the backrooms
/ðə ˈbæk.ruːmz/
CommonAn internet creepypasta mythology about an infinite maze of empty, yellow-carpeted office rooms you fall into by 'noclipping' out of reality.
Often used loosely to mean any eerie, empty, or maze-like place, not just the specific mythology.
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | this office building we toured for an event is literally the backrooms. same carpet. same smell. | The real location matches the backrooms aesthetic exactly. | x, 2022 |
| 02 | took a wrong turn at the mall and walked into some back maintenance hallway. fully noclipped into the backrooms. | Accidentally wandered into a disorienting, wrong-feeling place. | tiktok, 2023 |
| 03 | kane pixels' backrooms videos are genuinely some of the best horror content on youtube. the craft is insane. | Praising the most popular backrooms found footage creator. | youtube, 2023 |
| 04 | my job is just level 0 of the backrooms. fluorescent lights. no windows. buzzing. | Comparing a dull, oppressive workplace to the bleakest backrooms level. | reddit, 2022 |
| 05 | someone made an actual backrooms game and it is exactly as terrifying as you would expect. | The game captures the mythology's core dread effectively. | reddit, 2023 |
Use it when
- Referring to the specific creepypasta mythology of the infinite yellow office.
- Describing a real place that looks like the backrooms aesthetic.
- Using the noclip metaphor for accidentally finding yourself somewhere wrong.
- Joking that you ended up in a weird, empty, or bureaucratic place.
Do not use it when
- You mean any liminal or eerie space, without the specific mythology.Use “liminal space” instead.
Variations and related forms
Backrooms vs liminal space
the backrooms
The backrooms is a specific mythology with lore, levels, and creatures.
liminal-space
Liminal space is the broader aesthetic of eerie, in-between, transitional places.
Origin and context
Originated from a single image posted on 4chan in 2019 showing an empty yellow-carpeted office space. The post asked what it felt like to see a photo that made you 'feel wrong'. The backrooms mythology exploded from there into wikis, found-footage YouTube series, video games, and a full fan-built taxonomy of levels and entities.
- First seen
- 2019
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/backrooms