LA’s abandoned mall is perfect place for a ‘Backrooms’ viewing for horror fans

Nypost · Jun 03, 2026 · 465 words · By Katie Jerkovich

Urban Decay Liminal Spaces Pop Culture Influence

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What to know about Urban Decay

LA’s abandoned mall is perfect place for a ‘Backrooms’ viewing for horror fans See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center50%

Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

LA’s abandoned mall is perfect place for a ‘Backrooms’ viewing for horror fans See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The California Post on GoogleA Southern California mall is seemingly seeing an uptick in visitors thanks to the surprise box office horror movie “Backrooms” as people seek “liminal experiences” similar to the film.

Common ground

The Los Angeles Puente Hills Mall is not unlike other once vibrant shopping centers that used to be filled with customers before internet shopping websites crushed these expansive indoor shopping malls.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Urban Decay story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Kane Parsons... is a former YouTuber who lives with his parents in a quiet suburban neighborhood in California?
How does this story connect Urban Decay with Liminal Spaces over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/us-news/puente-hills-malls-eerie-halls-perfect-pla…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 4

info Single Source 3

check_circle Corroborated 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info

Claim 1: “Kane Parsons... is a former YouTuber who lives with his parents in a quiet suburban neighborhood in California.”

SINGLE SOURCE

This specific biographical detail about Kane Parsons is only provided by the Nypost cross-reference.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — is a former YouTuber who lives with his parents in a quiet suburban neighborhood in California
https://nypost.com/2026/06/01/real-estate/inside-the-450k-ca…

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Claim 2: “The Los Angeles Puente Hills Mall is not unlike other once vibrant shopping centers that used to be filled with customers before internet shopping websites crushed these expansive indoor shopping malls.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Puente Hills Mall is in California and was once a vibrant center that is now mostly empty or 'dead'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Puente Hills Mall, located in City of Industry, California, United States, is a major regional shopping center in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. It is most famous for serving as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puente_Hills_Mall

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Puente Hills are a chain of hills, one of the lower Transverse Ranges, in an unincorporated area in eastern Los Angeles County, California, in the United States. The western end of the range is of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puente_Hills

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1896 by English-born Arthur Letts Sr., and named after what was once the city's main shopping s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Broadway

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 3: “The mall has its own tie to the movie industry, as it famously served as the backdrop for the “Twin Pines Mall” in the 1985 “Back to the Future” movie.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources explicitly confirm that Puente Hills Mall served as the filming location for the Twin Pines Mall in 'Back to the Future'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hill Valley is a fictional town in California that serves as the setting of the Back to the Future trilogy and its animated spin-off series. In the trilogy, Hill Valley is seen in four different time …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_Valley_(Back_to_the_Futur…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of current and former notable shopping malls and shopping centers in the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shopping_malls_in_the_…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 4: “In the film, Doc Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd, unveils his time machine in the mall parking lot.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and other sources confirm that Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) unveils the time machine in the Twin Pines mall parking lot.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Back to the Future is an American science fiction media franchise created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. The franchise follows high school student Marty McFly and eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future_(franchise)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Back to the Future Part III is a 1990 American science fiction Western film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson, and Lea Thom…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future_Part_III

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown, commonly referred to as "Doc Brown" or simply "Doc", is a fictional scientist in the Back to the Future franchise. He was created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. First appe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Brown

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 5: “Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old filmmaker behind the box office phenomenon “Backrooms””

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is specifically reported by the Nypost cross-reference. Other web results for 'Kane' refer to a wrestler or a soccer player.

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web search NEUTRAL — Glenn Thomas Jacobs (born April 26, 1967), also known by his ring name Kane, is an American politician, actor and professional wrestler. He rose to fame in WWE, where he holds the record for most matc…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kane_(wrestler)

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web search NEUTRAL — Harry Edward Kane [2] was born on 28 July 1993 [3] at Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, London, [4] the second son of Kim (née Hogg) and Patrick Kane, and has one older brother, Charlie…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Kane

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web search NEUTRAL — Kane Footwear is on a roll. Makers of a highly popular active-recovery shoe, the brand has seen its revenue triple year-over-year since its founding in 2021, striking deals with retail giants includin…
https://kanefootwear.com/

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 6: “A Southern California mall is seemingly seeing an uptick in visitors thanks to the surprise box office horror movie “Backrooms””

SINGLE SOURCE

Only one web search result (a specific article) mentions the uptick in visitors to a Southern California mall due to the movie 'Backrooms'. Other results are generic or unrelated.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the 100 largest cities in the U.S. state of California ranked by population, based on estimates for July 1, 2025, by the United States Census Bureau. Note: The population figures are…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities_in_Cali…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal regio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_California

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal[a]) is a private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest pr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Southern_Califor…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 7: “Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, escapes by hitting 88 mph in the DeLorean—accidentally launching himself into 1955.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia confirms Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travels to 1955 by hitting 88 mph in a DeLorean.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part II. Marty's life looks pretty good, thanks to his trip back to 1955. But the first film ends with Doc appearing out of nowhere from the future.
https://www.looper.com/229580/marty-mcflys-entire-backstory-…

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web search NEUTRAL — British police apprehended a Back to the Future fan in Essex, England for traveling at an insane 88 mph using a DeLorean vehicle. He quickly pleaded that he was not traveling back in time to 1955 and …
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/177913/20160916/back-to-t…

verified

Claim 8: “Since the film’s release, people have headed to the AMC theater in the mall to catch the film”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'there' and general mall lists. There is no evidence confirming an AMC theater in Puente Hills Mall is screening 'Backrooms'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of current and former notable shopping malls and shopping centers in the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shopping_malls_in_the_…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: ““Backrooms” — that took in $118 million this weekend”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the claim that the movie earned $118 million in a single weekend.

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Claim 10: “The “Backrooms” movie uses empty office spaces, abandoned malls and fluorescent lighted hallways to create a liminal space”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources describe the 'Backrooms' (both the legend and the movie) as featuring empty office spaces, abandoned malls, and fluorescent lighting to create liminal spaces.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Backrooms is an urban legend started by a post on 4chan. It describes a large maze of empty yellow rooms. The 4chan post characterized the Backrooms' yellow wallpaper, the smell of moist carpet, a…
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Backrooms

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web search NEUTRAL — The “Backrooms” movie uses empty office spaces, abandoned malls and fluorescent lighted hallways to create a liminal space-which is described as an “in-between space that exists on the boundary of wha…
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/la-aband…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Backrooms are essentially disturbing, abandoned rooms with seemingly no end in sight. It could be an empty office block, a hallway or a corridor - unsettling between-zones.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxpdnwx5n5o

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.