World's smallest escape room is a coffin
WeirdNews
Participants have 30 minutes to free themselves from a coffin by solving puzzles
BARCELONA (Reuters) - The fear of being buried alive and trapped in a coffin haunted writer Edgar Allan Poe's characters and has now inspired what is billed as the world's smallest escape room - a mortuary-themed experience not suitable for claustrophobes.
The live-action puzzle game developed by Spanish company Horror Box in Barcelona is called "Catalepsy", a reference to a medical condition easily mistakable for death.
Participants have 30 minutes to free themselves from inside a coffin by solving puzzles through teamwork with their partner in a neighbouring casket, communicating via loudspeakers.
They are monitored over CCTV cameras by gamemaster Aurora Alvarino, who defined escape rooms as "a gym for the mind".
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She said the attraction aimed to recreate "a situation that sooner or later we'll all experience: your own funeral".
Miriam Castella, a 22-year-old actress selected by the company to demonstrate the game, acknowledged she felt "a little bit scared" after the coffin's lid closed.
Her partner in the demonstration, 39-year-old dancer Carlos Granedo, said he had taken part in about 15 escape rooms before but described this experience as unique.
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While booking their tickets, players can customise several aspects, including the type of casket or whether they want to be "cremated" in a blaze of virtual flames and artificial smoke.
"Catalepsy" draws inspiration from the fear of being buried alive - or taphophobia - that was widespread during the 19th century, as reflected in Poe's short story "The Premature Burial", which was adapted into film in 1962.
