Why the Hell Is a Monster That Only Appears in the Dark Showing Up Here?
Agh, this is so damn fun. Why the hell is a monster that’s supposed to only appear in the dark showing up in a place with the lights on? And why can’t I see it with my own eyes, but it shows up on camera? This thing’s behavior was completely different from what I knew.
I’d read the entire Backrooms wiki back when the Backrooms world was trending hard, so I thought I knew everything about Smilers. I swept the area with my phone’s camera. No sign of it. Click. Click. Click. I took photos of my surroundings and checked them. Still nothing.
“...This should be safe enough for now.”
After confirming I wasn’t in immediate danger, I pulled a phone charger out of my bag and plugged it into the outlet. Why give me a charger but no power bank? And why the hell did they include a 110V converter plug like they knew I’d need it?
No matter how mentally prepared I’d been when I willingly joined, the Bureau was far weirder than I’d imagined.
“Hoo...”
I zoomed in on the photo I’d uploaded to the gallery earlier. In the corner of the yellowish background was a pitch-black, smoke-like body with a pair of bright, cheerful eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth grinning right at me. Anyone would recognize it as the Backrooms’ signature entity — a Smiler.
"Why the hell can't I see that thing with my own eyes?!"
I had no idea why the established lore was being ignored. I’d nearly lost my life because of it. If you’re gonna be a liminal space, then at least follow the damn wiki, you bastards.
I took another round of photos to secure the area, then started writing a new post.
[Survival Report]
Posted by: EasyToGrindTheGallery
Fuck…
AutoSaveIsEssential: Oh you didn’t die lol
TrappedAtHome: Thank god you’re alive thank god you’re alive thank god you’re alive thank god you’re alive thank god you’re alive
OrphanCrusher: Okay I’ll change the grill
EntitySmasher: You avoided the “being crushed” ending lmao
The people welcoming my survival with open arms. The perfect level of interest to ask all the questions I had.
[Why is this different from the setting I know?]
Posted by: EasyToGrindTheGallery
According to the Backrooms wiki, this thing is supposed to only appear in the dark. So why can I only see it in photos? I almost died without knowing what the hell was going on ;;;
EntitySmasher: Fr no idea. Why is it ignoring the lore?
DadIsAMartialArtist: I doubt anyone here has experienced the same thing as you
BasementDwellerNo1: This is true. Liminal spaces are usually left alone by the Bureau. It’s basically worse than being unmanaged.
GayMonsterGay: What branch sends a newbie straight into a liminal space?
The comment section was still on fire, but there wasn’t a single clear answer that satisfied my curiosity. The employee had definitely said this batch would be easier than the last. How the hell was surviving in a Backrooms where entities ignored all the established rules supposed to be “easy”?
“This is such bullsh—huh?”
While carefully reading through the comments and skimming the original post again, one comment caught my eye.
[Sorry I’m late, here’s the lore summary]
Posted by: LoreMinionReform
It makes sense that people don’t know about this situation. First of all, Bureau employees don’t get dispatched to liminal spaces. Unlike rule-based horror or Napolitan-style stories, these things update their rules in real time based on whatever’s trending. That’s why they usually throw in N-Grade personnel, and if anyone survives by some miracle, they treat it like some Indian-style rain ritual to recover data.
To explain in detail—
Oh food’s here, I’ll finish this later
EntitySmasher: You crazy bastard, finish what you started
ManagingTheManagement: If you don’t finish this today I’m banning you for a week
GayMonsterGay: Starting now, praise the armband
LoreMinionReform: Ah the chicken’s gonna get cold, I’ll be right back
“He cut it off right there.”
A merciless cliffhanger. I was pissed, but I decided to hold it in. Chicken was a serious matter, after all. At least he’d answered my second biggest question. Normal employees never entered liminal spaces.
“Damn it, it’s the Human Rights Waiver Admission again. I’m gonna have to get used to being looked down on.”
I’d expected something like the rural admission quota — the kind of thing where your classmates would give you side-eye. But it seemed like even if I survived, my treatment wouldn’t exactly be pleasant.
