First emerging in May 2019 on the imageboard 4chan, the Backrooms began with a single unsettling photograph
The Backrooms is an internet-born horror concept that has grown into a global phenomenon and is now being adapted into a feature film by A24, prompting renewed interest in its origins and meaning.
First emerging in May 2019 on the imageboard 4chan, the Backrooms began with a single unsettling photograph of a large, empty, fluorescent-lit space divided by walls and covered in carpet. An anonymous user responded with a fictional description that introduced the name and tone of the concept, describing “six-hundred million square miles of randomly segmented empty rooms,” defined by “the stink of old moist carpet, the madness of mono-yellow,” and “the endless background noise of fluorescent lights at maximum hum-buzz.”
From there, the idea quickly developed into a collaborative online myth. Users expanded the lore through short stories, creepypastas and videos, imagining the Backrooms as an extra-dimensional space that can be accessed by “no-clipping” out of reality, a term borrowed from video game glitches where characters pass through solid objects.
Interpretations of the Backrooms vary widely. Some fans describe it as a single, endless maze of identical rooms, while others believe it consists of multiple levels, each with distinct environments and potential dangers. The ambiguity has contributed to its popularity, allowing for continuous reinterpretation.
The concept gained further traction through a series of YouTube films created by Kane Parsons, also known as Kane Pixels, who introduced additional narrative elements including mysterious entities and a wider fictional framework.
Now, A24 has brought the concept into mainstream cinema with a film directed by Parsons. The recently released trailer features a descent through increasingly surreal spaces before arriving in the labyrinthine setting, accompanied by voiceover describing a place that “goes on and on and on.”
Backrooms is scheduled for release on May 29, 2026, marking its transition from online folklore to a major film production.
