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Registered Phenomena Code: 473
Object Class: Alpha-Yellow (formerly Gamma-Yellow)
Hazard Types: Sentient, Electromagnetic, Digital, Incorporeal
Containment Protocols: All original copies of RPC-473 instances are stored in separate thumb-drives in Site-038's Low-Security Containment core. Back-up copies are stored within designated hard-drives in the High-Security data server. Playback of any of these instances outside of a testing environment is forbidden without the explicit approval of a Level 4 researcher or Site Director.
Description: RPC-473 is collection of 168 digital video files possessing anomalous properties, recovered from various online video platforms. All recovered instances vary wildly in content and context, but invariably possess the same effect and include a sudden change accompanied by an unsettling image and/or loud noise designed to startle the viewer, characteristic with the "screamer" subgenre of internet videos.1
A non-anomalous copy of an RPC-473 instance can be viewed in the collapsible below.
Copies of RPC-473 instances possess the same anomalous effect, even after significant degradation of audiovisual quality. Analysis of metadata shows no apparent oddities. Copies of RPC-473 can be rendered non-anomalous via the partial or full obstruction/removal of the "screamer" segment in the video. Extracted audio and muted video copies do not possess anomalous effects.
When an instance of RPC-473 is played on a digital device and allowed to continue until the "screamer" segment, a Winterrowd Event will occur. Criteria for a Winterrowd Event to trigger successfully are as follows:
- The video is played between the hours of 8:00 P.M.. and 6:00 A.M..
- The device playing the video is in an indoor "home" environment connected to an electricity supply.2
- The device is connected to an internet/cellular network.
- There is at least one person in the location containing the device (This usually applies to the viewer).
If one or more criteria for a Winterrowd Event are not met during the playback of a RPC-473 instance, the device will suddenly crash and power off upon reaching the "screamer". Following this, the device cannot be turned on again for a period ranging from multiple minutes to several hours, consistent with catastrophic hard-drive failure. Upon reactivation, the device will not show any signs of damage or corruption, though occasionally text files of unknown origin can be found in random directories (See Addendum 473-α).
If all criteria are succesfully met for a Winterrowd Event during playback, the environment and device playing RPC-473 will suddenly suffer a localized power outage. Electric power to the housing unit cannot be reactivated until the cessation of the event, and back-up generators, if any, will be unable to function. All doors, windows and other passages leading to the outside will anomalously shut and cannot be opened until the cessation of the event. The location cannot be accessed from the outside during this time. External power/light sources (flashlights, candles, etc) will not be affected. Internet access remains similarly unaffected.
In addition, RPC-473-Α will manifest.
Clearest photograph of RPC-473-Α
At the time of writing, RPC-473-Α has eluded all attempts at apprehension, making further study difficult. According to witness testimonies and photographic evidence, RPC-473-Α resembles a nondescript humanoid entity with abnormally large eyes and bright sclerae.
During a Winterrowd Event, RPC-473-Α will manifest sporadically in different areas of the house, wandering through hallways, "examining" objects and staring at people from a distance. RPC-473-Α appears to be repelled by light sources, as it evades attempts at direct illumination (ex.: a flashlight beam or a lamp's glow). The entity is inconsistently tolerant of human presence, and it appears to display a curious temperament; most sightings report RPC-473-Α fleeing or demanifesting as soon as it is noticed, while one witness testimony reports it standing over and silently "waiting" for the subject as they hid under the bed for thirty minutes. Subjects also report intermittent footsteps, "heavy breathing" and occasional tactile sensations during a Winterrowd Event, which could be possibly attributed to RPC-473-Α.
Winterrowd Events vary widely in duration, ranging from a few minutes to several hours. Upon the cessation of a Winterrowd Event, electric power to the housing unit will return and RPC-473-Α will demanifest. Doors and windows will also be unlocked.
Discovery: RPC-473 was brought to the Authority's attention in the summer of 2008 after a number of localized blackouts and home invasion calls occurred in the same timeframe across North America and mainland Europe. Upon the mass-takedown of confirmed RPC-473 instances, a disinformation campaign was released and civilians who had experienced Winterrowd Events were amnesticized.
RPC-473 was initially classified as Gamma-Yellow; Authority webcrawler Π-1034 (“JUMP-SCARE”) was originally assigned to the anomaly and programmed search for, catalogue and take down any new instances of RPC-473 uploaded on the internet. Although the traffic of new RPC-473 instances was initially active, the frequency of such instances appearing suddenly dropped around mid-2013, eventually stopping entirely by late 2017. Π-1034 has since been taken offline, and RPC-473 has been reclassified to Alpha.
Attempts to track down the identities of accounts posting RPC-473 instances has proven futile. Such accounts appear to post from non-existent IP and email addresses, and typically self-terminate upon the subsequent takedown of posted content. This has lent credence to the theory that offending accounts operate from a bot network, but the true intentions behind the spread of RPC-473 instances, if any, remain unknown.
Addenda: