{"id":316415,"date":"2026-10-28T22:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T22:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/316415\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T22:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T22:50:16","slug":"horror-and-spectral-club-provides-a-community-for-horror-lovers-at-pitt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/316415\/","title":{"rendered":"Horror and Spectral Club provides a community for horror lovers at Pitt"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Halloween approaches, Pitt\u2019s Horror and Spectral Club <\/a>provides a place for students to celebrate their love of all things supernatural.<\/p>\n

The student organization, which meets weekly, hosts a range of horror-themed events open to all students. Past events have included movie nights, presentations and group field trips. Members say their participation has provided them not just club membership, but genuine community.<\/p>\n

McKenna Best, a senior human resources management major and the club\u2019s president and founder, said she filled a gap in Pitt\u2019s student organization offerings when she started the Horror and Spectral Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always been a lifelong fan of horror, and I didn\u2019t really feel like any of the clubs here really fit what I was looking for,\u201d Best said. \u201cI wanted another space for like-minded people to just chat about horror and anything under that umbrella, so I kickstarted the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past year, the club has had the opportunity to explore various allegedly haunted spots in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLast semester, we got the funding for a paranormal tour downtown so we got to go to the City Morgue, the courthouse, and prison,\u201d Best said. \u201cThat was really popular.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Allegheny County Courthouse is particularly famous for paranormal sightings. The building is said to be haunted<\/a> because of the 58 jailhouse hangings that have been held in what is now the building\u2019s Family Court wing.<\/p>\n

Best said she feels excited about the club\u2019s future, especially a planned excursion that takes riders through Pittsburgh\u2019s three rivers and highlights local stories, legends and supernatural occurrences.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis semester, I\u2019m excited because we got the funding to go on the Haunted Three Rivers cruise<\/a> on the Gateway Clipper,\u201d Best said. \u201cThat\u2019s one that we\u2019re all really excited to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best believes the club has created a \u201creally nice community\u201d of horror lovers at Pitt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of underclassmen haven\u2019t gotten that involved in college yet because they haven\u2019t found anything that interested them until this,\u201d Best said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we have the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Best, the draw of the horror genre is in its deeper meaning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the creative expression [in horror] as well and how it has a lot of deep ties,\u201d Best said. \u201cI feel like horror is much more historically and politically tied than people think. It\u2019s a very introspective genre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maea Fivecoate, a sophomore bioethics major and club member, said she enjoys horror\u2019s broad appeal, including its ties to folklore<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that interests me most about horror is the fact that anybody can enjoy it. Like, it\u2019s not something that is specific to one group or subculture,\u201d Fivecoate said. \u201cEverybody has horror stories. Everybody has folklore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dino Bianchini, a sophomore environmental science major and club member, has been drawn to the unfiltered nature of the horror genre since he was little.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s no restraint [in horror]. Characters can swear, they can be bloody. It\u2019s very uncensored,\u201d Dino said. \u201cIt\u2019s just always something that\u2019s really clicked into place for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fivecoate said she values the community Horror and Spectral club has created, especially since she lacked a similar one in high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really have anything like that in high school, so I just wanted to be able to have a community where everyone enjoys horror, whether it be horror books or SFX makeup or horror movies or video games,\u201d Fivecoate said.<\/p>\n

Marissa Fong, a sophomore English writing major and Horror and Spectral Club social media chair, agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019re all kind of a big friend group. I get along well with everyone there, and it\u2019s just like, immediately as soon as you walk in. We\u2019re all kind of weird, we already know what we\u2019re here for,\u201d Fong said. \u201cWe just all immediately get along and don\u2019t care about anything else for a couple hours every Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n