Level 193: "Uncanny Household"

In a twisted parody of what once was, this distorted "household" is anything but a place of solitude.

And amid the different entities that roam this level, searching for new victims, something worse still lurks just behind the wallpaper...

~ Name

3

3

Threat Index: Class 3

»⠀Unsafe

»⠀Unstable

»⠀Moderate Entity Count

An image of Level 193.

Description

Level 193, also known as the 'Uncanny Household', is a complex of interconnected, non-Euclidean rooms and hallways resembling those of a household from around the early 2000s, though the architecture's apparent chronological origin can vary later than that. This variation of architecture is known to near modern times but never goes past it and beyond recognition. However, since time is often arbitrary within the Backrooms, it is currently unknown why post-modern household architectural styles within Level 193 are yet to be seen despite the evident variation around pre-modern times.

The structure of Level 193 is often random and nonsensical, with strangely-placed doors (or sometimes simply empty openings or doorways instead), window-like openings, or light fixtures being highly common. Moreover, furniture in Level 193 is rare and haphazardly placed throughout the level, with the exception of paintings and mirrors. Object 1 may also sometimes be found in the level, often with multiple bottles of the drink accompanying each other rather than just one instance. Additionally, blue-lit rooms resembling storage rooms will frequently contain fridges, cupboards, washing machines, and other items one would expect to find within.

While the level's layout is considerably chaotic, most areas of Level 193 consist of pale-yellow carpeted floors, extremely pale-yellow walls and ceilings, and sufficient lighting in most of the rooms and hallways. The only consistent exceptions to this — except for the chances of adequate lighting — are the blue-lit storage rooms, which, in contrast, have white-painted walls and ceilings and pristine white or light-blue floors.

An image of one of the hallways in the upper section in Level 193.

Occasionally, one may come across staircases that lead to the 'upper' part of Level 193; these areas often each comprise 1-3 interconnected, claustrophobic hallways and have 1-3 doors leading from the hallways to small, minimalist rooms that often vaguely resemble bedrooms. However, some of these staircases will simply lead to small platforms that grant egress to said rooms instead. It is heavily advised against traversing up the staircases due to the risk of getting cornered by an entity after doing so.

Often, large rooms within the level will house one or more smaller 'rooms' that are frequently devoid of ceilings, proper doors, or even some walls, giving some wanderers the impression of the latter being fake or simulated upon first observation. Despite this, when one walks into one of these 'rooms', an anomaly known as the 'False Home Anomaly' will befall the wanderer.

The False Home Anomaly

The effects of the False Home Anomaly typically start small, though the initial severity of the effects is different for each wanderer. Over time, the affected wanderer will begin to want to stay within the false room under the belief that it is their true home; these effects will get worse to the point where it may be irreversible. This anomaly is not only dangerous due to the risk of dehydration and starvation, but especially so since the affected wanderer will be much more vulnerable to entity attacks.

Unfortunately, cataloging the exact times at which the effects progress has proven elusive, but approximate times have been provided in their place.

• Stage 1 — 10mins–1hr
  The wanderer will start feeling inclined to stay in the 'room' where the anomaly is taking place. Usually, it is fairly easy for the wanderer to be convinced to leave during this stage; being chased by an entity will, under most circumstances, guarantee they do not go into the room again.

• Stage 2 — 1hr–5hrs
  The wanderer will begin to feel an unreasonable attachment to the false room, believing that it is their home. By this stage, the wanderer will likely not want to leave the room unless they are influenced into doing so by other stimuli, such as another wanderer attempting to convince them to leave. However, the affected wanderer will usually remain in the room anyway unless forcibly dragged out or if they are attacked by an entity; in the latter case, said wanderer will be forced to exit the room to survive.

