In the collaborative universe of the SCP Foundation, the world doesn't belong solely to the men and women in tactical vests locking away monsters. Alongside the Foundation exist dozens of rival factions, corporate syndicates, religious cults, and rogue states that know about the anomalous and actively manipulate it. These factions are known as Groups of Interest (GoIs), and they form the complex geopolitical web that gives the collaborative writing project its narrative depth. Without them, the Foundation would exist in a vacuum. Instead, they create an alternate reality filled with corporate espionage, religious fanaticism, and ideological warfare.
Understanding these factions requires looking past simple labels of good or evil. Some groups want to destroy the anomalous for the safety of baseline humanity, while others want to weaponize it, market it to billionaires, or use it to overthrow world governments. This overview breaks down the major players shaping the mythos, how they interact with the Veil, and why they matter to the broader fiction.
The Global Occult Coalition
Operated under the oversight of the United Nations, the Global Occult Coalition (GOC) is the Foundation's most prominent rival and uneasy ally. While the Foundation focuses on its core mantra of Secure, Contain, Protect, the Coalition operates on a policy of liquidation and destruction. If an anomaly poses a threat to baseline humanity or international stability, the GOC doesn't build a concrete cell; they blow it up.
The Coalition consists of a council of 108 member-organizations representing various magical, occult, and scientific societies from around the globe. They deploy heavily augmented strike teams equipped with bleeding-edge paratechnology that rivals or exceeds Foundation resources. Though the two organizations frequently butt heads over methodology—with the Foundation viewing the GOC as reckless "bookburners"—they share a mutual interest in maintaining the Veil of secrecy that hides the paranormal from the general public.
The Chaos Insurgency
If the Foundation has a dark mirror, it's the Chaos Insurgency. Born out of a massive defection from the Foundation itself in 1948, this splinter group consists of former researchers, black-ops operatives, and field agents who grew disillusioned with the Ethics Committee and the Overseer Council.
The Insurgency doesn't want to contain anomalies or hide them away; they want to use them to reshape global power structures. Operating through a cell-based command structure known as Delta Command, they regularly raid Foundation sites to steal anomalous artifacts, liberate hazardous entities, and execute coordinated terrorist attacks. They present an existential threat because they understand internal Foundation protocols, security clearances, and containment procedures better than anyone else.
Marshall, Carter, and Dark Ltd.
Not every group is driven by global domination or ideological zeal; some are simply driven by profit. Marshall, Carter, and Dark Ltd. (MCD) is an exclusive, ultra-luxury London-based club that caters exclusively to the global elite. They treat the paranormal as a luxury commodity, acquiring rare, dangerous, and beautiful anomalous items to sell to eccentric billionaires, monarchs, and corporate magnates.
An MCD catalog might feature anything from a painting that shifts emotions to a private island bound to an alternate spatial dimension. They rarely get their hands dirty directly, preferring to use proxies, elaborate legal loopholes, and immense financial leverage. The Foundation tracks them closely, but because MCD operates entirely within high society and leaves minimal physical evidence, shutting them down permanently remains nearly impossible.
The Serpent's Hand and Wanderer's Library
Operating on the philosophical opposite end of the spectrum from the GOC, the Serpent's Hand believes that the paranormal should be shared openly with humanity. They view the Veil as an oppressive cage erected by paranoid organizations like the Foundation and the Coalition to keep mankind in the dark.
The Hand is closely tied to the Wanderer's Library, an infinite archive containing every book, scroll, and piece of written media that ever was, could have been, or will be. Accessible only through mystical gateways found across the globe, the Library serves as a sanctuary for displaced anomalies and human dissidents alike. While individual members of the Hand range from peaceful scholars to radical terrorists, their collective goal is the eventual dismantling of the Veil, a cataclysmic event that would alter human history forever.
Religious and Dogmatic Factions
Anomalous religion plays a massive role in the universe, driving groups whose beliefs manifest in terrifying physical reality:
- The Church of the Broken God: A cybernetic religious movement that worships a shattered mechanical deity, believing that machine parts and technological augmentation bring them closer to divinity.
- Sarkic Cults: Ancient, flesh-crafting secret societies that practice horrific biological transmutation, viewing organic life as malleable clay to be shaped through willpower and anomalous pathogens.
- The Horizon Initiative: A coalition founded by major Abrahamic religions to monitor, contain, and occasionally purge the anomalous through a lens of traditional faith.
Corporate and Eccentric Entities
The anomalous marketplace also features corporate entities that commercialize the supernatural. Anderson Robotics manufactures sentient androids and paratechnological software, while Doctor Wondertainment creates lethal, reality-bending children's toys distributed worldwide. Meanwhile, groups like Are We Cool Yet? weaponize modern art, staging surrealist paranormal installations designed to shock, confuse, or outright murder unsuspecting audiences.
For further reading on official lore submissions and canon hubs, check out the SCP Wiki Groups of Interest Page. You can also explore community-curated breakdowns on the SCP Foundation Official Site to see how individual authors expand these factions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are all Groups of Interest hostile to the SCP Foundation?
No. While groups like the Chaos Insurgency and Sarkic cults are actively hostile, many groups maintain a neutral or transactional stance. Some, like Wilson's Wildlife Solutions, even work under formal cooperative agreements with the Foundation.
What is the Unusual Incidents Unit (UIU)?
The UIU is a severely underfunded branch of the FBI tasked with handling anomalous crime within the United States. Because of their lack of resources, they are often dismissed by other factions as "three-portland rent-a-cops," though certain iterations portray them as highly competent underdogs.
Can normal humans join or interact with these groups?
Yes. Many groups, such as Marshall, Carter, and Dark Ltd. or Gamers Against Weed, consist primarily of normal humans who stumbled into the anomalous underworld through connections, the internet, or financial privilege.
How do Groups of Interest impact modern SCP writing?
Modern authors use GoIs to move away from isolated monster-of-the-week entries and build sprawling narrative arcs, political intrigue, and interconnected corporate wars that span across hundreds of interconnected articles.
