With the new “Backrooms” movie coming out in late May, I have begun to think about some of Beloit’s own places on campus that match the energy of that yellow office space and could serve as a sequel to the film. Alternatively, they could be their own separate levels in the Backrooms universe. With Beloit College being 180 years old as of 2026, I believe there is no way that at least one building on campus is not some sort of liminal space or alternate dimension portal that you will phase through to be sent to a faraway land.
I have some baseline criteria that I am following that will make these decisions feel a little more coherent. While I do think fluorescent light is the bane of my existence, it does not entirely make a place very backroomsy to me. For one, the gut feeling of “something is wrong here” is a key factor in most of these places. In addition, multiple corridors that lead to inconspicuous places play a role in this for me. The silly little monsters need to be able to hide somewhere to tickle your feet when you least expect it.
Anyways, here are some Beloit College places that (probably) belong in the Backrooms. If you have any suggestions or want to fight me on my choices, maybe email me idk.
The Tunnel from Maurer to Brannon
Being a freshman this year, I had the wonderful experience of living in Maurer Hall. It’s a horrible atmosphere, and people there really changed me as a person, but that’s besides the point. If I wanted to take a quick shortcut over to Brannon Hall to do some devious acts, I would just take the tunnel beneath Chapin that runs between the two buildings. The long stretch of cream hallways and the multiple doors you have to open, however, make the experience a little disorienting. I often got the feeling that if I did not walk fast enough, or waited too long to open a door, I would be stuck in that hallway forever. It is also not the best place to be when there is a tornado warning, as you begin to go a little crazy with how bleak that space is.
Eaton Chapel
One side quest I did not anticipate doing this year was entering Eaton Chapel and skittering around the place like a little mouse. I fully expected it to just be a Chapel. However, when it was revealed that not only was there a whole creepy basement, but also some sort of between-wall space that you can totally get stuck behind, I was hooked. The exposed infrastructure of the little basement area adds to the vibe of surrealness, and the brick wall between the drywall of the chapel is so “Cask of Amontillado”-coded. I am getting visions of someone squeezing their way between that wall, and the other end is something wicked.
The Basement of the Hendricks Center
Imagine this: You are little ol’ me in my costume design class working on some sort of project, when you suddenly get struck with a tummy ache. Of course, you are dumb and stupid, and you have no clue where the bathroom is in the basement, so you have to ask for some guidance from someone else. They point you to some vague area right around the corner and leave you to your little adventure. You then realize that you have to walk down another weirdly long hallway to get to your destination, but it’s okay because you have done this before, right? WRONG. This is not the same as the tunnel under Chapin, you fool. Sometimes, you get the lovely addition of distant piano music with your painful walk, making the entire ordeal more intense as you fight for your life in those winding hallways.
The Basement of Porter HallI will say that the Porter Hall basement is not as bad as the other places mentioned above, though it was definitely still a little weird with all those random side rooms. Why is the Porter Hall laundry room green? That was a choice, but I do vibe with it. Anyways, I can see this space being something like a middle ground between levels, where each door you open leads to another floor.
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