The Story of Room 213
The Mystery of Room 213 will be retiring in a few weeks, so now may be a time to give you all the story of Room 213. This story isn’t complete though without telling you about Tanya, but more on her later. I’ve split this into the Non-Spoiler post for those who haven’t played yet, the next post will contain spoilers (so go play it while you can!)
Non-Spoiler Section: The Source of the Story
The Mystery of Room 213 was originally built at Escape Room RVA in Richmond. The story at the time was centered around a haunted Asylum. Our team from Herndon played it on a trip down to visit the crew. One of the GM’s at the time, Ash, scared me so much at the end of the game that I’m pretty sure I gave a high-octave yelping jump back 3 feet. (Thanks Ash)
We loved the scares so much that when it was time for Mind Trap to retire we wanted to bring Room 213 up to Herndon. Once in Herndon, we also wanted to change the story and puzzles to stay with our goal of making each room better. Our team wanted to move beyond the use of an Asylum and come up with something new. I felt like a haunted hotel would be a good fit for the layout of Room 213, we just needed a story for the “why”. I have a passing interest in True Crime and wanted to bring that into one of our games. One of the most famous Hotels in True Crime is the Chicago Murder Castle of H.H.Holmes.
(credit: hollycarden.com)
For those that don’t know, H.H. Holmes was a business owner in Chicago during the 1890s. He is considered to be one of America’s first serial killers. During Chicago’s 1893 World Fair he welcomed guests to his hotel, sometimes taking insurance policies out in their name, and killing them in his gas chamber. He’d then sell their bodies to doctors for science. It’s believed he was responsible for over 200 deaths! He was PURE EVIL. The book Devil In The White City tells his wicked tale and was the source for much of the story we tried to tell in this game.
In our intro story for Room 213, Holmes is the hotel owner that invites you to investigate the strange happenings. He then “locks” you into the room, cause, you know, he’s probably planning to kill you. As the game progresses, the players will learn more about his plans for you. You’ll discover clues and remnants of his past sinister crimes. You will also “meet” some of the former guests of the hotel.
This is as far as we can really go into the story without Spoilers. The next post will reveal the reasons for some of the props in this room as well as how the rooms relate to the story. I will also introduce you to Tanya, and why we believe she not only haunts Room 213, but all of ERH!