New Orleans: Hide and seek in voodoo land

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 7 years ago

New Orleans: Hide and seek in voodoo land

By Rob McFarland
What lurks in the swamps of New Orleans?

What lurks in the swamps of New Orleans?

"There's nothing I can tell you that's going to prepare you for what's going to happen in there," says Sean Green, manager of Clue Carre, somewhat ominously. An orientation video explains that we are about to be locked in a small furnished room filled with clues and puzzles. "This is a game of logic and perception," the video advises. "No brute strength is required." The aim is to solve all the puzzles to reveal a five-digit code that will enable us to "escape" from the room. The catch? We only have 60 minutes to do it.

"Follow me to the Voodoo Room," says Green, leading us into a small room containing two chairs, a bookcase of locked boxes, a hatstand, a safe and several padlocked chests. On one wall is a large painting and on another are several pictures and framed tarot cards.

Green explains that the famous New Orleans Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau has hidden the last surviving bottle of her elusive love potion somewhere in this room. We have to follow the clues, find the bottle and escape before her voodoo curse takes effect. Hidden cameras allow him to see and hear us and he can offer clues via a TV mounted on the wall.

You'll need your wits about you to escape the voodoo curse.

You'll need your wits about you to escape the voodoo curse.Credit: iStock

With that, he leaves, quietly locking the door behind him. A clock on the TV starts counting down and a spooky soundtrack fills the room. Game on.

My girlfriend and I start exploring, studying the pictures on the wall, checking under boxes, examining everything we can find for that vital first clue. Five minutes pass and we're no further forward. Suddenly, there's a loud chime from the TV, which makes me jump like a startled rabbit (I imagine Green chuckling away in front of his monitor like a Bond villain at this). It's a clue: "Marie Laveau liked her hats."

We return to the hatstand and this time discover a hat with a false bottom, under which is a four-digit code that opens one of the locked boxes (that's the only help you're getting).

New Orleans: No one is ever stumped for something to do.

New Orleans: No one is ever stumped for something to do.Credit: VisionsofAmerica/Joe Sohm

From here, we follow a meandering series of clues that includes a voodoo doll with numbered pins, cards that fit together to form a map and candles that have to be arranged in a specific order. I've never been a cryptic crossword kinda guy so I'm surprised at how engaging and compelling the whole thing is. Every time we solve a puzzle, I feel a delicious thrill of accomplishment.

Advertisement

As the timer ticks into the last 15 minutes I'm feeling quietly confident. We've opened all but two of the boxes and have what I presume are the first four numbers of the five-digit code to get out. I'm just starting to wonder if we'll break the room's escape record of 51:18 when I spot a combination lock on the painting. I tentatively try the four numbers, the padlock opens and the painting swings back to reveal a second room. My heart sinks. There's a candlelit altar laden with locked boxes and the walls are daubed with mysterious symbols. Clearly, we're less than halfway there.

Green starts showering us with clues to hasten our progress but it's no good. The timer ticks down to zero, the music stops and he re-enters the room. "Don't be hard on yourself," he says, smiling. "This room only has a 36 per cent success rate." He generously claims we were 75 per cent there but when he walks us through the remaining puzzles it's more like 60. Still, it's been a highly entertaining hour, even if it has armed my girlfriend with conclusive proof that she's a better clue-cracker than me.

Marie Laveau, the queen of the Voodoos in New Orleans, 1886.

Marie Laveau, the queen of the Voodoos in New Orleans, 1886.Credit: Alamy

Before leaving we check out some of the other rooms. The colourful Mardi Gras Den is the easiest, with a success rate of 41 per cent. The Haunted Swamp Room, with its eerie dilapidated log cabin, is the most difficult at 19 per cent. I'm just glad we didn't choose the Vampire Hunter Room, which has to be negotiated in darkness using lanterns.

On the way out we pass two racks of T-shirts for sale. Those who successfully get out of a room can buy one saying "#escaped". The rest of us have to settle for "#stumped".

Rob McFarland was a guest of Air New Zealand, Brand USA, the Catahoula Hotel and Clue Carre.

TRIP NOTES

MORE INFORMATION

neworleanscvb.com

visittheusa.com

GETTING THERE

Air New Zealand flies via Auckland to Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco with onward connections to New Orleans. See airnewzealand.com.au

STAYING THERE

In a restored Creole townhouse, the Catahoula Hotel has elegant, minimalist rooms, a bustling Peruvian cafe and an intimate rooftop bar. See catahoulahotel.com

ESCAPING THERE

Escape rooms at Clue Carre can be booked online and games cost $US31 per person. 830 Union Street, New Orleans. See cluecarre.com

Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter

Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading