To get a common question out of the way, liminal refers to a threshold or limit (the common root is visible here) that is at the bare minimum of getting a perceptible response. It has a somewhat morbid use as well, referring to a sort of state between life and death. As you can see in many of the images, the locations are hallways, corridors, parking lots, and other places that we have to pass through to get where we actually want to go.

While the actual emotion might be a lot older, it has only been studied recently. Before smartphones, we didn’t really have a good way to document these places, and who was going to waste physical film on a “bland” hotel hallway? Not to mention, most of us don’t spend that much time in these places, no doubt feeling a few, quick pangs of unease before walking through them to our final destination.

Now psychologists believe that these liminal spaces have a similar effect to the uncanny valley, where something appears familiar and known, but “off” in such a way as to provoke general creepiness mixed with recognition. These spaces are the same, familiar, as we have no doubt encountered hundreds, but lacking in the features we actually place in our own homes, personality, heart, and charm. 

If you pay attention, it’s noticeable that many of the images here depict places that are somewhat under-maintained or old. This adds to the liminal space uncanny valley, as this sort of disrepair is more common in non-personal constructions, like the utility areas of a mall or a small parking lot on the edge of a building. The wear-and-tear also makes us see these locations as old, evoking memories of places we’ve visited as a child, even if this nostalgia isn’t actually related to the place in the picture.

Most of the locations are also somewhat strange in that no people are present. All of these buildings exist for the use of us humans, so to see them empty creates unease. Where are the people? Why is this place abandoned? Sometimes the operative emotion is sadness, like a playground that looks worn out and left to rot. Psychologically, we know that children used to play here, but no don’t and our brain starts to wonder why.

Despite its current popularity, as far as internet trends go, liminal spaces are quite new. The first “breakout” example originated in the notorious imageboard 4chan, with a picture of what looked like the backrooms of an office building, stripped of furnishing. Fluorescent lights, the old, yellow wallpaper, and no windows all came together to create a place that was somehow familiar, yet evocative of a cave, claustrophobic and dangerous. 

When looking at this original example of liminal space, one can almost imagine the hum of the lights and the softness of the old carpet, despite only a handful of people having ever visited it. The important part is the isolation, as this “failure of presence” sticks out in our brains, putting us on edge even though the location has all the trappings of something we are seemingly familiar with.