# 99 Rooms (spooky art website) and UrbEx **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-rooms-spooky-art-website-and-urbex/408430 "2007-06-18T04:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-rooms-spooky-art-website-and-urbex/408430/1 "2007-06-18T04:52:51Z")
I wasn’t sure if this thread belonged in CS or MPSIMS, so mods, feel free to move it if you deem it necessary. I have been fascinated by reading about urban exploration (also known as “UrbEx”) recently. For the uninitiated, this entails exploring old, abandoned buildings, houses, tunnels, and other urban structures, often illegally. The UrbEx creed is similar to those who visit national parks: “Take nothing but pictures; leave nothing but footprints.” Here’s a decent Wikipedia article on the subject, and a Google search will come up with more information: > **[Urban exploration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_exploration)** > > Urban exploration (often shortened as UE, urbex and sometimes known as roof and tunnel hacking) is the exploration of manmade structures, usually abandoned ruins or hidden components of the manmade environment. Photography and historical interest/documentation are heavily featured in the hobby, sometimes involving trespassing onto private property. Urban exploration is also called draining (a specific form of urban exploration where storm drains or sewers are explored), urban spelunking, The ac... I’ve seen some gorgeous, haunting, amazing photos posted by urban explorers on other message boards, and it makes me wish Orlando wasn’t such a new city, and there were actually cool, spooky old buildings to explore around here. Of course, it can be quite dangerous – you run the risk of getting a Trespassing charge if you’re caught, and you never know if you’ll run into aggressive squatters or hazardous materials. I probably would never do this, but it’s definitely a hobby I enjoy by living vicariously through others. I’ve been strangely fascinated by past SDMB threads on urban decay, so anyone who enjoyed those might also want to learn more about this. Those who like horror movies and video games might be interested in seeking out more information on UrbEx – the _Silent Hill_ movie, with its abandoned, creepy old town, definitely brings this phenomenon to mind. So now I’d like to share a mind-blowing website that kind of ties into urban exploration and urban decay: [**99 Rooms**](http://www.99rooms.com). It’s an art site first and foremost, but also completely interactive. I wouldn’t call it a “game,” but exploring the creepy rooms definitely feels a bit like one of those survival horror games. Try clicking on various objects in the rooms as you go, to see what you can manipulate. There is spooky, atmospheric sound effects and music as well. This is one of my new favorite websites, and for those of you with a habit of finding beauty in ugliness, you’ll probably spend some sleepless nights exploring it too. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-rooms-spooky-art-website-and-urbex/408430/2 "2007-06-18T12:12:33Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] I wasn’t sure if this thread belonged in CS or MPSIMS [/QUOTE] [MPSIMS](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=389377&highlight=99+rooms), apparently. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-rooms-spooky-art-website-and-urbex/408430/3 "2007-06-18T21:32:35Z")
Closed at the request of the OP.