The Backrooms is an urban legend and creepypasta about an endless maze of randomly generated office rooms and spaces. It is said to be an accidental glitch in reality where people can become trapped, wandering aimlessly through the endlesssameness. The Backrooms is divided into different levels, each with their own unique characteristics and dangers. Level 71 is one of the deeper levels explored so far.
Getting to Level 71
Reaching level 71 requires descending through 70 previous levels of the Backrooms. Each level brings new challenges and horrors that must be braved in order to find the next passage down. Some key dangers include:
- Hostile entities – ranging from humanoid specters to unfathomable eldritch abominations.
- Environmental hazards – some levels feature dangerous terrain, toxic atmosphere, or even violent weather.
- Spatial anomalies – gravity, geometry and space itself can behave erratically.
- Psychological effects – disorientation, confusion, madness.
Navigating the Backrooms tests one’s skill, courage, and sanity. One wrong turn can mean becoming lost in the labyrinth forever. Successfully traversing 70 levels to reach level 71 is an incredible feat – or terrible misfortune.
Characteristics of Level 71
Compared to earlier levels, level 71 is more structured and uniform. It consists primarily of a sprawling complex that appears to be an enormous library or archive. Key features include:
- Endless shelves filled with books, files, and documents.
- Dim lighting and shadowy aisles.
- Occasional reading rooms and study desks.
- Mazelike layout with many twisting passages.
- Still, cool air with faint scent of paper and dust.
There are no visible exits from level 71 – the endless shelves and stacks seem to sprawl out in all directions. However, there are likely hidden passages concealed somewhere within the endless reams of documents and files. Discovering one is the only way to progress deeper into the Backrooms.
The Documents
The documents stored on the shelves take many forms – handwritten or typed notes, journal pages, photographs, official records, maps, diagrams, ledgers, and more. Their contents vary greatly:
- Some detail the histories, cultures, and sciences of alien or fictional worlds.
- Others contain rambling personal accounts and obscure research.
- Many are written in indecipherable codes and languages.
- Some appear innocuous while others contain madness-inducing knowledge.
There does not appear to be any organization or cataloging system. Revelations and horrors sit side-by-side with banal office memos in no discernable order. Some theorize the documents contain all knowledge – both profound and trivial – gathered from our world and beyond. However, attempting to extract useful information is difficult and often dangerous.
Entities
Level 71 is occupied by a variety of entities. Some are harmless, neutral denizens while others pose a threat:
- Wandering researchers, scholars, and librarians
- Faceless humanoid caretakers who maintain the endless stacks
- Ethereal knowledge-hunters and collectors studying the documents
- Enigmatic sphinx-like gatekeepers guarding secret passages
However, some of the more dangerous entities reported on level 71 include:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Archivists | Pale, deformed humanoids obsessed with cataloging and collecting documents. They will violently attack anyone disturbing the archives. |
| Thought Spiders | Spiders the size of dogs that weave glowing psi-webs to trap their prey. Their bites inject madness. |
| Replicators | Doppelgangers formed from coalescing darkness. They mimic voices to lure their prey. |
| Paper Maelstroms | Roaring tornados of swirling loose documents with Vacuumous winds that shred anything caught in their vortex. |
Surviving level 71 means avoiding or outsmarting these entities – fortunately most can be eluded by ducking down the endless rows and passageways.
Dangers and Survival Tips
In addition to its eerie entities, level 71 contains many hazards for the unwary:
- Information Overload – many documents contain secrets the human mind cannot comprehend without fracturing. Avoid reading too much.
- Mazelike Layout – the winding, repetitive shelves are disorienting. Dropping breadcrumbs or marking shelves can prevent getting lost.
- Ambient Psychic Resonance – prolonged exposure can cause confusion, obsession, and attraction to illusory patterns.
- Possessive Archivists – these librarians jealously guard the documents and will attack those who disturb their archives.
However, with caution and preparation, level 71 can be successfully traversed by:
- Bringing blindfolds and noise-cancelling headphones to counter sensory overload.
- Leaving a trail to avoid getting lost in the maze.
- Carrying psychic shielding such as talismans or crystals to weaken mental influences.
- Searching methodically for hidden passages without disturbing documents.
- Hiding and sneaking past possessive entities.
With skill and luck, one may uncover the hidden passage to the next level without succumbing to level 71’s many obscurities and dangers.
Theories & Speculation
The origins and purpose of level 71 are unknown, giving rise to many theories:
- A Warehouse of Lost Knowledge – It contains forgotten and forbidden texts from across history and the cosmos.
- Records of Simulated Worlds – The documents describe alternate realities or computer simulations.
- Akashic Records – Some believe it is a repository of all events and knowledge within the universe.
- Infinite Library – The books generate randomly, containing all possible combinations of letters and words.
Some also speculate that the knowledge concealed within level 71 can:
- Reveal profound universal truths.
- Unlock mystical powers over reality.
- Advance a civilization’s technology and culture.
- Drive one to utter madness and destruction.
Of course, the truth behind the archives may be even stranger and more complex than one can imagine. Those who seek answers must tread carefully, lest they become lost forever in the endless bookstacks of this forsaken reality.
The Watcher
Some survivors speak of a mysterious, divine figure they call The Watcher who supposedly resides on level 71. Rumors say The Watcher is an oracle who has studied the infinite texts and achieved profound omniscience.
It is said The Watcher can answer any question one seeks and guide the lost. However, contacting him requires braving horrendous trials. Some who sought The Watcher’s wisdom were later found slain or driven to suicide by otherworldly revelations. Any who attempt to commune with this alleged entity proceed with caution – for locating truth within the Backrooms often comes at a terrible price.
Passing Beyond Level 71
While level 71’s exit remains hidden, stories from survivors suggest possible paths forward:
- A sub-basement filled with forbidden tomes below a mystic sphinx’s statue.
- A teleporting mirror found in twisting hall of reflections.
- A floating door reachable only by a flying book soaring through the stacks.
- A portal sealed inside an eldritch machine powered by glyphs.
However most promising are accounts of Seeing Stone circles – ancient stone rings engraved with arcane runes which act as gateways to the next level. Seekers must decipher clues in the texts to reveal their locations. Activating the portal requires arcane knowledge and ritual.
What Waits Beyond?
If one masters level 71’s challenges and puzzles to unlock the path forward, what awaits in the Backrooms’ deeper levels? Some disturbing possibilities include:
- Level 72 – An extradimensional mega-city of impossible scale and bizarre architecture.
- Level 77 – An endless ocean with random landmasses and roaming leviathans.
- Level 88 – A thriving alien jungle inhabited by sentient species.
- Level 99 – A decaying Titan corpse world crawling with otherworldly scavengers.
However, until discovered first hand, the deeper Backrooms’ secrets shall remain archived in obscurity – waiting to overwhelm and consume any who seek forbidden enlightenment within the maze’s endless depths.
Conclusion
Level 71 of the Backrooms is an eerie, sprawling library dimension housing untold troves of knowledge and danger. Navigating its maze of documents and eluding its obsessive caretakers will tax body, mind and soul. The contents of its archives may reveal profound insights or fracture one’s sanity. Its many hidden passageways likely hold the key to plumbing the Backrooms’ deeper mysteries. But piercing the veils beyond level 71 comes at great risk of getting lost in the labyrinth or suffering harm from eldritch revelations. All who enter must choose whether to read, run, or go mad within the endless shelves and untold horrors held within this forsaken archive of unknown truths from across time, space, and reality.
