By: Lauren Filey
For most of the academic year, the Bemis Architecture Building is known for late-night studio hours, structural drafting, and intense design critiques. However, this weekend, students are using those same spatial skills to terrify the campus community.
The annual Bemis Haunted House returns as one of Hampton University's most anticipated fall traditions. The event is organized and constructed by architecture majors who apply classroom engineering concepts to build a full-scale, immersive walkthrough while raising funds for their department.
Ticket proceeds from the event directly support the Bemis student body, funding essential studio supplies and department field trips throughout the academic year.
For Casey Walker, a fourth-year architecture major, participating in the event for all four years has provided a rare opportunity to share his department's work with the rest of campus.
"A lot of people on campus don't really know what we do, or where we are, or ever see us," Walker said. "The Bemis Haunted House is one of, if not the only, big way for us to give back to the campus, and also just show y'all our personality and how we really do things."
This year's layout centers around a butcher, cult, and cannibal theme, designed to disorient visitors as soon as they step inside the building.
The construction phase presents a tight operational turnaround for the student builders. While initial planning and interest meetings began on October 1, physical construction inside the building cannot begin until academic classes wrap up for the week.
"The most challenging part is the fact that we can't start until the end of classes on Friday," Walker said. "We have Friday and then Saturday to get ready, and then we have to transform the entire building. And then before Monday, we have to be all perfect again, ready for classes."
To execute the maze, students repurpose standard studio equipment into structural obstacles. Heavy, movable wooden pinup boards, typically used to display large architectural presentations, are reconfigured to craft narrow, claustrophobic hallways.
Walker noted that the build directly mirrors advanced coursework concepts, specifically interior layout design and spatial sequencing.
"With spatial sequencing, you realize how people move through a space and how people would feel comfortable," Walker said. "But for a haunted house, you want to be as uncomfortable as possible."
For first-year architecture student Kamryn Pemberton, stepping into the build for the first time highlighted the unique camaraderie forged through the department's demanding workload.
"When you cry together with someone, you are really bonded," Pemberton said. "Using that feeling of exhaustion and putting it into something shows your hard work and dedication. We're doing everything ourselves, doing that plus schoolwork, and showing you guys that we can put in the hours to be your Bemis family."
Pemberton added that transforming the academic space allows students to demonstrate the true essence of their discipline beyond traditional blueprints.
"I feel like people think that architecture is just building and arts and crafts, but it's really creating space out of nothingness and giving a room soul," Pemberton said. "It's one thing to step into Bemis and see classrooms, and it's another thing two hours later to step into Bemis, and it's a whole haunted house. It's not the space, but it's how you make it."
Beyond the technical build and departmental fundraising, the project gives architecture students a chance to reframe their relationship with their home building while creating a lasting impression on campus.
"Architecture is leaving your physical blueprint to be remembered," Pemberton said. "If the Hampton campus can remember us for being scary and creative, we really left our blueprint."
