““It was quite a sight to see dusty furniture and old, embellished wallpaper after spending quite a long time inside endless parking garages.”
— A torn note found in a drawer; Author unknown.
Description[]
Level 139, also known as the “Grayscale Halls,” is an expansive, winding system of concrete hallways. The hotel is characterized by its disorienting grayscale color and its rotting wallpaper. Typically, doors in Level 139 open to dark, pitch black rooms that are fit with a multitude of soaked furniture. However, the doors may also lead to other places. Hallways are variable in length, albeit typically under a mile long. Fixtures such as ceiling lamps, inoperable machinery such as fire alarms and thermostats, fire extinguishers, and blank paintings are scattered throughout in inconsistent patterns.
The level has a faint humming sound originating from the ceiling lamps that remains constant. In addition, running or dripping water, knocking, scratching, and flickering can be seldom heard in certain corridors. Despite most of these noises implying the existence of sentient life, it is frankly impossible. Level 139 is affected by the property known as Alone, which separates all wanderers and entities from one another. Level 139's temperatures remain at a constant 23°F (-5°C). Strangely, despite being below the freezing temperature of water, it is impossible for water or other substances to freeze.
Most hallways are connected to each other in an uneven grid structure, the same for the occasional dead end or curve. Amenities commonly found in hotels, such as janitor's closets, ice machines, and bathrooms can be found occasionally. Most fixtures are in close proximity to one another, found in corners or other compact locations. Drawers and cabinets can be found sparsely throughout, often containing batteries, bandages, and other trinkets, along with coins from various Frontrooms locations. It is notable that Level 139 has shifting and inconstant geometry - surfaces may slope or bend in arbitrary patterns, creating sparse holes and pitfalls within the floor. Due to this, it is easy for one to trip and fall through, sending them outside of the level's structure, often to The Void.
Despite Level 139's structure implying the existence of multiple floors via infrequent stairways, the stairs themselves go nowhere. In rare cases, entire chunks of the level may be missing in their entirety, peering out into the darkness below. The Void is visible through the occasional square window, akin to Level 188. In addition, objects originating from the hallways such as clocks, potted plants, and paintings are commonly visible through these windows, floating outside the level.
Paintings on the walls often resemble various Backrooms locations or individuals. For some reason, portraits of The First and their Impresarios are commonly found throughout the level, coupled with various portraits resembling Facelings, or other humanoid entities. In addition, pictures, framed and unframed, have also contained these portraits, albeit in lesser quality than the former.
Level 139 contains a small ceiling space, accessible through fire exits, ventilation passageways, or through bluntly climbing through the ceiling. The space is only around 2 feet tall, yet contains a constant supply of Almond Water within pipes. This Almond Water often pools in the ceiling, causing it to drip down onto the hallways below. In addition, bottles of Almond Water, Bottle 'O Void, Cashew Water can be found sparingly on the ground.
A near-constant ambience of a disquieting piano tune can be heard in the distance. This is often coupled with static-esque noises resembling an old cassette player, VHS tape, or video recording. The piano tune is always muffled to some degree, and plays a variety of songs, known and unknown. This song is seldom coupled by other noises, most commonly singing to the tune of whatever song is being played.
Addendum[]
The Void Incident[]
The Void Incident is an incident that caused Level 139 and its sub-levels to succumbed to The Void. As a result of the occurrence, the level's atmosphere and visible appearance shifted to a disorienting gray color, immanent of The Void; including one of its sub-levels. Mysteriously, all knowledge or memories of Level 139 and its surviving sub-levels before The Void Incident were completely lost to time; besides information found in said levels - almost as if the past never happened. Additionally, the phenomenon created a mass disturbance across Level 139's sub-levels. For instance, The Void Incident caused its sub-levels to merge with the hotel, strain away from it entirely, or were completely erased. Thus far, there have only been two sub-levels known to survive the event, that being Level 139.3 and Level 139.5.
The Void Incident has caused much of the instability in Level 139. It is theorized that prior to the event, the level was an ordinary hotel with functional hotel rooms. The idea was popularized due to the finding of multiple belongings and photos owned by deceased wanderers.
The numerous effects in Level 139 that exist in consequence to The Void Incident:
- Level 139's alone effect;
- Its uncanny connection to The Void and to an extent, The Broken;
- Pipes in the ceilings and in the floorboards, which rumble quietly;
- The constant sound of static;
- Parts of Level 139 resemble its sub-levels;
- And parts of the level entirely missing, along with significant geometric instability.
