If you’re going to sign up to willingly enter a vampire’s nest, where better to do so than Brighton’s most haunted house?
And so it was that as dusk fell one crisp October evening, we entered Preston Manor ready to take on the worst escape room experts Pier Pressure could throw at us.
Fortunately, the worst turned out to be a rubber garlic bulb – a missile which allowed me to end the night triumphant as one of the only vampire slayers still standing.
The game we were playing – which our hosts were at pains to point out was nothing to do with the BBC hit The Traitors, celebrity or otherwise – was The Slayers, which is running at the venue every Saturday in October – except for Hallowe’en night, when it switches to Revenge.
While not quite a castle, the Edwardian-decorated rooms are still an impressive backdrop to the game.
On arrival, you’re presented with a daunting set of rules, but in practice they were very easy to follow, particularly with the help of host Andrew Allen and rules-keeper Dylan Gibbs.
The format involved the Council of Vampire Slayers – 17 of us sat around an impressive dining table – being infested by vampires, who were chosen when everyone was dealt a card which either said vampire or slayer.
The vampires were then tasked with sabotaging the tasks which followed – four rounds where we were sorted into different groups and given escape-room style puzzles to solve in the next room.
After each puzzle, the council reconvened around the table, for a discussion followed by a vote for who we thought was a vampire. And then, while the slayers had their blindfolds on, the vampires silently selected their candidate to be murdered.
The aforementioned rubber garlic bulb was one of a few twists to liven things up. And it’s important to note that if a player was voted out or murdered, they could still take part in both the puzzles and the discussion.
This also meant that being voted out or killed was enjoyably low stakes, so victims were able to take it in very good humour, and everyone enjoyed throwing some very silly theories about.
It also meant no grudges were held, and by the end of the game, our group which had begun as mostly strangers felt more like old friends.
Anyone interested in befriending their own set of slayers – and vampires – can sign up here. The night costs £49 per head – and private bookings for 12 or more are also available.
Drinks and snacks are sold separately.
