Black Market Escape Room Offers Two New Unique Versions of MurderCo

MurderCo

Jon Cooke has had a busy year in 2018. While he departed his permanent role at Knott’s Scary Farm, he stayed on in a consulting capacity, creating this year’s breakout hit, The Depths. Meanwhile, the Winds of Plague vocalist headed up the team at Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, an event that is seeing its best season by far. But arguably Cooke’s most unique achievement this year is teaming up with fellow Knott’s alum Ted Dougherty to create Black Market Escape Rooms, and their very first offering, MurderCo.

But, the diabolical duo couldn’t let the Halloween season come and go without offering a sinister twist on their brand new escape experience. Thus, for a limited time, guests can opt for two special versions of MurderCo: Hardcore and Snake in the Grass. In both of these variations, the narrative stays basically the same: the guests are plunged into the roles of affluent thrillseekers, paying a premium to have a chosen murder artist that they can watch extinguish a human life before their very eyes.

Hardcore

The twist in Hardcore, however, is a gruesome one. Throughout their ordeal, participants are given ponchos and safety goggles, because MurderCo: Hardcore lives up to its name by cranking the blood and guts up to 11. The gore won’t just stop at digging through Igloo coolers filled with intestines; one particularly intense chase sequence is now punctuated by what feels like explosions of blood, drenching guests as if they were at the world’s most horrific Gallagher show.

By the end of the experience’s variation, should guests make it this far, they can expect to be hooded in an intense mock execution for one final encounter. It’s a reminder that, while Murder Co. is a messy, messy business, no other escape rooms will give you such a brutally fun Halloween experience.

Snake in the Grass

Snake in the Grass, on the other hand, offers guests a bit more of a personal role in the experience. Meant for patrons who have already witnessed their first death, these patrons identify themselves secretly to their host as a “Snake in the Grass” and are separated from the group early on. The group quickly learns that these guests are in for a face-to-face meeting with their murder artist.

While the name suggests these patrons will be set up as “snake” and betray their friends, unfortunately this opportunity never comes. The guest is eventually reunited with the rest of their group for the second half of the experience, with no new puzzles or elements to interact with. I wouldn’t say this is a mechanic that deserves a second run-through, it is a wonderful addition and something special for guests looking to for a little special attention after completing it once and bringing newcomers in to try out the carnage.

Final Thoughts

While Snake in the Grass is an inventive idea, the option could use a few additional tweaks to elevate its overall effectiveness. Hardcore, however, takes the best, most violent parts of an already amazing escape room and improves upon them in gloriously graphic ways. So pick your favorite murder artist and put on your poncho, because MurderCo just got hardcore!

The Hardcore version of MurderCo is available on select nights through October 28. The standard and Snake in the Grass versions of MurderCo is available year-round. For more information, visit www.blackmarketescaperooms.com.