The Endless Stairs of Super Mario 64: A Liminal and
Uncanny Design
Abstract
This paper examines the Endless Stairs in Super Mario 64 (Nintendo, 1996) as a case study in how
non-horror games can unintentionally produce unsettling experiences through spatial repetition, audio
illusion, and disruption of player expectations. Drawing on theories of liminality (Turner, 1969; Horrigan,
2021), the uncanny (Freud, 1919), and recent discourse on liminal spaces in video game design
(Herrera, 2025; Macchi Janica, 2024), the analysis demonstrates how the Endless Stairs operate
simultaneously as a functional game mechanic and as an affective space of disorientation. The essay
also considers the cultural afterlife of the Endless Stairs in online communities, where it has become a
focal point of nostalgic unease and digital folklore.
Introduction
Released in 1996, Super Mario 64 was a watershed moment in gaming history, introducing players to
an expansive three-dimensional world that combined freedom of movement with Nintendo’s
characteristically playful tone. Yet embedded within this whimsical game world lies a moment of
unexpected creepiness: the Endless Stairs. Positioned as a gate to Bowser’s final arena, the staircase
prevents access unless the player has collected seventy Power Stars. Instead of a locked door, players
are met with the illusion of an infinite climb, accompanied by an unsettling musical track.
Design Function and Mechanic
The Endless Stairs serve a simple gameplay purpose: halting progress until the player has reached the
required number of Power Stars. In interviews, Shigeru Miyamoto emphasized Super Mario 64’s focus
on experimentation with spatial design and player navigation (Shmuplations, 1996). The staircase is
one such experiment—an attempt to mask progression gating through spatial illusion rather than an
explicit lock. Instead of denying entry outright, the game creates an endlessly looping hallway. Players
feel as though they are moving but are trapped in architectural stasis. This paradox—motion without
progress—subverts the basic logic of both real architecture and digital level design.
Liminality and the Uncanny in Digital Space
Victor Turner (1969) describes liminality as the transitional phase in rites of passage, where
participants occupy an ambiguous threshold outside ordinary rules. The Endless Stairs function
similarly: a space “between” gameplay states. Players are neither failing nor succeeding; they are
suspended. Recent scholarship applies liminality to video games, noting that “liminoid” spaces can
generate tension by disorienting players’ expectations (Horrigan, 2021). Similarly, Herrera (2025) and
Macchi Janica (2024) argue that transitional game environments—corridors, stairwells, or empty
lobbies—can produce affective unease. The Endless Stairs exemplify this phenomenon, amplifying
anxiety through spatial repetition and purposeless progression. Freud’s (1919) concept of the uncanny
also illuminates why the staircase is disturbing. A staircase is ordinarily familiar and purposeful, yet
here it is subtly distorted: endless, functionally hollow, uncannily wrong.
Audio Illusion and Temporal Distortion
The unsettling quality of the Endless Stairs is heightened by sound. The background track features
what has been analyzed as a Shepard tone—an auditory illusion that creates the sensation of perpetual
ascent without ever reaching resolution (McCarron, 2013). This musical design mirrors the staircase
itself: the player is always climbing yet never arriving. Time, too, is distorted. The player expends effort
in traversal, yet no goal is achieved. This mismatch between time invested and progress achieved
generates a feeling akin to entrapment—a nightmare of endless motion without escape.
Cultural Afterlife: Nostalgia, Folklore, and Internet Myth
Beyond its original design, the Endless Stairs have gained significance in gaming culture. For many
players, especially children encountering them in the late 1990s, the experience was one of
inexplicable dread. As those players matured, their memories of unease blended into internet folklore,
particularly in communities that developed creepypasta and liminal space aesthetics. The Endless
Stairs are frequently invoked in nostalgic discussions of early 3D game eeriness, alongside other
unsettling Super Mario 64 spaces such as the castle courtyard and its solitary fountain. They also
appear in speedrunning communities, where the “backwards long jump” glitch allows players to bypass
the staircase entirely, transforming it from an oppressive purgatory into a playground for mechanical
mastery (Gaming Stack Exchange, 2010).
Conclusion
The Endless Stairs illustrate how video games can unintentionally evoke profound psychological effects
through simple design. Though meant as a practical gating mechanism, the staircase’s looping
textures, Shepard-tone soundtrack, and betrayal of player expectation converge to create a uniquely
uncanny environment. As both a liminal threshold and an architectural paradox, the Endless Stairs
endure as a cultural touchstone. They reveal that horror in games need not arise from explicit threats; it
can emerge subtly, through space, sound, and the unsettling manipulation of progress itself.
References
Freud, S. (1919). The Uncanny. Herrera, Z. (2025). An Exploration into Liminal Spaces and Their
Effects on Player Tension. Guildhall, Southern Methodist University. Horrigan, M. (2021). The Liminoid
in Single-Player Videogaming. Game Studies, 21(2). Macchi Janica, G. (2024). Liminal Spaces in
Video Game Geographies. Geoforum, 89, 247-259. McCarron, C. (2013). Shepard Tone Illusion and
the Super Mario 64 Endless Staircase. Shmuplations (1996). Super Mario 64 Developer Interviews.
Wikipedia contributors. (2024). Liminal space (aesthetic). Wikipedia. Gaming Stack Exchange (2010).
How do you get up the Endless Stairs on Super Mario 64?
