53.800
The Kid asks his friend what time it is.

00:06:53.800 --> 00:06:57.889
He hears her flipping open her phone and pressing
a couple of buttons, but no light fills the

00:06:57.889 --> 00:06:58.889
space.

00:06:58.889 --> 00:07:01.229
She presses them again and again.

00:07:01.229 --> 00:07:02.280
Nothing.

00:07:02.280 --> 00:07:03.569
Her battery must have died.

00:07:03.569 --> 00:07:05.490
That’s the only explanation.

00:07:05.490 --> 00:07:08.900
She tries to tell him that it was almost on
full a minute ago but he doesn’t really

00:07:08.900 --> 00:07:09.900
listen.

00:07:09.900 --> 00:07:14.300
Because at that moment, he sticks a hand in
his pocket to take out the apple he’d plucked.

00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:16.159
Warm goop sticks to his fingers.

00:07:16.159 --> 00:07:20.659
His back pocket is full of sticky mush. Little
creatures wriggle around inside it.

00:07:20.659 --> 00:07:21.659
Maggots.

00:07:21.659 --> 00:07:23.780
How had he plucked a rotten apple?

00:07:23.780 --> 00:07:25.700
It felt fine on the branch.

00:07:25.700 --> 00:07:29.000
He takes another step, hand still absently
hovering over his pocket.

00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:30.570
A buzzing sound.

00:07:30.570 --> 00:07:33.139
A couple of flies brush past his fingers.

00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:34.909
What had they been doing in his pocket?

00:07:34.909 --> 00:07:39.639
He hears them drift around him and up the
staircase, until suddenly their buzzing stops.

00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:42.379
He crouches down and squints hard in the dark.

00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:46.849
He can just about make out two little flies
lying on the stair just two steps away from

00:07:46.849 --> 00:07:47.849
him.

00:07:47.849 --> 00:07:49.879
Both on their backs, legs curled.

00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:52.560
The Kid reaches back into his pocket and feels
around.

00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:54.770
The sticky mush is gone.

00:07:54.770 --> 00:07:57.830
Just some kind of dry dusty substance is left.

00:07:57.830 --> 00:08:00.210
Strangely, the Kid doesn’t panic.

00:08:00.210 --> 00:08:03.530
He knows somewhere in his head that everything
happening to him is very peculiar.

00:08:03.530 --> 00:08:05.780
Yet he doesn’t feel worried about it at
all.

00:08:05.780 --> 00:08:11.139
To be honest, all he really cares about right
now is making it to the top of this staircase.

00:08:11.139 --> 00:08:15.409
He takes off, running two steps at a time
up towards where his brother must be waiting.

00:08:15.409 --> 00:08:19.659
Part of his mind notices that the jarring
feeling in his leg from jumping off the wall

00:08:19.659 --> 00:08:20.659
is gone.

00:08:20.659 --> 00:08:23.030
No time to think about that now.

00:08:23.030 --> 00:08:26.219
Up he runs, each stride throwing him further
and further.

00:08:26.219 --> 00:08:29.780
Somewhere behind him, he can hear his best
friend muttering something to herself.

00:08:29.780 --> 00:08:31.240
Something incoherent and garbled.

00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:33.760
Her voice definitely sounds different now.

00:08:33.760 --> 00:08:38.840
It barely sounds like her anymore, she sounds
more like… more like her mother.

00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:41.340
The Kid catches his foot on a step and falls.

00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:44.590
His best friend clatters into the back of
him before she has a chance to stop.

00:08:44.590 --> 00:08:47.800
The two of them topple over, landing awkwardly
on a step.

00:08:47.800 --> 00:08:49.420
Enough to knock the wind out of him.

00:08:49.420 --> 00:08:52.450
She lies on top of him… only it can’t
be her.

00:08:52.450 --> 00:08:55.860
It feels like a fully grown woman, not his
15-year-old friend.

00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:57.140
She whispers to him.

00:08:57.140 --> 00:08:59.050
Her voice doesn’t sound scared at all though.

00:08:59.050 --> 00:09:01.180
If anything she seems a little disinterested.

00:09:01.180 --> 00:09:04.030
‘What is happening to us?’

00:09:04.030 --> 00:09:07.080
The Kid breathes heavily, struggling to get
the air back into his lungs.

00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:10.170
That’s when he notices the smell.

00:09:10.170 --> 00:09:13.270
Something deathly rotten is filling the staircase.

00:09:13.270 --> 00:09:15.160
Something moldy and decaying.

00:09:15.160 --> 00:09:17.290
She seems to notice it too.

00:09:17.290 --> 00:09:19.620
The pair of them stand up straight and peer
up the stairs.

