Folklorecon 2025

Urban folklore or reality?

The Backrooms

You sit around a (digital) campfire with your (digital) friends. Each of you takes turns sharing folk tales, some intended to make your slumber uneasy tonight, others intended to strike you with awe.

"Bet you haven't heard of the Backrooms."

The (digital) group erupts with new inspiration. To the left, you hear a tale of a level so horrifyingly real that you can almost feel your feet sink into the moist carpet. To the right, you hear the tale of an entity so outlandish you don't know whether to laugh or grimace.

The (digital) circle around the (digital) campfire has wrapped right back to you.

But first, what do we mean by folklore?

Folklore encompasses the legends and customs that are shared by a culture or group. Two children follow a trail of breadcrumbs through the woods until they reach a house built of cake and bread. A moth the size of a man is spotted on the edge of the road. A seal peels its skin to reveal a beautiful woman beneath. Folklore takes many forms and ranges from terrifying to absurd to beautiful.

Folklorecon allows for two types of pages: pages inspired by existing folklore and pages about folklore found in the Backrooms. For pages inspired by existing folklore, you should not rewrite folktales to instead take place in the Backrooms. Instead, you should be inspired by the motifs of the folklore to create an original piece of work. For pages that consider how folklore would exist in the Backrooms, you can also be inspired by existing folklore, but again, you should also create something original that feels unique to the Backrooms.

Before proceeding, it is important to be aware of cultural appropriation and the ways of ensuring you show respect towards the cultures who have inspired your writings. Cultural appropriation is where something from another culture (such as folktales or dance) is used by someone or people who do not belong to that culture, but the origins and meaning are removed. In this process, a significant part of a culture is lost. You can be inspired by folklore belonging to cultures you do not have heritage in, but make sure that you use this inspiration with respect to the original culture. If you are unsure, feel free to ask staff for support.

One common example of cultural appropriation is the Wendigo from the North American Algonquian people. In its original cultural context, it is more a religious symbol and cautionary tale rather than a generic horror movie monster. Instead, rather than lifting the Wendigo straight from its context, look at the general motifs it has (the taboo of cannibalism, starvation, and human greed) and gain inspiration from there.

How to post

When you post your con page, add the tag "folklorecon2025". If you would like, you can add the folklore you were inspired by in the infobox but this is optional.

Pages can be coldposted during the posting period using the password "folklorecon2025". You must also set this page as the parent page. Any pages that use this password for reasons unrelated to the contest will be deleted immediately and the user will face disciplinary action.

Rules

- Pages do not have to be scary. The genre, themes, and vibe of your page are up to you. However, your page must be inspired by existing folklore OR explore what folklore may emerge from communities in the Backrooms.
- You can only submit one page for this con.
- Co-written pages (pages with more than one author) are allowed, but collaborative pages (pages that encourage additions from people who aren't authors, such as Level 356.1) are not.
- Rewrites cannot be posted for this con.
- You can participate with an article you began writing before the con.
- You can edit your page after posting during the writing and posting periods.
- The results of this con will be decided by the ratings of each page at the end of the voting period.
- Any attempts to give yourself an unfair advantage will result in disqualification. What counts as this will be decided by staff on a case-by-case basis. If you aren't sure if something counts as this, please ask staff.
- All entries must be posted during the designated posting period. Any articles posted before or after this period will not count as entries in the contest.
- The top 3 winners will each get to pick an article in the November feature cycle. An additional feature may be added if there is a tie. If no such tie exists, the author(s) of the 4th highest ranked article of the contest will get to pick the 4th feature.

Dates

October 1^st 2025

Be inspired by the world of folklore, get to writing!

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November 1^st 2025

You can start to post your pages or keep writing.

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November 16^th 2025

All pages must be posted by this date. Voting continues.

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November 29^th 2025

[CURRENT]The voting is concluded! Who will survive the campfire?

October 1st - November 1st (4 weeks) — The Writing Period: During this time, no articles may be posted, but you should work on writing and perfecting your articles.

November 1st - November 15th (2 weeks) — The Posting Period: During this time, all articles submitted for the contest will be posted. You may still work on writing during this period.

November 16th - November 28th (2 weeks) — The Voting Period: During this time, no more articles may be posted. This period exists so that articles that are added later can still rack up points.

November 29th — End of the contest: Winners will be announced. The winners' articles of choice will be featured on the home page on December 1st as the features of the month of November.

All contest dates are based on "Anywhere on Earth", meaning that if the Posting Period is active in any time zone, posting is allowed.