We've all had an instance where we woke up in the middle of the night, perhaps after a vivid, nonsensical dream, and felt this void of what I can only describe as "nothing but something simultaneously." You see your room, a dark mess of clothing, pillows, a bed. It seems abandoned and soulless in your eyes. Some describe it as fear. Others find it euphoric. But the middle ground of this emotion is derived from the idea of a liminal space. According to Wikipedia's page, "liminal spaces are empty or abandoned places that appear eerie, forlorn, and often surreal." From reading the several experiences of those who show interest in liminal spaces, one could gather that they are much more than this definition. LS's are ofter seen as the in-between of the world, scenery that is off from it's usual nature. As an example, let's analyze this popular LS image from the Aesthetics wiki.
The hue of this image of The Backrooms is a pale yellow, similar to that of a waiting room or a doctor's office. The simple difference is that the room is empty. Sure, the room is there, but where are the hustling nurses, the dawdling children with their parents, the buzz of the doctor's telephone? What I'm trying to say is that the common feeling of eeriness that everyone gets from liminal spaces is the result of the absence of life. Of course we need humans to make regular scenery because they are what make spaces feel normal and everyday. When that is stripped away, we can see the rawness and familiarity of this room, but in a more subtle way than usually presented.
So now for the big question; what exactly is liminal space? Well, after reviewing a small portion of the subreddit, I would conclude that liminal spaces are not only spaces that put us at edge, but on the contrary are comforting and solemn to people. This mostly relates to nostalgia. A particular quote I want to use is from an AMAZING video essay on LS's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olsXUqKTWgI) Cresendex states, "It's this nostalgia from the past combined with the dread of knowing these are things that can never be brought back that really sells nostalgia in liminal spaces. These once great places filled with families and fun are now husks that only spell whispers of their past." This perfectly embodies how so many people in part of the LS community see pictures of empty school hallways, playgrounds, and empty fields and can easily label them as "liminal". The lack of anything or anyone at all is what truly adds to a spaces' essence. You've never been to the place but you have because you correlate them with the small sweet memories of your own childhood.