Level 26.1

## Level 26.1: "Vintage Insanity"

### Description:

**Level 26.1**, in its current state, seems to bear the resemblance of an old, dilapidated vintage mansion that is desolated and severely neglected in appearance and structure. It seems to take great visual, psychological, and physical aspects to its parent level, Level 26, yet in a more "antiquated" look and feel, hence its designation. The layout of **Level 26.1** is rather uncomplicated, yet still appears to be more complex than its parent level, seeming to be mildly labyrinthine and non-linear, even for a residential building. The physical space of the level itself is composed of a vast array of hallways, corridors, and rooms, all segmented to resemble the layout of a standard house, yet a lot more vast and illogical than usual. The floor is partially or entirely made up of dusty, typically brown tiles or a moist and dirtied carpet surrounded by wallpaper that commonly features rosemary flowers, reminescent from the 1900s. Chandeliers and wall lamps have been observed to be the only natural light source in **Level 26.1** and illuminate most of the level, though windows are quite common in the level as well. However, windows will always be covered with a thick, dusty curtain, typically with a design that is in theme with the current room it is in. The true size of **Level 26.1** is unknown and cannot be fully determined, but it is said to be very large despite only being confirmed to be just 8 stories high. The rooms contained within are mostly barricaded and purposefully blocked off by heavy furniture; however, breaking inside will only reveal more destroyed Victorian furniture and nothing of actual interest. No resources can be found within **Level 26.1**, and all that will be left beisll be the container used to contain its intended contents (e.g., a moldy bottle of Almond Water). When first entering **Level 26.1**, most wanderers can expect to be greeted by a staircase leading up. The path branches off in two directions, but the destination remains the same. One can go into the rooms and look around, though there isn't much a point in doing so. The rooms and surroundings will be run-down and unruly, but still somewhat resembles what it once was.

Furthermore, the farther down a wanderer travels in **Level 26.1**, the more impetuous and inhospitable it becomes. The wallpaper begins to fade and peel. The floors are cracked and broken. None of the lights will work and most of the doors will fall off of their hinges. The mental effects similarly start off subtle and minimal, becoming more apparent and dangerous the deeper one goes. On floors 8 and 7, the wanderer can expect to feel hopelessness and depression weighing heavily on their mind. On floors 6 and 5, the effects grow stronger to the point where the wanderer begins have thoughts of hurting themselves or others. Floors 4 and 3, the thoughts of suicide become nearly unbearable and impossible to ignore. Wanderers on floors 2 and 1 have little time to find the entrance to Level 27 before they succumb to **Level 26.1** and end their lives. The defining features of the mansion and the rooms it holds is true to a traditional Victorian mansion. The ceiling has steep, gabled roofs. The building itself has round angles and the windows are stained glass. There are towers and shapely windows, especially bay windows and decorative woodwork can be found throughout all floors. There are countless rooms within **Level 26.1**, but there are also five specific types of rooms that can be found. It's thought that more types of rooms can be found within **Level 26.1**. though this has not been proven. These rooms are all different in purpose, but still possesses the traditional Victorian style that the rest of the mansion holds.

### Room Types:

As stated above, there are countless rooms you can come across while exploring **Level 26.1**, but there are 5 types of rooms one's more likely to encounter during their time here.

#### The Parlor Room:

The Parlor Room is the room one's more likely to come across while traversing through **Level 26.1**. The Parlor rooms always house a couch and a chair with a few more different types of furnishings inside. It can have a few tables and some additional chairs, as well as curtains with a floral pattern over the window. A lone gramaphone can always be found within all Parlor Rooms, and it is advised to show great caution if a wanderer attempts to mess with it. One strange anomaly in the Parlor Room in addition to the already sanity-draining effects of **Level 26.1** is that the gramaphone has been known to start playing its record at seemingly completely random intervals. While this normally wouldn't be cause for alarm, this gramaphone has hypnotic properties and will entrance wanderers to sit on the couch or one of the chairs. Once the wanderer takes their seat, they go into a frozen state and will sit in that spot until they perish from either starvation or dehydration. It is unknown if wanderers can be saved once sitting down after the gramaphone being to play its mesmerizing tune. A few wanderers have attempted to take the gramaphone apart or smash it altogether, but all attempts to cause harm to the gramaphone have been met with failure. One wanderer has tried to take the gramaphone out of its corresponding room and while he was able to pick it up and carry it, it vanished from his arms after he crossed the threshold and appeared back in its respective spot. At the time, no other "experiments" were attempted with the gramaphone. The Parlor can most commonly be found on floors 7 and 8 but has also been found on Floor 5.

#### The Library:

The library is the second type of room one'll see while making their way through **Level 26.1**. This room is always full of bookshelves that are equal parts empty and filled with books and various documentation. One can find books labeled with different level numbers and names with a picture of the level on its cover, however, the pages inside are always blank. It is unknown if there is nothing written or if people aren't able to read it. These books have been seen floating around the room open to a page and words can be seen, but upon taking the book from the air, the words disappear and won't return until the book is left to float around the room of its own volition once more. Other books with odd titles contain words of an unknown language and are signed by various authors that don't exist. Trying to read most of these books won't cause any adverse effects, however, it is advised to leave the foreign books alone. Attempting to read or decipher the words contained within the pages has caused severe migraines, nosebleeds, blurry or double vision, and oddly, the inability to read or write if the wanderer reading the book is literate. A few paintings have been seen on the walls by the bookshelves but haven't been found to hold any anomalous properties. This room can only be found on Floor 6.