Click. Click. Click.
“I feel like I could spit in your smiling face.”
And to do that, I first had to survive. I pulled another bottle of water from my bag, held it in my left hand, and started running. The photo I’d taken of the direction I’d come from showed the Smiler in it.
[When’s the second part of the lore summary coming up]
Posted by: EasyToGrindTheGallery
I’m actually gonna die at this rate
LoreMinionReform: Hold on I’m just drinking the chicken radish brine
HuntingDog: Why the hell would you drink that?
LoreMinionReform: It’s sweet and sour, it’s delicious. Why are you complaining?
PaidToGrindTheGallery: This guy drinks vinegar water…
Click click click. I kept taking photos at regular intervals while increasing the distance, trying to gauge the Smiler’s speed. From the rate at which the gap was closing, it looked like it was moving at the leisurely walking pace of an adult male. Unless it suddenly sped up, it didn’t seem too hard to shake off.
‘Just to be safe, I should take photos frequently.’
After confirming there was nothing ahead, I started walking at a slightly faster pace. The second part of the lore summary had just gone up.
[Current Lore Summary – Part 2]
Posted by: LoreMinionReform
First, anyone who doesn’t drink chicken radish brine can fuck off ㅇㅇ
You all probably know that old Napolitan or rule-based horror stories have fixed rules. Those don’t usually change on a whim.
But creepypasta types are different. Like I said in the previous post, these things change however they want depending on which version of the setting is most popular.
The Backrooms you’re in probably isn’t using the original setting but some modified version that someone updated. That’s probably why the Smiler’s traits are different from the classic ones.
That’s also why they don’t throw in regular employees and use N-Grade personnel instead. In my opinion, you’re not a new recruit — you’re either a disposal target or an N-Grade who got lucky and made it into the gallery ㅇㅇ
Prayers for the deceased in advance. Action beam.
UhKidsAreAwesome: At least it’s not a girl. There’s no scent of makeup in the writing
EntitySmasher: This guy is still wondering if the poster is a girl even in this situation
HuntingDog: For real…
To summarize, the Backrooms I was trapped in had been overwritten with the currently trending version from the outside world, which made it very different from what I knew. That meant I couldn’t even use the information I already had.
‘Unless someone teaches me the updated version in real time.’
And hot lore always came with real-time relays.
[Title: Is this it?]
Posted by: WhiteHacker
There’s a new Backrooms video on NewTube that’s absolutely blowing up. It’s just one video but because of the setting document people are going crazy sharing it. The quality is insane. I’ll leave the video and setting doc links.
Too lazy to summarize so newbies can watch it themselves.
AutoSaveIsEssential: I was wondering why it took so long, you found it crazy fast lol
OrphanCrusher: First video hitting a million views in three days? For real?
PaidToGrindTheGallery: Watching it now, the quality definitely deserves the hype
Just as I expected, someone had immediately found the cause. Looking at the reactions of the people who’d checked it first, it didn’t seem like a bait link. Checking that would probably raise my survival rate.
EasyToGrindTheGallery: Thanks but the link doesn’t work here?
WhiteHacker: ? Then how are you using the gallery?
EasyToGrindTheGallery: The gallery works though?
WhiteHacker: ????????
UhKidsAreAwesome: What
LoreMinionReform: He’s right. How is he using the gallery from inside the Backrooms?
A contradiction I hadn’t even considered.
“It wasn’t because it was a special Bureau phone?”
In the top right corner of the device, the “no data” indicator was still there, along with a Wi-Fi icon showing it was connected to something. But that wasn’t important right now.
EasyToGrindTheGallery: That’s not what’s important right now, hurry up and bring me the updated setting before I die
WhiteHacker: ㅇㅇ hold on I’ll summarize it
It was already unrealistic that I could even access the gallery from inside the Backrooms. There was no time to worry about whether the Wi-Fi worked or not. If I didn’t have this, I would’ve had my limbs torn off by that invisible Smiler.
“Ignore the disadvantages and accept the advantages.”
