June 1 – July 28, 2018
The South Bay Escape Room: Mortuary Mystery is BACK! The Volunteer Center is offering the community another chance to explore the basement of their historic Torrance building – a former mortuary dating back to 1929 – for an interactive fundraiser. Beginning June 1 and running through July 28, the local nonprofit is presenting South Bay Escape Room: Mortuary Mystery – a fundraiser that mixes local history with spooky, fictional fun in an immersive experience.
“Escape the room” games have become very popular over the last several years. Participants are given one hour to solve a series of fun and challenging puzzles using strategically-placed clues, where both communication and teamwork are essential in figuring out how to solve the mystery and “escape.”
Escape Rooms are a great way for employees, friends, family members or community groups to bond. Each room is created around a specific theme and time period, such as a medieval dungeon, futuristic space station, present-day prison cell, or in this case, a 1930s-themed basement in a historic Torrance building.
South Bay Escape Room: Mortuary Mystery revolves around the Stone and Myers Mortuary, which opened on Cravens Avenue in Torrance with great fanfare the weekend of February 29, 1929. Now, 88 years later, the participant “volunteers” have a chance to descend down a narrow, forgotten staircase into the recently re-discovered office of mortician Charlie Myers, which – according to the story – was abandoned in 1938. An entry in Charlie’s journal tells participants that strange things were afoot in the business of undertaking in September 1938, and there’s only one hour to solve the mystery before the volunteer shift ends.
South Bay Escape Room: Mortuary Mystery was created to be spooky and fun, so more timid participants who aren’t fans of haunted houses should be relieved to know the focus will be on the mental challenge of solving the puzzles rather than the discovery of anything gruesome or disturbing. This Escape Room is geared toward ages 14 and older, including seniors in good shape (guests under age 16 must be accompanied by at least one adult). All participants must be able to climb up and down steep stairs, be up for a rush of adrenaline, and be willing to sign a waiver, but no other special skills are required. Guests are encouraged to put their curiosity and creativity to the test as they have fun figuring the clues out together. They’ll leave feeling a rush of excitement and the pride of solving a tough challenge, especially if they find the final clue and solve the mystery before 60 minutes is up!
This Escape Room fundraiser benefits the Volunteer Center’s important, volunteer-driven programs. It runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Tickets are $35 per person and must be purchased online in advance.
For additional information and ticket purchase, visit the website at https://www.volcenter.org/escaperoom?utm_source=eNewsletter+May+2018&utm_campaign=May+2018+eNewsletter&utm_medium=email.
The Volunteer Center is located at 1230 Cravens Avenue, Torrance, CA 90501