The Panic Room: Hell House (Gravesend)

What a space!

The Panic Room Gravesend is proud to present one of our most ambitious projects to date!

A multi-level 75-minute immersive horror escape room experience that is a spiritual successor to our much-revered game “The Gilman Hotel”. Gilman had a hell of a reputation and we hope to take you deeper into the story and mythos to discover the grim truth behind The Esoteric Order Of Dagon.

The Order has taken refuge in this abandoned house on the outskirts of Arkham, taking locals as their sacrifice. If the rumours are to be believed, could you even stop them? Do you dare enter?

The Panic Room in Gravesend is highly regarded by UK Escape Room Enthusiasts, if for no other reason than the sheer number of games on offer – there is literally something for everyone with at least 18 games and experiences on offer, plus their “enthusiast” packages which make it possible to go all out with overdosing on escape rooms (if that’s even possible). They’re only a short train journey from central London, and all of their games range from “good” to “excellent.”

Gord and I were to be both beginning and ending the first day of our mini road trip at The Panic Room, having started bright and early with a visit to the doctor at The Happy Institute, then returning to Gravesend for the final two games of the evening. Of course, there were a number of other exceptional games worked into the mix there, and when we managed to escape Riddled without picking up anything (😉) we felt more than prepared for our foray into Hell House.

Our discovery of The Panic Room occurred long after the closure of The Gilman Hotel so imagine my surprise when I discovered that Hell House is, in a way, a sequel game to that apparently beloved game. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter in the slightest if you’re in the same boat as Gord and I and missed out on The Gilman Hotel, you can still play Hell House without any loss to the story. Our additional teammates, Amy and Ian, were familiar with The Gilman Hotel, however, and their excitement for Hell House was contagious.

Both Riddled and Hell House were built in the footprint of the former Dinoland (RIP), and we were met outside the exit of Riddled by not just our GM for that game, Myles, but our host and GM for what was to come, Reece, as we found ourselves standing in front of what could only be a haunted house.

Reece did his best to prepare us for what was to come, advising us on what we could and could not do (i.e. don’t lick wires, etc.) and giving us a bit more background on Hell House and what we were there to do, before opening the door to usher us through. Thus, armed with only a satchel, a journal, and a few ominous warnings from Reece, we stepped through the entrance into Hell…

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

Holy hell, I was not expecting the set build of Hell House. On previous visits to Panic Room games, I always had the impression that the games were lovingly crafted, but there was still a homemade quality to many of them. But even standing in the corridor outside of Hell House, I knew that this would be a little different, as we were briefed by the façade of a house that would have felt right at home in a theme park. In fact, we had serious Nethercott Manor vibes.

Game play lived up to the impressive surroundings, with a game that was immediately immersive, thanks in part to clever use of lighting, sound design and visual effects. Rather than a room, we were well and truest exploring a house, with multiple levels, from a crawl space, to an attic. In our pursuit of the secrets of Hell House, we were constantly back and forth, exploring and reexploring the space, making the game incredibly physical.

We followed the clues through a twisted narrative, with the intensity building. With no true way to know just how long we had spent in Hell House, we were at a loss as to how long we were trapped inside, but time lost all meaning as we raced through to the final, dramatic conclusion.

For those of you that are wondering, perhaps the best word to describe Hell House would be “Theatrical.” Going into Hell House, I knew nothing about it, apart from the name. From that alone, I was fully prepared for the game to be a terror-ridden experience – complete with a live actor. Fortunately, that was not the case. Instead, Hell House has a palpable atmosphere, and is undoubtedly creepy, but thankfully, entirely devoid of anything living that is intended to scare the pants off you. That’s not to say some won’t find it frightening – those that are particularly susceptible to jump scares and creepy atmospheres, and don’t particularly like the dark, may find they shove braver teammates through doors first (I certainly did, but I was also expecting a ghostly figure around every corner.)

PUZZLES

Given the size of the space, the puzzle content felt a bit on the sparse side. That’s not to say that the game was lacking in content. Hell House was positively teeming with secrets to be uncovered, making both teamwork and communication essential skills for  successful teams to have in abundance, as well as a keen eye for observation. But it often felt like half the puzzle was finding what was happening next, and just exactly where, thanks to an endless supply of sneaky hidey holes.

The feeling of sparsity on the puzzles also came from the fact that many tasks we encountered just felt like an intuitive next step in the narrative, thanks to excellent telegraphing and sign posting. There were, of course, a few symbols to translate, chunky props to be manipulated, and plenty of things to find. But this combination of everything we encountered ensured that Hell House was an experience to be savoured and enjoyed, rather than a series of unconnected challenges to be solved.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Reece delivered a hilarious briefing and played off of our group dynamic incredibly well, knowing just how far to push the jokes, lightning the atmosphere as we stood outside the entrance to Hell House. Now, this may be because he knew Amy and Ian and knew just how far to push it, but it’s also very possible that he is just incredibly good at reading the room. Either way, it was a perfect start to the game, and Reece was a perfect host and GM.

Given the quality of the set build, it would have been deeply disappointing if the clue system wasn’t integrated, thus breaking immersion. Fortunately, since we were in a haunted house, whenever we stumbled, the helpful spirits of Hell House were there to get us back on track.

ANYTHING ELSE

Hell House is possibly The Panic Room’s most ambitious project to date, and it is quite a sight to behold. If you’re planning a visit to Gravesend, I would add Hell House to the “Not To Be Missed” list.

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players – escaped in 63:52

Address: 23a St Georges Centre, Gravesend, Kent, DA11 0TB

Website: https://thepanicroom.net/