Just Escape Room - "The Haunted Doll Shop"
- Krista Jones
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
LOCATION: La Grange, Illinois, USA
Photo above is property of Just Escape Room
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
📝 ETR DECODER
🔑 GAME: The Haunted Doll Shop
📅 DATE PLAYED: May 18, 2026
🎬 GENRE: Horror
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 5/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-6 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 90 Mins.
💰 PRICE: $33.00 - $36.00/ pp (depending on the day of the week)
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes
📖 THE STORY
A creepy doll shop mysteriously appeared overnight at the edge of town, and you’ve come to check it out. The owner seems a bit shady, and you heard something about some missing kids…can you figure out what’s going on and maybe do some good? Or at least avoid a terrible fate yourselves…
🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE
Unfolding story: The opening scenario for this room, as revealed in the intro video, is more of a teaser…you’re not really sure what to expect. But you gain additional info along the way to better understand the underlying motives and consequences of what you encounter.
Nice puzzle sequence: There was one particular series of puzzles that had a great flow of sequential discovery and an unexpected element added to one portion that upped the challenge.
An extra memento: Just Escape videos your team’s reaction to a light jump scare and gives you a free download after the game. This is fun to see (and potentially fodder for some good-natured ribbing to whoever had the best reaction), and goes beyond the typical victory photo that we now expect from a game. In the age where short-form video is king, it’s also a great format for sharing online.
🧩 MISSED THE MARK
Sudden finish: This is a quicker game and the ending felt a bit abrupt to us. We didn’t realize we had accomplished the final goal, thinking we had just finished a section. Making a few adjustments to the way the final puzzle is delivered could highlight the impact of each of our steps so that the ultimate ending felt more clearly earned.t.
🏹 TAKE A SHOT?
"The Haunted Doll Shop" is a great entry point to a scary room, or even to escape rooms in general. It's creepy with light jump scares but not really scary. It's not too difficult, and really delivers on that eerie theme, with many doll-focused challenges and decor. It's a slightly more traditional room with physical locks but also has some fun tech-y puzzles and effects. So, if you're looking for spooky, approachable room and appreciate having evolving narrative elements, go see if you can solve the mystery of the doll shop!
ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO
Just Escape Room is located upstairs inside a small office complex.
We found free 2-hour parking just across the street, and there is also paid metered street parking if you are staying longer.
There are bathrooms available.
The lobby has small lockers and wall hooks, and you can bring larger items with you into the room if needed.
They have some merch and puzzle cards for sale as well.
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)
Disclosure: We thank Just Escape Room for providing a media discount for this game. Although discounted admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion of the review whatsoever.
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