Part escape room. Part history lesson. Part true crime drama. 100% immersive
CRAWLEY’S VERY OWN TRUE CRIME THRILLER. Experience Crawley’s dark history brought back to life with you at the centre of it. Delve into the killing floor of one of history’s most twisted serial killers.
It’s no secret we love Hounds Escape. We were hooked from the moment we entered Questionable Ethics back in 2020, and every game has only been an improvement from there (Explorer’s Diary is a true gem). In fact, we’ve been eagerly awaiting the opening of The Acid Bath Murderer since our very first visit when we were kindly given a tour of the venue after our game and told all about their big plans for the future. When that opening finally arrived, we were thrilled to be invited to their press night, and it just so happened that the planets aligned perfectly for us to make the trip to Crawley for the event.
I was particularly excited to see exactly what the team had created, not just because I’m obsessed with Hounds (and escape rooms), but also because the experience is based on a true story (and a local one at that), and I’m one of those slightly disturbed people that is fascinated by true crime, and serial killers in particular. The real Acid Bath Murderer was a man named John Haigh, a serial killer who was active in Crawley in the 1940’s, and was convicted for the murders of six people (although he confessed to nine in total.) Needless to say, this experience promised to be just the sort of thing I would love.
We arrived fifteen minutes prior to the start of our experience, as instructed, and made our way up the familiar staircase to the bar. Hounds seem to constantly be evolving their reception area, now known as The Kennel Klub, a cosy little waiting area as well as moonshine and cocktail bar, to compliment the theme of their second game, Southern Discomfort. But our welcome was as warm as ever from Brian, as we took our seats to have a quick chat, and learn just exactly what we were getting ourselves into.
It wasn’t long after we received our instructions before the music in The Kennel Klub changed, becoming more ominous, and our experience began. We gathered our belongings and followed the signs to our final destination upstairs, where we were greeted in most spectacular fashion by our host.
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
Hounds Escape have proven time and again with their escape rooms that they are masters of immersive experiences, and The Acid Bath Murderer is the culmination of everything they have learned so far. But unlike the other attractions at Hounds, this isn’t truly an escape room. Instead it’s almost like they’ve taken a true crime podcast, and turned it into something you live, rather than listen to. The atmosphere, and the painstaking attention to detail in the creation of the set, and the recreation of the life of John Haigh is nothing short of incredible.
While it could have been quite easy to glamourise the horrific true story that The Acid Bath Murderer is based upon, Hounds have actually managed to tell the story in a tasteful way. It is both entertaining as well as educational, and never downplays how truly heinous these crimes were.
The atmosphere was palpable even in the bar, and this only increased as we progressed through the experience, becoming more and more intense, as we followed the story through the years, learning more about the life and victims of John Haigh. The experience culminates in what can only be described as an epic cinematic conclusion.
The Acid Bath Murderer Experience, while horrifying, is not terrifying. How scary you find it will be entirely down to your tolerance for the “creep factor,” as the experience is far more ominous than outright scary. However, The Acid Bath Murderer was not without a jump scare or two, and due to the subject matter, is definitely not recommended for under 16’s.

PUZZLES
Hounds have put a great deal of emphasis on The Acid Bath Murderer being an experience, and not so much an escape room, leaving it lighter on puzzle content. This could leave hardcore puzzle enthusiasts feeling somewhat deflated if they go into it expecting an escape room, but only if they can’t detach themselves from the desire to solve puzzles, and instead allow themselves to be fully immersed in the story.
The puzzle content may be secondary to the narrative, but there were still some to be solved. Those that were found throughout the experience were fair, often quite clever, and thoroughly entwined with the story, with some traditionally “escape room” style puzzles combined with more tactile “real” feeling challenges. And while one thing in particular could have benefitted from slightly more sign posting, the puzzles weren’t overly complex. In fact, the lack of complex, puzzley content actually helped us to slow down, and really appreciate the story, as we uncovered the little facts about John Haigh, his life, and his victims. (Although thanks to our rather terrible scavenging skills, we missed out on some of those facts.)
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
The story of John Haigh and his crimes, may be the focus of the experience, but the absolute star of the show was our host, Tom. Striking the perfect balance between ominous and humorous, he guided us through the Acid Bath Murderer in a way that not only enhanced the experience, but completed it. Every interaction, from our introduction, to our farewell was in character, and without him, this experience would not have been the same (although all the Gamemasters at Hounds seem to just as top notch as Tom).
Since there are puzzles, it’s only fair to have clues, and Tom also knew just when to chime in with a nudge or two. Those nudges were just as immersive as the experience itself, almost like whispered memories of John Haigh, gently guiding us to look closer at things whenever we found ourselves at a standstill.

ANYTHING ELSE
The Acid Bath Murderer is hard to quantify. Part escape room, part history lesson, and part true crime drama, perhaps the best way to describe it would be to call it an Immersive, Narrative-Driven Puzzletale. Whatever you call it, it’s a perfect combination of puzzles and story, culminating in a new sort of experience that is unlike anything else we’ve encountered so far, and one not to be missed.
Success / Failure
Final Rating:
Operation | |
Puzzles | |
Room Design | |
GM/Clues | |
Excitement |
Team: 2 players – completed in around 45:00 (minimum booking number is 3 people)
Address: 12 – 13 Queens Square, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1DY
Website: https://www.houndsescape.co.uk
*Disclaimer: We were invited to a Press Night so we weren’t charged for this experience .This has not influenced our review.
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