Brockville Aquatarium offers new escape room until Halloween
With Halloween approaching quickly, a new spooky attraction is set to open in Brockville this weekend.
In an upstairs corner at the Aquatarium at Tall Ships Landing, the city's newest escape room, Halloween Hostage, is ready to scare.
"Once you walk inside this room, we're trying to instill fear in people," said creator Jordan Ross, manager of experience at the Aquatairum.
"You are no longer inside the Aquatarium, you are actually locked inside of a cabin of a potential killer," she said, taking about a month to plan and create.
"You're kind of spying around the room, trying to put together puzzles to figure out what the codes to these locks might be, and eventually, hopefully, escape the room," Ross said.
Combination locks are scattered throughout the Halloween Hostage escape room that need to be solved. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)
This is the fourth escape room that the Aquatarium as offered in a year, and the scariest.
"We wanted to try and touch base with other demographics and to try and diversify some things that we were doing," said Aquatarium director of operations Jennipher Carter.
There are two different room options available, a scary version and one that is a little more tame.
"That's a reason why we are doing two different levels of scary is to try to bring more people in to experience the Aquatarium," Carter said.
"For the less scary version, we're going to have some lights on, make it a little bit less dark, a little bit less creepy and take away some creepy sounds and music," noted Ross. "It just has some atmospheric changes, which just makes it a little friendlier for those who are younger."
Carter, along with Wendy Wright from Brockville's Move 104.9, were the first brave souls to venture within.
A time limit of 45 minutes began when the door closed behind them.
"There's clues hidden around the room," said Ross, overlooking the duo on a video monitor "Some of the things are locks and keys and some of them are combination locks.
"It depends on how fast you are, how logical you are of a thinker and how much fun you have. When you run out of time, you have met your fate unfortunately!"
Wendy Wright and Jennipher Carter are monitored on a screen as they attempt to solve the escape room. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)
While the duo asked for a couple of hints, they could not beat the 45 minute time, coming close to solving the room.
"We were, let's go with very close," Wright said. "That was fun."
"That was super challenging," added Carter. "I really enjoyed the puzzles. The adrenaline gets pumping and you want to make sure you get out of the room but even if you don't you know you are going to have a good time."
Halloween Hostage opens Sept. 30 and runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until Oct. 31.
Tickets are $20 per person and can be bought in person or on the website, with groups up to six welcome. The recommended age is 8 and over.
"I am just hoping to bring people in and give them a great experience," Ross added. "I am a big fan of escape rooms and I think they are a great time, lots of fun."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.