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'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic

thereader.mitpress.mit.edu

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Re: 'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic

#111

Post by entropicdrifter »

busfahrer wrote: post #24
amiga386 wrote: post #17

The article has a screenshot of the Stanley Parable, but misses an opportunity to reference Control (2019) which is much more directly influenced by the "liminal space" concept, and imagines a non-euclidian space called The Oldest House at 34 Thomas Street (a reference to the brutalist, windowless AT&T Long Lines skyscraper at 33 Thomas Street, New York City). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F74LLDhAhhI It also very…

> which is like a typical IKEA, except its maze of twisty passages run to infinity. For the 4 people on HN who don't know, "maze of twisty passages" is a reference to the this (the?) text adventure game: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_Cave_Adventure

Adventure is the OG, the genre-namer. If there's only one adventure game, it's either this or Zork.

Re: 'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic

#112

Post by c-hendricks »

squigz wrote: post #106
c-hendricks wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Backrooms and Skinamarink are both classified as horror.

The movies, sure, but the Backrooms as a concept (and by extension liminal spaces in general) are not necessarily horror. I don't find them "scary" but I do find them disconcerting.

Backrooms started from a photo of a liminal space but was introduced from a creepypasta and a thread on a paranormal board, it's always been horror adjacent.

> God save you if you hear something wandering around nearby, because it sure as hell has heard you

Re: 'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic

#113

Post by 8n4vidtmkvmk »

alex_c wrote: post #66
wishfish wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Day vs. Night are what makes the difference. The sprawling suburban office complex from the 70s was, like you said, just boring and a bit oppressive during the day. At night though, a sea of cubicles. Endless hallways. Nothing but blackness outside the windows. Lights are all on motion detectors so only your area is lit. And only lit for a time. Eventually you'd have to stand up to make the lights switch back on. And…

>For me, I've always called it the "school at night" phenomenon. It's funny, I've always loved that kind of environment. Quiet high school hallways after everyone's left, empty university buildings late at night, offices after hours, even empty offices that haven't been moved into yet. For me it evokes feelings associated more with watching a rainy day from inside, or lofi-girl with headphones studying. I understand…

This thread is giving me flashbacks from my university. I lived on campus so i got to explore at night whenever.

I don't know how to explain the feeling. I wouldn't call it peaceful. A little eerie but also kind of exciting. My campus was a bit odd. Some 'brutalist' architecture and dungeonesque parts. I miss it now.

There was a vending machine that would randomly add 10 cents to itself every couple minutes. If you waited long enough you could get something for free. Lights that would turn on by themselves. Doors that would open randomly. Might have been haunted.

Re: 'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic

#114

Post by CatMustard »

8n4vidtmkvmk wrote: post #113
alex_c wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>For me, I've always called it the "school at night" phenomenon. It's funny, I've always loved that kind of environment. Quiet high school hallways after everyone's left, empty university buildings late at night, offices after hours, even empty offices that haven't been moved into yet. For me it evokes feelings associated more with watching a rainy day from inside, or lofi-girl with headphones studying. I understand…

This thread is giving me flashbacks from my university. I lived on campus so i got to explore at night whenever. I don't know how to explain the feeling. I wouldn't call it peaceful. A little eerie but also kind of exciting. My campus was a bit odd. Some 'brutalist' architecture and dungeonesque parts. I miss it now. There was a vending machine that would randomly add 10 cents to itself every couple minutes. If you w…

> Might have been haunted.

'Might have been'? You say 'might have been' after you bought a Twix with all the money that ghost slowly put in the vending machine? For shame.

Re: 'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic

#115

Post by a96 »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #94
bitwize wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it's cities—large, empty cities with little, if any, foot or vehicular traffic. Typically in the US or Australia and laid out accordingly, so not like Kowloon Walled City. But it's almost as if they're that way because my brain's "GPU" cannot render that many people or cars moving about. Sonetimes in these dreams I'm able to "teleport" to an interior location where there are people, and I'm fine. Of course, it…

Stray looks cool. Thanks. (I also suspect my daughters would like it.)

The cat is very cat. It's great. Just a warning that if said daughters happen to be very young and/or sensitive, there's a few painful and oppressive looking and feeling scenes in the game though it's mostly safe and fun.

Re: 'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic

#116

Post by bullshitcaller »

thenthenthen wrote: post #107
robocat wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Report on an Unidentified Space Station by J G Ballard https://sseh.uchicago.edu/doc/roauss.htm And I think I read a short story about a guy buying a house with endless levels below it - maybe the free short stories on tor.com ?

Gregor Schneider made a super creepy house, called House Ur, it is a mega unsettling art piece. There are some videos on it but cant find them at the moment. Super creepy guy and super creepy layers in a house.

Creepy AF, serial killer level creepy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSD6vxrBQ08&t=278

Re: 'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic

#117

Post by robocat »

thenthenthen wrote: post #107
robocat wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Report on an Unidentified Space Station by J G Ballard https://sseh.uchicago.edu/doc/roauss.htm And I think I read a short story about a guy buying a house with endless levels below it - maybe the free short stories on tor.com ?

Gregor Schneider made a super creepy house, called House Ur, it is a mega unsettling art piece. There are some videos on it but cant find them at the moment. Super creepy guy and super creepy layers in a house.

This fits the genre too:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=txyKenOq5Pw

Re: 'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic

#118

Post by progmetaldev »

whateveracct wrote: post #103
progmetaldev wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was younger, I went into some places that I shouldn't have (legally). For myself, something scarier is walking through offices and tunnels that look completely deserted, and then coming upon an office or room where it's clear someone has recently been there. Whether it was someone homeless looking for a place to stay, or an employee that's still on the payroll, both would freak me out far more than a completel…

House of Leaves is meant to be read with the weird layout and coloring (e.g. the word "house" always in blue) It's a fun book! I first read it as a kid at my grandparents little condo in Mexico. I read some on the plane there and back, but the most scared I got was when I read one particular scene alone at night in the kitchen when everyone was asleep. I think it's the only time my heart rate has ever truly jumped li…

My book states that the coloring is in the newest version. I suppose I should go back and take a look at the copyright, in case it is the newest, but is fairly old.

I enjoy the general feeling of the book, like claustrophobia inside something that grows infinitely. That's the best way I can describe it, but I haven't gotten more than a quarter of the way through. I do need to go back and fully read it.

Re: 'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic

#119

Post by traderj0e »

asdff wrote: post #90
traderj0e wrote: post #79

The custom AssaultCube maps are very liminal

Talk about a blast from the past. I remember those GEMA jump maps. All white tile, some colored water and colored lights. Maybe a false wall somewhere revealing a hidden tunnel to the end or at least a ton of grenades/armor/health and a window to pwn the rest of the server from. The mapmaker was pretty accessible too.

Yeah I've made a few maps for it, very fun
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