Westport Museum Hosts 'CT Witch Panic Escape Room' In October

Press release from the Westport Museum for History & Culture:

Sept. 23, 2022

The time is the 1650s and you are tasked with ferreting out the truth about an accused witch in your community. Could you, do it? That’s the premise of Westport Museum for History & Culture’s Escape Room this October in its newly renovated 7-sided Cobblestone barn. Visitors will solve a series of riddles to reveal the truth and “escape” the barn.

“Many don’t know that Witch hunts happened here in Connecticut, and even fewer know that they happened nearly fifty years before Salem,” said Nicole Carpenter, Westport Museum’s Director of Programs and Collections. “Our hope is that while solving these puzzles guests think about the reality of those persecuted people, and how the final result of the escape room— while fictionalized—makes sense in this complicated story.”

Back in the 1600s, Connecticut’s colonists lived in a dangerous time where fear—both real and imagined—caused panic across the colony. Real dangers threatened the earliest European communities in Connecticut. From attack by rival Dutch colonizers and native tribes protecting their land to terrible diseases like smallpox, yellow fever and influenza, fear escalated into hysteria culminating in a ruthless hunt of those believed to be witches in New England.

The first recorded execution of a witch in Connecticut occurred in May 1647. Alys Young was hung in Hartford—yet only a single line of text in the Colonial Governor’s diary survives to tell historians of the event. The Westport area did not escape the Connecticut Witch Panic. In 1653 Goodwife Knapp of Fairfield was found guilty of the “suspicion” of witchcraft and hung. Shortly after, rumors began to circulate that at the time of her hanging Knapp had confessed to Rodger Ludlow—Deputy Governor of the colony—that Mary Staples of Compo was also a witch.
Once inside the Museum’s escape room, participants must solve a series of puzzles to determine the truth about the accused witch. The recreated 17th century interior is the first public event in the museum’s heptagonal Cobblestone Barn which was restored this year thanks to a generous gift from the Daniel E. Offutt III Charitable Trust. The unique structure is the only of if its kind in the state and among the few in New England. It is considered the only authentically restored cobblestone barn in the Northeast.

At least two people are required to participate with a maximum group number of ten. This event is recommended for individuals eight years and older. Children under 15 must be accompanied by an adult. All participants must sign a waiver to participate. Those 17 and under must have waiver signed by a parent or guardian. Tickets are $20 for members $25 for non members. Limit 10 member tickets per person.

The CT Witch Panic Escape room will be available all October as part of the Museum’s annual “Spooktober” programming which includes talks, cemetery walking tours, and the beloved annual Lantern Tour at Willowbrook Cemetery.

This press release was produced by the Westport Museum for History & Culture. The views expressed here are the author's own.