@_aljmac: Is the liminal space the be gothic? #backrooms #gothic #bleedingrainbow

Clyde :

so the backrooms are just...capitalist gothic? Ala southern gothic, Midwest gothic?

☥ 𝖁𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖆 ♱ :

There’s a reason why goth people love the backrooms

rachelannsworld :

I believe its applying the gothic house trope but to a modern digital era

daingoding :

Interesting. The 80s and 90s horror often found horror in the 50s and 60s setting (small town white picket fence suburban neighborhoods). Now the 2020s horror is finding inspiration in the 90s corporate world.

RoxyRocketeer :

I see a direct path from Yellow Wallpaper to Backrooms

TVRose :

I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS OMG reading Backrooms as a modern gothic tale makes SO much sense to me im so glad other people feel the same way

goatmilkofficial :

i think the backrooms specifically are naritively somewhere in between what you described and the myths of the labyrinth. i totally agree with everything you said but theres an added layer of what can seem like near-sentience? i think liminal spaces, backrooms especially, serve more as charachter than most settings -- i would argue draculas castle included. i think even The Labyrinth with Bowie might be closer in that regard, but further from the cultural relevance of the settings aesthetic (at least in the way it seems to function in both backrooms and dracula). idk if any of that made sense, but it's really fun to think about! makes me wanna deep-dive some classics :)

Tia Tortilla :

Contra points talked about abandoned shopping malls being gothic and I think that ties nicely into this idea

TheBellWoodsWitch :

this is an interesting take. Not sure I agree, but when I urbex in abandoned factories, I've always thought of it as industrial gothic

gavin :

Incredible analysis, i never even thought of this. It makes sense, especially considering some of the most popular liminal spaces are empty, idealized suburban neighborhoods

anthony✨ :

W analysis

Kit :

Honestly, the backrooms and liminal spaces to be seem to be a result of the increasing financial crashes, specifically the great recession. These are empty spaces we hoped for the once had potential of the brighter world. The empty office building, the borders book stores, the empty homes. Yes it is the intrusion of the past, but a relatively recent one that for all intents and purposes we have never really left. Lauren Berlant's Cruel Optimism lays out what I mean a lot more elqouently

glow_wormb :

YES OMG IVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS!! I call it suburban gothic

Melonsoup :

Oh yes because the building is its own character and the tone is meloncholly

thywordsmith :

i love this!! i recently presented research talking about mark z danielewski’s house of leaves as a modern gothic tale for this reason!! i highly recommend it. the movie and book compliment each other so well.

Joury Pants :

really great take. thanks for sharing

niki :

bruh there's no way you used hogwarts as Dracula's castle

Johnny Macfarlane :

that 1️⃣ :

This created new neurons in my brain ty 👍

Ethan loves chicken & pigeons :

Tom :

Backrooms are modern cosmic horror. There’s plenty of overlap though.

tryniti :

omg i love this

𝕬𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖆 𓌹*♰*𓌺 :

"Draculas Castle" Sir, that is Hogwarts

panickin’ skywalker :

they've always been an element of Gothic and horror, dark stories of the Fae Realm came up bc forest areas are liminal spaces

peterhyoguchifilmmaker :

To me it’s communicating the fear of economic collapse and the end of communal spaces. Working and shopping from home - the internet killing to mall and therefore the heart of community.