So something I thought was really cool and has been like really popular on the internet lately has beenThe Backrooms,one of the newer ones it was like created in 2020. It is commonly known as an infinite surreal realm outside ordinary reality. Those who come to understand the Backrooms will tell you that it is a surreal wasteland of yellowed, low-light hallways and empty rooms, infinite expansion. But what are the Backrooms, and why do so many people seem to care?
Origin of the Backrooms
The first instance of a concept around the Backrooms came from an imageboard site, namely 4chan, specifically the “/paranormal/” and “/x/” boards. One (in 2019) was about a dark, unending environment of rotting rug, buzzing fluorescents and the soul-crushing sensation of full isolation. The post went viral, as people started to imagine what it would be like to wander through this bizarre, apparently endless expanse. And it just kind of took off, was carried to other forums and social media, until it became a fully fledged internet phenomenon.
Description of the Backrooms
The Backrooms are poetically depicted as an apparently endless series of fusty hallways, skein of unending rooms and other ominous spaces. This is what many are imagining when they hear about the Backrooms followed by:
Yellow wallpaper & faded carpets: Another one of the visuals that comes in-line with the Backrooms, is the yellow wallpaper and faded out, old carpets. The lighting is dim most of the time, with buzzing fluorescent lights flickering on at times.
Endless Hallways: The Backrooms’ desert rooms and hallways don’t ever seem to have sharply defined corners. No in, no out, no end — just running on and on. It gives the sense of a never-ending drift.
Fun Fact: The Backrooms are typically described as being bare of furniture or other decorations. No personal effects, no evidence of human life — empty rooms and a sense of desolation.
Entities: In some versions of the Backrooms story, there are interactions with odd — and typically malevolent — entities. These are twisted, phantom shapes that scuttle about in the hallways but that add an even odder underbelly to the endeavor.
Popularity and Appeal
The Backrooms has gotten some attention for a handful They take advantage first of our natural fear of the unknown. The thought of being thrown adrift in a great void, with none of the sensory stimulation we have come to know and expect is terrifying. Additionally, the absurd concept of the Backrooms makes people create their own interpretations, ideas and narratives around it. This versatility underpins its appeal to a wide audience, as anyone can engage with and/or build upon it.
The Backroom as a Media and Culture Space
For years, many different types of media have tried their hands at adapting the Backrooms concept:
Videos and Stories: Backrooms have been explored by many on Youtube as shorts films, animations and storytelling through videos. Many of these videos revolve around some kind of narrative of an imaginary expedition into the Backrooms, and some go so far as to add horror components.
Art and Games The Backrooms are a cult-love genre of digital art, fanfiction, and even games. There are even entire games created by indie developers to explore the vast, spooky expanses of the infinite. These are generally survival mechanics, puzzles and interacting with arcane entities.
Urban Exploring: Urban explorers are people who break into abandoned buildings and structures all over the country, and some claim they have found the sorts of creepy, infinite spaces that look like the Backrooms. True connection to the imaginary notion of where you are.
Theories and Speculations
The Backrooms are a largely fictitious concept so it naturally has diverse theories of the original inspiration of the Backrooms proposed by people. Some think it might be a parallel dimension, others think it might be some type of glitch in reality — a flub, some sort of accidental incursion into the bounds of ordinary space. Others speculated that the Backrooms is a sinister part of our own psyches — a liminal space that preserves forgotten ideas and buried fears.
The Backrooms: The Dark Occult Knowledge
The Backrooms are pretty neat though a little terrifying, too, right? In this stage, there is an inherently claustrophobic feeling, combined with the potential threat of hostile entities, which leads to theories in which this is a more dangerous place. The occupants of this hall of mirrors take on the stories: a people lost or caught in that unhowling maze of rooms and unable to find their way out.
Conclusion
The Backrooms are not simply a silly piece of internet ephemera — they’ve become nothing less than a cultural phenomenon, while drawing from primal fears and an ennui-fueled desire to explore the unknown. But no matter what, or through what medium, you’re experiencing them, the Backrooms are a uniquely creepy phenomenon that has, like so many things that would want to escape 4chan, inextricably burrowed its way into the heart and mind of internet users everywhere.