'Backrooms' and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic • Hacker News Board

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

#81

Post by 121789 » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 11:59 PM UTC

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…

I totally agree. When I was going to school while working, I'd often stay late, or come in on weekends (and stay late). I loved that feeling of peacefulness. Same feeling I got when I would take a walk for a break while staying up for an all nighter coding in the computer lab in university. I think those horror-ish feelings (and same with the dystoptian pictures of american suburbs), really only work if you haven't actually experienced those places.

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

#82

Post by willis936 » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 12:12 AM UTC

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…

I'm not an SCP expert, but for a long time I have really liked SCP-087. It really nails the sleep paralysis and liminal space vibes.

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

#83

Post by Animats » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 12:18 AM UTC

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…

That's been done as "The Store is Closed."[1]

IKEA threatened to sue.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/embed/sK5wPE-aQwc?autoplay=1&enablej...

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

#84

Post by hoherd » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 12:40 AM UTC

Wojtkie wrote: post #65

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…

I am also going to call out House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. It's a really interesting book that explores a house that is slightly larger on the inside than the outside. It explores a lot of liminal spaces and has a really interesting format in print.

Pair that with Poe's album Haunted https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunted_%28Poe_album%29

> Haunted is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Poe, released in 2000 after a five-year hiatus from her debut album Hello in 1995. The self-produced album was created as a tribute to her father, and counterpart to her brother Mark Z. Danielewski's novel House of Leaves.

That book is definitely something you have to see in print.

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

#85

Post by hitekker » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 12:48 AM UTC

Surprising no one in the article or the comments has referenced The Amazing Digital Circus. It’s use of backrooms, NPCs and the like dovetail well together.

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

#86

Post by progmetaldev » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 1:07 AM UTC

nonameiguess wrote: post #70

whateveracct wrote: post #7

The Backrooms have always reminded me of House of Leaves and the Navidson Record within specifically. (I think maybe that's a deliberate influence in the lore?) So I like how the movie's plot seems to be similar as well.

I was thinking of House of Leaves reading the other comments here, mostly because something like an infinitely long tunnel to nowhere hidden in the walls of your house would actually be scary to me, whereas normally occupied spaces being empty and long winding indoor hallways are far more mundane. My wife has gotten into backrooms lore quite a bit in the past few years and it's always struck me as a strange thing to…

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 completely empty space.

I started House of Leaves a couple times, but I always end up spending more time online than reading fiction. I need to actually sit down and read it. I used to read lots of fiction before my addiction to technology. Every five years or so, I go back and read Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf, but it's a fairly small book to get through. I bought the House of Leaves version that has color coding and bizarre layout (not sure if that was always in every version). I suppose I spend enough time watching horror movies and playing odd games that I could afford the time to read House of Leaves.

I do watch a lot of amateur found footage films on YouTube, along with analog horror. I remember when Blair Witch Project first came out, and it reminded me of strange dreams and nightmares I've had, and I think that's part of where the attraction to liminal spaces comes from. It's something humans can relate to, but it's harder to put a specific label on the feeling you get when consuming this type of content.

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

#87

Post by captn3m0 » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 1:48 AM UTC

tsumnia wrote: post #55

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…

I mean if we're trying to source where "liminal space" started, I'd like to add Portal and Portal 2 into the mix. It didn't have the surreal, creepy components because jump scare horror games like Five Nights hadn't been popularized yet but the entire second area of Portal 2 where you're introduced to Cave Johnson and the older Aperture Science HQ is very much "liminal". If we want to go deeper , then I really think…

Antichamber (2013) is also worth mentioning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antichamber

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

#88

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 1:51 AM UTC

amiga386 wrote: post #15

nkrisc wrote: post #8

I don’t really get the nostalgia angle as it seems as many of those who are into this kind of thing are too young to have ever been in such a space, let alone worked in one. I’ve worked in a place like this that was well past its prime and though uncanny, it’s certainly not creepy. The illusion of infinitely twisting, identical corridors simply doesn’t hold up when you’re actually in a space like this, but only works…

Most people haven't been in an abandoned mansion, abandoned mental asylum or abandoned mall either, but they've seen enough from people who have to get the idea. Never mind the urbexers bringing them footage of hidden infrastructure.

[deleted]

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

#89

Post by asdff » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 1:52 AM UTC

nkrisc wrote: post #8

I don’t really get the nostalgia angle as it seems as many of those who are into this kind of thing are too young to have ever been in such a space, let alone worked in one. I’ve worked in a place like this that was well past its prime and though uncanny, it’s certainly not creepy. The illusion of infinitely twisting, identical corridors simply doesn’t hold up when you’re actually in a space like this, but only works…

It isn't just offices. Easy to find this stuff exploring hotels, finding the unbooked conference area for example.

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

#90

Post by asdff » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 2:00 AM UTC

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.