‘House of Leaves’-Inspired Haunted ‘Doom’ Map: Check it Out!

A Doom modder has made an intricate map inspired by Mark Z. Danielewski’s horror novel House Of Leaves — check it out here.

Titled MyHouse.wad, the map was published to the Doom World forums by its creator, Veddge.

In the map, players venture into a monster-infested house that slowly warps and changes as the game progresses. Parts of it – including a labyrinth hidden within the house – seem to be directly inspired by House Of Leaves, and the game becomes increasingly unsettling as it goes on.

The map itself is incredibly intricate, and the house’s layout changes seamlessly as players explore and revisit earlier areas. One particularly unsettling moment involves pacing around a bathroom’s central mirror and seeing a bloody reflection of the room several times before it becomes real.

You can check out a playthrough of MyHouse.wad below.

While the game can be downloaded through Veddge’s forum post and users have reported it being legitimate, players should advise caution when downloading anything from the internet.

The mod is quickly picking up traction with Doom fans, with many praising the mod’s surreal twists. Speaking on the map’s creation, Veddge said it was designed as a tribute to a deceased friend — but the files attached to the mod, including an unsettling journal and scrapbook, suggest even this is part of the mod’s mystery.

“Last August I lost a good childhood friend of mine and took it pretty hard,” they wrote. “When I was visiting my hometown for his funeral, I connected with his parents who shared with me some of his old belongings. Among them was a copy of an old map of his backed up on a 3.5” floppy from high school.”

Doom, myhouse.wad. Credit: ID Software, Veddge.

“Thomas and I were into amateur Doom mapping in the early 00s but I had never seen this map of his prior to uncovering it on one of the old floppy discs,” they continued. “As a way of paying tribute to him and all the great memories we had together, I took the plunge and installed Doom Builder in order to polish up his map and add a few modern amenities just for convenience sake.”

Veddge added that they “may have gotten a little carried away” with how far Doom‘s editing features have come over the years, but makes no mention of the map’s creepy nature — leaving it as an unsettling surprise for players who go in blind.

In other gaming news, an Escape From Tarkov content creator has claimed to have been digitally attacked by hackers, after he exposed widespread cheating in the game.