Woodstock Museum Halloween escape room draws crowds and new audiences

Participants tackle clues, ciphers and collaborative challenges in the museum’s immersive escape adventure. (Contributed Photo).

Alex Hunt, Post Contributor

Visitors to the Woodstock Museum are teaming up to tackle a new Thirteen Ghosts Escape Room, a Halloween-themed fundraiser designed to appeal to teens, adults and families.

A fundraiser for the Woodstock Museum National Historic Site, the activity draws inspiration from the 2001 horror film of the same name. Running until Oct. 25, the spooky experience challenges participants to solve clues and puzzles—no prior knowledge of the movie required.

“The escape room is continuing to be a success and a fundraiser for us. We have often done a Halloween theme and Christmas theme,” said Kerrie Gill, education officer at the Woodstock Museum. “We also wanted something that fit the teen to middle-aged crowd that we weren’t getting. Seniors often come to the lunch and learn and we provide programs for the children on P.A. days. The Escape rooms are great at bringing in a new demographic.”

The clues in the Halloween-themed escape room are inspired by the classic horror film 13 Ghosts, though participants don’t need to have seen the movie to take on the challenge. The Woodstock Museum frequently changes up its escape room themes—past editions have included a festive “Elf” Christmas version. Each session is booked for a one-hour time slot, giving participants 45 minutes to solve the puzzles and make their escape.

“A challenging aspect is making a series of puzzles and making them flow together so that they are in a cohesive order,” said Dariel McIntyre, clerk at the Woodstock Museum NHS. “We have been doing the escape rooms since 2026. It’s fun to come up with different puzzles and clues.”

He added people are getting close to making it through this year.

“These escape rooms really promote team building with people working together and listening to each other's ideas. We want people to have fun and provide them with something different to do.”

One-hour sessions of the escape room are available Fridays and Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The cost is $20 per person for groups of four to six, aged 14 and older.

Reservations can be made by calling 519-537-8411 ext. 2901. A $40 booking fee is required to secure a time slot, covering the cost for two participants. Payment for any additional group members is due upon arrival.