FAQ
Before you go back in
A house you already escaped once. The Possession is Escape This’s 60-minute horror escape room set ten years after The Haunting: you return to Cathy’s home, find it darker than you remember, and have an hour to get out before she adds you to her décor. It runs in Northbridge, Sydney CBD and Melbourne CBD for teams of two to eight, all aged 15 or over.
Ideally, yes. The Haunting is chapter one and The Possession is chapter two: the same house, a decade apart. Escape This says you can walk into The Possession cold, but knowing Cathy’s home from the first visit makes the return hit harder. The Haunting only plays at Escape This Northbridge, so Perth teams can take both chapters in order on one night.
Start with The Haunting, chapter one →
Something much worse than a lonely ghost. In The Possession, Escape This says Cathy has become “something else”: she turns visitors into grotesque playthings and dresses the house with what remains of her “friends”. Your team has to get through her collection without provoking her.
Tough. Escape This rates The Possession 8 out of 10 and calls its puzzles intermediate: layered and complex, yet tuned so a sharp team isn’t left stranded for long. It rewards groups who already have a few escapes behind them; a team of total beginners will find it a steep first night.
That’s how Escape This pitches it. The studio says The Possession “ups the ante on horror” and bills it as the most terrifying escape room experience in Australia, which is its own claim rather than an independent ranking. Expect strong adult themes, jump scares, total darkness, flashing light and some gory touches.
Around 90 minutes from start to finish. The Possession gives you 60 minutes inside; Escape This asks teams to arrive 15 minutes early and suggests leaving another 15 afterwards to get your breath back and debrief.
It’s a big ask. Escape This suggests The Possession for groups where at least some players have done a few escape rooms, because of its 8/10 rating. A brand-new team usually has a better first outing in an easier room, then returns for the sequel once it knows how escape rooms work.
Northbridge: $49 a player Monday to Thursday and $59 Friday to Sunday. Sydney CBD: $55 Monday to Thursday and $65 Friday to Sunday. Melbourne CBD: $55 for off-peak sessions and $65 at peak. The Possession is 15+, so there’s no child rate, and in Perth and Sydney the midweek price doesn’t apply in public or school holidays.
From two to eight. The Possession runs with as few as two at quieter times and never more than eight, with a four-player minimum at each city’s peak times.
Yes. Escape This’s booking system sets The Possession at 15 and over in Northbridge, Sydney CBD and Melbourne CBD, staff may ask for ID, and children aren’t allowed in to watch. The old room site once called it adults-only; 15+ is the current rule.
Pitch black at times. The Possession uses controlled lighting with spells of complete darkness and flashes of light, and the Melbourne page says it isn’t recommended for anyone with light sensitivity or epilepsy. Jump scares come with the territory too.
The Possession first opened upstairs at 48 Lake Street, Northbridge WA 6003, in November 2021. Sydney followed in October 2024 at 630 George Street, and the Melbourne copy opened in August 2026 at 259 Collins Street, where the booking system shortens the name to Possession.
Same story and rating, different builds. Northbridge is the original, with no wheelchair access and no crawling. Sydney CBD takes one wheelchair and has no crawling. Melbourne CBD takes one wheelchair but adds crawling and tight spaces, and prices by peak and off-peak sessions rather than weekdays and weekends. Escape rates differ a lot between them, too.
39% across 9,360 recorded games. Split by venue: Northbridge 24%, Sydney CBD 69%, Melbourne CBD 91%. The Possession’s survival odds swing hugely between cities, so look at the one you’re booking.
They rate The Possession 4.91 out of 5 across Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, with 478 five-star reviews so far. Reviews talk about screaming loud enough to be heard outside, escaping with seconds to spare, puzzles that make you think sideways, and gamesmasters who kept the night on track.
Read the reviews →
If you skipped it, The Haunting at Northbridge, to see where Cathy’s story began. Beyond that, other Escape This horror rooms share venues with The Possession: Cannibal and Buried Alive in Northbridge and Sydney, or Meat Grinder and Van Helsing in Melbourne. Horrorscape lines them all up by city, age and escape rate.
Compare every horror room on Horrorscape →
A comic, invented casebook that Escape This writes in the voice of Desmond Crouch, a self-appointed paranormal investigator who has watched Cathy’s houses from the footpath since 2021 and been wrong about nearly everything. He logs The Possession’s openings in Northbridge, Sydney and Melbourne and quizzes teams on their way out. Safe for work, and no puzzle is given away.
Read the case files →
All questions about The Possession →
