In a horror escape room, the adventure suddenly gets real!
My two great loves are escape rooms and horror (after my husband and child, of course), so you'll understand that you can wake me in the middle of the night for a good horror escape room.
Do you know the children's books by R.L. Stine? The Goosebumps books? With the dripping red letters and the terrifying drawings on the cover? I was about eight when I discovered the horror genre, and I was hooked straight away. I borrowed every Stine book the library had, and whenever my dad put on a horror film in the evening, I'd stand in the hallway and secretly watch along. He caught me every single time, by the way, so I never got to see how the films ended. Horror is a fantastic genre, and it is perfectly suited to horror escape rooms!
You find out together how brave you are
Every horror escape room lover knows that for the scariest horror escape room in the Netherlands, DarkPark is the place to be. One of the best things about playing scary escape rooms is that you find out how brave you actually are. The outcome is pretty much decided in advance: you are brave, no matter what. Because you will always play the horror escape room at the level of tension you set for yourself. You don't have to be the one who goes through a door first, for example; a teammate can do that. But in the end, you go through too! Whether you walk at the front or in the middle of the group, you are brave either way. Another example: you don't have to be the one who confronts the actor; a teammate can do that too. You can stay hidden if you'd rather. But in the end, you keep going. You are brave either way. A horror escape room is a chain of brave moments, and so a chain of successful moments. Every time you dare to do something in the horror escape rooms you play, you feel a little bit prouder of yourself.
You feel alive, and it puts things in perspective
When escape rooms have horror elements, the tension you feel suddenly becomes much more real. Because you get swept up in a story that feels so realistic, you forget it's only a game. And that is exactly what's so beautiful about it. For a while you're out of the daily grind and you get to surrender completely to every emotion a horror escape room has to offer. Fear, but also joy (I solved that puzzle!), amazement (wow, I just snuck right past the actor) and curiosity (what else is waiting for me?). A horror escape room always makes me feel alive, and every time I walk out of a room I can't stop talking about it. On top of that, horror escape rooms put things in perspective a little: "my car wouldn't start today, but at least there's no serial killer chasing me. It could always be worse!"
You are completely safe, especially at DarkPark
When you watch a horror film or read a horror novel on your own, you know: I'm safe. You can switch off the film or close the book. I realize you can't switch off a horror escape room or snap it shut, but a horror escape room is every bit as safe. Remember that the maker of a good horror escape room wants nothing more than for you to leave the building happy! Trust that. In my experience, the people behind the scenes keep a constant eye on what the team can handle. At DarkPark especially, they are good at judging what a team needs to turn it into a success. Do you find it really scary? Then say so to the game host beforehand. A good game host listens to the guest and makes sure everyone has a great time: the daredevils and the scaredy-cats alike.
The moments that stay with me all happened in a horror escape room
I have played quite a few rooms, and there are a handful of moments that will stay with me forever. The funny thing is, they are the moments I myself have marked as my bravest. They took place in a horror escape room, and I will never forget them.
My favorite horror escape rooms are Into the DarkVerse and The End. Both by DarkPark, and that is no coincidence. One of the moments that will always stay with me comes from The End. Many people consider it the scariest escape room in the Netherlands. I don't want to give any spoilers, and I certainly won't, but what I can say is that the very first moment with the actor is one of the best moments I have ever been lucky enough to experience. I can still picture it, and it has been quite a while since I played The End.
So yes, pluck up your courage and go for escape rooms with horror. Halloween is just around the corner: that seems like a good moment to try a horror escape room. Time to get spooked!
