Benson Hall is not like the rest of campus. Every other building is typical for a mid-sized state school, lots of generic 60s cinderblock dorms and a big glass library from the 2000s. That’s why Benson Hall feels so weird; it doesn’t fit in. The outside of the building is made out of dark red brick, the interior walls are dark mahogany wood, and the hallways are wide and filled with pillars and chandeliers. It is engraved with the year “1886.”
There’s a lounge with a large conference table, two dusty brown couches, two large windows, and an ugly red carpet. I’ve been in there before for the communication club. The meetings are usually an hour long, and I’ve never noticed anything strange during them. The atmosphere is pretty normal… as long as you’re there with other people.
If you enter alone, for the first few minutes you won’t notice anything out of the ordinary. You’ll start to doubt that anything will happen, but still you sit there. The shadows dance along the walls, sunlight coming in at weird angles and stretching into strange shapes.
After about 15 minutes, that’s when things start to change. You can’t be sure at first, maybe it’s just your imagination. The patterns on the wood will start to shift into faces, and for a split second you swear you can see words written on the wall. At this point there is no danger yet.
You pass the 30 minute threshold, and then you start to see silhouettes hidden in the walls. You swear you can hear whispers among the sound of the air conditioner. This is not your imagination. Keep going, it’s still awhile before you need to worry.
By the time you hit an hour the whispers are clearly audible. You might hear a familiar person’s voice, maybe even calling your name, but as long as you ignore them there’s nothing to be afraid of… yet. By now it’s starting to get colder, you should have brought a coat. Put it on, you’re going to need it.
The walls will begin to shift and the room might feel like it’s growing or shrinking. Bookshelves begin to appear in place of the walls. If you get up to read the titles, they are very unnerving. You might see ones like She Watches Me, I Can Hear You, or Following The Screams. None of them have an author, nor can they be opened. The pages are either glued shut, or there are no pages at all.
Pretty soon it’s been 90 minutes. Doors and windows will appear on the walls, floor, and even the ceiling. You might see another room or a hallway, or maybe a fireplace. Do not leave the room, or try to enter any of the doors. It is a trap. The original door you came through will not disappear, for now.
As time goes on you will get tired, but do not get lost in your thoughts. You need to keep your eye on your surroundings. The room’s shape will begin to make less and less sense, it may have too many walls, and the floor may be tilted slightly. If your chair begins to slide, stand up and hold onto a pillar. You’re almost done now, it’s almost over.
If you kept your eye on your watch, you’ll know when you reach 1 hour and 55 minutes. This is the point of no return. You have to walk through the original door before it’s been 2 hours. Congratulations, you’ve made it! You step out into the hallway, glancing back behind you to see the room has returned to normal. Shakily making your way down the hallway and outside, you’re greeted by students talking and laughing. You wonder if it was all a dream.
It wasn’t.
Of course, there are those that aren’t so lucky. Sometimes you don’t keep track of time properly, or maybe you disregard The Rules because you want to see what happens.
If you stay in the room longer than 2 hours, then the original door will disappear. Everything past this point is dangerous. The room will continue to change until it is unrecognizable, you will soon find yourself in a maze of many unfamiliar rooms. Your body will adapt to the cold and you can take off your coat. If you’re lucky the original door could reappear, but don’t count on it. At this point you probably can’t leave… but why would you? You’re a part of the room now. This is your new life.