00:09:19.620 --> 00:09:22.540
In the gloom, they can see it clearly enough.

00:09:22.540 --> 00:09:23.560
A person.

00:09:23.560 --> 00:09:24.840
Slumped on the ground.

00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:28.640
The smell tells them all they need to know
about this person.

00:09:28.640 --> 00:09:29.640
They should run.

00:09:29.640 --> 00:09:30.640
Right now.

00:09:30.640 --> 00:09:32.330
They should run back down the staircase and
out of here.

00:09:32.330 --> 00:09:37.200
Yet both of them inexplicably and in unison
continue walking up the stairs.

00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:38.960
Closing the gap on the corpse.

00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:43.480
It blocks off two whole steps, lying awkwardly
on its side, slightly hunched over as if the

00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:45.900
person had collapsed in a coughing fit.

00:09:45.900 --> 00:09:47.710
The Kid almost slips over.

00:09:47.710 --> 00:09:50.600
Something small is under his foot, something
metallic.

00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:54.580
He reaches down and picks it up, feeling its
shape and knowing almost immediately what

00:09:54.580 --> 00:09:55.580
it is.

00:09:55.580 --> 00:09:58.310
He lifts the lid and flicks the red and gold
lighter on.

00:09:58.310 --> 00:10:02.770
The little flame fills the staircase with
light, orange and weak, dancing around the

00:10:02.770 --> 00:10:04.010
stone.

00:10:04.010 --> 00:10:07.970
It is just enough to make out the flecks of
blood, coughed out of the corpse’s mouth

00:10:07.970 --> 00:10:09.690
and onto the stone steps.

00:10:09.690 --> 00:10:14.040
It is just enough to see the scruffy little
beard sprouting out of the corpse’s face.

00:10:14.040 --> 00:10:18.440
It is just enough to make out the tattoo on
the corpse’s neck.

00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:20.650
The Kid looks down at his older brother.

00:10:20.650 --> 00:10:23.910
Not just his older brother, but his older
brother.

00:10:23.910 --> 00:10:27.970
Whereas before he had seemed like he was 41,
he now looks like it.

00:10:27.970 --> 00:10:30.830
41 and dead from something in his lungs.

00:10:30.830 --> 00:10:32.500
The Kid turns to see his best friend.

00:10:32.500 --> 00:10:35.050
A woman in her mid-thirties looks back at
him.

00:10:35.050 --> 00:10:37.640
Her hair even has a couple of telltale grays.

00:10:37.640 --> 00:10:42.290
She should look afraid but her expression
is almost blank but there’s a little something

00:10:42.290 --> 00:10:43.290
there.

00:10:43.290 --> 00:10:46.400
Just enough of an expression to tell him that
she’s seeing the same transformation on

00:10:46.400 --> 00:10:48.370
his face looking back at her.

00:10:48.370 --> 00:10:50.130
The Kid reaches up to touch his cheek.

00:10:50.130 --> 00:10:53.170
A wiry beard meets his fingertips.

00:10:53.170 --> 00:10:54.170
They should run.

00:10:54.170 --> 00:10:56.480
They run back down these stairs and get out
of here.

00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.020
Call an ambulance and go home.

00:10:58.020 --> 00:11:03.300
And yet the Kid flicks the lighter closed,
turns around, and steps over his older brother’s

00:11:03.300 --> 00:11:04.300
body.

00:11:04.300 --> 00:11:09.300
As he walks up the stairs in silence, he hears
his best friend doing the same.

00:11:09.300 --> 00:11:12.390
After five more stairs, his knee starts to
give out.

00:11:12.390 --> 00:11:13.850
Then his hip soon after that.

00:11:13.850 --> 00:11:18.270
It gets harder and harder to stand up straight
so he lets himself stoop slightly.

00:11:18.270 --> 00:11:21.510
His best friend’s breathing grows softer
and wispier behind him.

00:11:21.510 --> 00:11:23.140
Their pace slows down.

00:11:23.140 --> 00:11:27.361
Each step seems to take more out of him, feeling
harder than the last.

00:11:27.361 --> 00:11:28.361
He needs a rest.

00:11:28.361 --> 00:11:29.361
That’s all he needs.

00:11:29.361 --> 00:11:31.760
If he can just sit down for a second…

00:11:31.760 --> 00:11:34.590
His chest clamps in on itself like a vice.

00:11:34.590 --> 00:11:36.170
Blood hammers in his ears.

00:11:36.170 --> 00:11:41.300
Sweat floods across his brow in an instant
and the whole world seems to tilt around him.

00:11:41.300 --> 00:11:45.460
The Kid collapses on the ground, feeling his
brittle wrist snapping under him.

00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:49.210
Pain shoots through his body as his chest
squeezes tighter and tighter.

