Spooky Places

Enter the Back Room

My son brought me this scary thing known as ‘back rooms.’ He asked: “Is this real?”

There was confusion at first. I didn’t anticipate him bringing me this. Questions confirmed, he had found something scary. I inquired how he discovered it. “Where I find everything. Is it real?” He interprets my silence as a hesitation. I was for sure sorting thoughts. My son has bound me into not saying, “I don’t know,” or “It’s okay.” He wants full, coherent answers, not side steps. How would you answer this question?

And don’t tell me “Just say no! Of course it’s not real.” If you’re still managing the lie of Santa Clause, don’t tell me I need to say ghosts aren’t real. They’re really real! Again, this aligns with the UFO thing. It’s not that I believe that ghosts and UFOs are real… I know they’re real!

I’ve experienced those things.

Now ‘back rooms,’ not so much, unless you allow caveats and softer liminal spaces. Psychologically, in the mind, there are lots of liminal places, especially if you’re really good at compartmentalization. The Memory Palace technique to improving memory is a solid example of compartmentalization. If all your memory artifacts are housed in one giant space, you’re likely to have trouble sorting through the clutter to…