Play time15 min
Best forFamilies

Printable escape room · Instant download

The Carnival of Souls

17 reviews

Our very first game—featuring clever puzzles and the mysterious story that started it all.

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Clever puzzles like in a real escape room

Play time15 min
Best forFamilies

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Best Fun Game of the Year 2025Best Online Game 2020Featured in Oprah Daily

The story

The Carnival of Souls

Step right up and experience the mystery and terror of the Carnival of Souls! You and your friends were dazzled by the Great Augustus' magic show, but things quickly take a dark turn when you wake up in a room full of ominous clues and a dead body. The clock is ticking as you navigate the twisted mind of a crazed murderer, piecing together puzzles and deciphering codes to uncover the password to the magician's hidden diary. Will you escape before becoming the next victim?

Start the adventure

Real game nights

Players caught mid-puzzle

5-star reviews with photos from families, friends and party hosts who played our games at home.

4.8 from 4,083 reviews

60,000+ games sold worldwide

Rated 5 out of 5
“Great for the entire family.”

Lindsey R.Played New Year's Eve
Rated 5 out of 5
“Was so much fun! The puzzles ranged in difficulty, so my 7-year-old could easily take part while my oldest daughter and husband still felt challenged. They are asking if we can do it again!”

Claire P.Played Trick or Treat
Rated 5 out of 5
“Explains the set up perfectly, the puzzles themselves were very good :) We ended up racing boys v girls (girls won 😉). Was a really fun night, will most likely buy from this shop again!”

KatePlayed The Secret Library
Rated 5 out of 5
“This was a fun activity for family at Christmas. We enjoyed solving the puzzles and we didn’t need to open any of the hints.”

Debbie O.Played Heist on the Christmas Express
Rated 5 out of 5
“We did this for our kids to reveal their Christmas trip! It was fun. We laughed, we worked together — it made the moment unforgettable.”

Meta G. · United States
Rated 5 out of 5
“We had such a good time. The puzzles were challenging - not too easy - which made it better for the players. Everyone really enjoyed it, they wanted to do it again. We can't wait to do another one!!”

Sincere B. · United States

How to play

Read. Solve. Unlock.

Read the story Open the intro and step into the mystery.
Solve the puzzles Team up to crack one clever puzzle after another.
Unlock the ending Every answer moves you forward, all the way to the grand finale.

Real game nights

More families, more game nights

Rated 5 out of 5
“This was a fun activity for family at Christmas. We enjoyed solving the puzzles and we didn’t need to open any of the hints.”

Debbie O.Played Heist on the Christmas Express
Rated 5 out of 5
“We did this for our kids to reveal their Christmas trip! It was fun. We laughed, we worked together — it made the moment unforgettable.”

Meta G. · United States
Rated 5 out of 5
“We had such a good time. The puzzles were challenging - not too easy - which made it better for the players. Everyone really enjoyed it, they wanted to do it again. We can't wait to do another one!!”

Sincere B. · United States
Rated 5 out of 5
“This was the second escape room I've purchased from this shop. The owner was super helpful and attentive to my questions. I highly recommended!”

Lacy A.
Rated 5 out of 5
“This was so fun. It took me, my husband and our two kids (7 and 9) over an hour to complete! Will definitely purchase more!”

Amber R.Played The Toy Factory
Rated 5 out of 5
“I wanted to make finding the big gift more fun on Christmas morning for my 17-year-olds. This was just the thing! It slowed down the mad rush to open gifts and gave me time to cook brunch. Worth it!”

Delana G.Played Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Rated 5 out of 5
“We played this as a family on Easter morning and had such a good time. We all got to participate. Easy to set up and so much fun.”

Shannon K.Played The Easter Heist
Rated 5 out of 5
“Super fun escape room! Easy to print, cut and set up. I printed 4 sets and split our large family into groups. Everyone had a great time!”

Becky F.Played New Year's Eve
Rated 5 out of 5
“We got this for my 10-year-old’s birthday party. The kids had a lot of fun! We split them into two teams and they escaped in about 40 minutes. We can’t wait to do another one.”

Verified buyerPlayed Jurassic Adventure
Rated 5 out of 5
“Got this for an 11th birthday party. The girls solved the puzzles quickly because they’re smarty pants. Fun theme. Quality clues.”

Phoebe V.Played Titanic
Rated 5 out of 5
“My 15 and 13 year olds (skilled escape roomers) took about 25 minutes, plus searching the house for the 11 envelopes. The directions and clues were clear.”

Stacy S.Played The Easter Heist
Rated 5 out of 5
“This was the perfect game for my ESL party! I’ll be purchasing more in the future.”

