By Jasmine Agnes T. Cruz

Instead of going out to dinner or watching a movie, one can challenge friends or family members to a good old mystery.

Popular abroad (it was even a plot in an episode of The Big Bang Theory) and now in the Philippines, mystery rooms are just that — rooms into which a group of people are locked until they solve the mystery and are released.

Mystery Manila provides guests with mystery rooms with different themes, including Harry Potter, horror, and virtual reality. With branches in Boracay, Century Mall and Jupiter Street in Makati City, and Quezon City (Libis), the themed rooms all have unique clues that keep brains buzzing. Participants are given 60 minutes to solve the clues in order to “escape” the room. Those who succeed are given tokens.

Mystery Manila was conceptualized by Kimbee Magdato, Errol Magdato, Margaret Chang, and Chuck Chang. They began planning their venture in December 2013 and opened the business in May 2014. One year later, they have opened four branches.

The founders visit similar mystery room businesses in other countries to ensure that they are “up to par” with what’s out there — but Mystery Manila does not copy these foreign concepts, and instead, builds its own, assured Ms. Magdato.

Even the mysteries that offered in the various branches are different which is why loyal customers visiting all the branches to seek new mysteries, she said. The themes are refreshed every six to eight months, but many of them run longer and are kept as is if there continues to be a demand for them.

SCARY MYSTERY
One of their popular mysteries is Rebecca’s Room in the Jupiter branch. The Quezon City branch now has a “sequel” to that popular mystery called Rebecca’s Revenge.

The story of Rebecca’s Room begins with the titular character who died inside the room. The players act as “spirit questors” who try to discover why Rebecca died and how they can help her soul find peace. In Rebecca’s Revenge, her spirit is angered by the first spirit questors and now she is bent on killing. Players in this sequel must find a way to survive.

People react to the room in different ways said Ms. Magdato — she knows this since there are security cameras in the rooms. Some players scream and then laugh at themselves, some get so scared that they decide to leave the room before the allotted time. There are people who jump in fright, others hug each other, and some start crying. Some groups huddle together in one corner, as if there was actually something sinister in the room, when, really, it’s all just a made up game.

“Filipinos might not admit it, but they love horror themes,” said Ms. Magdato. “They are afraid, but they enjoy screaming.”

Entrance to a room at the Manila branches start at P550 for two people, while the Boracay branch starts at P650 for two people. For details, visit http://www.mysterymanila.com.

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