Level 5

# Level 5:”Terror Hotel”

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*Hidden beneath the beautiful appearance of the infinite hotel, there's an unknowable terror, you are never safe here, not even for a second...*”

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— *A note found in a wanderer’s journal, dead.*

**Survival Difficulty: Class 5**
**》Unsafe**
**》Unsecure**
**》Unconfirmed Entity Sightings**
## Description

Level 5 is presumably an infinite, ever-expanding hotel complex complete with all the sections a luxury hotel should have, such as lounges, ballrooms, guest rooms, restaurants, hallways, gyms, swimming pools, and maintenance halls. The level does not follow Euclidean geometry, which makes many wanderers lose track of where they are, never to be found again. Some places on this level are also randomly segmented, with some doors leading to nowhere or cut-off rooms or stairs. Due to how large this level encompasses, it is also rare for wanderers to gather together. Despite this, a few obscure outposts are clinging to survival.

While most of the time, the level itself seems to have been constructed in the 1930s, with furniture dating back to the 1920s and following the design of an oriental hotel, the age, aesthetic, and appearance of the level can vary greatly. Opening a door seemingly to another room would lead to a complex with a completely different aesthetic, though this occurrence is rare. Despite shifts in the level's appearance, the overall lonely, liminal, eerie feeling never fades away.

Wanderers would feel overwhelming anxiety and paranoia when on the level. This level is infamous for its mysterious whispering and unseen presence. People report something whispering incoherently behind them, tapping their shoulder when they're alone, shadows/silhouettes passing behind colored windows, sudden feelings of being stalked and objects falling, moving, or disappearing when not observed. It is unknown whether these reports increase the anxiety level or are hallucinations due to increased anxiety, but wanderers are more volatile and nervous at said level. That, along with the stares of the face-like wallpaper and the common 1920s-era machinery can cause a loss of sanity, which is why one will need almond water to survive at this level. Luckily, these provisions are in the dining areas of level 5.

Despite this, many people still go insane.

Many paintings, mainly portraits, appear on the walls of the hotel complex, and wanderers have reported feeling an increased sense of paranoia when walking past these paintings, some wanderers even stated they felt like they were watched. The portraits are gruesome, usually depicting petrified faces and eldritch deities.

The hotel rooms are luxurious but always slightly cramped and claustrophobic in arrangement, despite the varying sizes of the rooms. Furniture is sometimes placed irregularly in the hotel halls and is seemingly immovable. This phenomenon creates unique obstacles that impede wanderers from exploring unknown sections of level 5. Machinery such as faucets also malfunctions frequently, which may be hazardous in some situations.

Windows rarely appear on level 5, adding to the claustrophobic feeling. While windows usually depict a dark atmosphere outside, they also may show complete darkness. Furthermore, windows are all unbreakable aside from one variant: very rarely, a window in the modern variations of level 5 would display level 188 behind it. These windows are rumored to be breakable and may transport wanderers to level 188. Rumors also say that some windows may be Predatory Windows in disguise, but no conclusive evidence is enough to prove their existence.

The consistent jazz-like ambiance plays throughout the level, though it may sound farther or nearer at random intervals. A constant buzz of iridescent can also be heard along with reports of distant party chatter.

> “
>
>
> “*The terror hotel gives off an unsettling feeling, a little too quiet. As if the place is dead, no, more like the level is holding its breath. The furniture here is pristine and beautiful, yet seemingly immovable, giving off a deathly feel. I can feel my anxiety building up slowly but steadily. It's as if the feeling grows the longer one stays here. A haunted level, no doubt about it.*”
>
>
>
> — *Mitch the wanderer*
>
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### Maintenance Halls

By definition, the maintenance halls are sections that maintain, support, and regulate a hotel; it isn't accessible to hotel guests because it is off-limits and staff-only. These areas are seemingly separate from all other places in level 5, differentiated by design, properties, and entry. The only entrance into the maintenance halls is by entering doors labeled "staff only." These doors are very rare and may appear in different languages. Furthermore, the doors are almost always locked, and forcible entry is the only way through. Maintenance halls in level 5 may shift and align in design depending on the surrounding aesthetic one enters from. However, the maintenance halls are always cruder, simpler, and more industrial in design compared to the rest of the hotel, despite whatever style of the current state of the hotel. Furthermore, the maintenance halls also disregard Euclidean geometry, but to a greater and more chaotic extent than the rest of level 5.

Since most of level 5 seems to be constructed as an oriental hotel in the 1900s, the most common variation of the maintenance halls wanderers chance upon are the boiler rooms, maintenance halls resembling the structures and machinery during the 1930s. The Boiler Rooms, sometimes known simply as "The Boilers" is a series of large cobwebbed hallways with high ceilings and stained plaster or concrete walls. This area contains many barred-off areas with large pieces of machinery. The long corridors are hot and dry, the scent of smoke filling the air. Pipes and exhaust valves from the early 20th century line the walls. Some of the larger rooms have Roaring 20s era furnishings and details. Many have reported the sounds of whispers from the large face-like boilers.

## 𝙰 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜.

The Database suggests that wanderers take extreme care while traversing the infinite hotel complex, as the Colonists and the ERC have recorded many mysterious deaths in level 5. One will find corpses more commonly than one can find others.

These deaths are usually unexplainable and unique. After further analysis, the corpses do not bear any wound or injury, as if they died of heart failure or gas leakage; though the frothing foam coming out of the pores of one's body, the twisted postures, and the abundance of the deaths suggest otherwise. While some suggest that entities may exist on level 5, these deaths seemingly are beyond the caliber of what a normal entity does. The increasing number of deaths in level 5 without a definitive reason raises many concerns, and one should exit this level as quickly as possible.