Scarlett S.Played Candyland
Rated 5 out of 5
“I put this together for 2 kids, age 12 and 9, and they both loved it. I hid each chapter in its own little box around the house. The seller replied quickly with a great explanation when I had a question.”

Amy M.Played The Great Christmas Escape
Rated 5 out of 5
“I bought this as an Easter activity for my kids, rather than more chocolate. It was brilliant, kept my 6 and 8 year olds busy for nearly 2 hours and the puzzles were just the right level. We will definitely be back for more!”

Laura H.Played Easter Escape Room
Rated 5 out of 5
“We had a blast using this to make a haunted escape room in our garage with lock boxes, glow sticks and scary decorations. Both kids loved it!”

Amanda L.Played Trick or Treat
Rated 5 out of 5
“So much fun for everyone - great instructions and challenging yet doable puzzles. Kids worked together to solve!”

Katherine W.
Rated 5 out of 5
“This was the coolest DIY escape room EVER! I hid all the clues around the room to add a little extra mystery. Best birthday ever!!!”

Jasmin W.
Rated 5 out of 5
“We had a blast using this to make a haunted escape room. I used it along with another to combine with lock boxes, glow sticks, and scary decorations for a super fun experience. Both kids loved it! Thank you!”

Willie
Rated 5 out of 5
“Loved this game! Played it at a Girl Scout Christmas sleepover with about 30 girls in teams of 5, ages 8 to 14. The fastest team finished in 42 minutes, and the girls are excited to try other escape rooms.”

Kellie F.Played The Great Christmas Escape
Rated 5 out of 5
“This was a lot of fun and had a good variety of games!”

Lynne M.Played Halloween Escape Room
Rated 5 out of 5
“This was the coolest DIY escape room EVER! Eight boys ages 10 to 13 did it together for a birthday party. I hid all the clues around the room for a little extra mystery. Best birthday ever!”

Sarah S.Played Titanic
Rated 5 out of 5
“We had so much fun! It was on the hard side for us, which made it an absolute great evening. I printed it twice for two teams. The website was awesome at guiding you through the game.”

Deanna E.Played The Hotel of Lost Souls
Rated 5 out of 5
“This was the perfect gift! This year we had my adult sons and their wives solve the Santa kidnapping to win their lottery tickets. It was fun and turned competitive really quick! I will be doing this again next year.”

Verified Etsy buyerPlayed Santa is Missing!
Rated 5 out of 5
“I was using it for my 20-something kids and their spouses during the holidays, wondering if it would be challenging enough and, most of all, fun. The answer: yes, yes, and yes! The graphics were top-notch! Highly recommend!”

Carmen Y.Played Christmas Time Travel
Rated 5 out of 5
“I used this for my husband’s 40th birthday. Him and his siblings have done every actual escape room near us, so I was nervous this would be too easy. It actually was perfect. There was lots of laughing and they really enjoyed it and were challenged.”

Sarah L.Played The Illusionist's Box
Rated 5 out of 5
“We played this as a family of four at our son’s birthday weekend getaway. We all had an amazing time exploring, learning and (eventually) escaping! The website element was so well done and truly set the stage for the entire event!”

Jenise L.
Rated 5 out of 5
“It was a wonderful experience! Played with teens and adults and everybody had so much fun. The tasks are just the right level of difficulty. It's my first experience of such printable quests and it was amazing!”

Stephanie
Rated 5 out of 5
“Remarkable! Three teenagers, 16/18/19, loved the escape room!”

Maria B. · Saskatchewan, Canada
Rated 5 out of 5
“Very well designed. The 3-D boxes were really attractive and helped set the stage. It was a great addition to our staff party this Christmas, and my grandson now wants an escape room for his birthday party!”

Bonnie M.Played The Great Christmas Escape
Rated 5 out of 5
“We got this since we didn’t feel ready for in-person escape rooms. The puzzles were smart and fun. Good quality images too.”

Tricia F.
Rated 5 out of 5
“I printed off 3 copies and we had teams playing against each other. Everyone had heaps of fun. We had ages between 14 and 50 and everyone loved it.”

Lisa C.
Rated 5 out of 5
“Our second Christmas using MysteryLocks, this time for my adult children. In the end they got a box of sweet treats and prizes. They look forward to this every year. Big kids still want to have fun.”

Julie B.Played The Toy Factory

Read all reviews

FAQ

Questions, answered

Read the full game description

Carnival of Souls | Dark Magic Mystery Escape Room

When the Great Augustus's magic show takes an unexpected turn, your volunteer performance becomes a race to discover the truth! This spooky DIY escape room transforms carnival entertainment into an atmospheric mystery suitable for ages 10 and up.

A Twisted Show Awaits!

