Level 9 (The Neighborhood)

The endless rows of identical houses in Level 9, captured during its characteristic permanent twilight state

Level 9, also known as "The Neighborhood" or "Suburban Nightmare," is one of the most psychologically disturbing levels of the Backrooms, consisting of an infinite expanse of seemingly identical American suburban neighborhoods frozen in an eternal twilight state. First discovered in 2020 by M.E.G. explorer Sarah Chen, Level 9 gained widespread attention following its prominent feature in the film Wanderer (2024), where Detective James Reynolds (David Tennant) becomes trapped within its confines while pursuing Dr. Malkinson.

Environment

The level manifests as a sprawling suburban development that appears to be modeled after American residential neighborhoods from the late 1950s to early 1960s. Every house follows nearly identical architectural plans, with only minor cosmetic variations in paint colors and lawn ornaments. The sky maintains a perpetual dusk state, with the sun forever suspended just below the horizon, casting long shadows that never move or change. This creates a distinct amber-tinged lighting condition that many survivors report as highly disorienting to their circadian rhythms.

The houses themselves appear fully furnished but show signs of hasty abandonment, with many containing half-eaten meals, running televisions, and other indicators of interrupted daily life. While the utilities appear to function, including electricity and running water, all food items found within the level are inedible, having reached an advanced state of decay despite the seemingly suspended temporal state of the environment.

Notable Features

The most distinctive aspect of Level 9 is its infinite recursive nature. Attempts to map the level have proven futile, as the suburban streets loop back on themselves in mathematically impossible ways. The M.E.G. has documented numerous cases of explorers walking in a straight line for days only to find themselves back at their starting point, despite maintaining consistent directional bearings.

One of the level's most unsettling features is the presence of the Neighborhood Watch, entities unique to Level 9 that take the form of giant floating eyeballs approximately three feet in diameter. These entities patrol the streets in groups of three to five, ostensibly "monitoring" for any disruption to the level's artificial tranquility. While they rarely attack humans directly, they have been known to alert more dangerous entities to the presence of intruders.

A Neighborhood Watch entity performing its routine surveillance of the suburban streets

Connection to Other Levels

Level 9 has several known entrances and exits, though they are notoriously unreliable. The most stable access point is through the Challenger Deep Research Facility, where researchers have maintained a semi-permanent portal for study purposes. Other reported methods of entry include:

• Falling asleep in Level 11's residential district
• Walking through certain doorways in Level 5's Terror Hotel
• Entering specific garages in Level 3

The level's connection to the Beast of Level 5 was revealed during the events of Wanderer, where it was discovered that Dr. Malkinson had been using Level 9's unique spatial properties for unauthorized experiments. These experiments reportedly involved attempting to manipulate the level's reality-bending characteristics to create controlled no-clip events.

Survival Considerations

The M.E.G. has classified Level 9 as a Class 3 hazardous environment, primarily due to its psychological effects rather than immediate physical dangers. Extended exposure to the level's unchanging twilight state has been documented to cause severe temporal disorientation, depression, and in some cases, complete psychological breakdown.

The level's most immediate physical threat comes from entities known as the Suburbanites, former humans who have adapted to life in Level 9 and developed an aggressive territorial nature. These entities maintain a façade of 1950s domestic life, often inviting wanderers into their homes for "dinner parties" that invariably end in violence. The Almond Water supply stations established by the M.E.G. throughout the level have proven crucial for maintaining mental clarity and resisting the level's reality-altering effects.

Research and Investigation

Following the events depicted in Wanderer, the M.E.G. established a permanent research outpost in Level 9, designated as Outpost Twilight. The facility focuses on studying the level's unique temporal properties and its connection to Dr. Malkinson's experiments. Of particular interest is the relationship between Level 9's spatial distortions and the Edinburgh Incident, where multiple witnesses reported seeing suburban landscapes briefly superimposed over the shopping center before the mass disappearance.

The discovery of Dr. Malkinson's hidden laboratory within Level 9 during the events of Wanderer led to increased scrutiny of the level's role in the broader Backrooms ecosystem. Documents recovered from the laboratory suggested that the level's recursive nature might serve as a prototype for how the Backrooms as a whole maintains its impossible geometry.

See Also

• The Backrooms Trilogy
• Dr. Arnold Malkinson
• Wanderer (2024)
• The Edinburgh Incident
• Suburban Entities

References

1. M.E.G. Exploration Log 9-A: "Initial Discovery and Documentation"
2. "Understanding Level 9: A Comprehensive Analysis" - M.E.G. Research Division
3. "Temporal Anomalies in the Suburban Level" - Dr. Sarah Chen
4. "The Neighborhood Watch: Sentinels or Sensors?" - Backrooms Quarterly Review