Ripper

Did I just willingly go into someone’s actual real-life basement, where I was pursued and chased by a chainsaw-wielding serial killer for an hour? Yes, and I had the effing best time doing it! I should preface by saying our team of 2 cowards don’t do horror. We are afraid of jump scares, and we avoid scary rooms. Yet this week, we went straight from avoiding horror to playing what might possibly be one of the scariest rooms in the entire US! And I’m glad we did, because Ripper was an exhilarating ride with some of the most immersive fun we’ve ever had in an escape room! The owners Tom and Nicole are honestly masters of their craft. Looking back on the experience, I can tell that every single cinematic moment was meticulously planned out to periodically escalate in tension. Each scare changed the rules of what we could do, with masterful show-don’t-tell storytelling and very helpful guidance from a second in-game live actor, who was also trying to escape the Ripper’s clutches like us. The gory setting is the haunted house of my nightmares. Everything looked so realistic and freaky. Even when the Ripper isn’t physically with us, the rooms are designed to make us anxious, until the Ripper makes his grand adrenaline-pumping appearance, sending chills down our spines. This is a grade-A thriller movie, and I’m not even a big fan of the genre! The owners are extremely nice, and their other room Nevermore was one of my favorite rooms in the entire Carolinas, which is already a hit destination for high quality escapes, so that’s saying something! It was worth taking 2 separate long detours to do both rooms, and again, it says a lot that we would willingly drive an hour out of the way to do a horror room that is well beyond our comfort zone. Nocturne is worth it! There is a non-scare version, without the Ripper or the jump scares. And you can just focus on the puzzles. There’s also a PG-13 version that removes the swearing and nudity. We are crazy, and despite being cowards, we went for the whole rated-R scare version. (Rated R for Ripper) I can’t imagine this room without the titular Ripper. The puzzles, while still high quality (I thought Nevermore’s puzzles were literally perfect), are only made difficult because we can’t think straight when we’re scared. So really, the best reason to do this room is to immerse yourself in a serial killer’s basement. We faced our fears, but we escaped and lived to tell the tale for years to come! Maybe we secretly are horror fans? Who knows? But either way, we love the Ripper! Be brave and let it Rip!

Absolutely loved the experience!!! Even though it scared me TONS, the puzzles were so much fun to work through and I enjoyed it so much!!!

OMG and WOW! My wife and I have done over 100 escape rooms all around the country and Nocturne is now one of the tops we have done. We drove about 3 hours to get there and it was more than worth the trip. Tom and Nicole have figured out the Secret formula to escape room success: great people + great themes/decor + great stories + great puzzles = GREAT TIME! No stress of a clock. No super high-tech stuff going on in either room. Just amazing decor, awesome sounds/music and atmosphere plus the interactive live actors (Tom the Ripper and Natalie) in Ripper creates an hour of super intense but super fun time. Like nothing we have ever done. We chose the R-rated scary version. We aren't fans of horror films or haunted houses but we had a blast. If you get the chance you must visit Nocturne.

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We had so much fun in this room. We did the scary R-rated version (which I highly recommend). The set design is fantastic and the puzzles are the perfect difficulty level to be solved while you're being spooked. The attention to sound and lighting, the actor performance and the unique integrated hint system make this room come to life. I can't recommend this room enough for horror and non-horror fans alike.

We loved Nevermore so wanted to try this. Did the rated R scary version and it was a blast. Four of us which I would say should be max people due to space. My favorite part of this is no time limit. You still get out in about an hour but not having the clock helps you enjoy the experience not stressed about running out of time. There is cursing and nudity which we didn’t mind but heads up. Can’t wait for them to have a third experience. I swear these folks are the nicest in the business. Don’t freak out when you see it’s in their basement :) it’s legit one of the best

Exceptionally well done! The puzzles were clever, the story was well crafted, and the acting absolutely deserves applause. If you enjoy horror, this one’s a must—but even if you don’t, you’ll appreciate how thoughtful and immersive the experience is. There are so many subtle details you’ll only catch if you’re paying close attention. Note: there’s both an R-rated and a kid-friendly version, so be sure to check which one best fits your group before booking!

Absolutely fabulous experience. I loved everything about this room, the set design was fantastic, the puzzles were stellar (which I feel like is rare for scary games) and the actor moments were wonderful.

Nocturne was a sleeper hit for sure! The puzzles were super fun to solve and the actor kept us on our toes, literally, the whole game! The clue/hint system was the best that I’ve seen in a game that uses this type of system! I haven’t been scared or ran in a game like this in quite some time!

I went into Ripper very nervous on two fronts - 1. Could it live up to the hype, and 2. Would I tap out. I left extremely excited that it did live up to the hype and that I felt scary without ever crossing a boundary into SCARY. Nocturne is doing so many little things right that add up to a heart pounding and unforgettable adventure. I loved it on so many levels and I think this is a special game that everyone needs to play, as they are doing horror right. Don’t let the odd location fool you, Nocturne is a world class facility that every enthusiast should visit.

Like a haunted house combined with an escape game. Super scary!!