The Stacks of DOOM

 The Main Stacks of U of I are easily recognized as one of the creepiest places on all of campus. I am writing this blog post to assure everyone that its reputation is totally deserved. It is terrifying there. Now, because I am the type of person who loves terrifying herself and getting herself into stupid and totally deserved situations, I go there to explore all the time. Here, I will chronicle some of the scary aspects of the Stacks, as well as some memorable moments from my exploring.

You can’t actually get into the Main Stacks without Ms. Arnold’s permission (never fear, there’s a way around that, read on), but also, the entire building is creepy anyway so you don’t even have to go into the Stacks if you don’t want to.

Places that are creepy in the Library Building (excluding the stacks)

-      The entire building is like a rabbit warren. I swear it was built by a madman. None of the corridors lead where you expect them to go, the maps are worse than useless, and pretty much the whole building looks the same. Have fun getting lost.

-      It’s SOO quiet all the time.

-      There’s this creepy room (which I can’t tell you where to find, refer to point 1) that I found with a giant pewter-ish gate that’s padlocked, and then when you peer through, you see these giant floor to ceiling bookshelves. I know it just sounds like I was looking at the Stacks, but it was completely dark and there were these weird chains hanging from the ceiling. Actual chains. I don’t know why, because I can’t find the room again.

-      The entire place is definitely a hangout for witches, demons, & other unnatural things.

-      in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, they have actual books on summoning demons! It’s just a creepy place overall.

Of course, the really creepy part is the Stacks themselves. I’m sure we all remember the field trip, but let me refresh your memory. 10 (maybe) floors with minimal lighting, floor to ceiling bookshelves making these tiny claustrophobic corridors, the creepiest stairwells ever, an elevator from the time of the dinosaurs, and a million urban legends about college kids who got lost and never found their way out. Sound familiar?

I’m just going to give you some highlights of my time exploring the Stacks (all you need to do to get in is tell Ms. Arnold you have a research project and need some books; she never verifies it. No one tell her I do this though please) 

-      The main elevator’s door, which tried to close and then bounced off the frame and rebounded back into the other side. Either the elevator was completely broken, or a ghost had just entered it with me. I didn’t stick around long enough to find out.

-      Creepy noises coming from somewhere nearby me (I later figured out it was a shelver).

-      Wailing coming from the floor below (this I have no explanation for – I went down to look but there was no one there).

-      The sheer idea of being crushed inside of those mechanical moving shelves (this actually nearly happened to me once – again, I have no idea how, there was NOBODY around).

-      Getting lost. All the time. It is SO scary, because you get so turned around SO quickly – there are no windows, no frame of reference, and again, the maps are worse than useless.

-      The second elevator (which has too many problems to be covered in a single bullet point)

o  There is a second elevator all the way at the east end of the library (I think – again, no frame of reference).

-  I think it’s the east end because I tried to map it once (did not work), but also, the east end is where the entrance is, and I’m pretty sure they might be inhabiting the same space. This is obviously impossible, so it might actually be on the west end. If you wander around long enough, you always find it.

o  It is completely terrifying.

o  It was definitely installed during the Dark Ages.

- There’s maybe one square meter of floor space.

- There’s no LIGHT in it, except for the glowing buttons.

- It makes terrifying rattling noises.

- There’s no shock absorbers (or whatever it is that stabilizes an elevator) so when the doors open the elevator is still bouncing up and down and you can’t get out.

o  Finally, the most creepy, is that there is a “Floor 11” button in the secret elevator. THERE IS NO FLOOR 11! The maps don’t show it, the other elevator can’t access it, the stairs don’t go there – it literally doesn’t exist. The button is locked with a key, like Uni’s Attic, so I’ve never been there, but it’s still the scariest thing ever to me.

So that’s the Stacks. Have fun!