If there is any recurring enemy for a college student, it’s their class schedule. Although multiple hour labs and back to back lectures are draining in and of themselves, this is about the gaps between classes we can struggle to make productive. Sure, buying an overpriced latte and meandering the HUB for an open seat are the safe options for filling up time between classes. But if you’re looking into productively wasting time, think about exploring the following UCR buildings:
Olmstead: The Never Ending Hallway
If you’re looking for a quick fix of fright, Olmstead is just the building! The uncanny energy of its basement is charged by the neverending hallways bordered by chalky-white walls, lined with flickering yellow lights and exposed pipes hissing you away as you walk past them. While the basement appears abandoned, the lonely hallways are accompanied by the echoes of faraway voices from the seemingly empty classrooms. The chilling aura whisks you back to the first floor through the equally rickety elevator, leaving you with a tensed-up feeling that most definitely will keep you away for the rest of the quarter.
Department of Botany and Plant Sciences: The UCR Backrooms
Yes, it is hard to believe this building is not an obscure Backrooms level channeling your inner survival skills. Luckily, you don’t have to run from anything in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences building, at least that I know of. This entire building encourages you to challenge your inner curiosity and invite yourself into a long-awaited stroll through bizarre maze-like hallways. The building takes no time to make its eerie presence noticeable, with its grand floor plans consisting of aimless hallways furnished with abandoned old-school desks and mysterious lab equipment. On a side note, watch your head! Alongside the hair-raising energy of the building, the patchy ceilings exposing its inner workings and pipes add to its frightening nature. Mysterious as the building is, some doors remain open, and you may find yourself in a dark room with a lone table and a questionable open window. Otherwise, you’ll end up peering into a pitch-black room emulating a manic scientist’s lab. While this building’s dilapidated state makes it seem abandoned, waves of laughter meet you in every direction, and it’s up to you to figure out where it’s coming from! This is the best building to explore if your schedule allows more than thirty minutes of meandering.
Geology: The Duality Building
The geology building has two personalities, like our exes: spine-chilling and cute. It’s up to you to pick and choose between the two vibes. If you like treating yourself or others to a charming museum date (I’m talking to you, artsy folks), invite yourself to the first floor of the geology building! This department has a hallway that features a very endearing collection of million-year-old fossils of our lovely ancestral siblings, an alluring wall gradient of crystals, old-school household items, maps and a big furry mastodon friend. Down a single flight of stairs into the basement, the ambiance takes a turn. While it’s a single hallway, it is tinted a freaky yellow color by the few lights that offer the ability to take a bizarre stroll that leads to an unsettling equipment room straight out of a horror movie. You can only hope your only company is someone you brought with you. This is a great building to stroll through, especially if you’re short on time or heading to the library!
Sproul Hall: The Liminal Space
Liminal space, or just a whitewashed basement? Either way, Sproul Hall’s basement allows for an unsettling opportunity for exploration, given its pasty bleached hallways reminiscing an abandoned hospital corridor. If you’re looking into finding a sweet spot that elicits a ghostly aesthetic that you feel you shouldn’t belong in, Sproul is the place for you! While there is an elevator to excuse yourself from the haunting basement, do let yourself out through the door signaling the exit. This exit is even more unnerving because of the dark and steep stairwell leading you up to the safety of civilization. Sproul has that intriguing personality adventure seekers are looking for, so don’t be scared … unless that’s your thing.
