For horror fans in the Charlotte area, one often times askes themselves ‘what is there to do?’ Sure, around Halloween time their is a lot to do. The Halloween stores, parties, and even the horror conventions that come around will satisfy that scary craving. However, those things are seasonal. There aren’t any haunts open year around. There aren’t any year around horror focused shops, at least not any that we have gotten the pleasure to sink our teeth into yet. However, there is one place that is open year around that can give any horror fan an absolute rush. That place is Masterpiece Escapes, located in Indian Trail, North Carolina.
We have had the pleasure of playing two of their horror rooms and even got to interview Uriah Braden, the man who runs the place! Before we get into the interview, we would like to say that we were compensated in no way to write this article. This article is unbiased and our genuine opinion on the place.
The Rooms
The first room we played by Masterpiece was the ‘Wrecked’ experience. This room took you out to look for your friend who was studying serial killers and went missing. The full summary is on their website, which will be linked at the end of the article. We don’t want to spoil anything, so our brief review won’t include any sort of spoilers.
When playing the Wrecked experience I found it to be beyond phenomenal. The set design and careful attention to detail that Uriah and his crew put into this room is outstanding. They had built model clouds that set around the ceiling and have the lighting set up to portray a storm. A radio plays in the background and spikes in and out of reception. Everything about this experience is worth it, and out of the two this one takes the cake as the best horror room here. The story is thought out and the room flowed very nicely. Some of the surprises in the room genuinely caught me off guard, which is hard because I worked a few years at a separate escape room establishment. If you are into true crime or serial killer style horror, this is absolutely the room for you.
The second horror experience that Masterpiece currently offers is the Missing experience. Once again the summary for this can be found at their website which will be linked at the end of the article. The setting is essentially a creepy old cabin in the middle of the woods. This one was fun and had a very different feel than Wrecked did. When I played this room I feel that they did a good job of making you feel very isolated from the world. This game also has a paranormal element to it which is neat. I did find this game to be a little fast paced and not as in depth as Wrecked was.
The Missing room also was harder to follow. Masterpiece does an amazing job of coming up with unique stories for their rooms that play out as you are solving their puzzles. I really enjoy this about this place because some other establishments will tell you a quick cookie cutter story and throw you into a scenario. Then you play a room and nothing seems to move forward in the narrative that was set up. At Masterpiece they excel at making the story move with your party. When the Missing game played out I felt that the story was a little too obvious and there wasn’t a lot of setup for the final reveal. However, it is still an amazing room with some really neat puzzles and effects. There was even a jumpscare or two to keep things interesting.
The Interview
What pieces of media inspire your creative process the most? (Movies, books, music, etc…)
Movies for themes etc. We took inspiration from many different horror / suspense movies for our two ‘scary’ rooms. And the character Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers franchise was a good bit of inspiration for Dr. Devastation in our “Metro Mayhem” room. We just loved the idea of the evil genius who feels like he has to follow the ‘rules’ of being an evil genius, like overcomplicating things etc.
What does it take to be a good game master? Do you think it’s a job that anyone could do well?
Attention for sure. For us, game mastering is far more art than science. We try to help people just before they get frustrated, so noticing body language cues etc. is very important. Also, catching moments when a player has made a tiny mistake, but had solved the puzzle correctly, or wasn’t operating a lock/puzzle correctly. So attentiveness is a huge factor. I do think that most people could learn to be a good game master, but far fewer could be a great one.
What do you feel makes Masterpiece Escapes different from other attractions in the area?
One comment I hear over and over from players is that we have puzzles they have not seen in other escape rooms before. Also, we really try to create an entire adventure, in all of our rooms, you will find yourself in multiple different environments, where I feel like in many other places the entire escape room is somewhat ‘one note’. The biggest thing that separates us (or any escape room) from most other entertainment options is that your group will have something to talk about far after the experience is over. Escape rooms provide moments you can relive and talk about for days, weeks or even months beyond the day you actually played.
When thinking about a new room, what is generally your creative process?
