Real-Life Escape Games: 3 Daring Historical Escapes Made by Women

Mary, Queen of Scots in captivity

In the list of Great Escapes, you’ll notice a lack of women’s names. But that’s definitely not because women didn’t commit a whole lot of impressive escape feats. Handily, Krakit Vancouver Escape Game is here to fill that gap with this list of three of the most daring escape efforts made in history—all done by women.

1. Mary, Queen of Scots, escape: 1568

Mary, Queen of Scots did a lot of things most women didn’t do during the 16th century, like rule a country, get involved in a murderous love triangle, make enemies with Elizabeth I, and be taken political prisoner.

In 1568, after one year locked up in Lochleven Castle following a rebellion of Scottish nobles, she disguised herself as a laundress and tried to make her break by boat. Alas, she was recognized and turned back to her cell. However, that didn’t stop her from making a second escape, two months later, with the help of an orphan kid she befriended and a horse she stole from her captors. This time, she was successful.

Despite her penchant for daring escapes, Mary unfortunately would be no stranger to prisons throughout her life, ultimately being executed in 1587.

2. Harriet Tubman, escape: 1849

Harriet Tubman was born into a life of slavery in 19th-century Maryland. When her master died in 1849, instead of going to work at the neighbour’s house, Tubman took advantage of the disarray and made her escape to Philadelphia.

However, she didn’t stop there. She returned to her former home to help her family escape, along with dozens of other people. When the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, she returned to her knack for arranging escapes, helping get people across the border and into British North America (now Canada) along the Underground Railroad.

Because Tubman was just an overall badass, when the Civil War came around, she joined up as an armed scout and spy.

3. Countess Andrée de Jongh, escape: 1941

An active member of the Belgian Resistance during WWII, Countess Andrée de Jongh made her escape from Belgium at the age of 21, crossing the Pyrenees Mountains on foot to reach Spain. Like Tubman, de Jongh really did not stop there. Instead, she organized the Comet Line, an escape network that helped captured Allied soldiers escape occupied France and Belgium and reach safety in British-owned Gibraltar. All in all, de Jongh made 30 double crossings, escorting 116 escapees.

Following the end of the war, de Jongh worked in leper colonies in several African nations, and was ennobled as a countess in 1985.

Plot your escape in one of Krakit’s four Vancouver escape rooms by booking here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

Escape Games and Treasure Hunts: The 12 Riddles of Byron Preiss’s "The Secret"

Cover of Byron Preiss's The Secret

We’re sure many people will agree with us here at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game when we say what the world could use a bit more of these days is a good spot of wholesome mystery fun. That’s where people like the author and publisher Byron Preiss step in.

Though responsible for publishing many children’s books, Preiss’s 1982 project is the one that most people remember him for. Titled The Secret, it’s a puzzle book featuring 12 poems and 12 highly detailed fantasy paintings. But the most interesting part? Why, that would be the 12 related treasure boxes Preiss buried in parks across North America.

Each of the 12 ceramic boxes contains a key, which the treasure finder can trade in for a jewel worth $1,000 (with the casques they’re kept in also worth a good bit of coin). To this day, only two of Preiss’s Secret boxes have been found: one in Chicago in 1983 by a group of students, and the other in Cleveland in 2004 by members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Tragically, Preiss was killed in a car accident in 2005, but the rest of the jewels are kept in a safe deposit box in New York City for any future treasure finders.

Where exactly are the other boxes? Well, you’ll have to read The Secret and piece together its clues to find out. The 12 verses are linked to the 12 paintings, which each depict a different group of immigrants that came to the United States throughout the country’s history. The idea is to match the images to the poems, and piece together the exact location of the treasure boxes.

Unsurprisingly, the Internet has allowed Secret treasure hunters to band together to try and solve the locations of the remaining ten boxes (you can find The Secret wiki here). Along with more information on how to begin uncovering the mystery of The Secret, you can find a map of the most recent suspected treasures locations.

Test out your mystery-solving skills in one of Krakit’s four Vancouver escape rooms. You can book you and your treasure-loving friends a lot here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

Escape from Vancouver: 5 Best Spooky Shows Filmed in the GVRD

It is no secret: Greater Vancouver acts at the stomping ground for many a fictional character, especially those that live inside our television sets (or computer screens, as it may be). While a lot of TV shows film in Vancouver, it seems like we have a special skill for attracting shows of the spooky variety, whether that’s sci-fi, mystery, or straight-up horror.

Below, we list our five fave shows that use the GVRD to create their creepy backdrops.

For your own spooky time in the Vancouver area (in Burnaby, on the border of Coquitlam, and right next to Lougheed SkyTrain, to be exact), book yourself in for a horror-ific time in one of Krakit’s escape rooms.

5. The 4400

This highly rated sci-fi series lasted only four seasons and ended in 2007, but it still has a strong fanbase that hopes it will one day return to production. One day near Mount Rainier, 4,400 people who had previously vanished without a trace are returned to Earth. Unsurprisingly, it’s not hard to disguise Vancouver as the Mount Rainier area, considering we’re but a stone’s throw away—which exactly what American Zoetrope did for this TV series.

4. Bates Motel

Still being filmed in Aldergrove, BC—where they built an exact replica of the Bates Motel film set that stands on the Universal Studios lot—Bates Motel turns the very famous horror film Psycho into a serialized tale of unsettled minds. Starring Freddy Highmore and Vera Farmiga, this critically acclaimed series is a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic.

