“Come quick!” cried Daisy at the window
— F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
LEVEL
881
SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY
CLASS 5
Exit: 5/5
Dead End
Environment: 4/5
Extreme Environmental Risk
Entities: 5/5
Hostile Infestation
Level 881, also known as the Courtyard of Windows, is the 882nd Level of the Backrooms.
Do not enter the Courtyard of Windows.
Description:
Main atrium of the courtyard. Note the table in the corner, and the shadowy figures visible through one of the windows.
Level 881 primarily consists of an irregularly-shaped indoor atrium, with a mean diameter of approximately 50 yards (45m) and a height of approximately 33 yards (30m). It is encircled on all sides by austere concrete walls of indeterminate thickness, each painted a stark white color and inlaid with windows at perfectly even intervals.
The level is fully climate-controlled. Its air temperature is maintained with exactitude at 13.8°C (56.84°F), and its relative humidity with precision at 45.2%. It imposes upon the skin a dry itch and frigid chill at all times and without exception.
Under most circumstances, the courtyard is devoid of inhabitants. It is blanketed in a deafening, heavy, ghostly silence.
At first I thought it was another party, a wild rot that had resolved itself into “hide-and-gO-away” or “entrails-in-the-box' with all the house thrown open to the game.
But there wasn’t a sound.
— F Scott Fitzgeraldt, the Great Gatsby
Discovery:
Level 881 was first logged on the General Public Database on 5/2/2009 by an unknown user.1 In January 2017, M.E.G. Team 'Owl-Eyes' of Regiment Compass Point were sent to document the level. They did not return.
Incomplete logs from Team Owl-Eyes were partially recovered over the next few months by other visitors to the courtyard. However, the records remain incomplete, and the fate of the operatives is unknown.
Layout:
Main Atrium
A vintage photograph recovered from Level 881. It appears to depict a 'window' entity.
The courtyard's primary feature is its main atrium. Typical accounts suggest approximately 100 to 200 equally-spaced windows instantiated on its walls at any given moment, most with blinds covering the insides. As a result, the space constitutes the best known example of a window entity infestation. Survivor accounts report anywhere from one quarter to almost all ordinary windows in the courtyard as being replaced by their malicious living counterparts.
At the atrium's center lies a paved pentagonal pathway, with four perpendicular inroads leading to a circular patch of pale birchwood flooring in the middle. The timber circle is hollow, though what lies beneath has yet to be ascertained with certainty. Attempts to pry open the wooden planks have been generally unsuccessful.
Samples of greenery between the pathways were provided to the M.E.G. from visitors to the courtyard. Analysis demonstrated that the substance, previously assumed to be artificial turf, is in actuality living organic moss. Following study, the specimens were donated to the Amor Incrementum. The cult responded with exceeding gratitude and reciprocal gifts. In particular, the leader of their diplomatic delegation issued the following remark:
" We thank you. Your offering has purchased hymns of penance.
Mother's hair guards the grave of the wicked."
— IONAE ALOE ASPHODEL —
Priestess of Incrementum
Moreover, the atrium is thought to be in a state of perpetual spatial flux. Each documented encounter has described a different initial layout, with structures proceeding to shift while left unobserved. Apart from windows, some iterations of the atrium have also featured glass railings, pillars and elevated connecting walkways between walls. Additionally, a number of household objects may potentially materialize. These include:
- A table
- A gramophone
- Old photographs
- Books
- Vases, household ornaments, etc.
- An alarm clock
“It’s the most hilarious thing, old sport,” he said funnily. “I can’t— when I try to—”
He had passed visibly through two states and was entering upon a third. After his fear and his unreasoning horror he was consumed with wonderful bliss. He haD been full of the idea, at an inconcievable pitch of intestiny. Now, in the reaction, he was bleeding out 1ike an overwound clock.
— Scott F. Fitzgerald, Greatest Gatsby
The location and arrangement of such items appears to be entirely arbitrary.
⚠️ WARNING: NEUROLOGIC AGENTS ⚠️
URGENT UPDATE 7/7/2022:
Several of the above fixtures/objects are suspected to be extranormal neuro-auditory/neuro-visual agents (NAAs/NVAs). Prolonged contact may induce nonstandard psychological/neurological effects, which may cause harm to yourself or those around you. If you find yourself trapped within Level 881, strictly avoid:
- Approaching any windows apart from your initial entry point. They are not exits.
- Touching the glass railings running through the atrium.
- Touching or stepping into the wooden circle in the atrium's center. It is not a trapdoor. It is not an exit.
- Approaching or making any form of physical contact with the wooden table.
- Under any circumstance, touching the clock, gramophone or other objects on the table.
Additionally, if you or anyone around you begins to hear music of any kind, leave the atrium immediately by any means possible.
If egress is not feasible, attempt to isolate yourself from all visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli, as per standard emergency NAA/NVA protocol. Conceal yourself beneath a blanket or other opaque covering, and remain as still as physically possible. Bind a tight cloth around your eyes and ears, lock your arms behind your neck, and sit with your head firmly placed between your knees for 6 to 8 hours.
Refrain from responding to physical sensations (wetness, tingling, numbness, perceived disembowelment, etc.) of any kind.
Refrain from responding to perceptual apparitions of any kind.
Refrain from responding to voices of any kind — human or otherwise.
They are not real.
Corridors
A corridor and a stairwell.
Dark brown mahogany doors may occasionally appear on the walls of the courtyard, leading into a set of clinical corridors that surround its perimeter. The white, harshly-lit hallways span several floors, adjoined by stairwells, and may lead out into walkways above the atrium if they are present.
As with the atrium, the corridors display a lack of spatial stability. Doorways and stairwells are known to spontaneously appear, vanish, and shift locations. In addition, a majority of doors are locked from the inside. The few rooms which are accessible are entirely vacant — perfectly blank stark-white concrete squares. They hold nothing of value.
He had’nt once ceassed looking at daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his lungs according to the meaSure of response it drawn from her well-loved blooD. Sometimes, too, he stared arouNd at his posessions in a dazed, way as though in her acTual and astounding presents alL of it is factualLy real? Once he'd nearlly topples down a fliGht of stairs.
His bedRoom was the simplest room of all..
— Stott F Fiztgerald. The Good gatsby
Caution is advised — the corridors may contain unwelcome occupants. Pink dress facelings have been sighted within the halls, as well as skin-stealers and other malevolent anthropoid lifeforms.
Most significantly, shadowy silhouettes which bear a strong resemblance to window entities are purported to manifest behind corridor corners or in peripheral vision. If encountered, they are to be avoided at all costs.
Do not acknowledge their existence.
Do not attempt to pursue them.
Do not look directly at them.
Outposts, Settlements and Communities
There are no settlements or communities on this level.
Do not attempt to establish one.
Entrances And Exits:
Entrances
Windows leading into Level 881 have been found on a variety of indoor levels. Upon entry, they generally disappear within 2-3 minutes.
Do not enter these windows. Stay out of Level 881.
Exits
Rumors of 'shortcuts' to Level 283 and/or Level 11 are completely unsubstantiated. Apart from the initial entry point, vacant windows are believed to lead to Level 1.5.
If you inadvertently find yourself in the courtyard, leave immediately through the window from which you entered. Stay out of Level 881.
I tried to go then, but they woulDn't hear of it; perhaps my abscess made them feel less satisfactorally aLone.
— F. Scott Fritzgerald, the Gate Gatsby
Addendum
Additional records from Team 'Owl-Eyes' were recovered in 2022 by a wanderer who happened upon the courtyard and managed to escape. Upon her return to Level 1, she turned them in to M.E.G. authorities.
The logs have been archived below.