Can you outwit evil on Halloween? Breakout Escape Rooms
These 10 escape rooms bring dark themes for the season
Escape rooms are called that for a reason: As soon as you're locked in, your goal is to get out as fast as possible. You'll want to move especially quickly when these rooms are filled with scary creatures. If you think you have what it takes to decipher clues while monsters and serial killers are creeping on you, then a horror-themed escape room might be an outing for couples, groups of friends or families this haunting season. As the escape room concept has risen in popularity in recent years, these spaces have started to theme the experiences to specific occasions, and Halloween is no exception. Here are 10 Halloween-themed escape rooms in Southern California. Make sure to call ahead to make reservations.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Escape Hotel Hollywood
When: 1-11:10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 1 p.m.-12:40 a.m. Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-12:40 a.m. Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.11:10 p.m. Sundays Where: 6633 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles Tickets: $39-$110 at 323-848-4954 or escapehotelhollywood.com
This place bills itself as an entire hotel of horrifying escape rooms. With themes like a haunted day care, a circus full of freaks and, of course, zombies, each room offers a terrifying option. Sundays in October offer Hide & Seek, a full-contact horror survival game involving all of the rooms.
Maze Rooms
When: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. daily Where: 4365 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City Tickets: Starting at $37 at 310-595-2881 or la.mazerooms.com/rooms/ theyre-coming
This place offers several rooms at various locations, but those who want a classic experience with the undead should check out “They're Coming” in Culver City. This room starts off with your group doing what seems like a simple escape game, but then the undead rise in the heart of Los Angeles, and the government has quarantined you.
Quest Room
When: 10 a.m.-midnight
daily
Where: 1815 Hawthorne Blvd., Redondo Beach Tickets: Starting at $127 for two people at 323-307-2090 or questroom.com
A serial killer has been stalking the streets of Los Angeles, and you and your friends find yourselves at the home of the most recent victim to help investigate the crime. This escape room is called “Resurrection,” and be careful because the home may not be empty.
ORANGE COUNTY Escape Room Era
When: 2-10:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, noonmidnight Fridays-Saturdays Where: 3365 E. Miraloma Ave., Anaheim
Tickets: $52per person with a minimum of four people per booking in October; 657-262-6302or escaperoomera.com
You can choose your own level of fear, since this Anaheim spot offers escape rooms with various levels of terror. For real horror, there's “The Hide,” where you and your friends are private investigators gathering evidence against a suspected serial killer. The
lights will be out at times, and there will be actors, strobe lights and fog effects. The slightly less scary room is “The Overgrown,” which is more of a science fictionbased zombie adventure where you must find a cure before the monsters get you.
Escapade Games
When: 3:15-11:15p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 11:15a.m.-11:15 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays Where: 1111 E. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton Tickets: $69at 909-6316716or escaperoomera.com/ escapade-games
The organizers of “Zoe: Reborn” promise “100 minutes of pure terror” from this escape room, which
takes you into Zoe's world as you navigate from her bedroom to her Uncle Robert's lair amid haunting props, eerie music and realistic set decorations. Guests will have to solve puzzles that include haunted paintings, satanic circles and even buckets of blood. Plus it's a full-contact experience with actors. It's so scary that no one under age 16 is allowed.
Legacy Escape Rooms
When: 1-10:30p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 12:30-11:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays Where: 1525 Mesa Verde Drive E., Suite 212, Costa Mesa
Tickets: $39-$55 at 949-335-9677 or legacyescaperooms.com.
There are a few scary game options here, and the newest is “Zombie Rising.” Your group must survive the zombie apocalypse, and at times you must split up to cover more ground. RIVERSIDE COUNTY
Inland Empire Escape Rooms
When: 2:30-10:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, noon-midnight Saturdays-Sundays Where: 7000Indiana Ave., Suite 107, Riverside Tickets: $30-$40 at 951777-8059 or inlandempireescaperooms.com.
The story of the “Panic Room” is set in the eerie
Kimberly Asylum. Guests must escape before the orderlies come to take you to the evil Dr. Jostle, who's set to perform an archaic and painful procedure.
When: Hours vary Tuesdays-Sundays
Where: 22500 Town Circle, Moreno Valley
Tickets: $25-$30 at 951444-4263or breakyouout. com/the-clinic.
Those who are afraid to go to the doctor will find their nightmares brought to life at the medical-themed horror room dubbed “The Clinic.” There's something strange going on in this clinic, where patients come to get better but often go missing instead. SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
Confusion Escapes
When: 3:30-9 p.m. Wednesdays, 4-9p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, noon9 p.m. Sundays
Where: 245 E. Redlands Blvd., San Bernardino
Tickets: Minimum $150 for three people at 909-639-7077 or confusionescapes.com.
Would you book an Airbnb that is rumored to have belonged to a powerful witch? That's the premise of “45 Lampkin Lane,” where you won't want to extend your stay but instead must flee before whatever is lurking inside the home catches you.
Unity Escape Rooms
When: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. FridaysSaturdays
Where: 2015 W. Park Ave., No. 2, Redlands
Tickets: $30 adults, $22.50 children under 14 at 877-338-6489or unityescaperooms.com/redlands/ the-cabin.
In “The Cabin: Stanley's Sanctuary,” you and your friends must find the book that Stanley the Toy Maker has used to trap the souls of his victims.