Aberrations 014
Nickname: The Paper Choir
Danger Ranking: 5.C
First Reported: 1986-03-30 — Saint Lillian’s Retirement Home, Whitethorn, WA

Summary:
Aberrations 014, known as The Paper Choir, manifests as an evolving collection of handwritten hymns and sheet music that appear in old books, forgotten folders, or left behind in attics. Each page bears unique lyrics, written in a language that shifts over time—part Latin, part phonetic gibberish—accompanied by musical notations not conforming to any known scale. The sheets spread autonomously, appearing where they were never placed.

Individuals who read or perform the music experience auditory hallucinations, followed by a compulsion to harmonize with disembodied voices. The affected will often continue singing until their vocal cords are damaged, or until they collapse from exhaustion. Those who survive speak of a "conductor" who lives in the margins of the page.

The anomaly first came to light when a choir of eleven elderly residents at Saint Lillian’s sang through the night until sunrise, each in perfect harmony—despite five having advanced dementia and one being mute. All eleven died by dawn, their bodies curled as if in prayer, mouths open mid-note.

Known Properties:

• Appears spontaneously in locations associated with silence, decay, or religious iconography.
  
• Pages cannot be burned while a choir is singing nearby. Attempts to destroy them prematurely cause the music to transpose itself to nearby objects (mirrors, walls, skin).
  
• Sound recordings of performances lose fidelity after 24 hours, replaced by new melodies not present in the original.
  
• Harmonic dissonance (i.e., off-key performance) can delay the onset of psychological effects but increases auditory hostility—screeching, reversed voices, or overlapping whispers.
  
• Certain melodies contain embedded names—when sung aloud, those individuals begin to hum in their sleep, regardless of distance.
  

Containment Procedure:

• All recovered pages of The Paper Choir are to be stored in vibration-insulated archival tubes under red-light conditions.
  
• No audio equipment, musical instruments, or vocal warm-up tools allowed within 50 feet of storage.
  
• If a page begins to hum or flutter, the surrounding room is to be immediately vacated and flooded with white noise until the melody ceases.
  
• Translations attempted only via visual transcription. Never aloud.
  
• Any personnel humming unknown melodies must report to Psychological Containment Wing B immediately.
  

Encounters:

1986-03-30 — Whitethorn, WA: 11 casualties at Saint Lillian’s following overnight, involuntary hymn performance. First confirmed contact.

1987-08-19 — Bainbridge Island, WA: Children’s choir recorded humming melody from unread folder. All children hospitalized with laryngeal inflammation. Folder recovered, lyrics in distorted cursive.

1990-11-12 — Coos Bay, OR: Underground zine prints “found hymn.” Print shop burns down two days later. Surviving press worker found deaf, smiling, and mouthing the song silently.

Recommendation:
The Paper Choir is to be treated as a hostile memetic vector. Vocal engagement is not permitted under any circumstances. Pages should not be read, played, or translated. Treat with the same protocol as infectious disease.

Should the choir begin again, do not listen. Do not join in. It will not end on its own.

List of Case Workers:

• Rev. Lester Haan (Status: Deceased, 1986)
  
• Archivist Nina Solas (Status: Active)
  
• Audio Technician Dwight Bell (Status: Retired, 1989)
  
• Dr. Mira Genesee (Memetic Containment Specialist)
  
• Field Agent Tom Arlow (Status: Active)