The Backrooms (lost original version of image from Creepypasta; date unknown)

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622.jpg

The oldest known version of the Backrooms image.

Status: Existence Unconfirmed

The Backrooms is a Creepypasta about a purgatory-like labyrinth one can become trapped in forever. It manifests as an infinite office building totally devoid of any furnishing, which gives a disconcerting "liminal space" effect. The carpet is moist, the lighting is harsh, the wallpaper is ugly, and all three have an unpleasant yellowed hue. There have been many attempts to find the source of the original image, but all have come up short so far.

Origins

The Backrooms phenomenon, as it's known today, was truly born on May 12th, 2019, on 4chan's /x/ (paranormal) board. An image of an eerily empty building (known to many as a "liminal space") was uploaded anonymously with a caption explaining the Backrooms concept. This image had appeared on 4chan many times before as a rather iconic liminal space. Initially, its earliest known appearance was from a "cursed images" thread on /x/ dated April 21st, 2018.

However, a slightly earlier version was found on the /b/ (random) board from April 8th, 2018. Furthermore, this version of the image bore a .jpg code that, when converted to the date in its metadata, revealed that the image was first uploaded to 4chan on July 15th, 2012. However, this post is currently lost to time. Most archives of 4chan in 2012 (Chanarchive chief among them) have been shut down and are inaccessible. Although not certain, it can be inferred that this post was on either /b/ or /x/ like later incarnations of the image, which are boards that infamously lost much of their pre-2013 archives.

The metadata of the image also reveals that the photo was taken by a camera manufactured from 2001-2002, implying the photograph might've been taken sometime in the 2000s.

False Leads

There have been many false leads in search of the original Backrooms image. The Backrooms image was uploaded to the Collins Cold Storage website by an anonymous contributor, which led people to believe that it was the origin of the image. A yellowed room was seen in the background of a photographer's liminal space collection in an abandoned parking garage, but the photographer debunked any connections with the Backrooms. 3D Backrooms images were uploaded to a specific set of coordinates on Google Earth, but this turned out to be a part of an ARG. There were theories that the image was generated by an AI and thus doesn't actually exist, but this was more or less disproven by metadata analysts.

Gallery

Images

Videos

Part one in a video series trying to find the original image.

Debunking false leads.

The oldest image (and its supposed date) discovered.

External Links