00:11:49.210 --> 00:11:52.660
He rolls onto his back, gasping for air with
frail lungs.

00:11:52.660 --> 00:11:57.610
The Kid claws at his sunken rib cage, feeling
loose wrinkled skin under his fingertips.

00:11:57.610 --> 00:12:01.980
With a monumental effort, he flicks the lighter
on to see an old woman peering at him through

00:12:01.980 --> 00:12:03.000
the dark.

00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:07.440
He can hardly recognize his best friend anymore,
as she gently takes the lighter from his hand

00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:10.210
and steps over his convulsing body.

00:12:10.210 --> 00:12:14.380
He watches helplessly as she continues gingerly
up the stairs in silence.

00:12:14.380 --> 00:12:17.990
She doesn’t look back over her shoulder,
disappearing round the corner taking the light

00:12:17.990 --> 00:12:19.440
with her.

00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:22.710
Leaving the Kid to die an old man, in total
darkness.

00:12:22.710 --> 00:12:27.690
With one final gasp of air before his heart
gives out on him, he clings desperately to

00:12:27.690 --> 00:12:28.690
one hope.

00:12:28.690 --> 00:12:32.020
She’s going to make it to the top of the
stairs.

00:12:32.020 --> 00:12:33.030
She has to…

00:12:33.030 --> 00:12:38.380
It is fortunate in many ways that SCP-723
is in such a remote area.

00:12:38.380 --> 00:12:42.300
While the church has stood on that site for
hundreds of years, for much of that time it

00:12:42.300 --> 00:12:43.880
has been abandoned.

00:12:43.880 --> 00:12:47.650
Little is known about the history of the church,
as many of the events around it have descended

00:12:47.650 --> 00:12:49.760
into local folklore.

00:12:49.760 --> 00:12:54.890
What is known about SCP-723 is that it is
a spiral staircase housed within an abandoned

00:12:54.890 --> 00:12:58.210
church building in an undisclosed location
in rural England.

00:12:58.210 --> 00:13:02.120
To all intents and purposes, it is an unremarkable
set of stairs.

00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:06.770
Made from ordinary limestone from the local
quarry, the steps are approximately 0.75m

00:13:06.770 --> 00:13:10.590
wide and worn away in the middle, apparently
from frequent use.

00:13:10.590 --> 00:13:14.550
If you were to look at the outside of the
church you would see that the tower containing

00:13:14.550 --> 00:13:19.290
the staircase is not particularly tall and
is in a state of disrepair.

00:13:19.290 --> 00:13:24.050
Taking a look inside that tower, however,
seems to show the staircase extending up beyond

00:13:24.050 --> 00:13:25.640
the height of the tower.

00:13:25.640 --> 00:13:28.880
Something that seems on the surface to be
physically impossible.

00:13:28.880 --> 00:13:34.250
In fact, how high the staircase itself goes
is a mystery to this day as those studying

00:13:34.250 --> 00:13:39.340
SCP-723 are yet to find a way to see inside
it beyond the first two floors.

00:13:39.340 --> 00:13:45.990
This is because every object, living or otherwise,
that ascends up SCP-723 undergoes a rapid

00:13:45.990 --> 00:13:47.760
aging process.

00:13:47.760 --> 00:13:52.640
Organic creatures quickly grow older, die,
and decompose on their way up the steps.

00:13:52.640 --> 00:13:56.050
Other objects behave as if a great deal of
time has passed.

00:13:56.050 --> 00:13:59.390
Batteries in electronic devices go flat almost
immediately.

00:13:59.390 --> 00:14:04.610
Decay is accelerated too, meaning wear and
tear take place at an alarmingly fast rate.

00:14:04.610 --> 00:14:09.700
This renders any conventional methods of exploring
SCP-723 obsolete.

00:14:09.700 --> 00:14:13.620
Sound and video recording equipment running
on battery power quickly fail.

00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:17.820
After many attempts with different technology,
recording devices linked to a robust cable

00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:23.060
were created specially for trying to record
footage beyond the first story of SCP-723.

00:14:23.060 --> 00:14:27.440
However, the video recordings failed around
the second story and sound recordings failed

00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:29.320
around the fourth.

00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:33.770
Living subjects were required to transport
these devices up the staircase and so D-Class

00:14:33.770 --> 00:14:36.280
Personnel were tasked with the job.

00:14:36.280 --> 00:14:39.320
Across all documented experiments, none of
the subjects returned.

00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:44.690
In each case, a subtle change was noticed
in the subjects upon crossing the fifth step.

00:14:44.690 --> 00:14:49.700
One subject paused, another gasped slightly,
but beyond that, there was no physical or

00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:52.630
emotional discomfort for much of their ascent.

