The highest ranked US room for 2025 is The Chimera Corp Saga at Escape Artist in Greenville, South Carolina (#22), which plays three of the company's games, Castle Flüffendor, Dark Lullaby and Help Wanted, in one session of over three hours with its own ending. Castle Flüffendor and Dark Lullaby are also Top Rooms on their own. The rest are one or two per city, from Urbana, Illinois and Houston to Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Florida, Cape Cod and North Carolina.
Key takeaways
- Highest ranked: The Chimera Corp Saga (#22), The Forest of Fables (#37) and Puppet Murder Files: Election Day (#42).
- 13 TERPECA 2025 Top Rooms here. Horror ratings: 3 no horror, 6 spooky, 1 passively scary and 3 actively scary.
- Greenville, SC has three Top Rooms at one venue.
- Every room is playable in English; each card links the room's own page for players, length and booking.
Ranks and horror ratings are TERPECA's 2025 results. Players, length and languages are from each room's own site, checked October 30, 2026.
Greenville, South Carolina
3 TERPECA Top Rooms.
Screenshot of escapeartistgreenville.com #22 · TERPECA 2025Actively scaryThe Chimera Corp Saga
Escape Artist Greenville · Greenville
Players run through all three linked Chimera Corp games (Castle Flüffendor, Dark Lullaby, Help Wanted) with bonus content and an exclusive ending to the trilogy.[2]
Plays Castle Flüffendor, Dark Lullaby and Help Wanted in one session, with extra content and its own ending.[2]
1320 Hampton Ave Ext Bay 11C, Greenville, SC 29601, United StatesBook
Screenshot of escapeartistgreenville.com Top Room · TERPECA 2025No horrorCastle Flüffendor
Escape Artist Greenville · Greenville
Listed by TERPECA without a separate rank: part of The Chimera Corp Saga, #22.
A whimsical quest to a cozy kingdom where players join the citizens of Castle Flüffendor to save the princess.[2]
Also played as part of The Chimera Corp Saga.[2]
1320 Hampton Ave Ext Bay 11C, Greenville, SC 29601, United StatesBook
Screenshot of escapeartistgreenville.com Top Room · TERPECA 2025Actively scaryDark Lullaby
Escape Artist Greenville · Greenville
Listed by TERPECA without a separate rank: part of The Chimera Corp Saga, #22.
Chimera Corp has reopened Project Nightmare, and players come face to face with monsters from their childhood.[2]
Also played as part of The Chimera Corp Saga. Live actors and jump scares.[2]
1320 Hampton Ave Ext Bay 11C, Greenville, SC 29601, United StatesBook
Champaign-Urbana
1 TERPECA Top Room.
Screenshot of cuadventures.com #37 · TERPECA 2025No horrorThe Forest of Fables
CU Adventures in Time and Space · Urbana
While visiting a mysterious collector, players are pulled into a fractured fairy tale and must rewrite their story.[2]
Minimum of 4 players; features a live actor.[2]
302 N Broadway Ave, Suite 100, Urbana, IL 61801Book
Los Angeles
2 TERPECA Top Rooms.
Screenshot of appleseedavenue.com #42 · TERPECA 2025SpookyPuppet Murder Files: Election Day
Appleseed Avenue · Newhall (Santa Clarita) · 46 km from Los Angeles
- 4–8 players[2]
Players take jobs as detectives or medical examiners on Appleseed Avenue, where puppets and humans live, on the day of a tense Puppet Town mayoral election.[3]
Minimum of 4 players: the team splits into detectives and medical examiners.[3]
23504 Lyons Ave #203b, Newhall, CA 91321Book
Screenshot of theministryofpeculiarities.com #87 · TERPECA 2025SpookyHope End
The Ministry of Peculiarities · Azusa · 34 km from Los Angeles
Ministry investigators enter Hope End, a mansion left empty since every member of the Hope family but one died mysteriously 110 years ago.[2]
Open Wednesday to Sunday by appointment.[2]
Award-winning restaurants nearby (1)
- Chengdu Taste Bib Gourmand · MICHELIN Guide California 2026 · 23 km
310 N Citrus Ave, Suite I, Azusa, CA 91702Book
Houston
1 TERPECA Top Room.
Screenshot of strangebirdimmersive.com #55 · TERPECA 2025SpookyThe Man from Beyond
Strange Bird Immersive · Houston · 8 km from Houston
Madame Daphne holds a private séance to contact the spirit of Harry Houdini, but when the ghost appears things take a dramatic turn.[2]
Played with live actors; the puzzles need English.[2]