## Entities

While there are rumors of Hounds, Skin-Stealers, Wretches, Death Moths, and Predatory Windows on the level, these accounts are unconfirmed and require further evidence, such as pictures, videos, or multiple witnesses reporting the same occurrence. Strangely enough, many wanderers who claimed they saw entities stated that the entities were incredibly skittish, constantly hiding, and seemingly passive unless provoked. Outposts and renowned explorers such as Rayne, Cunningham, Mitch, Lance, and Araine have not reported entities in level 5, which makes many write off the previous rumors as lies or hallucinations.

## Colonies and Outposts(Different Version)

Further discoveries and recent studies proved that time is irrelevant in the backrooms. In reality, people judge time by the sun's movements; differing planets and locations all have differing time dilations. Since the backrooms are a different dimension, time here is an entirely different concept. Each liminal space is separate from another, some levels, such as level 5, do not even have a day-night cycle, making it impossible to determine how much time has passed.

Even time-measuring devices such as clocks are useless, as a moment passing in level 5 could mean an hour in level 3 or a century in reality. This fact is proven further by the existence of the Originals, a group of known historical figures that disappeared throughout human history. Many members have significant time gaps in their date of disappearance, yet seemingly are around the same age, contradicting time consistency throughout the backrooms. Furthermore, these time measuring devices are also very prone to malfunction and rapid deterioration when one no-clips into the liminal purgatory.

### The Originals

The Originals are a group of people trapped in the Backrooms throughout the passing of human history. Many famous historical figures who disappeared have ended up in the backrooms and are now part of this group. This group consists of around 50 members. They are nomadic, traveling throughout Level 5 at random intervals. Notable members include Amelia Earhart, John White, Dorothy Arnold, Solomon Northup, John Jacob Astor IV, Capt. Edward Smith, and Jimmy Hoffa. The Originals work as a team and do not have an official leader, but people like Earhart, White, and Smith are well respected and take the role of unofficial leaders when needed. Though they are suspicious of anyone from later or earlier periods, they are willing to trade goods with passersby but reluctant to interact with other colonies like the ERC and the Backroom Colonists. Many newer members were no-clipped during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, and the 1931 Yangtze floods.

### Outpost hotel (ERC)

Level 5 is the most dangerous level the ERC has settled in, though Outpost Hotel's members take the necessary precautions to remain safe. This outpost is one of the ERC's most productive outposts and is located in the boiler rooms. Despite the lack of entities at this level, the ERC is actively trying to research more about the rumored creatures and their behavior. The M.E.G also has partial interactions with this outpost since they do not have an outpost in level and are currently cooperating with the ERC. There were initially 30 members in the outpost. The current amount of members left is classified.

### Base Deimos | Base Phobos (Backrooms Colonists)

The Backroom Pioneers (the previous version of The Backroom Colonists) gained an outpost on level 5 after the colonization of Camp Amber. The colony endured throughout the great war, the collapse, and the reformation of the Backroom Colonists and still is a pivotal outpost of the faction today. The settlement documented most of the level 5's environment and is currently responsible for reporting additional properties to the Database. The colony was made up of two bases, base Deimos and base Phobos. Base Deimos is responsible for security, while base Phobos is responsible for research. Both bases are located near each other for convenience.

## Addendums

Dear Diary,

Something has been on my mind for a long time. I will submit this page directly to Impresario S. It will hopefully end up in the Database. The eerie landscape of the level is unnerving, some may write it off as a strange effect, but I know there is a deeper explanation for this. All the rumors of skittish entities, the constant increase of unexplainable deaths, all these things point to something.

I did not think much of it before, although it has always been in the back of my mind. I don't know where to start on this topic, but if there are any inconsistencies in my reports, you can ask Mitch or Rayne, as they were with me during this joint exploration.

During an expedition, we chanced upon a set of portraits in a hotel area with modern furnishings. The drawings depicted horrified faces and octopus-like gods. Perhaps out of sheer coincidence, Mitch recognized one of the portraits, it bore a near identical similarity to a friend he lost contact with long ago. Though we later found out his corpse was found by Base Deimos. Rayne then noted the uncanny similarity between the portraits depicting the gods. It is almost as if they're the same deity or at least closely related. Their eyes seemed to follow us like they were watching, waiting...

What followed may be a hallucination. A sudden sound started to emanate from all directions, it was deep and inhumane, like a bass drum, though it sounded far away. What followed was a lot of scraping and clanging. I couldn't recognize all the sounds, but it was getting louder by the second, as if something was nearing us at extreme speeds. As the noise grew, the portraits started melting, then so did our surroundings. A sense of extreme panic took over us, and we ran. The following memories are foggy, I'm not sure what happened, but before I knew it, we no-clipped into Level 5.5.

While in the sub-level, I didn't know why no one recognized the details of the portraits before us, but thinking back, many might have. We were just the only ones that lived to tell the tale...

- *A. Watsons*

## Entrances and Exits

### Entrances

* **Main Entrance:** Coming upon an ornately-decorated door emanating disquieting classical music through Level 4.
* Random no-clipping.

### Exits

* **Main Exit:** Some empty doorways that show complete darkness in the maintenance halls may take you to Level 6.
* Random no-clippage may take wanderers to Level 5.5 and EX-2.
* An unnaturally extensive hallway may transition to the environment of a greenhouse, which would lead one to Level 13.
* It is rumored that some windows may take one to Level 188.
* Rarely, entering certain rooms that have the number "5" on their label may transfer one to Level 666
* Noclipping through the walls in a hallway decorated with Chinese decorations will lead one to Level 909.