Quo Vadis spooks Nationality Room visitors with historical Halloween tales

For two chilly October evenings last weekend, the Cathedral of Learning stood as a towering beacon of mystery. Within its hallowed halls, brave visitors to the Quo Vadis Halloween tours embarked on a journey into phantasmal worlds of ghostly forests, catacombs and sinister myths, all within the walls of different Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral. 

Over the weekend, Quo Vadis hosted Halloween tours of the Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning. Quo Vadis members work as tour guides for Nationality Room visitors, helping the broader community discover the diverse nationalities and ethnic groups of Pittsburgh. As the visitors embarked on the autumnal adventure through the Nationality Rooms, they encountered chilling legends, myths and supernatural stories associated with each culture.

Kendal Johnson, a senior history and nonfiction writing major who serves as the public relations officer for Quo Vadis, shared insights into the intricate process of organizing the tours. Johnson said meticulous planning is at the heart of creating the tours, and the club carefully considers what visitors might find most appealing.

“We make a map of what rooms we’re going to do for the Halloween tours — we try not to do the same room every year so it stays more interesting,” Johnson said. “We always do the Early American Room because people always want to see it on tours, because it’s locked during the day and no one is allowed in there.” 

This year’s map guided visitors through a journey across ten regions represented in the Nationality Rooms. In the Czechoslovak Room, visitors encountered a tour guide dressed as the Disney character Yzma, who told the folkloric legend of the Golem. Throughout the tour, guests heard tales of forest spirits and the ogress Baba Yaga in the German, Romanian and Ukrainian rooms. 

Tom Berkheimer, a junior environmental science major and president of Quo Vadis, said the annual Halloween tours are significant for the club’s finances. Berkheimer said the tours showcase the Nationality Rooms with a spooky twist. 

“The Halloween tours event is our annual tradition as a fundraiser for the club. The money supports all the other events that we do,” Berkheimer said. “All the guides are going to be dressed up for each of the rooms that we highlight, and we’re going to share a spooky story from that culture.” 

The eerie atmosphere of the tours thickened in the Chinese Room with ancient stories of wandering spirits haunting villages. The Turkish Room followed with the tale of the malevolent spirits of jinn, or genies. The shapeshifting and demon-like creatures of the Indian and African Heritage rooms offered a glimpse into folklore passed from generation to generation. 

Halfway through the tour, visitors entered the Greek Room, where guides paused from telling spooky stories and instead delved into the philosophical contributions of Greek culture. The tour concluded in the elusive Early American Room, where visitors traveled back to colonial America and gained insight into life in the 17th century. 

Johnson, reflecting on her role as a tour guide, found the Early American Room particularly intriguing with her background as a history major. She said her enthusiasm to explore the Cathedral grows every day.

“I think it’s awesome to know so much about the Cathedral because I’m here every day,” Johnson said. “It’s cool to know stuff, not only about the rooms but also the Cathedral as a whole, and I’m also a history major. I mean, these rooms go all the way back to 1938, and that’s just crazy.” 

Hailey Latona, a sophomore math and economics major and the secretary of Quo Vadis, shares the other members’ enthusiasm for the Nationality Rooms. Latona said she recognized the rooms as something only found at Pitt. 

“I originally saw the Nationality Rooms and I was just taken aback by how cool they were,” Latona said. “They’re something that was completely unique to Pitt and I wanted to learn more about them.” 

Quo Vadis guides absorb countless details about the Nationality Rooms to craft their tours. Berkheimer said studying the Nationality Rooms is a difficult but rewarding endeavor.

“There are 31 different rooms, so when you start you’re given this 100-page packet and it feels almost like a course because of the amount you have to learn,” Berkheimer said. “It is, however, more fun than a course I think, because I’m still learning to this day.” 

Berkheimer underscored the significance of understanding the Nationality Rooms as a testament to meticulous craftsmanship. He said it’s essential for Pitt students to engage with them through guided tours.

“A lot of times people will know about the Nationality Rooms but they haven’t visited, and many students haven’t really taken the time to look around the rooms and realize how much time and details and attention is poured into them,” Berkheimer said. “It’s something totally unique that we have here, so it’s worthwhile for people to come in and experience it!”