The Oldest House is a Place of Power located in New York City. Appearing as a featureless skyscraper of the Brutalist architectural style, the interior of the Oldest House is a space-defying, constantly shifting labyrinth connected to various alternate dimensions through spontaneously occurring Thresholds. The Board and the Astral Plane both appear to possess intrinsic connections to the Oldest House.

The Oldest House acts as the global headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control, where the Bureau carries out research on paranatural phenomena, and contains hundreds of Altered Items and Objects of Power. ~~On December 20, 2019, the Oldest House was compromised by hostile paranatural forces; Bureau Director Zachariah Trench was also compromised in the process.~~

Structure & Nature

Being a Place of Power, the Oldest House is a type of paranatural location possessing a deep and intrinsic connection to various alternate dimensions, particularly the Astral Plane. As a result, it exists outside of the ordinary laws of spacetime and experiences constant shifts in its internal topography. The Oldest House is believed to be infinite in scale, with the area controlled by the Bureau only representing an infinitesimal fraction of the Oldest House’s true extent. From the outside, however, the Oldest House is a stoic Brutalist skyscraper of defined size, meaning the building is larger on the inside than on the outside.

It is unknown when the Oldest House first appeared or was created, or whether its name has any bearing to its actual age. Through conversations with Bureau directors, the Board has implied that it and the Oldest House share a connection through the Astral Plane and that both originated in the Substratum, a mysterious location within the House. Due to its paranatural nature, the Oldest House — much like the Oceanview Motel — possesses connections to other dimensions in the form of Thresholds, which appear spontaneously in the building. Known Oldest House Thresholds include the Black Rock Quarry, Mold Threshold (see SCP 610), and Clock Threshold (see Church of the Broken God). The Oldest House is connected to the Oceanview Motel as well as a result of the events of an AWE in Butte, Montana.

History of the Oldest House, Declassified

The origins of the Oldest House are unknown, but classified conversations with the Board suggest that the Oldest House first originated and “grew” from the Substratum or foundation of the site location. On August 4, 1964, the Federal Bureau of Control investigated a suspected Altered World Event case in the New York City subway tunnels, accidentally discovering an entrance to the Oldest House. At this point, the skyscraper as a whole, due to its nature, became perceptible to the Bureau. Investigating the site, the Bureau eventually converted it into its headquarters, utilizing Control Points to incrementally instill stability throughout the facility. Synchronistic rituals were deployed at various Control Points to control the House’s ever-shifting nature and establish relatively stable areas for research, containment, and administration.

The Oldest House has acted as the Bureau’s headquarters for more than 55 years, during which time hundreds of Altered Items and Objects of Power were contained there for study. Due to the Oldest House’s nature to evade perception by ordinary humans, the Bureau itself began to assume this paranatural property, protecting it from detection by the general populace. Under the tenure of Director Zachariah Trench, many significant additions were made to the Oldest House, including the construction of the Panopticon for Altered Item/Object of Power containment and the establishment of the Northmoor Sarcophagus Chamber (NSC) Power Plant. The NSC plant now powers the entire building through the rampant paranatural abilities of former Director Northmoor. By 2019, the Oldest House consisted of five sectors: Executive, Maintenance, Containment, Research, and ~~Investigations~~.

Over the past 55 years, the Oldest House has become the new home of the Federal Bureau of Control. While the Bureau continues to combat unstable energies and shifts within the facility itself, the indispensable utility that this Place of Power provides makes the Oldest House a worthy home for Bureau employees fascinated with the paranormal.

Facility Sectors & Offices

Executive Sector

The Executive Sector is the primary hub of all administrative affairs for the Federal Bureau of Control. It contains countless records, from mundane correspondence to valuable insights into the paranormal. The head of the FBC oversees the Bureau from the Office of the Director, takes meetings in the Board Room, and maintains control of the sector at its primary Control Point in the sector’s foyer. The records may be countless, but every document is accounted for the help of Charlotte Priddle, Director of Libraries, and Alberto Tommasi, Chief Communications Officer.

Maintenance Sector

The Maintenance Sector is equipped to support the vital system functions of the Federal Bureau of Control and address problematic interruptions to Bureau activities as they arise. The sector houses a number of vital assets to the Bureau, primarily the NSC Power Plant and Black Rock Threshold. Together, these vital locations provide power to the entirety of the Oldest House and provide materials invaluable to FBC containment procedures.

Research Sector

The Research Sector is the home of bleeding-edge scientific study at the FBC. Headed by Dr. Casper Darling and Dr. Emily Pope, researchers in this sector conduct a wide array of experiments on paranatural anomalies. While some divisions receive much acclaim within the Bureau, such as the Parapsychology Division and the Astral Plane Division, some of the FBC’s most vital research is conducted in the Parakinesiology and Ritual Divisions. These offices laid the foundation of the Bureau’s knowledge of the paranormal and they continue to provide insights into the unknown — often in consultation with Dr. Raya Underhill, Chief Medical Researcher.

Containment Sector

The Containment Sector is where the Bureau deploys specific — and sometimes highly elaborate — containment procedures to manage paranatural anomalies. The sector is also where medical and security staff apply their expertise to ensure the safety of FBC personnel. With the help of Dr. Frederick Langston, the Panopticon Supervisor, and Mr. Lin Salvador, Director of Security, the Bureau contains anomalies that pose an extreme threat to the world order and global stability. As such, this sector houses the primary security office and medical wing lead by Dr. Sharon Keater, Director of Medicine and our own medical genius where paranormal injuries are concerned.

Investigation Sector

The Investigation Sector is the engine behind the Federal Bureau of Control’s surveillance and investigative powers. With thousands of employees deployed in these capacities across the globe, our investigative teams are responsible for gathering internal and external intelligence on paranormal anomalies, responding to intelligence and tips, deploying into the loci of Altered World Events, acquiring anomalous objects firsthand, and conducting analysis on acquired materials.

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