This is where to find liminal 'Backrooms' vibes in Toronto

The liminal space aesthetic has leapt from the depths of the internet to the silver screen with the May 29 release of the new Backrooms movie.

The hyped-up horror film about an infinite office complex evolved from internet lore, the product of an online obsession with so-called "liminal spaces." This aesthetic is tied to transitional spaces that blend nostalgia with a creeping unease — the type of feeling you get when you turn a corner in an abandoned mall and find a dimly-lit, empty corridor you vaguely recognize.

Even before the Backrooms broke containment into the mainstream, there has been a thirst for liminal space exploration in Toronto. Local group Liminal Assembly offers walking tours of liminal spaces like dead malls, but I'd say many of these spaces are best enjoyed (read: dreaded) in cold silence, all by yourself.

Here are a few liminal spaces in Toronto you can check out for yourself.

Woodbine Mall

Sure, there are plenty of dead malls in Toronto where you can experience haunting vibes, but Woodbine Mall in Etobicoke stands out from the pack with its Fantasy Fair indoor amusement park.

Jack Landau

The 1980s-era attractions and postmodern mall interiors are like a nostalgic yet slightly unsettling memory you can't quite place in time. Add in the fact that this mall is notoriously empty, and you can really feel like you've noclipped out of reality and into an analog horror nightmare.

Marc Mitanis

The second-floor party room area with colourful playrooms set behind simplistic building facades can stray from the liminal into more of a dreamcore vibe, but I will leave scorekeeping to the comments section.

Marc Mitanis

For any millennials who grew up in terror of the Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode where a kid gets trapped in an infinite mall ("The Tale of the Pinball Wizard"), an empty Woodbine Mall might just dredge up those long-dormant fears.

Dupont Station

If you ever walked through the muted orange tile corridors of an empty Dupont Station and feel a sense of creeping dread, you're less alone than you think. 

Anyone familiar with the online analog horror genre may be familiar with the "poolrooms" offshoot inspired by the Backrooms, but the aggressively 1978 coloured tiled walls of Dupont Station give the space a lived-in feel that makes it all the more unsettling when devoid of life.

Jack Landau

Throw in the fact that you are in a train station with no natural light, it's easy to get lost in invasive thoughts about being trapped in the subterranean concourse, ascending escalators only to find yourself transported back into the station below.

Jack Landau

While it's likely this won't actually happen to you, I'm not a scientist and offer no guarantees.

Cumberland Terrace

This doomed Yorkville mall slated for redevelopment was pretty creepy even when its shops were open. Since 2025, there's little left to explore but a pedestrian pathway through the former retail centre, and you'd be forgiven for feeling a looming dread walking through this gutted relic of the past.

Wyliepoon

York University

The desolate location (not to throw shade) and the cold brutalist architecture of York University can make even outdoor spaces feel removed from reality — especially after dark.

Jack Landau

A series of open-air pathways at the base of the hulking concrete Ross Social Sciences and Humanities Building feel like a very uncomfortable spot to be after dark. 

Marc Mitanis

PATH system

An underground maze of off-brand shops with wonky wayfinding is enough to make anyone feel disoriented, but every once in a while, a wrong turn in Toronto's vast PATH system can transport you to a space of liminal dread.

Marc Mitanis

Maybe it's the lighting, maybe it's the knowledge that city life flows unimpeded just a few metres above, but there is something deeply unsettling about wandering the PATH alone.

Marc Mitanis

First Canadian Place

Perhaps that PATH wander takes you to the Financial District, you may end up in the marble-clad lobby of First Canadian Place. It's a buzzing space full of big-business suits during the weekday 9-5 hours, but with the lights dimmed after-hours, it's a haunting place that feels entirely disconnected from the world outside.

Marc Mitanis

Billy Bishop Airport Tunnel

Underground spaces can really trigger that liminal dread, but you know what's worse than being below ground? Being underwater.

The mass of Lake Ontario pressing down on the 853-ft underwater pedestrian tunnel to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is unnerving enough on its own, but have you ever been in this passageway during off-peak hours? 

Marc Mitanis

It's creepy, to say the least, and even if you have plenty of time to kill before your flight, you may find yourself taking advantage of the moving walkways to transit the tunnel as quickly as possible.