The Chesapeake Bay Butcher

My comments sum up most of the mechanics, but still: this room is incredible. I would go back again even though I've already solved the puzzles just to relive the experience. Go in with no expectations other than what they tell you on the website and I promise Colonial Escape will deliver PLUS some extra. As an employee of a Virginia escape room, I cannot believe the Game Masters pulled this room off so flawlessly. The live actor aspect, the sound effects, the puzzle-triggered events... All of them flowed so well that I was convinced there were multiple people involved with the running of the room and I was shocked to find out it was one man. Incredible. Literally feels like being sucked into a movie.

If you like thrillers and horror movies, this is the room for you!! The atmosphere is brilliant, and it gives you the feeling of being constantly on edge. The puzzles themselves aren’t too difficult, some of them require team work and the flow of the game is evident without being too obvious. The game master interactions add to the experience, and we appreciated the extra care in showing us the backstage of the room and how some things worked after we escaped. Overall, an amazing experience!!

One of the best escape rooms I've done in my life. Loved and hated every minute of it. So terrifying.

Interesting horror based room with a "live actor"/game master active in the room for scares. Had an interesting way of signaling and hints using lights and video tapes which made for a very interactive and scary experience. Definitely a fun experience overall

Terrifying! I don’t think we actually finished in time, I think the guy was nice enough to extend it a little bit since we were so close. So scary my cousin had to leave and couldn’t finish. Lots of jump scares with sounds and props. Prepare to be chased.

One of the best

It was scary lots of screams so if you like horror rooms then this rooms for you pretty dark too but you earn your light. Don’t touch the ducks mason jars or beer cans! That’s a warning!

This is the third room we’ve done with Colonial Escape Room in Williamsburg and they’re consistently among the best between VA Beach and Richmond. This will probably be my longest review so I’ll focus on the SCARY, IMMERSION and PUZZLES. The room has been reviewed as one of the scariest on the east coast. While, that could be true (and the waiver discussion reinforces that expectation), the biggest bogey man is the one your brain creates out of the darkness and low lighting. If you can just push through what you have to do knowing it’s a game, you will leave very satisfied. Think of it as a very well executed Halloween house that you might experience at a theme park but more immersive and with a game element. Immersion is top notch. Really feels like a place you shouldn’t be and it’s a rather big escape room in its entirety. You’ll need to work quickly and keep moving. They say they put you in a horror movie and it’s as close as any of the rooms we’ve done anywhere (pushing 20). No clock in the room and no hints from your game master who is otherwise very involved in your game. There are a lot of locks in the room. A LOT. If there’s one ding on this room is that virtually every puzzle is a word or number lock with a couple exceptions. And while it’s a very linear sequence, we were able to compile clues that made it unclear what went with what. In hindsight there are means to sort it out of the very low itself didn’t pose a challenge to even seeing some of the clues or locks. No phone lights are allowed. We were hung up a bit in one area and were pushed past a couple solutions to get us to the FINALE in time to have a chance at success. That was another sequence of interesting and fun puzzles that we solved through someone’s attention to detail and, honestly, experience from another room. Despite being pushed through a couple puzzles we left this room excited and satisfied more than any other room we’ve done. There are so many puzzles that it didn’t matter and made me question whether the number of puzzles could actually be slimmed down a bit. Definitely constructed in a way that it could be optional. Highly recommended. Fight through your fear, don’t let it distract you from the puzzles and pay attention to details. In return you’ll have the best horror themed escape room yet.

This deserves all the recognition and awards they already earned! One of the BEST rooms and the SCARIEST we’ve experienced! Definitely worth it! A must try! We’ve done 30+ escape rooms and this is the most memorable one! 👻

Absolutely terrifying and immersive room! By far my favorite that I have done out of 39. Puzzles were fairly easy but the low lighting and scares make this room just a little harder. Dark corridors and discomforting ambient noise bring the immersion to another level. This room is a must for anyone seeking spooks. Oliver was a wonderful gm!