Top 5 Best Horror Escape Rooms: Scariest Escape Room Games

Horror fans are always searching out their next scare — and boy do we have a scare for you! From insane doctors to haunted houses, we’ve rounded up the best horror escape rooms on offer. Not only do each of these experiences feature challenging and exciting puzzles, but they also provide immersive scenery and narratives that will make you feel like you’re really there (for better or worse!).

Keep reading for a run-down of each horror escape room, including how hard it is and why players love it. If you’re looking to kick it up a notch with an even more immersive experience, jump to our picks for the scariest virtual reality (VR) horror escape rooms.

What Makes an Escape Room a “Horror Escape Room”?

A horror escape room is a genre of an escape room that is designed to scare players as they find clues and solve puzzles. While some horror escape rooms feature psychological thrills, others may feature more physical scares, or even blood and guts... There’s something for everyone, from the scariest escape room games that will make your teeth chatter to rooms that are just a little bit creepy.

So what separates a good horror escape room from a great horror escape room? Here at 60out, we believe that truly great escape rooms are fully immersive. Our picks for the best horror escape rooms each have this in common. In fact, some are so immersive that you might even forget it’s just a game… making the experience all the more terrifying.

5 Best Horror Escape Rooms: Scary Escape Rooms for True Thrill-Seekers

1. Amityville

• Difficulty: Medium
• Players: Up to 6
• Minimum Age: 13
• Time: 60 minutes
• Fear factor: Scary

Any true fan of horror has heard of Amityville. You know the gist — evil spirits, haunted house, mysterious occurrences — but that doesn’t mean it can’t still scare you! Inspired by the infamous house in Amityville, Long Island (and, of course, the book and hit 1979 movie), this escape room puts players right into the thick of it. Enter the three-story colonial horror house, knowing that all of the home’s past owners have disappeared without a trace. 

Whether or not you enter the room believing in ghosts, you may become a believer as you explore the house’s dingy, haunted halls and try to appease the spirits in your new home. Described by players past as “unpredictable”, “eerie”, and “spooky”, this escape room is perfect for anyone looking to get their skin crawling with a truly immersive storytelling experience. Are you brave enough to take on this house?

2. Doctor Psycho

• Difficulty: Medium
• Players: Up to 6
• Minimum Age: 12
• Time: 60 minutes
• Fear factor: Scary

In this blood-curdling horror escape room, you’re a detective thrust into Doctor Psycho’s office…who just might be a serial killer. Yep, judging by all the blood everywhere, he’s definitely a serial killer. It’s your job as a newly minted detective to catch him before he kills any more people — but you get caught first. Now, you need to escape before you become his next victim.

Reviewers describe this room as “innovative”, “challenging”, and of course, “scary”. In fact, one previous player said that this room is “without a doubt 60out’s bloodiest, goriest game” (read more) . If you didn’t mind going to the doctor’s office before playing this game, you might afterward. While this game is not a good choice for anyone with a strong aversion to blood, for anyone else with a penchant for horror, this is a great chance to test your mettle, wits, and bravery.

Photo by Joyce McCown on Unsplash

3. The Orphanage

• Difficulty: Medium
• Players: Up to 6
• Minimum Age: 12
• Time: 60 minutes
• Fear factor: Scary

Fernvale Orphanage was abandoned deep in the woods long ago and has been left undisturbed ever since... until you and your friends make the regrettable decision to explore it, only to get trapped inside. With the souls of tortured children following you, you must escape the Orphanage before it's too late. The ghosts feel all too real as you get deeper into this terrifying puzzle.

It comes as no surprise that reviewers frequently use four-letter words to describe how scary this horror escape room is. One reviewer even explained that the game is “so freaking scary I could not function”, while others describe the room as “disturbingly exciting”. Is this 60out’s scariest room? You’ll have to find out for yourself.

4. Ghost Ship

• Difficulty: Hard
• Players: Up to 6
• Minimum Age: 12
• Time: 60 minutes
• Fear factor: A little scary

Escape or get hit with an eternal curse — we know, a super tough choice. These are the options you’re left with on the Ghost Ship, a horror escape room filled with, you guessed it, ghosts. Long ago, the crew of this ship was punished for their misdeeds with a curse that trapped them on the boat. In their attempts to free themselves from the curse, the cursed crew has been capturing unsuspecting people and holding them on the boat — but none have broken the curse yet. Now it’s your job to break the curse and free everyone or succumb to the curse yourself.

This spooky ship will have you shivering your timbers in no time. While this certainly isn’t the most terrifying game 60out offers, it is still absolutely worthy of its title as a horror escape room. Challenge yourself with new puzzles while exploring the spectacularly immersive scenery of the Ghost Ship.

5. Dracula

• Difficulty: Hard
• Players: Up to 6
• Minimum Age: 13
• Time: 60 minutes
• Fear factor: Scary

It’s getting dark, and rumor has it there’s a vampire roaming around. Luckily, you’re the best vampire hunters around, so you’ve got it handled… right?

You’ll begin in a cemetery and must catch the vampires before the sun goes down and all hope is lost (hint: you’ve got one hour until sunset). Each space you move through becomes darker and darker as you solve unique puzzles you’ve likely not seen before in any other escape room. Reviews describe “masterful set designs” and a nice variety of puzzle types — in addition to, of course, a truly horror-filled experience from start to finish.

Bonus: Virtual Reality (VR) Horror Escape Rooms

Virtual reality (VR) horror escape rooms take fear to the next level. Experience scares up close and personal in a way that’s simply impossible in real life. Here are our favorite VR horror escape rooms.

House of Fear

• Difficulty: Easy
• Players: 2-4
• Minimum Age: 16+
• Time: 60 minutes
• Fear factor: Very scary

In House of Fear, players are dropped into a seemingly harmless old cabin… until it becomes not so harmless. When the doors lock, you’ll only have one hour to escape this “living nightmare”. Consistently rated as one of the, if not the, scariest VR games around.

In the House of Fear, you’ll experience a candle-lit horror extravaganza as you solve puzzles to try and get the heck out of there. The game, which has been lauded for its level of immersion and realism, is sure to unsettle even the toughest-skinned players.

Sanctum

• Difficulty: Medium
• Players: 2-4
• Minimum Age: 16+
• Time: 60 minutes
• Fear factor: Scary

For fans of literary horror, this is the game for you. Based on famed author H.P. Lovecraft’s world-building, Sanctum takes you into virtual reality to solve a series of mysterious disappearances in the woods nearby — and, while you're at it, save your friend who was investigating. You’ll experience the terrors of an old monastery, fighting a cult, monsters, and secrets as you go.

Sanctum features beautifully detailed and life-like imagery of the woods and the old monastery, which perfectly creates a spooky atmosphere. Bravely face the paranormal and save your friend… if you dare.

Ready to play the best horror escape rooms in LA? 

At 60out, you can choose from a wide variety of our best horror escape room options. With seven rooms spread out across the Los Angeles area, not to mention VR horror escape rooms at our Melrose location, there’s a horror escape room for every family.

Book your reservation online today and get ready to be spooked.

Want to keep reading? Check out these related articles:

• Are Escape Rooms Scary? Common Escape Room Fears Answered
• Why You Should Try a Haunted House Escape Room