1 of 3 “Escape Room” in Spain challenges participants to get out of a coffin Photo: Albert Gea/via Portal “Escape Room” in Spain challenges participants to get out of a coffin Photo: Albert Gea/via Portal
The fear of being buried alive in a coffin terrified writer Edgar Allan Poe's characters and has now inspired what is said to be the world's smallest “escape room,” a morbidly themed experience not recommended for claustrophobics.
The game was developed by Barcelonabased Spanish company Horror Box and is called “catalepsy,” a reference to an illness that is easily confused with death.
2 out of 3 participants have 30 minutes to solve puzzles and escape from the coffin Photo: Albert Gea/via Portal Participants have 30 minutes to solve puzzles and escape from the coffin Photo: Albert Gea/via Portal
Contestants have 30 minutes to escape from a coffin, solve puzzles through teamwork with a partner located in an adjacent coffin, and communicate via loudspeaker.
They are monitored by cameras from “Gamemaster” Aurora Alvarino, who defined the experience as “gymnastics for the mind.”
She explained that the show aims to recreate “a situation that we will all experience sooner or later: our own funeral.”
3 of 3 The game is inspired by the fear of being buried alive Photo: Albert Gea/via Portal The game is inspired by the fear of being buried alive Photo: Albert Gea/via Portal
Miriam Castella, a 22yearold actress chosen to demonstrate the game, admitted to being “a little scared” as soon as the coffin lid was closed.
His partner, dancer Carlos Granedo, 39, said he had participated in 15 escape rooms but described this experience as unique.
When purchasing the attraction, customers can customize the coffin or even choose to be “cremated” with virtual flames and smoke.
“Catalepsy” is inspired by the fear of being buried alive, taphophobia, which was widespread in the 19th century and reflected in the short story “Premature Burial” by Edgar Allan Poe, adapted for the cinema in 1962.