Welcome to Our Virtual Escape Room Program: Escape the Haunted House

This Virtual Escape Room was created by Sarah Buuck, Senior Children's Librarian at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The images used in this program are Creative Commons images taken from Pixabay, images created on Canva, or images created by Sarah.

This escape room can be completed individually or as a group. There is no time limit.

If you would like to view more of our Library online services visit our website at www.acpl.info. Click the events tab to find more fun programs for kids.

ALL questions can be answered by viewing the images, riddles, puzzles, and links provided in this jotform. You are NOT being asked to provide ANY personal information to play this game.

Good luck!

There's a spooky house in your neighborhood that everyone says is haunted. Every Halloween, they open it up for tours. You and your friends have just finished the tour and are getting ready to walk home. Just as you are leaving, you remember you left your coat inside. You tell your friends to go on without you, and you go back into the house.

As soon as you are inside the house, the doors slam shut.

You try to open the doors, but they don't budge. You don't see a lock anywhere. There doesn't seem to be any way to open them. It looks like you are stuck here for the night.

You decide to pass the time with a book from the library.

You are looking for something to read when you hear a huge crash from behind you. You turn around and see a pile of books that have been pushed off the bookshelf onto the floor.

There are five books on the floor.

You decide to put them back on the shelf, but you want to make sure you put them back in the right order. They're fiction books, so they need to be organized alphabetically by the author's last name.

At the end of the secret passage is a panel that slides open to reveal a huge kitchen.

You start looking around the kitchen. There's a door, but you can't open it. Just like the front door, you can't see a lock on it.

Suddenly, you hear another crash. You look around and see that a recipe book has fallen off a shelf.

There is a folded up paper in the recipe book. You open it up and see a blank menu.

On the back of the menu, there's a poem.

It says:

Three hungry ghosts, sitting down to dinner,
Feed us, they cried, before we get thinner!

To start, we want something that’s served in a bowl,
With carrots and onions and a freshly baked roll.

Next, we’ll have something fresh from the sea,
With juice from a lemon plucked off of a tree.

Lastly, we want something ice cold and sweet,
With berries on top, it’s the perfect treat.

Maybe it's time to put together a ghostly menu.

You flip through the recipe book. There are lots of delicious meals to choose from.

As soon as you finish writing "Ice Cream Sundaes" on the menu, the door in the kitchen flies open. As you leave the room, you're sure you hear the clink of silverware being used.

On the other side of the door is a formal dining room. The table is set, like people will be eating soon.

You look around the room, looking at all the fancy furniture and decorations. In the corner of the room is a large cabinet. When you step in front of it, a drawer slides openly slowly.

Inside the drawer, there's a pile of cards with names on them.

Underneath the cards, there's a note.

The note has a diagram of the table. Underneath the diagram are some notes. They say:

 Remember!

1. William will only sit on one of the long sides of the table.
2. William won't sit next to anyone whose name starts with an A, B, or C.
3. Emma has to sit next to Charles.
4. Emma will only sit on one of the short sides of the table.
5. Elizabeth wants to sit across from William.
6. Mary will only sit by other people whose names are four letters long.
7. James wants to sit across from someone whose name is spelled the same backwards and forwards.

You must have to figure out where all the guests should sit.

That means Edward has to sit in Chair 4.

You gather up the cards from the drawer and get ready to put them on the table.

As soon as the name cards are in the right places on the table, a light in the hallway comes on. As you step into the hallway, a light on the stairs comes on. You go up the stairs and continue to follow the lights. They lead you to a gallery full of paintings.

The first thing you notice in the gallery is a pile of paintings on the floor. You can see the outlines on the wall where the paintings should be.

Maybe you should try to hang the paintings back up.

As soon as the last painting is on the wall, there is a click and a panel on the wall swings open.

Behind the wall there is another secret passage. You follow it for a long time until you come to a panel like the one that led into the kitchen. You push it aside and step into a small room. There is a door, but it won't open. Just like the front door, there's no lock.

There is an iron ring you can use to knock on the door. You try using it, but the door doesn't budge.

You are about to go back through the secret passage when you hear voices.

"Thank you for dinner. You picked all our favorite dishes! The three of us can help you open the door, but first we'll play a game. You have to guess our favorite numbers."

"I'll start," the voice says. "You can find my favorite number by taking away a newt's tail from a spider's legs."

"Well done!," says another voice, "Now it's my turn. To find my favorite number, take January away from July."

"Very good!," says a new voice. "Me next. My favorite number is three trios."

"Very good!" all three voices say. They sound very far away.

The door swings open, and you see the front lawn. You leave the house and run home to tell your friends all about your adventure.

Congratulations! You escaped the haunted house!

Please click Finish to help us keep track of how many people have played.

If you would like to view more of our Library online services visit our website at www.acpl.info. Click the events tab to find more fun programs for kids.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email ask@acpl.info.