Don’t become attached to any idea, puzzle, prop etc. Everything is fluid. We generally start with the theme, and what our big moments are going to be, and build around those. We usually have an idea for about half of the puzzles and then once we have most of the aesthetic done, some props, or space, or items will present themselves as great puzzle opportunities.
You were previously a board game store, what inspired you to make the transition to having escape rooms?
As for most things, necessity. We had rented extra space to do specific tournaments. When those were no longer viable I had all of this space and needed to do something with it. We were looking at private rooms, other events etc. I had been hearing about escape rooms, and after I played a couple I realized it was something I thought we could do. This was also in 2016 when the industry was in kind of a boom, so I did fall for the trap of thinking I might be able to get it on some of that time. Did not unfortunately.
What do you think draws people into wanting to go into a horror escape room? What is it about being immersed in a terrifying experience that attracts people?
I think people like to experience things outside of their own life. This is one of the main draws in general for escape rooms. But horror specifically, I think it could be as simple as the thrill of the adrenaline rush when you are scared. Also, horror themes generally lend to interesting stories, so that is a component as well.
How do you feel about horror escape rooms? What do you feel their place is in the industry?
I think there needs to be a balance. We have some groups that will only do horror rooms, but then there are families that prefer to avoid them. I think that they are a super important gateway into the escape room experience for many. There are a lot of people for whom the general concept of an escape room may not appeal to them, but they will try a horror themed one. And once they have played, now they understand the concept and are happy to play a non horror room as well. We are also in the planning stages of an escape room like concept that would be horror themed, but significantly more intense than our existing rooms. So I definitely think they are a core part of the live action entertainment industry as a whole, as well as escape rooms specifically.
What do you feel about the Missing room and Wrecked set them aside from your attractions?
Outside of being ‘scary’, our stories for those rooms are far more in depth. We actually have several pages written for “Wrecked” that people can read half before they play and must get a password to read the second half.
There is sort of an ‘arms race’ in the horror escape room, and horror attractions business, with all sorts of extreme haunts and escapes to make the players really immersed in a genuinely horrifying experience. Do you feel, with proper consent given by players, that this can get out of hand? Why or why not?
Well, as I mentioned before we are planning a more extreme concept, so I definitely agree with the ‘arms race’. I think this unfortunately can and will get out of hand in some places. We prefer for our scares and themes to be more psychological than physical. Being locked up, or bag over your head etc. sounds awesome to people until they do it, then the reality isn’t all that amazing. So, the possibility of something bad simply isn’t worth the payoff for me.
When designing a room, what do you feel is more important; story or unique puzzles? Why?
Kind of an “interview” answer, but both. The puzzles need to be unique and interesting during the hour a group is playing the game. The story, theme and cool moments are what they generally remember 6 months down the road.
What do you think is the key to designing a successful room? Are there any traits that you see in good rooms?
A plan for flow and memorable moments. We deliberately design so that at some points there are only 1-2 things available for players, and others where multiple people can be working independently. Then you definitely need those moments, we always consider “what are people going to talk about when they finish?” as one of the most important questions to answer.
Can you give us some insight on future plans for Masterpiece? New rooms, experiences, upgrades, etc…
We should have our aquarium themed room “Drained” finished late summer. And have plans to switch out the “Deadwood Saloon” for a mad inventor themed room early next year. We hope to be able to create that one in such a way that it can be played as a horror or family theme. Either the evil doctor or the zany one. Beyond that we are striving to become more of an entertainment company. We are working on multiple new ideas for events/experiences in the live action entertainment space. We are currently wrapping up our first run of our Murder Mystery game, where your team must investigate a murder, and do so by investigating 4 different scenes (our escape rooms) and interrogating 4 different suspects (actors). Sort of like a live action clue. We are also developing a couple additional experiences as well. One is a 3-5 hour secret agent game that would take place across 7-10 locations out in the local area and involve multiple actors. Another is a draft day scenario where your team would play as a sports franchise simulating a few rounds of a draft. It would be a fast paced scenario where information comes fast, and making quick decisions is key. We have a couple other ideas, but those are the most likely ones to become reality in the next several months.
Masterpiece Escapes is an amazing horror experience in the Charlotte area. To find out more information on the rooms and the place itself, click here to go to their website.