The Backrooms

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The Backrooms**, also known as** The Complex **or** Hallways **by ASYNC Foundation staff, is a seemingly endless maze of rooms and corridors which was accessed during the sixth test of the Project KV31 Low-Proximity Magnetic Distortion System by ASYNC in 1989 [*First Contact*]. It likely exists on a different plane of existence given its size and interference with its own.**

## Geography

The true scale of the Backrooms is not yet known. The dimension is at the very least comparable to a very large city in scale, but is likely far larger. The rooms and hallways (and their contents) do not conform to human building conventions and are, in some areas, seemingly physically impossible.

Some areas of the Backrooms, especially those close to the Project KV31 threshold, have been mapped and even adapted to functional rooms to suit ASYNC's requirements [*Informational Video*, *Pitfalls*]. The zone immediately beyond the threshold consists of a large chamber, on the order of 100 meters in length and width, interrupted by cross-shaped support pillars in a regular grid pattern [*Informational Video*, *Motion Detected*, *Pitfalls*]. The layout appears to be considerably more chaotic and unpredictable beyond the initial chamber, with walls and pillars seemingly positioned at random [*Found Footage*, *Missing Persons*, *Informational Video*, *Pitfalls*]. In one particular location labelled "Null Zone 4", there is an elevation discrepancy between two constituent panels, resulting in a "kx field" [*Mar11\_90\_ARCHIVE.tar*]; in another area, the floor gives way to a grid of carpeted vertical shafts [*Pitfalls*]. The complex also extends upwards and downwards from the level accessed by ASYNC to an unknown extent [*Found Footage*, *Missing Persons*, *Pitfalls*].

Areas of the Backrooms also differ considerably in appearance and architecture. Examples include but are not limited to: low-ceiling 19th century corridors with floral wallpaper [*Informational Video*], flooded rooms and areas with dark grey walls [*Mar11\_90\_ARCHIVE.tar*], a night-time suburban street bathed in red light [*Pitfalls*], as well as wide open corridors with white plaster walls and pug dark oak flooring [*Found Footage*].

For more information see Areas.

# Areas

While the majority of the Backrooms seen in the series consists of areas similar to that surrounding the Threshold some areas display unique properties or appearances. A note is these areas are listed not in order of connection or prominence but simply order of discovery.

## Area 1: The Complex

This area is considered the primary configuration of the Backrooms and typically has yellow wallpaper with buzzing lights. As all persons seen entering the Backrooms (ether via a Threshold or by falling through the ground) enter this area it is presumed to be the largest. The precise size of this area is unknown and is theorized to extend infinitely in all directions.

This area links to all other areas listed bellow via simple paths (doorways, pits, etc) and thus can be returned to simply via going back the way one came. This area has also seen the most confirmed human colonization via Async and their Threshold, including an observation area and marked paths designating areas already explored.

## Area 2: "Gallery"

This area is one of the first locations seen not matching the standard visual style of the Backrooms. This area contains large fairly consistent hallways and uniquely furniture that appears to be normal and not oddly distorted. The most notable area is a large courtyard which contains multiple windows. No entry to this area is observed nor have any of the rooms connected to this area been observed.

In a Kane pixels' Ko-fi, there is an image of this area labelled "Gallery". It is most likely that this area is meant to be an art gallery but it has no art in it. It seems to be merged with a hotel court yard seen through a window.

Current theories suggest that this area was constructed by Async given their standardized designs. However these theories are unconfirmed.

## Area 3: The Forest

This area was discovered during Informational Video and consists of a dark area with wallpaper resembling that of trees. Along with a wall with incredibly distorted wallpaper it contains several wheel barrels which appear oddly distorted and an axe. One of the walls also contains a facade of a house which appears flat though the windows appear to reflect the light of the main lead from Informational Video.

This area marks the first within the series where distorted objects were seen and these become more common in later videos.

## Area 4: The Neighborhood

This area was discovered during the events of Pitfalls. After falling down a pit an Async researcher follows what he thinks is the sound of human voices calling for help. He locates a gap in a wall where the hallway distorts by twisting slightly. After climbing through the gap he arrives in what appears to be a car tunnel which emerges into a neighborhood bathed in red light. Inside one of the homes the researcher finds several street signs with their text reversed and a long hallway. This hallway leads to a more run down area which rounds the corner into a rather large foggy hallway. Nothing more is seen from this area, as the researcher is chased by a Bacteria and manages to escape up through the pit with the help of his team.

Further exploration of this area was impossible as after observing the footage (seen in Report) Async walled off the area starting at the starting point of the expedition.

## Area 5: The Poolrooms

This area was discovered during the events of Found Footage 2. This area is marked by tile on the floor with matching tile on the wall, along with several railings matching pool ladders. There are also several bodies of water located within this area which are fairly small and appear sized at random.

It's noted that the entry to this area, while a pit, appeared to be artificial rather than "natural" as it had a more jagged appearance rather than the smooth perfect squares of previous pits.

## Trivia

* While sharing the same name and aesthetic to other Backrooms projects this version consists of only a single dimension rather than individual "levels". But the main area of this version does seamlessly combine different Areas.
* So far in the series the phrase "no-clipping" has never been officially used to describe objects phasing into the Backrooms.
* Rather uniquely, this series also contains the concept of a relatively stable portal (a.k.a. Project KV31) to the Backrooms.
* Temporal anomalies are a rare but possible threat within this space, though current evidence has only shown forward movement and not reverse movement through time.
* The Hotel in the Gallery section is the Premier Inn at the Heathrow Airport (Terminal 4) in the UK.