12 Liminal Horror Books Like ‘Backrooms’

“We all have our loops. Our habits. Behaviours that keep us walking in circles. Reaching for the same solutions over and over again. Thinking each time will take you somewhere new, but they don’t.“

Liminal space horror is all the rage now, thanks to A24’s Backrooms and I’m loving it! It’s such an underrated horror subgenre and yet one of the creepiest if done well. Liminality represents a transitional state, and liminal horror refers to places that exist only as passages and not destinations. These are mundane, everyday spaces (e.g. airports, stairwells, hallways) that turn eerie because they make you feel stuck and untethered from reality. In Backrooms, a furniture store owner discovers a dimension of endless liminal spaces through his store’s basement and is slowly consumed by its potential.

If you enjoyed Backrooms, I’ve compiled a list of liminal horror books that give off the same vibe!

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• A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck
• House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
• Exit 8 by Genki Kawamura
• Wyrd and Other Derelictions by Adam L.G. Nevill
• Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix
• The Midnight Knock by John Fram

• Coup De Grâce by Sofia Ajram
• The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike
• I Found a Circus Tent in the Woods Behind My House by Ben Farthing
• We Spread by Iain Reid
• The Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung
• We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Do you have any recommendations for books like Backrooms? Let me know in the comments!

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