If you’ve visited a mostly empty mall close to closing time or a hotel that is almost completely vacant, you no doubt have been struck with a feeling of creeping unease, possibly mixed with some deja vu. You would not be alone in this feeling, and the ubiquity of smartphones these days means that internet users are documenting all the places that unsettle them.
The obsession with liminal spaces is a bit hard to explain, but there is no denying that it’s very real. Various internet groups exist where people share images of unsettling, eerie, or strangely nostalgic places they have encountered. So be sure to upvote your favorites and comment on how they made you feel.
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#1 Oh
Image credits: Nappy-I
#2 Feels Like A Dream I’ve Had
Image credits: PrimordialSound
#3 One Last Look Back
Image credits: Bomb_Atomicali
To get a common question out of the way, liminal refers to a threshold or limit (the common root is visible here) that is at the bare minimum of getting a perceptible response. It has a somewhat morbid use as well, referring to a sort of state between life and death. As you can see in many of the images, the locations are hallways, corridors, parking lots, and other places that we have to pass through to get where we actually want to go.
While the actual emotion might be a lot older, it has only been studied recently. Before smartphones, we didn’t really have a good way to document these places, and who was going to waste physical film on a “bland” hotel hallway? Not to mention, most of us don’t spend that much time in these places, no doubt feeling a few, quick pangs of unease before walking through them to our final destination.
#4 The Building Next To The Hotel Im Staying At
Image credits: MangoSensation
#5 Perfect Forest
Image credits: Ok-Dance-7099
#6 Forget
Image credits: cantmakeanameforshit
Now psychologists believe that these liminal spaces have a similar effect to the uncanny valley, where something appears familiar and known, but “off” in such a way as to provoke general creepiness mixed with recognition. These spaces are the same, familiar, as we have no doubt encountered hundreds, but lacking in the features we actually place in our own homes, personality, heart, and charm.
#7 Saw This On Twitter, Where The Nambia Desert Meets The Ocean. Feels Surreal
Image credits: rataman098
#8 It Continues Forever
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#9 Dreaming Again?
Image credits: Alek_7w7
If you pay attention, it’s noticeable that many of the images here depict places that are somewhat under-maintained or old. This adds to the liminal space uncanny valley, as this sort of disrepair is more common in non-personal constructions, like the utility areas of a mall or a small parking lot on the edge of a building. The wear-and-tear also makes us see these locations as old, evoking memories of places we’ve visited as a child, even if this nostalgia isn’t actually related to the place in the picture.
#10 This Empty Beach Me & My Girlfriend Saw While Taking A Walk Last Night
Image credits: horrorphysics
#11 Warning
Image credits: Bag_of_plastic
#12 Yesterday I Went To Windows Xp
Image credits: krumcvetkov
Most of the locations are also somewhat strange in that no people are present. All of these buildings exist for the use of us humans, so to see them empty creates unease. Where are the people? Why is this place abandoned? Sometimes the operative emotion is sadness, like a playground that looks worn out and left to rot. Psychologically, we know that children used to play here, but no don’t and our brain starts to wonder why.
#13 Chinese Ghost City Look Like A World Boarder Of A Game
Image credits: PagChomp6
#14 This Was My Neighborhood Today
Image credits: PepeJones15
#15 No One At Sight, No Sounds, Just The Wind
Image credits: BellRinger88
Despite its current popularity, as far as internet trends go, liminal spaces are quite new. The first “breakout” example originated in the notorious imageboard 4chan, with a picture of what looked like the backrooms of an office building, stripped of furnishing. Fluorescent lights, the old, yellow wallpaper, and no windows all came together to create a place that was somehow familiar, yet evocative of a cave, claustrophobic and dangerous.
#16 Only You
Image credits: TimFigueroa
#17 My Hometown Movie Theater
Image credits: toothgrinder90
#18 Petrol Station After A Good Downpour
Image credits: Moistwee
When looking at this original example of liminal space, one can almost imagine the hum of the lights and the softness of the old carpet, despite only a handful of people having ever visited it. The important part is the isolation, as this “failure of presence” sticks out in our brains, putting us on edge even though the location has all the trappings of something we are seemingly familiar with.
#19 A Very Uneasy Feeling
Image credits: Clearwater257
#20 Had No Idea A Part Of My School Looked Like This Until Last Night
Image credits: phrog_champ
#21 This Area In My School Courtyard Always Gives Me Such A Weird Feeling When I Walk Alone In It
Image credits: Cws3457
#22 Abandoned Nuclear Plant
Image credits: That_Anime_Boi
#23 “I Think I Have Wandered Too Far”
Image credits: Dealrrr
#24 Just The Two Of Us
Image credits: MerlocHendrickHarry
#25 I Took This Long Exposure Photo Of Wind Turbines, Felt Like It Fit Here
Image credits: Lonely-Inspector-548
#26 This Is One Of The First Liminal Space Pictures I Made, Hope You Like It!
Image credits: Hazmat_61
#27 Everywhere And Nowhere
Image credits: Nappy-I
#28 Road To The Unkown
Image credits: LGmaxter171
#29 Come Ride With Us
Image credits: bluet_quintet
#30 My Girlfriend Works In A Bingo Hall And Sent Me This
Image credits: snecko
#31 Something I Found On Instagram
Image credits: Clearwater257
#32 Hotel I Stayed At
Image credits: Emergency-Turnip6943
#33 Why Don’t The Kids Go Outside ?
Image credits: AcanthisittaBusy457
#34 I Am Literally Staying In The Liminal Hotel
Image credits: JoshimuzVEVO
#35 Abandoned Subways In Paris Are Bring Re-Purposed As Swimming Pools
Image credits: Wooden-Ad-9925
#36 Feel Familiar?
