Researchers Classify 342,000-Member Backrooms Fandom as New Digital Tourism
Updated
Updated · Ynetnews · Jul 26
Researchers Classify 342,000-Member Backrooms Fandom as New Digital Tourism
3 articles · Updated · Ynetnews · Jul 26
Summary
Annals of Tourism Research authors Sophie James and James Cronin argue the Backrooms is not just an internet horror meme but a form of digital travel they call “para-terrestrial dark tourism.”
Their study tracked a Reddit community with more than 342,000 contributors, where users collectively build the destination through videos, maps, survival guides, fictional documents and new “levels.”
That collaborative structure sets the Backrooms apart from conventional dark tourism: there is no physical site, no central authority and no fixed canon, leaving the maze permanently expandable and unknowable.
Born from a 2019 4chan image, the myth spread through YouTube, games and social platforms, with Kane Parsons’ found-footage videos drawing tens of millions of views and helping push it toward film adaptation.
The researchers say the phenomenon shows the internet can function as a destination itself—one people explore emotionally and help construct together rather than simply use to plan travel.