7026 Old Katy Rd #310, Houston, TX 77024Book
San Francisco Bay Area
1 TERPECA Top Room.
Screenshot of triviumgames.com #57 · TERPECA 2025SpookyGhost Patrol
Trivium Games · Emeryville · 14 km from San Francisco Bay Area
Players act as paranormal investigators who must work out why a ghost is lingering and solve its problem so it moves on.[2]
Award-winning restaurants nearby (5)
- Atelier Crenn 3 Stars · MICHELIN Guide California 2026 · 14 km
- Quince 3 Stars · MICHELIN Guide California 2026 · 12 km
- Californios 3 Stars · MICHELIN Guide California 2026 · 14 km
- Benu 3 Stars · MICHELIN Guide California 2026 · 12 km
- Lazy Bear 2 Stars · MICHELIN Guide California 2026 · 15 km
3996 San Pablo Ave., Suite H, Emeryville CA 94608Book
Tampa Bay
1 TERPECA Top Room.
Screenshot of theescapeventures.com #68 · TERPECA 2025Passively scaryPins & Needles Tattoo Parlor
The Exit Games · Clearwater · 33 km from Tampa Bay
Players start an apprenticeship under Skinz, a famous and harsh tattoo artist, and must survive their first day in his shop.[2]
The Exit Games now trades as The Escape Ventures.[2]
620 Lakeview Rd, Clearwater, FL 33756Book
Orlando
1 TERPECA Top Room.
Screenshot of theescapeventures.com #73 · TERPECA 2025Actively scaryCornstalkers: Lost in the Maize
The Escape Ventures · Orlando · 17 km from Orlando
Social media influencers invited to the Clearview Fall Fair try to become the first group to escape its notorious Maze of Fear.[2]
Played at the Waterford Lakes location in east Orlando. The company's most intense game.[2]
Award-winning restaurants nearby (1)
- Sorekara 76/100 · La Liste 2026 · 12 km
570 N Alafaya Trail Suite 109-110, Orlando, Florida 32828Book
Cape Cod
1 TERPECA Top Room.
Screenshot of upsidedownescapes.com #75 · TERPECA 2025SpookyThe Mole of the Mountain
Upside Down Escape Games · Mashpee · 18 km from Cape Cod
Following their missing grandpa's journal about a guru called The Mole of The Mountain, players enter a cave in a giant heap of trash.[2]
In Mashpee Commons on Cape Cod. Open Friday to Sunday off-season, daily from mid-June to Labor Day.[2]
61 Market Street, Mashpee Commons, Mashpee, MA 02649Book
Charlotte
2 TERPECA Top Rooms.
Screenshot of keepersofbalance.com #81 · TERPECA 2025No horrorQuest For The Temple of Light
The Keepers of Balance · Charlotte · 7 km from Charlotte
At the end of a perilous labyrinth, an ancient temple holds a treasure of pure light that many adventurers have died trying to reach.[2]
Minimum of 4 players on Saturdays and Sundays. Involves climbing and crawling.[2]
125 W. Woodlawn Rd, Charlotte, NC 28217Book
Screenshot of nocturneadventures.com #98 · TERPECA 2025SpookyNevermore
Nocturne Adventures · Hickory · 74 km from Charlotte
Based on Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven, players help a restless spirit reunite with the lost soul of his beloved.[2]
A private basement venue at the owners' address; all games by appointment.[2]
3363 48th Ave Ln NE, Hickory NC 28601Book
Travelling to United States for a room?
Booking confirmations, the walk from the station and the game master's messages all need data. The United States eSIM installs before you fly, so you land already connected.
Get the United States eSIMPlanning a US escape-room trip
Several US rooms need a bigger group: The Forest of Fables, Puppet Murder Files, Ghost Patrol, The Man from Beyond and Hope End all start at four players, per their sites.
Our take: Greenville is the one US stop with enough for a weekend. Florida's two rooms, in Clearwater and Orlando, fit one trip with a drive between them.
For food in the bigger cities, see our US restaurant guide.
How the ranking works
TERPECA asks experienced players, not owners or critics, to rank the rooms they have played. Nominators have played at least 200 rooms and voters at least 100, and nobody may vote for a room they are connected to. Every eligible room has to be bookable in English, which is why the list is useful to travellers: a room on it can be played without speaking the local language. The full method, and TERPECA's own caveat that regions with fewer enthusiast visitors are under-represented, is on its methodology page.
