Escape room: The “Haunted” House
A comedy escape room for teens and adults: strange noises, footprints in flour and an Atbash cipher. Find the real “ghost”, no scares.
The story
For a week now, Grandma’s house has had noises at night, creaking doors and something disappearing from the fridge. The neighbours are sure there’s a ghost. Your job: investigate like real detectives and open the cellar lock where the “ghost” is hiding.
Grandma swears she isn’t scared. She just wants to know who keeps eating her tuna.
5 story stations · online you can pick a level that adds more locks.
Run it at home or in class
What to prepare
- Printed station sheets
- A tray of flour with drawn footprints (for atmosphere)
- A printed Atbash table
- A box with a 4-digit code lock
- A toy cat for the ending
Tips for the facilitator
- Spread the stations through different rooms and dim some lights for atmosphere (but not total darkness).
- Put the Atbash table on its own sheet so everyone can work on it together.
- At the end, put a toy cat (or a photo of the family cat) inside the code box.
Difficulty level for “The “Haunted” House”
The story clues stay the same on every level; harder levels add more locks in between. You can ask for a hint at every stage.
👻 The “Haunted” House
For a week now, Grandma’s house has had noises at night, creaking doors and something disappearing from the fridge. The neighbours are sure there’s a ghost. Your job: investigate like real detectives and open the cellar lock where the “ghost” is hiding.
0 of 6 stages solved
Stage 1: The noise clock
1/6Grandma wrote down when she heard the noises last night: 10:00 pm, then 10:15 pm, then 10:45 pm, then 11:30 pm. Each time, the gap between noises grew by the same number of minutes.
Facilitator guide: 👻 The “Haunted” House
What the room practises
Growing gaps in time, a legs-and-heads puzzle, the Atbash cipher and truth-telling logic.
The 5 stations (without the answers)
- The noise clock: How many minutes after midnight will the next noise come?
- Footprints in the flour: How many cats crossed the kitchen?
- The coded note: What does the note say? (What does the “ghost” eat every night?)
- Three witnesses and a lie: Which room is the “ghost” hiding in? (Write a number.)
- The cellar lock: What is the code?
Preparing and printing
On the easy level the printed kit has 7 pages: a facilitator sheet with the opening story, the setup list and every answer, plus an A4 card for each of the 6 stages. Besides printing, get ready: a tray of flour with drawn footprints (for atmosphere) and a toy cat for the ending.
Most important: Spread the stations through different rooms and dim some lights for atmosphere (but not total darkness).
Age and group size
Best with teams of 4–6 players. With more people, split into two teams racing the clock, each with its own kit.
Giving hints in this room
Online the hints open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit in the facilitator table next to each answer. Give the first hint after a couple of minutes of silence, not at the first wrong guess.
Frequently asked questions
What age is “The “Haunted” House” for, and how long does it take?
It was written for teens and adults 13+, at medium difficulty, and usually takes 30–40 minutes. It has 5 story stations, and online you can choose between three difficulty levels that add more locks.
What do I need to run “The “Haunted” House”?
A printer and these props: Printed station sheets; A tray of flour with drawn footprints (for atmosphere); A printed Atbash table; A box with a 4-digit code lock; A toy cat for the ending. The printable kit includes a facilitator sheet with every answer and a card for each stage.
What if the players get stuck?
Every stage has graded hints. Online they open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit next to each answer on the facilitator sheet. The first hint never gives the answer away.
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