There was no need to look a gift horse in the mouth. Before long, WhiteHacker’s new post went up.
[Title: Quick Summary of the Updated Newbie Backrooms Setting]
Posted by: WhiteHacker
First, the area you’re in is, as you know, Level 0 — The Threshold. Normally no entities should spawn, but apparently up to two can appear. The video had two Smilers, so keep that in mind.
Since it’s not an exploration mission, this should be enough info, right? Still, just in case, I’m posting the original Smiler setting below. If any new variables appear, let me know.
EntitySmasher: This seems easy? So that’s why they sent a newbie.
TrappedAtHome: Easy if you know. If you don’t it’ll suddenly bite your face off. How is that easy?
HuntingDog: Of course the gallery’s full of people dismissing it as someone else’s problem lol
LoreMinionReform: This setting has no roots at all. Why is something like this popular?
GayMonsterGay: Exactly, it’s an elementary schooler pick.
LoreMinionReform: You son of a bitch.
EasyToGrindTheGallery: ㅇㅇ Thanks thanks
“...Maybe it’s more doable than I thought?”
The maximum expected threat was two Smilers. As long as no other variables were added, I could see a path to survival. I took another photo to check my surroundings, then opened the attached original document.
Silverskin’s Backrooms Wiki
Entity 3 — “Smiler”
Habitat: Most Levels
[Image of a black figure grinning with countless teeth]
Description: Smilers are one of the most commonly sighted hostile entities in the Backrooms. This entity cannot be observed through normal means. It is invisible to the naked human eye and can only be seen through media that records or displays visual information — photographs, videos, CCTV, phone cameras, reflective surfaces, etc. On any recorded screen, only a pair of pure white floating eyes and an unnaturally wide set of teeth appear from within the darkness. The rest of its body cannot be confirmed, and it is unknown whether it even possesses a physical form.
Behavior: The confirmed movement speed of a Smiler is approximately 2.5 km/h, which is very slow. However, this entity never stops its pursuit. To date, no cases of completely escaping a Smiler have been reported.
Biology: The only confirmed features are two eyes and an excessive number of sharp teeth embedded in a black shape floating in midair.
[Final Recording of Missing Person Michael Sina]
The screen shakes violently. Blood pours from what appears to be a torn-off left arm.
“Fuck! Fuck!”
Every time he looks back, the pursuing Smiler is visible.
“Why… why! What the hell is it?! I need to see it to know what it is!”
His running speed slows, and the camera angle drops.
“I want to go home… I want to go home… Mom…”
The cameraman begins to sob.
The Smiler in the frame gets closer and closer.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!”
The video ends with a scream as the camera flies away, capturing the final moment of the Smiler tearing into the cameraman.
…If it looks like I’m about to get caught, I should take the euthanasia pill in advance.
I took another photo of my surroundings and started running again. According to the document, its speed was 2.5 km/h. The problem was that it would chase forever, but if I could put enough distance between us, I might be able to sleep and rest. I wouldn’t be able to let my guard down completely, but I only had to endure for a week.
TrappedAtHome: But seriously newbie, why are you being thrown into real combat on your first day? Are you actually a new recruit?
OrphanCrusher: Just say it was a concept. We won’t criticize you for that ㅇㅇ
Once the summary post went up and the topic cooled off, the discussion turned back to my identity. Sending a new recruit into a liminal space that normally didn’t take employees. No one believed it. But it had actually happened to me.
“Since it looks like I’ll be safe for a while, maybe I should introduce myself…”
[I’m an Orphan but I Swear on My Parents I’m Not Lying]
Posted by: EasyToGrindTheGallery
I really am a new recruit who started today. I think it’s because of the special recruitment track I used to join.
There’s something called the Human Rights Waiver Admission where you become a complete corporate slave in exchange for joining the company.
There wasn’t really anything to hide, so I told them everything as it was. There were several people in our department who joined through the same track. They’d probably understand with just this much info…
You have been blocked from the gallery for 3 days.
Reason: Fire Suppression
“What?”
I’d only answered their question, but I’d been blocked from the gallery without any explanation.