“Horror Stories” from the Student Housing

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Living in student housing can be fun. However, it can sometimes be scary as well. Here are some incidents of that. These stories are not based on real events or people, they are somewhat ‘student-housing-folklore’ stories that I’ve collected over the years.

“The smelly dishwasher of Gamli Garður”

Mr Pasta is a lad who loves pasta. He is not a germaphobe by any means, but he is relatively clean and likes to keep his things tidy, especially when living with other people. So, once he heard that the people he would be sharing his kitchen with were rumoured to be very fanatical about cleanliness, he was relieved; he was so sure the kitchen would be clean and fresh,  what could go wrong?

Many things could go wrong, apparently. You see, Mr Pasta’s new neighbours seemed fairly clean at first. Then some strange smells started coming from the kitchen. So one day, Mr Pasta started paying more attention to what they were doing, and he was horrified. Apparently, the new neighbours thought that it was a good idea to put everything in the dishwasher. And, when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Even the lids of the garbage bins. From that day on, Mr Pasta no longer believed rumours. He would also only wash his dishes by hand and avoid using the smelly dishwasher at all costs…

“The radical believer”

Once upon a time, far away from Iceland, there was a girl who lived in the student housing of her country. Let’s call her “Cool Girl,” because she is indeed rather cool. Since she is smart, funny, pretty, and politically active, Cool Girl has a lot of friends. She is also very accepting of most people despite their beliefs. Thus, when Cool Girl had to share a room with a girl who was known to be excessively devout;  she didn’t really mind.

For a good amount of time, everything was fine. The two girls had found their routines and they were fairly friendly towards each other despite their different beliefs; the devout roommate prayed only when Cool Girl wasn’t studying, and Cool Girl would leave the room for her roommate to do her praying in peace. There were a few bumps here and there, but no more than in the average friendship. Therefore, Cool Girl invited her devoted friend to hang out with the rest of her group. Wouldn’t hurt, right?

The conversations within the group came and went, and everything seemed fine until philosophy came into play. Because when a group of university students sit down with a beer or two, philosophy always comes into play. One topic followed the other smoothly until the topic of religion arose. One by one they asked each other what they believed in. One by one they replied normally despite their different beliefs until the devout guest had to reply…

“Oh, my God requires active demonstrations of faith through prayers,” she said, and a huge smirk appeared on her face. Everyone looked confused, so she grabbed the chance to explain even more. “I pray every day and as a testament to my devotion, he started talking to me. I would do anything for him. Even kill my sister…” She turned around and looked at the rest of the group. She kept on smiling while she spoke: “I would even kill you if asked.”

Silence fell for a while until the group changed topics. But after this, Cool Girl was frozen in her seat; this was her roommate, after all, and this revelation made her feel uneasy. Thus, when they got home, she decided to confront her about it in the kitchen. Cool Girl tried to speak to her about her feelings in the most polite way she could, regardless of how shocked she still felt because of the whole thing.

“You know,,” she started speaking as softly as she could. “I feel a bit weird about your comment. Do you really think it is ok to go around telling people that you will kill them if—”

But she couldn’t finish her sentence. Cool Girl saw the eyes of the other person light up. Something in her natural instincts made her run to the room and lock herself inside; something was about to happen.

After a few minutes, Believer was banging on the door shouting over and over again “HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME?!”

At some points, it seemed like she was throwing her whole body against the wall. Cool Girl thought she would die that day, so she nuzzled against the wall and waited. A while passed and then, suddenly, everything stopped. Cool Girl held her breath and waited for a few minutes, but nothing. Knowing she had no choice, she went outside to see what was happening.

She found the devoted person under the shower, pouring water all over her with her clothes on and praying to her God. Cool Girl didn’t waste a second; within minutes she had packed her most important stuff and left the building, seeking refuge at one of her friend’s.

She switched rooms as fast as she could, and never spoke to her devoted roommate again.

Remember kids, when you move into a shared space you may find your new best friend… Or you may just lose your faith in humanity.