3. Fringe

Like Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Atlantis, the TV series Fringe (ended 2013) is a well-beloved sci-fi show that was very rooted in its Vancouver filming location. Created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci, Fringe follows the odd couple of an FBI agent and institutionalized scientist who must explain a bunch of unexplained phenomena. Which brings us to number 2 …

2. X-Files

Who doesn’t love the X-Files? But really, who doesn’t. Sure, the comeback tenth season was a bit of a dud, but the other nine contain some of the most high-quality spooky sci-fi to ever be broadcast on television. It was all filmed here, with, apparently, Vancouver’s constantly drizzly weather responsible for David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson’s notoriously frosty relationship.

1. Supernatural

While X-Files may arguably be the bigger show, Supernatural is perhaps more near and dear to many Vancouverites’ heart—and delivers consistently strong and entertaining episodes, despite being in its twelfth season. Basically no other show has managed to do this after being on air for more than a decade. It all may have something to do with co-stars Jared Padalecki’s and Jensen Ackles’s completely loveable personas, both onscreen and off.



Create your own spooky Vancouver scene in one of our horror-themed escape rooms. Book here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

10 Reasons You Should Play an Escape Game RIGHT NOW

1. Escape rooms are fun fun fun

Let’s just get this most obvious reason out of the way. Why play an escape game? Because it’s 45 minutes of pure fun, from the word go to the last second on the timer.

2. All the kids are doing it

Although people of all ages love a good escape game, they’re especially popular with millennials. Clearly, hitting an escape room is the hip thing to do.

3. Escape games work out your brain

Not just fun and popular, escape rooms offer a chance for you to put to work brain muscles you might not have exercised since high school. Keeping those synapse firing and your logic gears working means escape games provide great brain care.

4. You can impress your date with your bravery

Not only can you show your new beau how smart you are, you can impress him with your bravery when the zombies begin snapping their teeth at you, with only 5 minutes left on the clock …

5. Being under pressure is good for you

There’s proof that pressure makes us accomplish more, helps our brains work better, and turns us into more resilient people. Thanks, escape games!

6. Escape games make for some serious bonding

Need to make a team gel? Throw them into an escape room. Then see what a well-oiled machine they are after working together to crack all the codes and clues we throw at them.

7. A little scare never hurt anyone

Although not all escape games are scary, our favourite ones sure are! Here at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game we currently have three horror-themed rooms to get your blood pumping. Extra shot of adrenaline, coming up!

8. Belly laughter is the best medicine

What follows a jump scare or a seriously fumbled clue but serious laughter? You and your friends are guaranteed at least three giggle fits with each escape game you play.

9. You get your money’s worth

Pound for pound, a ticket to an escape room provides you with more than any movie ticket or baseball game (especially on Cheap Tuesdays at Krakit!). Why? Because immersive entertainment is more fulfilling and memory-making.

10. Escape is good for the soul

Taking some time for a little fantasist escape is necessary to staying sane in today’s hyper-paced world. It’s like Dungeons & Dragons come to life! What’s not to love.

Test your skill in one of Krakit’s four Vancouver escape games by booking here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

Escape Game Forefathers: 4 Not-Famous but Very Famous Codebreakers and Codemakers

Lewis Carroll's Alphabet Cipher

In the long history of codebreaking, there are few highly famous codebreakers. Probably has something to do with the secrecy that surrounds cryptography … but we try not to focus on that here at Krakit Escape Game!

One of the best-known codebreakers of all time is definitely Alan Turing, who led the team at Bletchley Park (which was home to several other famous codebreakers) to break the Enigma Cipher. And though he may be fictional, Sherlock Holmes is another person that comes to mind when thinking of secret codes.

But along with these few famous cipher sleuths, there a whole host of non-famous cryptographers, who are, paradoxically, also quite famous.

1. Johnny Cash

That’s right—the Johnny Cash was no stranger to codes and ciphers. During his time in the United States Air Force, the future music icon was a Morse Code Intercept Operator for the Soviet Army. Basically, Johnny Cash eavesdropped on Russian spies. Now we know one of the reasons he was such a badass. We're also pretty sure he would've been a major horror escape game fan.

2. Lewis Carroll

The man who wrote Alice in Wonderland was a fan of riddles and tricks of logic, and he also developed his own cipher. The code he made was called the Alphabet Cipher, a simple polyalphabetic substitution that is nevertheless quite clever.

3. Charles Babbage

You may not be very familiar with his name, but you’re certainly very familiar with his work. Charles Babbage built the first successful automatic calculator and made scientific contributions that led directly to the computer. He also was a highly successful codebreaker—although this wasn’t known until a century after his death, due to the military keeping it hush-hush. Now Babbage is fully recognized for solving the Vigenère Cipher during the Crimean War.

4. Galileo Galilei

The man who confirmed that the earth went around the sun was also rather fond of making his own codes. Perhaps not surprising from a scientific mind such as his. He was also onto the fact that other people were aware of his brilliant brain—and probably wanted to steal his ideas. So, he simply coded his correspondence with other science geniuses, including Johannes Kepler. Problem solved.

Try your own hand at solving codes and other riddles at one of our four Vancouver escape games. Book here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.