A nightclimber looks down at market square Sophie Macdonald

Bizarre new footage shows hooded men, dressed head-to-toe in black, scaling the rooftops of Market Square and the history faculty.

Mysterious photos obtained by Varsity have led some to speculate that there may be a new secret society on the University scene.

One eye-witness made a comparison to the The Life and Death Brigade on Gilmore Girls.

“I wondered if the Pitt Club had adopted new costumes,” she told Varsity.

Some have even celebrated these hooded climbers for challenging sartorial orthodoxy at Sidgwick site, a runway for many of Cambridge’s more aesthetically-inclined humanities students.

Neither climber was seen carrying a tote bag or warmly clutching their worn copy of De Beauvoir’s The Second Sex.

One visibly shocked Sidge dweller told Varsity: “They just appeared out of nowhere. I was so excited – it’s just so ‘unsidg!’ They were wearing hoodies – finally somebody brave enough to challenge the crocs and corduroys.

“They started to slide down the glass of the roof and my heart dropped, I was just imagining one of them falling through. There were four of them walking past the library before, and two scaled the building.”

Black-clad figures were also seen scaling the SeeleyVarsity

Seeley is not the only rooftop the nightclimbers have been seen scaling.

Varsity has also obtained photographs of the hooded group on the roofs around Market Square.

One eye-witness told Varsity: “Walking back from ITSU, a group of silhouettes caught our eye on the roof of Franco Manca. Joking about the chimney sweeps of Mary Poppins, we approached to get a better look.

“One guy in a black hoody and bandana sat with his legs dangling over the gutter. He returned my wave with two peace signs.”

Sightings have also allegedly been reported on the roof of Gonville & Caius as well as Senate House.

One unsuspecting eyewitness told Varsity: “Whilst I was at Caius, I saw a flash of movement at the window of the highest floor. Being as high as it was, it didn’t cross my mind that it was a person until the porters came into the room and asked if we had seen where the figure had run to.”

This is not the first time Cambridge's iconic skyline has been disrupted by mischievous and mysterious figures. 

Night-climbing has a long history in the city, with a 1937 book, The Night Climbers of Cambridge, explaining how best to scale Cambridge's ancient rooftops and iconic spires.

Ever since, nimble pranksters have been vexing college porters with their antics, which range from putting Santa hats on the statues of St John's College Chapel last year, to depositing a small delivery van on the roof of Senate House in 1958.

It is less common for nightclimbers to be seen out and about, however, with the secretive group preferring the cover of darkness — as their name implies. 

Varsity cannot say why the group has broken cover now — or what they have planned next — but with the climbers conspicuously absent from the Freshers' Fair, perhaps they were simply trying to drum up interest in whimsical trespassing among the newest cohort of Cambridge students. 

After all, targeting the history faculty would suggest they're looking for students with time on their hands.