More escape-room guides
- The world's best escape rooms (TERPECA 2025), by country
- Best escape rooms in Montreal and Laval
- Best escape rooms in Athens
- Best escape rooms in Paris
- Best escape rooms in Barcelona and Catalonia
- Best escape rooms in Madrid
- Best escape rooms in Valencia
- Best escape rooms in Spain
- Best escape rooms in France
- Best escape rooms in Belgium
- Best escape rooms in the Netherlands
- Best escape rooms in Germany
- Best escape rooms in Switzerland
- Best escape rooms in Poland
Frequently asked questions
What is the best escape room in the US?+
Which the US escape rooms have no horror?+
Which the US escape rooms are the scariest?+
Can I play these the US escape rooms in English?+
How long do the games last?+
Is this a ranking of your own?+
Methodology
How we did this comparison
Ranks and horror ratings are TERPECA's 2025 Top Room results. TERPECA (Top Escape Rooms Project Enthusiasts' Choice Award) is run by enthusiasts: in October, nominators who have played at least 200 rooms each put forward up to 10 rooms, and in November voters who have played at least 100 rank every finalist they have played, with owners and staff barred from voting for their own rooms. Only rooms playable in English are eligible. For 2025, 734 nominators made 6,630 nominations and TERPECA named 100 Top Rooms; a few more appear as Top Rooms without a rank of their own, usually an alternate version or one part of a combined game. TERPECA's horror levels run from no horror, through spooky (horror theming without scares) and passively scary (darkness or tension without many startles), to actively scary (jump scares or simulated attacks).
Players, game length, languages, addresses and booking links come from each room's own website, read on 30 October 2026, and every figure links to the page it came from. We do not rank rooms ourselves and nothing here is paid for. Planning notes marked "Our take" are ours. Map positions are geocoded from each room's published address. Rooms whose own website was offline or could not be checked are not listed. Rooms close and change format, so check the room's own site before you travel.
Sources & references
We verify carrier and regulator pricing directly from primary sources before publishing. Pricing is current as of the article's last update — always confirm rates on the carrier's site before you travel.
- TERPECA 2025 Top Rooms results — TERPECA
- TERPECA: how the ranking works — TERPECA
- TERPECA FAQ: horror levels — TERPECA
- Escape Artist Greenville, The Chimera Corp Saga: room page — Escape Artist Greenville
- The Chimera Corp Saga: booking — Escape Artist Greenville
- CU Adventures in Time and Space, The Forest of Fables: room page — CU Adventures in Time and Space
- The Forest of Fables: booking — CU Adventures in Time and Space
- Appleseed Avenue: FAQ — Appleseed Avenue
- Appleseed Avenue, Puppet Murder Files: Election Day: room page — Appleseed Avenue
- Appleseed Avenue: Contact and address — Appleseed Avenue
- Puppet Murder Files: Election Day: booking — Appleseed Avenue
- Strange Bird Immersive, The Man from Beyond: room page — Strange Bird Immersive
- The Man from Beyond: booking — Strange Bird Immersive
- Trivium Games, Ghost Patrol: room page — Trivium Games
- Trivium Games: FAQ — Trivium Games
- Trivium Games: Contact and address — Trivium Games
- Ghost Patrol: booking — Trivium Games
- The Exit Games, Pins & Needles Tattoo Parlor: room page — The Exit Games
- The Exit Games: Contact and address — The Exit Games
- Pins & Needles Tattoo Parlor: booking — The Exit Games
- The Escape Ventures, Cornstalkers: Lost in the Maize: room page — The Escape Ventures
- The Escape Ventures: Contact and address — The Escape Ventures
- Cornstalkers: Lost in the Maize: booking — The Escape Ventures
- Upside Down Escape Games, The Mole of the Mountain: room page — Upside Down Escape Games
- Upside Down Escape Games: Contact and address — Upside Down Escape Games
- The Mole of the Mountain: booking — Upside Down Escape Games
- The Keepers of Balance, Quest For The Temple of Light: room page — The Keepers of Balance
- Quest For The Temple of Light: booking — The Keepers of Balance
- The Ministry of Peculiarities, Hope End: room page — The Ministry of Peculiarities
- Hope End: booking — The Ministry of Peculiarities
- Nocturne Adventures, Nevermore: room page — Nocturne Adventures
- Nocturne Adventures: Contact and address — Nocturne Adventures
- Nevermore: booking — Nocturne Adventures
- Escape Artist Greenville, Castle Flüffendor: room page — Escape Artist Greenville
- Escape Artist Greenville, Dark Lullaby: room page — Escape Artist Greenville
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About the author
Lotsotravel Team
The Lotsotravel editorial team writes hands-on guides for international travelers. We test eSIMs on real devices in real destinations, monitor Canadian and U.S. carrier pricing weekly, and compare coverage across local network partners before we recommend a plan. Every comparison post is updated when carriers change their rates so the numbers you read here match what you would pay today.
Last updated: October 30, 2026