"Oh its been a while hasn't it. You look different, did you get a haircut?"
Amnesic Figure, initially coined as Hair-raising is the blanket term for a general phenomenon in the Backrooms that can affect any wanderer on any level, provided there are certain circumstances in place. However, a reoccurring and consistent requirement is an extended period of isolation away from other wanderers1.
Most variations of this phenomena causes external physical changes to sprout up gradually. Whichever variation, and to what extreme it occurs is environmentally dependent on the location.
A particularly crucial trait of this phenomena is that any individuals that are affected by it-do not appear to realise anything that has happened to them, until they are back in the presence of other wanderers. When the changes have become apparent, it can cause emotional mood swings, bouts of confusion, and doubt in humans. This phenomena also does not seem to take effect to new wanderers that doesn't know anyone in the Backrooms. Additionally, the more people that a person is familiar with, the more subtle the effects of this phenomena.
Known Variations
Hair Loss / Growth
The most common instance of this phenomenon, and also the only effect documented initially on its first discovery. This was how the former identifying name of the phenomena was founded, as other variations had not yet been documented.
This variation has two vastly distinct, yet ultimately mirroring versions- being that of Hair Loss & Hair Growth respectively.
Symptoms of Hair Loss arise after someone spends upwards of a month of time away from human contact on a level. Hair Loss leads to a person's hair becoming patchy and loosing volume2. On rare occasions, wanderers have even emerged fully bald after formerly having healthy hair. This subtype is most often found in middle-aged or older individuals, and occurs most often in interior levels.
On the other hand, symptoms of Hair Growth occurs after a few weeks of time away from human contact- but progresses much slower than Hair Loss. Typically the Hair Growth starts out with an increase of median length by about 4-12 cm3, but can accelerate to around a total increase of 20-30 cm4. This subtype typically happens in exterior levels, and has more of an impact on younger wanderers.
Hue Shift
This variant is marginally less common than Hair Loss and Hair Growth. Hue Shift as expected, is when a part of a wanderer's body changes in colour and saturation.
Most commonly, it affects hair and eyes-but rarely also impacts skin tone. When it affects hair in particular, the hair takes on more pheomelanin during long periods spent on a cold or temperate climate level, making wanderers appear to have blonde or red hair. However, in warm climates- such as Level 2 as well as Level 46 during its day state, hair takes in much more melanin, darkening the hair towards a more brown or black tone. This variant takes effect after only a week or so of isolation from human contact- but results are slow and not noticeable until typically a couple months have went by.
This can also happen to eye colour. It takes several months to take effect, but becomes visually noticeable rapidly and finishes changing a few days after it begins. Erroneous eye colours that are normally rare in the Frontrooms sometimes happen with this variation, but typically only to those that undergo a high amount of stress.
Adaptions
The rarest type of this phenomenon. Adaptions are very specialized changes to a wanderers appearance that are tied to a specific form of environment.
The only currently accepted example are thin flaky skin-tone scales emerging across extremities like hands, feet, and ears. This has only been recorded three times thus far, each time-the individual with the adaption had been missing for other a year, and had been spending large stretches of time submerged underwater on levels including Level 7 and Level 43 for example. These scales can be easily however painfully removed.
Discovery:
This phenomena was first discovered at an unknown date-but it can be presumed that it was noticed by many groups across differing levels, but the information was not formerly brought together and understood until prompted from a recent event, where a particularly extreme case of the phenomena was found by the U.E.C. via a patrol on Level 76. Below is a copy of a recording of the event handed over by the U.E.C..
Some audio and video has been removed by the U.E.C. from the start and end of the recording for security and brevity reasons.
"Don't worry about it though, I think the new look suits you."
