Mary Shelley's House of Frankenstein — Attraction in Bath

Unfortunately, this was the worst escape room experience I’ve ever had. We were yelled at and told to “Get out” by our host, among other things. I am not someone who ever leaves bad reviews, but after my experience I feel like I need to. Our game host, Matt, did an awful job of welcoming us into the place and was rude from the start. He barely greeted us, gave us brash commands, and didn’t introduce himself OR the room. When we were struggling with one of the puzzles, he asked us to read what we got back and just said “wrong. wrong.” without clarification.

Once time was up, he motioned us out without any walkthrough of the game. When I asked, he reluctantly showed us some numbers with a flashlight and gave curt answers to our questions. I had to prompt him for explanations on each puzzle.

I placed one of the puzzle pieces in a hole, thinking it was part of the game. When I told him at the end, he yelled “Why on EARTH would you do that?!?” I apologized and explained that I had solved a similar escape room puzzle like that before and he responded with yelling the same phrase two more times, and then started pounding on the wall of the next room. Then, he emerged from the crawl space and said “Get out. Get out.” and made a snide comment about my mistake. I am not claiming myself to be faultless here, as I shouldn’t have put the piece down the hole. HOWEVER, the piece was a perfect fit and there was no signage saying the hole was not part of the game.

Additionally, I went back and forth on if I should or not, asked my family out loud, and deliberated for at least two minutes. In theory, he should have seen or heard me on the cameras and intervened. And regardless, no matter what it is absolutely unprofessional to say the things he said to us.

My biggest gripe with the room itself is that there was no timer in the room nor did we get any time warning. Also some of the puzzles didn’t make very much sense (although maybe it’s because we were missing information, I wouldn’t know because we didn’t get a proper walkthrough after).

We chose this escape room over the Roman Baths museum and after this experience I deeply regret it. It is a shame because the rest of the staff there were very kind and answered our questions about Bath, and the museum itself was pretty cool if you are into sci-fi or have a young kid who is. In terms of the actual room (Victor’s Lair), the decor was pretty neat and I liked that there was more...

The house is an interesting idea but I thought there were a few aspects which were a bit perplexing. Anyone who's a fan of the novel may be thinking about visiting I imagine.

The experience as a whole while visting is there's a lot more interest in shocks and bangs over anything more celebral. When first reading the novel the first thing which struck me was more the tone of tragedy, its almost like an old Greek myth or Shakespearen tradegy in many respects. What most filmmakers have been more interested in though is the horror and gore side, especially those old Hammer ones, I think the 1994 is probably the closest to the original novels plot and tone. Don't expect much analysis either here of the literacy merits of the book either or its influence, I guess warped images and scary sounds are quick and easy to do where as serious thought and discussion need a bit more endeavour. What was interesting was the top floor with an old silent version adaptation which I doubt few people have seen.

I think while there was some good information and old movie posters the thing was also a bit confused about what they were trying to achieve, was it to educated, was it to shock, was it to entertain? A room containing a model of the monster was quite well done, while a bit near the top shows how the monster ironically later became a figure of fun in adverts after too much overexposure. There's a nice bit too on some of the old Hollywood actors to play the role.

The website states 'parents of younger children should use their judgement as to whether its suitable for them...' I would have thought it would probably be child abuse to take a younger child inside. Reading the early displays you do get a real sense of sympathy for Mary Shelley, her life wasn't an easy one, she was an outcast really for trying to live by what would have been shocking values for the time and they did her some real harm. You also have to have a great respect for a young mind able to conjure up such a dark and sorrowful tale born partly out of her grief, I don't necessarily think the use of a dead child in a jar or something equally grusome though next to that does anything but cheapen it by going for shock value, some of its of questionable taste anyway let's say. I found the young lady outside and the chap in the shop were both very friendly and enthusiastic. The place wasn't too crowded at all either when I was there on a...

I won't waste any time, let's go straight to the positives and negatives.

This museum was easy to find, the signs outside the front are clear and easy to spot. There is a lot of information about Mary Shelley, as well as Frankenstein and his "monster". It's clear and easy to read. The decor is exactly what you would expect, which I personally liked. I had some excellent company with me which made it an all round positive experience.

Negatives. It is not at all suitable for people with limited mobility, there are a LOT of stairs. The hallways aren't wide as advertised, so with crutches it's a struggle. There also isn't any seating if you're struggling. The lighting isn't good if you have impared vision, there are reflective strips on the stairs but they're not particularly great. Also, it's a bit like sardines in a tin can, the museum is basically a converted house, and so no room is particularly big, it can get a bit claustrophobic.

I was very disappointed with the "scary basement". Its basically just some strips of fabric hanging down in a dark room with one or two plastic body parts, with some audio playing. Takes about a minute to see everything.

We booked our tickets online but nobody checked. It would be very easy for someone to just sneak in. Nobody was checking and if there's a lot of people hanging around in the hallway then staff wouldn't notice.

It was different. Had I been on my own I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it. However, my friends made it a fun experience and we had a good laugh. Is it worth £15? Absolutely not. £10 at best. I'm glad we went but...