The Glitch[]
The Glitch is an anomalous event that occurs in levels and sub-levels linked to The Broken. Although, it is noted that sub-levels tend to experience the event more frequently.
In Level 139, The Glitch begins when its fluorescent lights start glitching out - it will worsen until the lights cannot handle it anymore, causing the corruption to burst and spread outwards. Once Level 139 becomes fully affected by the The Glitch, the complex succumbs to greater corruption, temporarily blinding one's peripheral view. In addition to that, all technology will begin to malfunction: contacting any group is pointless. After 30 minutes pass, the glitching will come to an utter stop; thus, causing the communication systems to have a signal once more. Oddly enough, wanderers with epilepsy whom witnessed The Glitch firsthand never experience seizures.
Hazards[]
Object Based[]
Most of the hazards within this level are object-based. Upon further inspection, trace amounts of Liquid Pain have been found in the carpet, along with an abundance Carpet Fluid. Due to the dripping of Almond Water from the ceiling, much of it floods into the carpet, making the carpet within the level wet or damp constantly. As with many other levels, objects such as Greek Fire, Cashew and Almond Water bottles are located sparsely throughout the level. However, due to Level 139's position to the void, the hotel has a striking amount of Bottle 'O Void bottles across the environment.
Entity Hazards[]
Level 139 is devoid of all life, save for the occasional bacteria or other microorganism. In addition, pots containing fungi and various species of plants can be found scattered throughout. Due to the properties Alone exhibits, it is impossible for two wanderers or entities to meet within the level.
Addendum[]
Day 20
Oh, how the days go by!
I have been here for as long as my mind can remember. In my entire three weeks within this wretched place, I have gotten adjusted to dull wallpaper and endless lidos, but nothing compares to what this location beholds. I was immediately struck with the same carpet smell I remember from my first ventures, damp as could ever be. Yet, for some reason, everything was dull and bland in such a strange, incomprehensible way. Everything was gray; Including myself. I had not expected such a dreary endeavor, despite my previous travels. The ceaseless offices and steel factory paled in comparison to... this. I had not expected it, and I still do not.
Day 21
It's in the distance.
It's staring at me. Staring. Staring. It's just... sitting there, as if it were deceased, yet not at the same time. It had a strange, inconstant movement, its flesh, if one may call it that, writhing and twisting to form new shapes. It stared at me. I could've always fled, but I chose to remain still, in such a manner that it shouldn't see me. It had no features, and was entirely pitch-black, not dissimilar to the other terrors, yet it had no grin. No facial expression could be seen on its face. I looked around, ensuring there were no other abominations looking at me, before I fled.
I had survived an encounter with a demon by doing the one thing I hated. Running.
Discovery[]
Despite this journal entry being the first rencounter with Level 139, the level wasn't officially documented by the M.E.G. until two years later. The wanderer who rediscovered Level 139 is presumed deceased. Up until 2022 with the level's proper discovery, numerous notes and entries about the level have occasionally appeared, either being added to the database of knowledge about the level or being mere falsities at best.
Entrances and Exits[]
Entrances[]
- Breaking through a wall in Level 0 may lead here.
- Numerous hotel levels, most commonly Level 21 and Level 19, have a chance to seamlessly transition here on rare circumstances.
- Touching rare paintings that depict Level 139 can lead here as well.
- Attempting to noclip through the air vents in Level 139.3 may lead here.
- Following the violin noise heard in the interior of Level 336's church will guide one here.
- One may enter from Level 626 by climbing down a ladder at some cabins.
Exits[]
- As listed in the ingress section, the halls may fade back into another hotel level under certain circumstances.
- Wandering far enough leads back to Level 80
- Climbing a rare ladder here will send the wanderer to one of the cabins in the Level 626.
- Touching a toy spacecraft found sitting on a pedestal in a hotel room will automatically transport into Level 140.
- Certain doors may lead to Level 6, The Whiteout, Level 305, seldom The Void.
- Going through a blue door that's covered in frost will take one to Level 139.3.
- Going through a door emitting blue light behind it will take one to Level 306.
- Rare doors with numbers on them designated to that level (i.e 399) may lead to the designated level.
- Note how, albeit it's exit being mentioned above, this does not apply to Level 6.
- Holes and pitfall in the floor lead to The Void. If tripping and falling into a hole is accidental, it is not uncommon for one to self-accelerate past The Void entirely.
- Extremely rare, one-way holes in the walls lead to Level 186.
- in rare cases, after falling into a hole, it may lead to level 995
- ???
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- Level 139 Hallway by u/Mardz38 on r/backrooms.