#### The Smoking Room:

The smoking room is the third type of room you'll find on **Level 26.1**. The Smoking Room consists of a few tables set up around the room with chairs placed around them and ashtrays sat on the tables. Numerous types and brands of cigarettes can be found in this room. While some of them have known brands from reality, there are also brands that have never been heard of. As far as we know, cigarettes with **real** brand names are considered safe, or as safe as a cigarette could be, to consume. Numerous Wanderers have smoked these **experienced** had no adverse effects from them, besides some coughing and wheezing. The **fake** brand name cigarettes cause a number of different effects based off of what brand the wanderer chooses to smoke. It is currently recommended to leave all cigarettes alone, even if you are a smoker and wish to have one again. While the real brands have been deemed safe, it is best to just leave them be to make sure you don't suffer any adverse effects. The following brands have been found inside of the Smoking Room.

##### Real Brands (Safe):

* Newport
* Marlboro
* Camel
* Misty
* Pall Mall

##### Fake Brands: (Unsafe):

* AllParty
* Solid Black
* Backrooms Original
* Unluckies
* Mad Old

The effects that these fake brands cause have been seen and documented firsthand by wanderers who brought them out of the Smoking Room. They are as follows:

* AllParty: Wanderer named Steve smoked one of these and was instantly sent to Level 338. Wanderer had a radio in his possession at the time and is now considered turned into Sanguine Festivus instance.
* Solid Black: Wanderer named Arlene smoked one and her lungs began to grow Black Mold at an alarming rate. Arlene did not survive.
* Backrooms Original: Wanderer was a M.E.G. Operative and was instantly sent to Level 0. They have since returned to their base.
* Unluckies: Wanderer developed bad luck. It started with small things, but ultimately, ended his life when he was sent to Level !.
* Mad Old: Wanderer became elderly and developed Dementia, as well as Alsheimer's Disease. The wanderer passed away hours later.
* Smoker's Choice: Wanderer named Kevin smoked one and almost instantaneously lost all his stress and any sanity lost during exploration was regained. Contact was lost from Kevin for a few months, before eventually being found in Level 27, in which he practically owns. (*For more information: see Level 27*)

#### Tea Room:

The Tea Room is the fifth type of room one can come across while in **Level 26.1**. This room always has a small table with a few chairs set around it and a few comfortable, but old looking recliners off to the side. The table also has a large tea pot in the middle of it that is always hot and full of tea. The tea cups sat by the plates remain empty until one or more wanderers enter the room. At that time, the cups fill themselves with the tea from the tea pot and will begin to give off an aroma that is irresistible to wanderers. No wanderer has been able to resist drinking the tea once they walk into the room. Five different colored teas have been seen and consumed and their effects have been documented. A blue tea, red tea, orange tea, green tea, and purple tea are the colors and their effects on wanderers are different based on the color consumed.

* Blue Tea: Drops the wanderers body temperature lower and lower until they eventually freeze to death.
* Red Tea: Complete opposite of Blue Tea. Raises the wanderers body temperature until the wanderer overheats and dies.
* Orange Tea: Wanderer becomes radioactive. They don't die and are resistant to further radiation, however, wanderers that have been in contact with a wanderer that consumed orange tea developed severe radiation poisoning and died as a result. Wanderers that consume orange tea are generally banned from their base if they have one or are sent alone to another level. Usually, dangerous levels to ensure they do not return.
* Green Tea: Gives the wanderer the Black Plague or something similar. Wanderer is either killed or dies on their own.
* Purple Tea: Causes wanderer to become violently infatuated with the next person they see, no matter their gender. Wanderer will end up killing their target if not killed themselves.

Drinking any of the tea in this room is considered a death sentence and as such, it is **HIGHLY** recommended to stay **FAR AWAY** from the Tea Room.

#### The Portrait Gallery:

The Portrait Gallery is the last type of room found within **Level 26.1**. Wanderers reported a strong sense of fear and uneasiness as soon as they set foot inside of this room. Paintings of all kinds can be seen hanging on the walls, but most of them are of unknown people. The people featured in these paintings do not smile or show any kind of emotion on their faces. The same cannot be said for their eyes. No matter where the wanderer is in the Portrait Gallery, they will feel the eyes of the people in the paintings follow their every step. As soon as they look directly at one of the paintings, the painting looks normal. Observing it out of the corner of their eye shows something very different. The emotionless faces twist in fury and rage as their mouths turn into a scowl.

The longer the wanderer keeps their gaze away from the portraits, the worse that feeling becomes and the wanderer will begin to see them moving soon after. If still left unobserved, the wanderer will hear a terrible scream and when they look at the portraits, they will all be empty. At this point, the wanderer had better begin to pray that a miracle miraculously happens because they have less than a minute before the people from the paintings begin to violently rip them apart, limb from limb. At this time, three wanderers have lost their lives inside of the Portrait Gallery. The sounds heard were reported as being "the most violent, painful murder I've ever heard". If you find yourself in the Portrait Room at any time, it is advised to keep your eyes on the portraits **AT ALL TIMES** and to leave as soon as possible. It is not recommended to look for anything useful in this room, or any of the rooms found inside **Level 26.1**, as this level has been repeatedly reported as being devoid of any and all supplies or resources. It is strongly advised to get through **Level 26.1** as quickly as you can and to have plenty of bottles of Almond Water to be able to safely make it to Level 27.

### Colonies and Outposts:

Due to the level's undoubtable properties, any assortment of attempt into establishing a colony or outpost in **Level 26.1** will be unsuccessful, thus rendering it infeasible to do so.

### Entrances and Exits:

#### Entrances:

* The only confirmed entrance to **Level 26.1** is by ascending a certain staircase in Level 26.

#### Exits:

* Finding a basement entrance on floors 1 or 2 will lead one to Level 27.
* Smoking AllParty brand cigarettes in The Smoking Room will instantly noclip one to Level 338, while smoking Backrooms Original brand cigarettes will noclip one to Level 0.