00:14:52.630 --> 00:14:56.640
Most were perfectly content to climb the stairs
once they’d passed that fifth step.

00:14:56.640 --> 00:15:01.080
In fact, as the D-Class Personnel climbed
up the stairs and underwent the accelerated

00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:05.250
aging process, none of them appeared to be
outwardly distressed for the most part.

00:15:05.250 --> 00:15:10.330
They all remained remarkably calm and almost
disinterested in the way their bodies transformed

00:15:10.330 --> 00:15:12.140
before their very eyes.

00:15:12.140 --> 00:15:16.290
Video footage showed the subjects’ skin
rapidly aging, undergoing conventional wrinkling

00:15:16.290 --> 00:15:17.820
and deterioration.

00:15:17.820 --> 00:15:22.480
Diseases appear to develop at an advanced
rate too, as one subject’s body - recovered

00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:26.270
by pulling them back down with the rope they
were attached to - contained tumors around

00:15:26.270 --> 00:15:30.540
the prostate and above the eye that were not
present prior to the experiment.

00:15:30.540 --> 00:15:33.640
This subject was later discovered to have
a family history of cancer.

00:15:33.640 --> 00:15:39.500
To all intents and purposes, it appears as
if SCP-723 simply accelerates the natural

00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:41.820
aging process of the subject’s body.

00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:46.030
Following the same DNA instructions and deterioration
that you would otherwise observe over the

00:15:46.030 --> 00:15:48.030
course of decades.

00:15:48.030 --> 00:15:52.770
D-723-7 was the subject to make it furthest
up the staircase before the connection was

00:15:52.770 --> 00:15:54.000
lost.

00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:57.660
Approaching the fourth floor, the signal grew
very weak but in the noise could be heard

00:15:57.660 --> 00:16:03.260
a handful of distressed murmurings including
possible references to a 'door' or 'the door',

00:16:03.260 --> 00:16:05.890
and to 'dark' and 'mark’.

00:16:05.890 --> 00:16:08.890
Beyond this point, there is no usable evidence.

00:16:08.890 --> 00:16:13.750
Local folklore in the area indicates that
SCP-723 has been producing the same effect

00:16:13.750 --> 00:16:14.780
for generations.

00:16:14.780 --> 00:16:19.130
Stories can be heard from local residents
about old church congregations who used to

00:16:19.130 --> 00:16:23.710
meet in the building and would mysteriously
lose grandparents, children, priests, and

00:16:23.710 --> 00:16:26.050
strays who would disappear up the staircase.

00:16:26.050 --> 00:16:30.370
It is theorized that this is why the church
building was left abandoned for so long.

00:16:30.370 --> 00:16:35.960
SCP-723 was only identified relatively recently
in the early 2000s after reports surfaced

00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:38.550
of local children going missing in its vicinity.

00:16:38.550 --> 00:16:42.490
In response, the area has been cordoned off,
designated as Site 288.

00:16:42.490 --> 00:16:47.400
A 3m chain link fence was erected around the
churchyard with signage warning any visitors

00:16:47.400 --> 00:16:48.830
to steer well clear.

00:16:48.830 --> 00:16:52.960
A further 2m restriction zone with magnetic
locks is scheduled to be constructed in the

00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:54.260
near future.

00:16:54.260 --> 00:16:58.640
Three guards are stationed around SCP-723
at all times of the day.

00:16:58.640 --> 00:17:02.910
None of them openly carry any weapons so as
not to arouse much attention from any passersby,

00:17:02.910 --> 00:17:07.100
presenting the site as a mostly uninteresting,
unsafe derelict building.

00:17:07.100 --> 00:17:11.449
The guards are not permitted to approach or
ascend the staircase and the same goes for

00:17:11.449 --> 00:17:13.529
any SCP Personnel.

00:17:13.529 --> 00:17:18.490
The only people permitted to enter SCP-723
are D-Class Personnel, specially approved

00:17:18.490 --> 00:17:22.269
by Foundation personnel with Level 4 clearance
or higher.

00:17:22.269 --> 00:17:27.290
While little is known about the cause of the
effect or how SCP-723 physically works, one

00:17:27.290 --> 00:17:29.200
thing is certain.

00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:34.460
No person who has started to walk up those
stairs has ever come back down again.

00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:39.861
Now go and watch another entry from the classified
files of Dr. Bob, such as “SCP-962 Tower

00:17:39.861 --> 00:17:43.639
of Babble”, for another twisting structure
of anomalous madness.

00:17:43.639 --> 00:17:47.620
And make sure you subscribe and turn on notifications,
so you don’t miss a single anomaly, as we

00:17:47.620 --> 00:17:50.820
delve further and further into the SCP Foundation’s
classified archives.