SCP-048 is a designation in the SCP Foundation Wiki notable for its tumultuous history and current status as a retired slot in-universe. Originally occupied by various failed SCP entries between 2008-2009, it gained notoriety for consistently housing poorly written SCPs that were quickly removed. In February 2009, Dr. Clef officially designated SCP-048 as “The Cursed SCP Number,” explaining that any object assigned this designation invariably becomes “destroyed, decommissioned, stolen, or otherwise lost to the Foundation,” typically accompanied by “death, dismemberment, and disciplinary action” among personnel.^[1]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-048

Chronological History of SCP-048 Occupants

“Joey” (June/July 2008 – January 21, 2009)

Joey was the first documented SCP-048, a talking dog with specific containment requirements. Personnel were instructed to address him as “Joey” rather than SCP-048 to prevent agitation. Despite being a flight risk, Joey was permitted wide access to his housing compound and granted nearly any requested amenities including “fully furnished living quarters, and any reading, movies, or television he asks for is to be granted, so long as it was released prior to his containment, in 2005.”^[2]http://web.archive.org/web/20080804044101/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-048

Joey originated on the EditThis platform, appearing sometime between June 14 and July 14, 2008.^[3]https://web.archive.org/web/20080614163913/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/SCP_Series^[4]https://web.archive.org/web/20080614163913/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/SCP_Series The article was transferred to Wikidot during the platform migration, with the oldest Wikidot archive dating to October 2008.^[5]web.archive.org/web/20081028191949/https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-048 Joey was officially decommissioned on January 21, 2009, by Dr. Gears.^[6]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-048-arc, archive

Joey’s decommissioning created the only open slot in the prestigious “001 to 099” section, prompting discussion about its future. Dr. Gears initiated a forum conversation on January 23, 2009, about potential special handling of the slot. Dr. Clef notably responded: “I say leave it open as normal, but whoever writes the new 048 better do a damn fine job. All eyes will be on them, and if they screw it up, their article will be deleted faster than you can say BALEETED.”^[7]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-122785/regarding-scp-048, archive

“The Edge of Twilight” (January 24-25, 2009)

Posted by Wikidot member “Name” on January 24, 2009.^[8]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-122785/regarding-scp-048, archive While the full content remains unknown, a comment on the draft page suggests it may have involved “Harbingers of Darkness.”^[9]https://web.archive.org/web/20091119125134/http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/concepts-and-rough-drafts Dr. Kondraki deleted it around midnight on January 24/25, describing it as “really poorly done” and removed by moderator consensus.^[10]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-122020/deletion, archive

“A Normalizer” (January 27-28, 2009)

Posted by “Anonymous (76.123.129.x)” on January 27, 2009.^[11]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-series, rev. 494, archive Content unknown. This was also deleted by Dr. Kondraki on January 28, who noted it was the second SCP-048 he had removed.^[12]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-122020/deletion#post-368901, archive

“Necklace of Greed” (January 30 – February 12, 2009)

Posted by Dr. Gerald on January 30, 2009.^[13]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-122540/new-scp-announcements-2#post-371464 archive, archive  Also deleted by Dr. Kondraki on February 12, 2009.^[14]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-122020/deletion#post-383151, archive, archive

“The Cursed SCP Number” (February 12, 2009 – present)

Dr. Clef claimed the slot on February 12, 2009, initially posting just the word “MINE!” at 12:41 PM before adding the substantive content at 12:52 PM. This entry officially retired the designation, explaining that items assigned the SCP-048 designation inevitably become lost to the Foundation, accompanied by personnel casualties.^[15]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-048, archive

Trivia

• The initial SCP-048, “Joey”, was at one point one of the more popular pages on the EditThis, and the most popular single article.^[16]http://web.archive.org/web/20080804044101/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-048^[17]http://web.archive.org/web/20120720210705/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Statistics
• At 1:17 PM on February 12, 2009, Dr. Kondraki added an addendum to the Cursed SCP Number article referencing a “Vampyre Boat” supposedly previously occupying the slot:^[18]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-048, archive However, no evidence of a “Vampyre Boat” appears in either the complete Series I edit history or the staff deletion thread. Despite this, some community members later claimed to recall the entry, including TheBlueSquid who described vampires that could phase through walls and “have a habit of being uncontained.”^[19]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-129936/scp-048#post-2520991, archive These claims are questionable since that member was only active in 2016, seven years after the alleged article’s existence.^[20]https://www.wikidot.com/user:info/thebluesquid, archive
• An unrelated SCP-048 was posted to 4chan’s /x/ board on June 30, 2008, with the following text: “Item #: SCP-048. Object Class: Keter. Description: Absolutely no action whatsoever must be taken in regard to this item. Should you find this item, contact a Class D personnel immediately. Failure to do so will result in [DATA EXPUNGED]. Special note made by [DATA EXPUNGED] It may be too late. Save as many as possible. May God be with you.”^[21]http://scparchives.bluesoul.net/x/scp/1100647.xml, archive This post gained no traction on 4chan and was never added to EditThis. However, it was reposted by another anonymous user on November 14, 2008.^[22]scparchives.bluesoul.net/x/scp/1100647.xml, archive