5, 6, 7, 8! Music plays. In your stay. Do not stray. Find your way.
Info
Written by: I.C.
Based on interviews, voice recordings, and journal entries2 of:
Matthew Elias Koeh Hall
"I was trapped in a staircase, with no signs of an exit. The music didn't stop. The same song played over and over again. Almond water's just about ran out. Stuck here, all alone on these never-ending steps. I cried out for help, but no one came to the rescue. What was causing me this torment? Well, I had no idea at the time."
- Matthew Hall
Note: any information of Hall in this article has been given explicit, expressed consent by him to be released and published to the Backrooms Level Archive and the Level 11 Entrance and Exits Database.3
SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY:
Class Sentient
- Can Be Safe or Unsafe
- Depends On How It Sees You
- One Entity
One possible explanation for Hall's aforementioned rhetorical question5 is the place itself. Based on all available evidence, it can be said that the entire level is one individual sentient entity. The Level itself seems to be capable of basic cognition, and possesses a consciousness that is aware of any wanderers within. Speaking from experience, Hall has postulated that it also has the ability to access any unsuspecting wanderers' mind and memories. And it uses this for its own objectives and intentions.
Description
Level 567 is a sprawl of countless vertically-extending STAIRS of all kinds: spiral, u-shaped, winder, etc. Each stairwell can greatly vary in length, from a couple flights to a seemingly infinite stretch up and down. It is postulated that almost every possible type of staircase, from varying functional and structural design, to all kinds of architectural styles and builds, from all around the world, from many different time periods, could possibly exist here.
Photograph of a door at the top of a staircase
On the WALLS that enclose each stairwell, there are sometimes shelves and ledges where survival resources such as almond water can appear, of course, until the level decides to not let any appear to the wanderer.6
At some areas of a wall there can appear a DOOR, also variable by design, that can lead to another adjacent staircase, or a ROOM that conjoins with multiple other staircases.
The designs of the STAIRS, WALLS, and DOORS seem to tailor itself to the wanderer currently in them. The specific architectural style and aesthetic choices are designed to evoke familiar emotions of a distant memory of one's past. This is something Hall mentioned that made him want to inexplicably linger within, and it helped cause a sensation that drew him into this level in the first place.
Entrance
Seeing that there has only been one willing and cooperative witness7 of Level 567 thus far (Matthew Hall), there is not yet a clear, defined way to enter. However, the following files document Hall's explanation of how he had stumbled into the level from Level 11:
Mozart's Sonata no. 10 in C major, K. 330
Music
The Boomboxes
Phone Call on 15/06/26 (23m04s)
from: I.C. (anon), +0 230 ███ ███
to: Matthew Hall, +0 011 ███ ███
Cellular Provider: The Blue Network
…
02m34s elapsed -
Hall: Then I kept going up and up, and the music became louder and louder. After another two hours or so I came upon a door. *pauses to think*
Hall: I didn't go through it just yet though, because the music was now louder than it has ever been, as if the source was somewhere nearby, and it was. Just several steps up from the door was a boombox from the 80s.
I.C.: A boombox. From the 80s? *writing sounds*
Hall: Yes, well I'm not exactly sure. I'm not too familiar with retro stuff, but yes, that's what it looked like. Except that it was way less detail than a real boombox from real life.
Hall; Its design only had the two speakers on the sides, and a few buttons on top. I had no idea what to do next, because the buttons were unlabeled.
I.C.: You did not just press a button right away, did you?
Hall: No, of course not. Well I first recorded the music again to compare with my previous recording. It was significantly louder. Still have no idea how it could have reached that far and still sounding very prominent. At this point I had walked over an hour from my last recording, and over five hours since my arrival and first recording. The level clearly had a part in manipulating the sound.
I.C.: But..?
Hall: Hehe… Although after recording it, I got curious, and pressed a random button. *chuckles*
I.C.: Of course. I would as well, to be honest. *clears throat* And then what happened?
Hall: The music coming from there then suddenly stopped. And right in front of my eyes, the boombox exploded. A different classical piece played, something more personal to me, coming from a different source. It is obvious since the boombox I touched literally exploded. But also, the music playing was back at that baseline volume.
Hall: At this point it is evident that the level was leading me somewhere, maybe to a place I could find the answers, or the way out, or at least I'd hoped. All I had to do was follow the music.
[excerpt end]
The Voices
January 23, 2026 - 3pm
Thank God, finally something! I had successfully stopped that stupid Sonata from playing over and over again. It was getting really annoying like when my mom forced me to play the piano when I was a kid. That wasn't fun, nor is this.
Now a different song is playing and the volume is very low again. This one I really recognize.
Time to find a way out of here. There's a door on the wall nearby, that should lead me closer to wherever this level is taking me.
Peeking through the door is another stairwell, but now like one you'd find in an apartment building.
This new area had bland white walls with stair railings on the side. Each step is around average size and there is around 20 steps in each flight before it reaches a landing. I cannot tell if this stairway is infinite in length or not, as there is no middle section to peer up and down on. But assuming this is the same level, it's not far-fetched to stipulate these steps go on forever (or at least stupendously long) in both directions.
I don't seem to need to worry about this, however, because there is another door one story down that leads to yet another staircase. This one is more old and traditional in design. Meaning, it seems to be made of hand-carved wood. It really does seem that this level, or sub-section, or whatever wherever I am is called, consists of many infinitely vertically extending stairs, and each one is connected via a doorway.
This is proven yet again as I find another doorway a few minutes after exploring this 3rd stairwell. Going through it, the area is another set of stairs. The 4th very unique one. And yes, here the music is ever so slightly louder.
Another door is right across the landing and it leads to another staircase. I find more doors and more doors that only led to more staircases. No signs of an exit.
I am really now then starting to play colder-warmer search using the music. I retrace my steps back to the 5th stairwell that I recorded. The music seems to be coming from downward of this area this time so that's where I'll go.
As I'm going down this staircase, the music is getting louder, and something very odd is going on. I seem to be hearing voices: human voices, which is not a good sign. It's either I'm going insane right now (which is highly likely considering the circumstances), or this is an intrinsic part of the level's design (like Level 18, or so I've heard). Both options are not ideal in the slightest.
Down and down I go, there seems to be not much progress. I am getting tired of this. Being stuck here, somewhere, all alone. As much as I've enjoyed solitude, it gets tiring after a while. I don't know how much more I can take of this.
Wait, the voices, they're getting less muffled, and more clear, and also louder..
The Game10
RULES
STAIRS
WALLS
ROOMS
DOORS
Exit
The only way to exit is to complete the "Musical Stairs" game. Play by the rules, live by lessons learned, and move on.
To Search
To Fall
To Forward
I heard a saying somewhere before, something about when living in a big city you can feel so alone, even when surrounded with so many people. About how that isolation can cause one to fall in a downward spiral. You can try to get help to gain some perspective. Or not. It’s really up to you. But in the end, only you yourself can pull you out of your own head. But what do I know? I’m just one guy, I mean, it’s different for everyone.
Footnotes are collapsible below.11