Room Escape Artist

Spooky season is here!

We asked the REA Contributors what escape rooms and other immersive experiences across North America they recommend you check out this month.

Since Los Angeles celebrates spooky season more than any other city we’ve visited, we’ll start our recommendations there, and then travel east with our escape room recommendations. At the end of this list, we’ll share some celebrated Halloween immersive experiences.

Escape Rooms

The Weeping Witch

• Cross Roads Escape Games
• Anaheim, California
• REA Review 🔒
• Recommended by Matthew Stein

The Weeping Witch is quite possibly the world’s best horror escape room by square footage. In this terrifically terrifying cinematic experience, Cross Roads Escape Games struck a rare balance between creative scares and top-notch gameplay, thoughtfully alternating between modes so you’ll never be pestered while puzzling. For horror movie fans, Cross Roads’ The Hex Room also provides a less scary but equally spooky experience with a unique format.

The Seed of Hope

• The Sanctuary Escape
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• REA Review 🔒
• Recommended by Cindi S.

In The Seed of Hope, you explore a spooky, abandoned orphanage where an entire team of paranormal investigators mysteriously disappeared, one by one. An immersive set with eerie noises and special effects work together to create haunting atmosphere. Combined with a tragic backstory – and a ghost or two – it’s a fun way to get into the Halloween spirit!

The Cabin Trilogy

• Escape Hour Austin
• Austin, Texas
• REA Review for The Cabin: Chapter 1
• REA Review for The Cabin: Chapter 2
• Recommended by Sarah Mendez

Escape Hour’s The Cabin rooms are the purest mix of puzzling and haunted house that you’ll find in all of Texas. We pondered, we screamed, we laughed, we ran…and we sent all our friends back to do the same.

Hide & Seek

• The Escape Warehouse
• Ponchatoula, Louisiana
• REA Review
• Recommended by David Spira

This creepy haunted-house vibe is perfect for your Halloween adventure. The Escape Warehouse minded the details in the set, giving this game a real sense of place. And while this escape room isn’t terrifying, they up the intensity in the final moments for a thrilling finale.

Dark Lullaby

• Escape Artist Greenville
• Greenville, South Carolina
• REA Review 🔒
• Dark Lullaby is part of The Chimera Corp Saga, but the other games in the saga have different, non-Halloween vibes.
• Recommended by Cindi S.

A dark, spooky experience themed around creepy nightmares and things that go bump in the night. With an immersive set, actors that blend perfectly with the story, and a few well-timed jump scares, Dark Lullaby is a great choice for those looking for some Halloween chills.

Pins & Needles

• The Exit Games FL
• Clearwater, Florida
• REA Review 🔒
• Recommended by David Spira

Pins & Needles is an intense game, but not one that immediately gives off spooky season vibes. Play through to the final scenes to really understand why this one belongs on the list.

Chesapeake Bay Butcher

• Colonial Escape Room
• Williamsburg, Virginia
• REA Review
• Recommended by Lisa Spira

When we casually booked Chesapeake Bay Butcher during a trip to Williamsburg, we had no idea that we were walking into a legitimately terrifying escape room. We were continually moving through the space, never getting comfortable, and always peering over our shoulders. This serial killer theming will get you perfectly in the mood for spooky season.

The Grand Parlor

• 13th Hour Escape Rooms
• Wharton, New Jersey
• REA Review 🔒
• Recommended by Lisa Spira

The best time to visit 13th Hour is during October when the actors are in season. For the entire month, the Hayden family roams the farm, popping in and out of the experiences. While 13th Hour has newer games than this one, which we also recommend, The Grand Parlor is the capstone of their Hayden Family series. Get a bigger group of friends together to solve, laugh, jump, and even dance in this delightfully creepy adventure.

The Forgotten Cathedral

• Escaparium
• Laval, Québec, Canada
• REA Review 🔒
• Recommended by Brett Kuehner

The Forgotten Cathedral has a realistically spooky environment with a set that rivals the best haunted houses, and with a story that adds multiple layers to the exploration of an abandoned cathedral. Truly cinematic moments (plus a couple of scares) provide solid supernatural fun.

D.J. Death

• The Gate Escape
• Leominster, Massachusetts
• REA Review
• Recommended by Matthew Stein

Years ago, D.J. Death started as a Halloween popup, but it was so popular that it became a permanent fixture at The Gate Escape. While you can play this spooky puzzlefest year round, there’s still no better time than Halloween. True to The Gate Escape’s signature style, expect a bounty of creative puzzles, groovy vibes, and high-energy fun.

Immersive Experiences

Where Dark Things Dwell

• Secret City Adventures
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• No Proscenium Interview
• Recommended by Peih-Gee Law

You arrive at an eerie historic village where, along with sixty other players, you must put a stop to the evil cultists. You accomplish this by exploring the village, collecting and solving puzzles at different locations. All the while, silent figures in faceless masks lurk in the shadows, and you must banish them with your light. This is a puzzle-forward experience with actors and a lightly creepy atmosphere that takes place after dark.

Delusion

• Los Angeles, California
• REPOD S2E8 The Cinematic Delusions of Jon Braver
• Recommended by Tammy McLeod

An immersive horror theater experience. There is a new story every year, but the sets, costumes, and effects have always been top notch. In previous performances, attendees were guided through the show in a small group, with the occasional chance for one-on-ones. The focus was very much on the story and the tension, not gore or violence, though there was the occasional jump scare. The show has built a tradition of drawing repeat visitors excited to see what fresh surprises await.

The Willows

• Los Angeles, California
• No Proscenium Review
• Tickets sell out fast, but The Willows recently got an extension that will run into November.
• Recommended by Richard Burns

A dinner party with a most interesting family. Come as yourself and meet a variety of characters who all have something to hide. As you get to know them and they get to know you, all is revealed in a haunting manner…inside a haunting manor. The Willows is set in a real Los Angeles mansion where guests are whisked about into the different rooms with different characters to have different experiences. If you attend with a companion, you will likely be bursting to tell them what strange things happened to you and then be equally amazed as they explain what weirdness they encountered. The cast is amazing, the acting is fantastic, and we are all invited to this unforgettable dinner.

🔒 Golden Lock Award-winning experience