Summary of "TRUE Backrooms Horror Stories That Go Too Far"

Quick recap

This episode of the horror podcast Heart Starts Pounding (host Kayla / Kayn Moore) weaves backrooms lore with three real-life liminal-space nightmares to ask: how close are we to slipping out of reality?

What the episode covers

Framing the backrooms myth: the 2019 4chan photo of endless yellow-walled office corridors, fluorescent hum, and non-linear geometry — and how that image exploded into creepypasta, YouTube lore, design work (e.g., Severance), and an upcoming A24 movie.
Three real-life “backrooms” cases used to show how ordinary buildings can hide labyrinthine, deadly spaces.

The three standout true stories

Westfield Bondi Junction mall (Sydney)
- Bernard Gore (71) disappeared on January 6, 2017 while meeting his wife. Security initially missed him on CCTV.
- Three weeks later his body was found in a hidden stairwell / “backrooms” area under the mall — an eight-mile maze of concrete stairs, locked doors, dead-ends and poor sweep practices.
- Contrasted with Donnie O’Sullivan (2014), who wandered into the same off-route stairwell, became lost, fell down 15 stairs and was rescued days later. Donnie lived; Bernard didn’t. Takeaway: one wrong door can trap you in a public building’s forgotten underbelly.
“Mike” — Montreal hospital anesthesia mix-up
- A firefighter (pseudonym Mike) wakes from anesthesia in a deserted corridor/floor that looks almost identical to his assigned recovery ward but is actually a closed, unattended section of the hospital.
- Staff had mistakenly taken him to the wrong floor and assumed a maintenance worker was on duty; he was left alone until he called his wife.
- He was rescued and released. The story highlights how hospitals’ identical, fluorescent-lit corridors can feel like backrooms and how human error can turn them into prisons.
Tiffany Adams — left asleep on an Air Canada plane
- On a short Quebec → Toronto flight Tiffany falls asleep; the plane is moved to a remote parking area and shut down with her still aboard.
- She wakes in a pitch-dark, freezing fuselage, finds a cockpit light and a flashlight, manages to attract help and is rescued by a luggage cart operator.
- Air Canada later admits the oversight. Tiffany suffers nightmares afterward. Presented as an airplane-version of the backrooms: isolated, soundless, and terrifyingly close.

Backrooms lore and the original photo’s origin

Summary of commonly referenced backrooms levels (from the fan wiki):
- Level 0: The classic yellow office — non-linear, disorienting, unreliable electronics, hallucinations common.
- Level 1: Foggy warehouse with supplies that appear/disappear, flickering lights, entities that avoid light.
- Level 2: Maintenance tunnels, hostile entities (e.g., smilers, giant moths).
Internet-mystery update (May 2024):
- A user on X (TJXZ_Z) found the original backrooms photo in the Wayback Machine. It originated from the back rooms of a HobbyTown / Roners location in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (a 2002 blog post).
- For many listeners, that made the creepier point: the liminal image exists in mundane, real-life spaces.

Tone, memorable bits, and host notes

The host leans into the “heart starts pounding” atmosphere: buzzing fluorescents, the urge to “wake up,” and the creeping idea that everyday buildings hide liminal thresholds.
Repeated chilling line (used as atmosphere and warning):

“Don’t lean against any walls that look off.”
Promos/credits mentioned: an upcoming collab with Two Girls, One Ghost podcast, a shoutout to a listener (Luna) who works in a haunted hospital, and plugs for additional backrooms resources (Backrooms wiki, Cain Pixels).

Why it stands out

The episode mixes established internet horror lore with sober, documented incidents (mall deaths, hospital screw-ups, airline negligence). That blend turns creepypasta into plausible fear: the backrooms aren’t just fiction — they’re a metaphor for real, dangerous hidden spaces in everyday structures.

Personalities mentioned / appearing

Kayla (Kayn) Moore — host, writer/producer
Bernard Gore — missing man found in Bondi Junction mall backrooms
Angela Gore — Bernard’s wife
Donnie O’Sullivan — shopper who got lost in the mall stairwell (survived)
“Mike” — pseudonym for Montreal firefighter/patient who woke up on a closed hospital floor
Tiffany Adams — passenger left alone on an Air Canada flight
Lynn Spalding — referenced (San Francisco General missing patient found in stairwell)
TJXZ_Z — X/Twitter user who helped identify the original backrooms photo source