on the internet a new trend emerges every day
but only every decade or so is there one I find genuinely chilling
even they are not usually noteworthy
but over the last year an especially unnerving one was born
it is one that few understand and whose origin goes back centuries
for many it has become an obsession
yet there is no agreed upon definition of the phenomenon
there are some places that just feel different
places that seem to make people uneasy
simply by being the way they are
images of these places too can unnerve
perhaps when seeing them we get the feeling we have been there
or in some way recognize it
perhaps there is just something about them we find vaguely creepy
in recent years these and the locations they capture
have exploded in popularity
sharing them and discussing their meaning has become a trend
with large communities online full of people creeped out by them
they have come to be known as Liminal Spaces
yet there is no consensus on what they actually are
different people will give different definitions of liminal spaces
some will say it's just a place that seems familiar
even if we have never been there
others claim it's a place that connects 2 more prominent locations
like a hallway or tunnel
they say it's not the kind of place you're meant to stop and focus on
instead pass through it only momentarily
either of these could in theory explain why the images are creepy
purely from a psychological perspective
but some say there is something magical about liminal spaces
like they are from another dimension
the term Liminality is not new
coming from the Greek word limen
meaning threshold
it's a concept that was developed in the early 1900s
describing a state of uncertainty and disorientation
as part of some kind of journey or process
in folklore Liminality is often seen as a necessary stage in the hero's journey
a liminal experience could therefore be entirely within our mind
as we change from the person we are now to the one we will in time become
the concept has also had an impact on the art world
it being inherently surreal
shows like the Twilight Zone and Twin Peaks have famously made use of Liminality
but Liminal Spaces are a unique incarnation of the concept
with so many definitions of Liminal Spaces
it only makes sense for people to disagree on what spaces actually qualify
many are long enclosed spaces
they tend to be generic places like schools, hospitals, or shopping malls
almost all are several decades old
making it difficult to date the images
making it yet more difficult is their tendency to be grainy and low resolution
giving a vintage feel
all this frames them in a certain way for our privative human brains
making it creepy and nostalgic at the same time
or at least that's one way to see it
some claim they look familiar because they have seen them before
in our dreams
there is a hypothesis that humans are connected by our dreams
many of us do tend to have similar dreams to each other to the point it's uncanny
maybe liminal spaces remind us of places visited in our dreams
whether consciously or not
a lot of people dream of strange empty spaces they cannot escape
though unable to leave they get the feeling they do not belong there
and when those people see Liminal Spaces it gives them that same feeling
liminal photos do usually have a certain dream like quality
and a lot of the time it's hard to believe they're real
often they depict unusual contrasts
like a flooded subway or bright building surrounded by darkness
this obviously increases the feel that all is not right
but there was not always an obvious contrast
it's hard to pin down why so many are captivated by these images
liminality is an individual experience
what to some is a deeply unnerving image can to others seem like a regular boring photo
the way each image affects you depends almost entirely on your childhood
places that are similar to the kinds you grew up around
they seem to tap into the experiences from early in our development
almost every liminal space is entirely devoid of human life
and any sign of life at all actually
this in combination with them being generic locations gives them an odd atmosphere
since in real life they would not be empty
unless they're abandoned
which to be fair doesn't make them any less eerie
in short they remind us of places from our past but with no one else around
the trend emerged in 2019
gaining popularity on the back of an urban legend
that urban legend is known as the backrooms
and according to it
there is a physical location outside of what we understand as reality
a never ending maze of rooms and passages
humans are not meant to enter the backrooms
the only way to get there is through some kind of breakdown in reality
like a glitch in the matrix
it is said only a handful of people have ever reached the backrooms
they described it as a place where the laws of physics do not always apply
they also gave a more detailed description
claiming it to be a dreary yellowish structure resembling an officer building
it is entirely quiet apart from the drone of the large overhead lighting
every room in the complex is empty
with no people nor furniture to be found
there is also no clear way to escape
seeming to be an eternal loop of hallways and empty rooms
but after a while of frantic exploring
they realized there were indeed something that calls the backrooms home
strange otherworldly creatures unlike any on earth
in time people would add to the urban legend
with all kinds of theories put forward to expand it's lore
some believe the backrooms is real
and that you could hypothetically go there
in my view those people are idiots
I like myths and legends as much as anyone
but there's no way the universe has conjured up an eternal office block
just the lighting alone in that place would be offensively expensive
real or fake the backrooms directly led to liminal spaces becoming a trend
with images claiming to genuinely be from the Backrooms going viral
for me the images are more interesting than scary
I find them a little creepy yet nothing too sinister
but I like their dream like aesthetic
and the whole concept of liminality