Wake up backstage in a magician's secret room filled with mysterious props and dark secrets! Decode messages hidden in carnival posters, uncover clues in stage equipment, and piece together the password to the Great Augustus's private diary. Each solved puzzle reveals another side of this mysterious showman!

What Makes This Show Special:

Carnival Setting: Classic magic show atmosphere
Quick Mystery: 15-30 minutes of intense puzzle-solving
Age-Appropriate Thrills: Perfect for teens and adults
Magician's Secrets: Explore behind the curtain
Flexible Format: Solo escape or team investigation
Self-Guided Adventure: No game master needed

Perfect For:

Halloween Events
Carnival Parties
Magic Show Fans
Family Game Nights
Birthday Celebrations
Weekend Entertainment

Step behind the curtain in this unique escape room that brings carnival magic to life through spooky-but-fun puzzles and theatrical mysteries!

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Instant download

Your adventure awaits

Download The Carnival of Souls right after checkout and start playing tonight.

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What players say

This printable escape room game received mostly positive feedback. Customers praised its "high quality" design, "perfect riddles," and engaging puzzles that work well for kids and teams. Most found it "easy to download and print." However, some customers felt certain puzzles were "poorly constructed" and inconsistent in quality, with about half needing improvement.

We had a blast! This 'at-home' printable game is a perfect, budget-savvy way to have an adventure.
The puzzles and game are the perfect length to keep younger ones interested!
Wonderful escape game. High quality just like the others.

Kids (positive)Puzzles (positive)Quality (positive)Game (positive)Design (positive)

5 stars: 15 (88%)
4 stars: 0 (0%)
3 stars: 1 (6%)
2 stars: 1 (6%)
1 star: 0 (0%)

Digital is the way to go

It was a big hit with our teams!

Perfect communications, good seller, perfect riddles, thanks

This was great for the kids to do together! The puzzles and game are the perfect length to keep younger ones interested!

I highly recommend their games and this one is another good one! They have different games of different levels so you can play a game that suits your ability.

Good game 😊! I like the desingn and well made game!

Not a fan. First puzzle was a super stretch/poorly constructed. As for the rest, about half were well thought out, the others not so much. The art work/props are nice but the puzzles need work.

Not a fan. First puzzle was a super stret...

Not a fan. First puzzle was a super stretch/poorly constructed. As for the rest, about half were well thought out, the others not so much. The art work/props are nice but the puzzles need work.

Wonderful escape game. High quality just l...

Wonderful escape game. High quality just like the others I purchase from Mystery Locks. They do an amazing job :)
I excited to try others in the future.

This was great for the kids to do together! The puzzles and game are the perfect length to keep younger ones interested!

Very easy to download and print out. Will be giving this to my daughter and her husband for their next date night. Thank you!

If you love Escape Rooms, don't think twice about purchasing from PrintHomeAdventures! I can't recommend them enough. My fiance and I are in the middle of planning our wedding, so funds are tight and stress is high. We love Escape Rooms and thought this would be the perfect way to have a fun, stress-free evening in...I am pleased to say I was right! This "at-home" printable game is a perfect, budget-savvy way to have an adventure at home without having to look presentable. We had a blast! This particular game (Carnival of Souls - Rated 'Intermediate') took me and my fiance about ~25 minutes, but we are frequent Escape Room visitors (when not planning our wedding) and love puzzles. We are officially hooked and look forward to playing more games with PrintHomeAdventures!

This was so much fun for my daughters 12th birthday party! It made it so easy to do an escape room!

Digital is the way to go

It was a big hit with our teams!

Perfect communications, good seller, perfect riddles, thanks

87%

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(364)

(78)

(38)

(67)

3116

I used this for my huband’s 40th birthday. Him and his siblings have done every actual escape room anywhere near us and they’re really good at them, so I was nervous this was going to be too easy for them. It actually was perfect. Both teams needed a hint for the first puzzle, and it took them probably an hour and a half for the first team to solve the whole game. There was lots of laughing and it seemed like they really enjoyed it and were challenged. I would definitely try another game and recommend this to anyone!

Explains the set up perfectly, the puzzles themselves were very good :) We played with four of us initially as one team but ended up competitively racing to work everything out boys v girls (girls won😉) - worked well both ways! Was a really fun night, will most likely buy from this shop again 🫶🏼

Difficulty: Quite tricky

Player type: With adults

Duration: Over 2 hours

Raven Mansion Mystery- Pure Delight!

We played this as a family of four (2 parents and 2 adult kids) at our son's birthday weekend getaway. We all had an amazing time exploring, learning and (eventually) escaping! The website element was so well done and truly set the stage for the entire event! Well done!