Image credits: ceolyfestyle
#37 There Just Standing There
Image credits: Majestic-Possible-38
#38 You’ve Reached The End
Image credits: itsMoSmith
#39 The End
Image credits: ESTRUCTION
#40 A Pic I Took Many Years Ago In My Hometown, The Temperature Was -45
Image credits: vexearu
#41 I Turned On My Flashlight During A Blackout
Image credits: VenerTheTroller
#42 Feels So Fake Yet So Real
Image credits: TimFigueroa
#43 Ever Been To A Mall At 1 Am ??
Image credits: jakethedog-typebeat
#44 I Feel Comforted, And I Also Feel Like I Wouldnt Be Able To Escape
Image credits: TimFigueroa
#45 Inxanity
Image credits: reddit.com
#46 Welcome
Image credits: reddit.com
#47 This Picture Of Moment Valley Always Felt Liminal
Image credits: No_Restaurant_8638
#48 We Climbed Inside Of A Highway Bridge . This Goes For 10+ Kilometres
Image credits: IamFromSlovakia
#49 So I Explained Liminal Photography To My Mum & She Took This The Next Day.. Thoughts?
Image credits: slimyzombie
#50 Dust And Laundry
Image credits: Saul_Soto
#51 My School
Image credits: UserSpot21
#52 I Took This Picture And Left As Quick As Possible This Room
Image credits: rather_or_rather_not
#53 Loveless
Image credits: MrLiminall
#54 Why Does This Hallway Seem So Familiar?
Image credits: Easy-Hovercraft-6576
#55 The
Image credits: reddit.com
#56 Underground Bunker Built At The Height Of The Cold War Meant To Emulate Normal Suburban Life In America
Image credits: edencliff
#57 Local Town Hall
Image credits: DrPl4typus
#58 Clear Sky
Image credits: kitti__
#59 Did You Miss Your Flight?
Image credits: n0tspongy
#60 Pov: Youre On The Way To Your Home
Image credits: IvansLiminalSpace
#61 I’m Lost
Image credits: Saltycrackers_mp4
#62 The City Of Detroit – The Largest Of Liminal Spaces
Image credits: ok0wen
#63 Took This Photo In A Store While On A Road Trip. Fake Skylights Are So Uncomfortable
Image credits: Illythekitty
#64 Take A Dip
Image credits: CandidGuidance
#65 Family Mart
Image credits: 23chrampanic
#66 The 5am Ferry From Seattle
Image credits: currentlyinbiochem
#67 This Hotel Pool My Girlfriend And I Just Swam In
Image credits: Jacobklassen
#68 Took This In A Gym, Close To Where I Work
Image credits: LaNyyk
#69 A Diner In The Void [oc]
Image credits: HeyPingu
#70 My Morning Walk Felt Surreal
Image credits: AudiCostea
#71 The Metropol Parasol In Seville, Spain
Image credits: FantymZ
#72 Took This From My Window At 2 Am
Image credits: DeadBoyLoro
#73 “See You Later And Thanks”
Image credits: Gyrdax
#74 World Trade Center Interior
Image credits: EntropicDismay
#75 From A Lost Convention
Image credits: reddit.com
#76 The Inside Of A Wooden Toy Box With Holes For My Cat
Image credits: Aoryad
#77 I Just Accidentally Deleted This, So Here’s My Parents Hotel Hallway Again
Image credits: Supersincara75
#78 I’ve Decided To Climb It. Some Of You Were Asking For A Top View Down. I’ll Update When I Get To The Top
Image credits: Yisoos
#79 Schools In Our Dreams
Image credits: DeeRaww99
#80 Exit
Image credits: mario_meowingham
#81 Took This Pic Today. Hope You Like It 🙂
Image credits: Truphonix
#82 A Place I Walk Past Regularly
Image credits: kauffw
#83 I Dreamed Of This Place And Recreated It On Source Engine
Image credits: Ellocodeinternet
#84 Workspace
Image credits: HoldenH
#85 I Don’t Feel Safe Here
Image credits: racc_d
#86 The Void
Image credits: Zohaib_dmv
#87 Recurring Dream Location
Image credits: Beyonder808
#88 Pass This Every Day While At Work. Always Wondered What’s Inside
Image credits: ysomdoaoth
#89 My Absolute Favorite
Image credits: micahlachauffer
#90 My Town Late At Night Is Terrifying
Image credits: mwg950
#91 I Like To Take Some Photo, Remodel It In 3D And Relight It In Some Uncanny Dreamlike Way. Familiar, Yet Alien. (Done In Blender)
Image credits: morelebaks
#92 Took Some Pics Of My Weird School Using An Old Nokia Phone And Didn’t Expect Them To Turn Out This Way
Image credits: NotARegularFish
#93 Choices
Image credits: PH4NTON
#94 You Can Hear The Faint Sound Of Dripping Water
Image credits: Easy-Hovercraft-6576
#95 Come Closer
Image credits: bakonizator
#96 My Depressing Visit To Chuck E Cheese Back In 2020
Image credits: PathMapper
#97 Looks Like After Some Extinction Event
Image credits: ZeuxisOfHerakleia
#98 The Field Across From My House
Image credits: Voicingspy
#99 Dream Bathroom From Fb People Are Losing It Over
Image credits: sadmama21
#100 Employees Only
Image credits: winterghost4evr
#101 Empty Laundry Room At 2 Am
Image credits: wackedoutbuffalo
#102 Happy Birthday
Image credits: reddit.com
#103 Am I The Only One Who Thinks Looney Toons Backgrounds Are Really Creepy
Image credits: sessopisello
#104 An Old Neighborhood
Image credits: SaBoiCoo
Source: boredpanda.com