Schermerhorn Extension is frightening enough.

Science of Psych is a rite of passage for all potential psych majors and so are its psych studies that all students are subjected to. Having to to undergo 9 hours of testing, one is never fully in control of what one is subjected to. You hope that you might be participating in one relating to food, but most of the time you are sorely mistaken. 

Our story begins one chilly October evening as I made my way to the catacombs that are Schermerhorn Extension. The imposing, ugly structure cast a dark shadow as I ambled through its heavy, wood doors. With the location on my phone, I navigated the labyrinth to the psych study room. There is no one there. Then, I saw something that made my blood run cold.

A water bug, the size of a cinnamon bear, crawled out of a grate on the floor. Waiting impatiently, I wandered towards the water fountain for a drink. Pressing the button, brown liquid flowed out warmly across my cheek. I shuddered and backed into a wall of rusty push pins. Slightly bothered, I scurried back to the room, which I thought was the location of the study.

The room was now dark except a light coming down the adjoining hallway. A shadowy psych grad student entered. Brusquely, he pushed a liability form before me. Seeing as this was the last of a strew of studies, I had very little choice. Reluctantly, I signed away my life with a smelly marker. The grad student disappeared. Ten minutes later, two different grad students re-entered. I heard a shout, a chair scraping against the wall, and deep breathing. The grad students ushered me through the hallway towards the experiment room as I looked back towards the slamming door.

The room was tiny, with a single foldable chair before a computer screen. Wires and tape were sitting on a parallel foldable table. I was asked to sit down. The grad students explained that my reactions would be tested for a number of videos. I nodded. They left.

They soon begin to tape the wires to my chest and wrists, simultaneously taping my hands and legs to the chair to prevent any restraint. A little shaken up, I wiggle around a little to regain some sense of security and comfort. Dreaming of an ice cream sandwich which was given to me in my last experiment, I calmed despite the sudden flickering off of all lights. The Television went completely white. The first clip began.

It was a scene from Friday the 13th. One of the campers is cornered and impaled on a large scythe. The next scene was from “The Ring,” another character is ripped apart. Next was a scene from a Japanese horror film, in which the protagonist has her mouth forced so wide that her face is split in two. Needing to look away, I tried to break free. I devised a scheme.

During the next “Scream” clip, I laughed obnoxiously. Hoping to catch their attention, I kept on laughing. Soon, a grad student ended the video and entered the now lit room. Undoing my wires, the grad student asked me how I felt at the end of the last video. Mustering up my best Patrick Bateman impression, I remarked that it was pretty hilarious. Clearly unpleased, the grad student told me that I was free to go. I asked if I would receive credit. He nodded and I darted out.

As I walked down the hall, I noticed a female grad student who was waving to me. She politely asked, “Are you Leo?” To which I answered, “Why yes!” She responded, “You’re about an hour late but I assume we can fit you in.”