Duration: 1–2 hours

Great fun for a rainy day!

This was lots of fun! We did this as a group of 3 and it took about 90 minutes. Easy to set up, and next time I'll try adding boxes and locks to add to the atmosphere.

Difficulty: Easy and fun

Player type: With kids (under 12)

Duration: 30–60 minutes

Fun Easter activity

The kids enjoyed this Easter escape and only needed a few clues on certain ones. Aged 9 and 12. I loved the way all the clues and pieces were in envelopes and kept together. It made it look very nice and organized.

What a wonderful experience! We loved playing this for my son's 24th birthday! The online portion was so well done and we worked together to get all the puzzles solved (used the hints too!). Thank you so much!

We had someone much fun!!!!🤩🤩🤩

We had so much fun!!!🤩🤩🤩 I will say, it was on the hard side for us which made it an absolute great evening!!!!

I printed it twice and had 3 on 1 team and 4 on the other (1 didn't show up🫣) . That was the perfect amount to work on this game. I did use some envelopes to put some of the items in so I didn't have to fold them as much. I just wrote inside the door to open the coinciding envelope when the room was opened.

We did have to use some clues to get through. The website was awesome with guiding you throughout the game.

We look forward to our next game night doing one of these puzzles.🤩

(I didn't get a picture of everyone☹️ but one group did take a picture. 🥰)

hatte Potenzial mit etwas Bastelarbeit ein cooler escape rooms zum Anfassen zu werden

Difficulty: Just right

Player type: With teens (13–17)

Monster Chest - 14th birthday party

We had a 14th birthday party with seven boys, at least four of whom were used to escape rooms. Everything went very smoothly and the materials were high quality. The kids definitely had fun. It took them a little longer than an hour to do it, but they weren’t trying to rush. Even though they were all one team, I printed two copies of everything so there wouldn’t be seven people all huddled around one piece of paper. In retrospect, I would have printed at least four copies so everyone could truly see and remain engaged. I would have also printed the room and the chest a lot bigger, just to make it a bit more immersive. I swapped out the envelopes for boxes with 4-digit locks, to make finding the code more satisfying. I would say the 3.5 difficulty was just right for the experienced players and a little too hard for those who had never done an escape room before. We will definitely buy more kits for future parties.

Oh my gosh! This was so much fun Easter Morning. I set the game up for my husband and two grown children. What a riot watching them figure out the clues so the could get the next clue.
I highly recommend!!

It was a great experience for the whole family

It was a great experience for the whole family, my 18, and 20 year olds were intrigued and dedicated to solving the puzzles. Everyone had a wonderful time while using our brains, lol.

Really great puzzles

Really great puzzles, lovely story, easy to follow and if not, the clues are there! Great way to take our Easter Egg hunt to the next level!

We did this as a family of four and really enjoyed it! I went full immersive. Loved the details of the box and the envelopes

The Easter Escape Room was fun. My 15 and 13 year olds (who are skilled escape roomers) took about 25 minutes to complete it, along with searching the house for the 11 envelopes they needed. The directions and clues were clear.

Fun...but need more of a challenge.

This one was a bit on the easy side for our family (18-26 years old). But we did enjoy it and will try another one in the future. The next one, we will split up into teams and compete against each other to add a little more excitement.
Couple of suggestions, the font on the cards is hard to read and some of the words were above our pay grade. And honestly, most of the puzzles were solved before our narrator was done reading the card. But overall, it was a great game.

Great game. Whole family enjoyed and difficulty-level was pitched right for my 12 and 13 year old. My only critique would be to improve the contrast of the text on the base layer of puzzle two, as when printed out, the blue text on blue background was a little difficult to read.

So cute and fun, great graphics!

Player type: With kids (under 12), With teens (13–17), With adults

Super fun!

Super fun escape room! Easy to print, cut and set up. I printed 4 sets and split our large family into groups to solve. Everyone had a great time!

Difficulty: Very challenging

From the Printer to the Banquet Hall

Last year, we bought "The Pirate Box" Escape Room from Mystery Locks to use for our high school's Spring Banquet. We tweaked the story a little and gave it a "Goonies" intro, inviting the students to free "One-Eyed Willie!" We went all out, building a room that modeled the inside of a Pirate ship, complete with skeletons and treasure! The students had a blast! We are looking forward to this year's banquet as we tackle "The Venice Heist!" Thank you, Mystery Locks!

If you would like to see our Escape Room, here is a public link to a silent video through Canva! Thank you!

https://www.canva.com/design/DAHATVV-CZM/FVu4iH8Jmmu6sL8cTWH_Cw/watch?utm_content=DAHATVV-CZM&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hda909b91de

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