Longing for a place I never knew
"Where were you when it happened?"
Liminal Land is a Web Original Analog Horror Alternate Reality Game created by horror anthology YouTube creators Nexpo
and Nick Crowley centering around the titular fictional amusement park that was located in Lake Valley, New Mexico; created in the 1970s as a competitor to Disneyland, with the goal of pushing the boundaries of what a theme park could be. However, it closed down indefinitely in 1989 when several parkgoers suddenly disappeared within it...
Videos:
- LVVT Channel 5 Sign-Off (1988) - Missing Persons, an archived televised missing persons alert. Published Feb 1, 2023.
- The beginning of Nexpo's video Fear of the Deep, which has an untitled recovered phone message. Published Feb 3, 2023.
- Company Training Tape-Visitor Satisfaction, a recovered tape from Liminal Land's main office. Published Feb 3, 2023.
- Investigation Tape - The Liminal Land Anomaly, a recovered tape investigating one of the rides. Published Feb 22, 2023.
- Found Footage - Welcome H.O.M.E., a company training video. Published Mar 22, 2023.
- Investigation Tape - Mommy's Friend, evidence in a manhunt for the titular mother. Published May 20, 2023.
.Lose yourself in the tropes:
- Arc Words: "Lose Yourself", and variations.
- Amusement Park of Doom: Liminal Land is what happens when this trope meets the "liminal spaces" horror typical of The Backrooms along with Analogue Horror.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: Despite multiple incidences and accidents, there was never any real audit or inspection done, with news reports being quickly swept under the rug. Scenes were tarped off then quickly reopened with little to no fanfare, and for fourteen years, no one seemed to bat an eye.
- Brown Note: Implied. LVVT refuses to show broadcast the exact effects of Liminal Land's rides on riders, as 'visual depictions are not considered suitable for a general audience'.
- Deliberate VHS Quality: Fitting for "Company Training Tape" and "LVVT Channel Sign-Off", which are supposed to take place in the 1980's.
- Elaborate Underground Base: H.O.M.E.. At one point the camera zooms out to show its size comparative to the above-ground Liminal Land, but glitches out long before we can see the full breadth of its size. According to the tape's creators, even they are unsure of its true size.
- Emergency Broadcast: "LVVT Channel Sign-Off" has the United States national anthem suddenly cut off to a completely silent Missing Persons alert, with nothing but the victims' black and white portraits, their name, and a number to call.
- Facial Horror: According to medical reports, something about Liminal Lands rides induces 'facial deformity' in its riders. The resulting deformities cannot be seen safely by human eyes, and illustrations are provided instead.
- False Utopia: H.O.M.E. was designed as an underground suburbia so people could stay as long as possible. According to recovered employee letters, however, conditions were deteriorating and it was hell for the employees on-site to maintain. Not to mention that at least one employee heard a child screaming horribly, followed by...something that shouldn't be underground.
- Fun with Acronyms: H.O.M.E.: The Holistic and Opportune Mutual Experience. It actually stands for Hide, Obscure, Maintain, Evict.
- Happiness Is Mandatory: According to one archive, the Laugh Track uses compression technology to forcibly induce laughter in riders. This comes with severe adverse health effects and was warned against use by its original testers, but went to the final product anyway.
- Harmful to Minors: Liminal Land seems to prefer to lure in kids, as a disproportionate amount have disappeared into it compared to adults.
- Hell Is That Noise: A recovered memorandum from the "Archives" section documents an employee who works in H.O.M.E. claiming he heard something akin to a child screaming, then something else that was redacted. Whatever it was, it didn't belong underground, and the memory haunted him.
- Historical In-Joke: The first video is one to the real life missing person sign-off for Joanna Lopez. Everything from the National Anthem preceding it to the dead silence and limited information on the actual sign off is copied, only this fictitious version includes more than one missing person.
- Madness Mantra: Attempting to call the number for information on Margaret Jacobson briefly plays an automatic message claiming the number has been taken offline, before descending into two of these in a row.
- Missing Child: Some of the park attendees that disappeared include children.
- Mood Whiplash: The very first video, beginning with a lengthy recording of a live televised National Anthem, then smash-cutting to a missing person's report.
- Nightmare Face: The faces of almost everyone photographed look off at best, to the point you'd be forgiven for thinking they were damaged test mannequins instead of real people. "Company Training Tape" has a particularly strong focus on this, though even the missing people in "LVVT Channel Sign-Off" look eerie.
- Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book: 'Mommy's Friend', depicting a child's recount of their journey to Liminal Land, and coming across a demonic figure only titularly referred to.
- Noodle Incident: In 1989, something brought about the end of Liminal Land, implied to be some sort of apocalyptic event. However, we know nothing about what it may have been aside from vague references to tragedy.
- Off with His Head!: The logo for the Liminal Land Archival Committee has a series of stick figures holding hands, with the one in the middle without a head.
- Offing the Offspring: Sofia Munoz, heavily suspected in the disappearance of her own daughter. Ambiguous, since it may be something in Liminal Land itself that physically took her, or it may have been Sofia driven insane.
- Perception Filter: A photograph of one of the pools in Subliminal Land is described as depicting three people— even though there's... something flesh-colored in the foreground pool along with the other three.
- Red Sky, Take Warning: One picture posted to Twitter and serving as the the channel's banner depicts a Ferris Wheel under a harsh red sky, similar to many of Nexpo's opening cards.The world closed in on us, and while the clouds above never turned a hellish red, they may as well have.
- Repetitive Audio Glitch: The distorted untitled phone message from a frantic and angry mother of missing children."Where are my kids, Frank? Where are my fucking kids—ing kids—ing kids—ing kids—"[tape ends]
- Uncanny Valley: Several of the photos shown, especially in LVVT Chanel 5 Sign Off and Company Training Tape, appear to be AI generated, stretching and warping human faces in unnatural ways. Say nothing of the lack of shading or identifiable objects behind them in the case of the former.
