From Reviewer 2 to vanishing research careers, Clare Hall members gathered for an evening of academic nightmares, dark humour and some disturbingly familiar stories.

This Halloween, Clare Hall welcomed members and guests for another edition of Academic Horror Night, an evening of terrifying tales, academic absurdities and shared laughter. Participants came along to recount the horrors of research, teaching and university life, proving once again that academia can be scarier than fiction.

The atmosphere was suitably spooky, complete with creative decorations and a wonderfully gruesome selection of Halloween delicacies prepared by the Clare Hall kitchen. From edible eyeballs to mummies and other cleverly crafted spooky nibbles, the kitchen team brought their own culinary imagination to the evening, making the refreshments almost too frightening to eat!

The highlight was the competition for the most chilling academic tale, with stories ranging from painfully plausible to almost unbelievable.

The winning story was a horror tale about the recent advances of artificial intelligence in Maths. The story prompted reflections on AI, mathematical discovery and the opportunities for (even more) early-career research careers. Second place went to a category ‘Great egos and entitled male academics’, with a few tales about the exhausting and often invisible labour of navigating powerful personalities and academic hierarchies.

Between stories, laughter and macabre refreshments, the evening offered more than an opportunity to recognise shared experiences across disciplines and career stages. It was also a moment of collective catharsis: a chance to laugh at what cannot always be changed, find solidarity in shared struggles, and learn from how others have navigated—or even transformed—similar situations. By bringing these experiences into the open, the evening offered a little perspective, mutual encouragement and even a reason to rekindle hope.

The event forms part of Clare Hall’s Postdoctoral and Early Career Researchers (ECRs) programme, which brings members together through a mix of professional development, peer support and community-building activities. These include postdoc-led writing retreat days, the Academic Hackathon, dedicated Fellows and ECR Formal Halls, and other opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration.

Special thanks to Dr Valeria Ramirez, our Clare Hall’s Postdoc Liaison, for her creativity and continued commitment to research culture developing a welcoming, collaborative and intellectually stimulating community for postdoctoral and early-career researchers.

A warm thank you also to everyone who came along, contributed a story or joined in the laughter, and especially to the Clare Hall Kitchens Team for their imaginative and delicious Halloween creations.

Until next Halloween – may your reviewers be kind, your funding applications successful and your research questions remain unsolved long enough to publish them!