TORRINGTON – Have you ever watched The Day of the Dead or The Walking Dead and thought “yeah, I could figure this out?”

If so, the Homesteaders’ Museum has a great opportunity for you. 

Museum director Sarah Chaires, along with volunteers Troy and Kathy Ayres, have turned one of the museum’s historic train cars into a zombie apocalypse-themed escape room. “Terror Train” is designed for groups of four to 10 people to work together and get the train running, which will allow them to deliver the serum that will cure the undead outbreak. 

The escape room’s story picks up when the group boards a dark, disabled train. 

“The backstory to it is that we have a zombie outbreak, and they need to get on the train and get it running to deliver the cure,” Troy Ayres said. “They’ll start with no lights.”

The experience is designed for adults, and anyone aged 13-18 will have to be accompanied by an adult. No one under 13 is permitted. Kathy Ayres said there’s no cost – though the museum will be accepting donations. 

“Everybody is starved for something to do that doesn’t cost a lot of money or doesn’t cost anything at all,” she said. “In the big cities, these are $25 a person to $50 a person. We figured we could start out with this as a free thing or a donation, and maybe work it into a fundraiser.”

Participants will have to watch a short video and sign a waiver, and there are rules. Groups will have one hour to complete the challenge, and the fastest times will be kept on a leaderboard. Volunteers will be watching the groups on a camera, and can give hints if the group is stumped – but there will be a penalty. 

“We do have a camera with night vision, so if they need help they can ask – but clues are going to cost them time,” Troy Ayres said. 

The experience doesn’t have any flashing lights, and there are no ‘screamers’ – surprises that spring out to give someone a scare.

“We’ll have background music to add to the immersive feeling of the whole thing,” Troy Ayres said. “It wouldn’t be like a movie if we didn’t have the background music.”

According to Kathy Ayres, the escape room will be a great outing for families, groups of friends, or even co-workers, who can use the escape room as a team-building activity. 

“This could be a great corporate event, too,” she said. “For companies, it can be great team-building. You have to work together to make this work. You can’t do this by yourself. No cell phones are allowed, no external tools are allowed. You have to work together.”

Chaires said the organizers had only set aside a few days for the escape room, but when the first available time slots filled quickly, she decided to open it for more groups on different days of the week. 

“People are always wanting more to do in our community,” she said. “We know we already added three more days on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and we’re discussing how this isn’t going anywhere, so we’re trying to figure out a good way to schedule into the future.”

To book a time and try your hand at curing the zombie outbreak, call Chaires at the Homesteaders’ Museum at (307) 532-5612.