• Stage 3 — 5hrs–20hrs
  By this stage, the wanderer being influenced by the anomaly will almost certainly not respond to any attempts at convincing them to leave the room and will have begun to develop an absent-minded psychosis, where they may become mostly unresponsive to external stimuli and behave as if they are somewhere else. In some cases, even the threat of mortal danger may not be enough to coerce them into leaving the room. If the wanderer does end up leaving the room at this stage, they will most likely attempt to navigate back to it as soon as possible. However, prolonged absence from the room is often enough to clear the wanderer's head, entirely freeing them from the anomaly's effects.

• Stage 4 — 20hrs–2d 12hrs
  The wanderer will be mentally incapable of leaving the room and completely ignore anyone outside it. They will not recognize entities as threats — if they indeed register their presence at all — and will thus be easy prey. If they are somehow forced out of the room, they will try to get back to it by any means necessary. However, if a wanderer is forced to remain away from the room for a long period, the effects may lessen slightly over time, though they will probably never go away completely.

• Stage 5 — 2d 12hrs–3d+
  The wanderer will resort to standing motionless in the room or sitting against one of its walls. Some wanderers at this stage may have started to look distressed, but they will nonetheless never willingly leave the room. Additionally, said wanderers will cease using any supplies they have on their person, including food or water. Eventually, they will die of either dehydration or hunger.

Entities

Entities that inhabit Level 193 are Entity 2, Entity 5, Entity 10, and less commonly, Entity 4 and Entity 15. Additionally, a singular, level-exclusive entity resides here, known as 'The Hollow'. All of the entities are immune to the False Home Anomaly.

The Hollow

The Hollow is a somewhat mysterious entity, as there have been few surviving witnesses to it. Nonetheless, based on matching reports from said witnesses, a substantial amount of information regarding the Hollow was still able to be gathered.

Appearance-wise, the Hollow is mostly humanoid in shape, though it is hairless, grey, and does not possess any kind of distinguishing human features. Additionally, it is significantly taller than the average human, standing at around 2.3 meters tall, and is entirely covered in holes; the biggest of these holes are located on the entity's facial area, acting as its eyes. Rather than displaying the Hollow's internal structure on the other side as one might expect, all of the holes appear to lead into a pitch-black abyss, though it is currently unknown whether this is merely an illusion or not. Regardless, these holes are theorized by some to lead straight into the Void and are how the Hollow originally earned its name.

The Hollow typically arrives at a given wanderer's location by inexplicably emerging out of a nearby wall, wherein observers will first see the entity's vague form moving just under the wallpaper, after which the wallpaper will soon tear and reveal the entity entirely. It is believed that, if one is near another wanderer who is being attacked by the Hollow, the entity will usually not bother with its wall-emerging tactic when moving on to the former wanderer due to the short proximity between it and said wanderer.

When confronting a wanderer and unimpeded by any wallpaper, the Hollow will, in most cases, morph its facial area into one giant hole and inexplicably draw any wanderer within range toward the hole; said hole will increase in diameter to allow the Hollow to completely 'swallow' the wanderer. This method of attack is accompanied by strong gusts of wind that appear to be pushing the wanderer and flowing into the hole, though a mysterious anomaly is likely responsible for levitating the wanderer into the Hollow's 'mouth' rather than the wind itself. While victims of the Hollow occasionally perish before passing through the hole, it is unknown where the victims end up — dead or otherwise — after this transpires, though a widely accepted theory is that they are transported into the Void; this would certainly explain how the Hollow always has room inside of its body for more victims.

Aside from its telekinetic absorbing ability, the Hollow has often been reported to possess unnaturally strong strength, allegedly being capable of breaking down doors and throwing wanderers across rooms. Moreover, firearms and grenades have proven unable to severely harm or kill the Hollow. Due to this, as well as its high strength and main method of attack, it is considered best to run away upon encountering the Hollow rather than attempting to fight it, regardless of how many other individuals might be with one at the time. One has a good chance of escaping when being chased by the Hollow, as despite the entity's wall-emerging ability, it has been reported to be substantially slower than the average wanderer.

Because of the Hollow tending to appear near wanderers in Level 193 and the relatively high frequency of its attacks, it is assumed that the entity can somehow locate any wanderers in the level regardless of how far away it is from them. Nonetheless, most encounters with the Hollow only occur after any given wanderer has spent between approximately 20 minutes and two hours within the level. This has led many to believe that the Hollow is, for unknown reasons, either incapable or simply unwilling to begin its attack on wanderers in the level until the aforementioned amount of time has passed. A lesser number of wanderers posit that there are simply too many wanderers in Level 193 at any given time for the Hollow to attack all of them in such a short period.

Below is a log of the first recorded encounter with the Hollow. Before the events depicted in the log, the M.E.G. had received intel of rumors and alleged encounters with the Hollow and decided to send a team of five operatives to exterminate it and any other entities that may attack them during the mission.

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Open Discovery Log

Close Discovery Log

<Start of log>

Op. 1: You guys see anything yet?

<The other operatives all report negative.>

Op. 2: Hey, there's one of those fake rooms ahead.

Op. 1: Alright, everyone avoid it. And remember, be ready for an attack.

Op. 3: Roger.

<A tearing sound can be heard as the wallpaper on one of the walls starts to bulge.>

Op. 1: It's here! Everyone aim and get ready to fire.

<The bulge stretches and tears and the Hollow walks through. All of the operatives open fire on the entity, but the Hollow is barely phased. Some of the bullets fly through the holes in its body and do no damage at all.>

Op. 1: Hit it with grenades!

<Two grenades are thrown at the Hollow and explode upon contact, knocking it back through the wall and into an adjacent room. The Hollow slowly climbs to its feet, seeming stunned but still not visibly injured. Then, its face morphs and it begins to suck all of the operatives toward the hole. The operatives fall over — two of them losing their firearms into the vortex — and the Hollow abruptly ceases drawing them closer, instead quickly stepping over to one of the unarmed operatives, lifting him, and swallowing him headfirst.>

Op. 1: Flank it! Don't let u-

<The Hollow backhands Op. 1 across the room with great force; Op. 1 collides with a wall and falls heavily to the floor. The Hollow proceeds to kill the rest of the team with brute force, save for one whom it grabs by the neck and throws across the room. Then, turning back toward Op. 1, the Hollow starts to draw him toward the hole in its face despite the renewed barrage of bullets from Op. 1's gun. Op. 1 is consumed, leaving the Hollow and the last surviving operative to face off against each other as the latter gets shakily to his feet, unsheathing his combat knife.>

Op. 4: You killed my friends, you bastard. You won't kill me so easily.

<The Hollow once again quickly draws Op. 4 towards it, but Op. 4 uses the momentum to jump straight at the Hollow and attempt to slash its face; however, the Hollow twists and grabs him by the wrist of his knife hand, swinging him around and into the wall and disarming Op. 4 in the process. Then, the Hollow lifts him and swallows him headfirst, with the recording cutting to static moments later.>

<End of log>

Colonies & Outposts

Due to the level's non-Euclidean geometry, high entity presence, and the Hollow's wall-emerging ability, no one has established any colonies or outposts in Level 193, and it is considered infeasible to do so.

Entrances & Exits

Entrances

• Certain hallways in Level 26 may lead here.
• Wandering far enough in Level 192 may lead one to come across an entrance to Level 193.

Exits

• Passing through certain areas will rarely lead one into Level 0.
• Walking into one of the blue-lit storage rooms has a very small chance of sending one to Level 202.
• Square-shaped holes in the floor lead to Level 204.
• Finding and going near a pair of unknown skis will teleport one to Level 210.

Gallery

A staircase in Level 193

A room in Level 193

A bedroom in the upper area of Level 193

Another staircase in Level 193

Footnotes

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> Open Author & Licensing Information

> Close Author & Licensing Information

Author: Forknife
Light/Dark Mode Background Wikitext: Created by Terraria
Dark Mode Translucent Background Wikitext: Created by ReDcosmic

Entity Inspiration: The Spot from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

1st Image: Unknown
2nd Image: r/LiminalSpace

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