There’s nothing like being put into the shoes of a detective, scouring for any clues to solve a heinous crime. Similarly, there’s also no replicating the thrill of frantically running around searching for clues in order to be freed from the eerie confines of a room. Last week, it became possible to experience both of these concepts at the same time without even leaving the school building. CHS Library Media Specialist, Mrs. Emily Wilt, recently held a murder mystery escape room in the library based upon the novel And Then There Were None, which feature the “Ten Soldier Boys” poem. The team of detectives had 45 minutes to find the confession of the culprit of the ten soldier boys’ unfortunate ends.
“I did the first library escape room in 2018,” Wilt explained, “so it’s been a little while. And I’ve always just loved mysteries and solving puzzles, and we got the breakout boxes, so I figured that was a great way to incorporate my love of mystery and puzzle solving into the library.”
The room itself held an early 1900’s style with lavish decoration and furniture scattered around the room. In the middle of the room was a long table with ten seats, one for each soldier boy.
“One of the reasons I picked that theme was because when we did our 1960’s escape room at the end of last year,” Wilt responded, “I asked the students who did that one what kind of escape room they’d like to see in the future, and most of them said murder mystery. So, then I was thinking about well-known murder mystery books because I do try to make it somewhat educational and I get that Christie is a really well-known murder mystery author I grew up with, and a lot of her books have been turned into miniseries recently, so I thought that was a good tie in.”
On the walls there were portraits of every soldier boy along with the crime they were being accused of. Behind the dinner table was another decorated table with a candelabra, two mysterious chests and ten tiny nutcrackers. On the side of the table was a stand holding up a paper with the Ten Soldier Boys poem written on it. There are a total of five locks before the confession is finally found.
“With the props and things like that, I definitely have some help,” Wilt answers, “like all of the picture frames were created by our library intern, and that was a huge help, but as far as puzzles go, I come up with all those myself.”
The groups’ challenge was to unlock a box containing the confession of the murderer. The box had four different locks corresponding with the clues written on sheets of paper. For example, one paper required the group to find the who, when, and how of 3 different soldier boys’ demises through trial and error. There were two locks which required a four-digit combination, one that required a three-digit combination, and one that required a series of colors. Once all of the locks were finally done with, the box opened to reveal an even smaller box with another lock and this time, no clue was provided, and the group were encouraged to use their old clues to unlock this new lock.
Once the final lock is solved, a piece of paper with a written confession from the culprit is laid out. The eerie yet thrilling atmosphere and the sounds of pouring rain playing throughout the room made the race to unlock the boxes tense. Groups had to rely on each other to survive, there were no lone wolves or solo players. Even through every trial and tribulation, teamwork was what helped the detectives succeed.
“We try to do some other small things during SRT like Fun Day SRTs so we host maker space activities where students can come create things.” Wilt adds, “Sometimes we do board game days, we have some students that are working on a book club as well, so we’re going to have book club meetings in here. But I like to host any event where students and staff can get together and have interpersonal connections.”
If anyone has any spare time during school, participating in a library escape room would sure be an amazing way to create new memories. Mrs. Wilt is always open to any and all suggestions of group activities to help connect people. Her ability to create an amusing yet educational experience is remarkable and gives people all the more reasons to head down to the library every once in a while to participate.
