The Backrooms
This article is about The Backrooms as an entity. For The Backrooms as a dimension, see The Backrooms.
The Backrooms are a dimension outside normal reality. While they are sometimes seen as just that, a dimension, The Backrooms also has several attributes that make it like an entity. In many ways, The Backrooms are a living creature that many people are trapped inside. This entity-like behaviour might also come from a godlike force that inhabits The Backrooms.
Entity-like behaviour from The Backrooms
The Backrooms, although seemingly a structure, have displayed a large amount of anomalous, entity-like behaviour.
Insanitation influencing
The Backrooms seem to control whether insanitation can or cannot happen. For example, insanitation happens extremely easily in levels like Level 6, Level 8, or Level 9, while it almost never happens in levels like Level 42, despite Level 42 having a seemingly higher potential for insanity to occur.
Hallucinations
On some levels, most notably Level 283, The Backrooms has been able to generate hallucinations, except the hallucinations are, in fact, real. For example, in the balconies of fortresses in Level 283, glass shards can be seen. These glass shards are able to cause injuries, although the injuries are not as severe as injuries from actual glass shards. This seems to suggest that The Backrooms are able to create and materialize things, although these fake objects likely have only a fraction of the power that the real object would.
Punishment
In Level 11, a car rolls towards a wanderer almost every time they walk into the street. These cars seem to come out of nowhere, which has led some wanderer societies to believe that the cars are created by The Backrooms itself to punish jaywalkers. However, this hypothesis has picked up little traction, mainly due to the cars rarely killing or injuring wanderers.
The Hive
The Hive has been seen by certain wanderers to be an internal organ of The Backrooms, due to its fleshy nature. What purpose the “organ” serves and if any other “organs” like it exist are both unknown, although proponents of the hypothesis have said it was a lung, liver, heart, or other organ. Some proponents of the hypothesis believe that The Hive is an organ that does not have any homologous organ in any other animals. Despite The Hive having seemingly existed for hundreds or thousands of years yet only being discovered and escaped once, with no successful attempts to enter it since, organs of The Backrooms are likely hard to find. This would explain why no other organs have been found.
Intelligence of The Backrooms
As of 2024, it is widely agreed by most societies in The Backrooms that it is an entity. However, its intelligence is debated: some see The Backrooms as having godlike intelligence or even being omniscient, while others see the anomalous properties as being completely unintentional, and the intelligence of The Backrooms is unknowable. A third, smaller school states that this is all random chance and The Backrooms is either controlled by an even stronger entity, or has a level of intelligence comparable to that of an earthworm. The first school of thought is most widely followed, although the second one also has considerable traction. The third school of thought has attracted little attention.
Biology
Like most other things about The Backrooms, the biology of The Backrooms is highly controversial in most sectors, with there being many viewpoints. Agreements on all aspects of the biology of The Backrooms are a rarity.
Diets
One of the least divisive aspects of the biology of The Backrooms, it is mostly agreed that The Backrooms does not need to eat. According to polls conducted by The M.E.G., 65% of high-ranking scientists believe that The Backrooms does not need to eat (The validity of this poll has been questioned, as The M.E.G. is known for faking polls). For the minority of scientists that do believe that The Backrooms needs to eat, their explanations vary. A leading theory is that The Backrooms eats whoever dies in it, which is why cadavers are found so rarely. Another theory is that The Backrooms has many “mouths” in random locations, which it uses to consume wanderers and other entities who walk over them. This theory has been used to explain the disappearances of wanderers in levels that would otherwise be safe, and is closely connected to the idea that blossoming eyes are part of The Backrooms, rather than being separate entities. While these two theories are not mutually exclusive, there is a significant rivalry between them in the scientific community, and supporters of both theories are very rarely seen.
Anatomy
An extremely divisive aspect of the biology of The Backrooms, whether The Backrooms has organs or not, is commonly argued in scientific communities. The disagreement has led to an almost even split, with around 50% of scientists thinking The Backrooms does have organs and another 50% thinking that The Backrooms has no organs. Even amongst scientists that agree that The Backrooms does have organs, there are major disagreements over what the organs are. While most scientists that think that The Backrooms does have organs agree that The Hive is one of its organs, the main disagreement is whether it is the only organ of The Backrooms. Some have argued that most levels are a part of the “skin” of The Backrooms, and are, therefore, another organ. Others have argued that more levels like The Hive exist, and are just hard to access, much like The Hive. Overall, the school of thought that states that The Backrooms does have organs is poorly unified and is extremely split.
Reproduction
A surprisingly divisive subject related to The Backrooms, there is a significant divide between scientists who think that The Backrooms can reproduce and ones that don't. Scientists who believe that The Backrooms can reproduce are also significantly divided. One of the leading proposals supporting the idea that The Backrooms can reproduce is that The Backrooms reproduces via binary fission to create other dimensions or universes. These other dimensions have very little evidence to support or deny their existence, with the only evidence being very dubious accounts from random wanderers. The other dimensions are collectively known as “The Siderooms” amongst people who believe in their existence. Another popular theory for the reproduction of The Backrooms is that the entity known as The Backrooms is actually a godlike creature and The Backrooms are inanimate, and just controlled by that godlike creature. The theory proposes that the godlike creature is mortal and passes power to one of his children when he dies. Wanderers who support this theory are also significantly divided over whether the godlike creature reproduces asexually or sexually.
Dos and Don'ts
Do
- Spend time in levels where The Backrooms's strength is weak.
- Ignore The Backrooms.
- Drink almond water if targeted by The Backrooms.
Don't
- Attack the ground, which might anger The Backrooms.
- Fall for hallucinations created by The Backrooms.
