Director Jonathan Nichols loves both puzzles and Halloween, so combining the two at the Swampscott Public Library felt like a natural fit.

“Every year I do an escape room,” Nichols said. “People seem to really respond well to it. In fact, I’ve gotten several patrons that have asked about doing one this year.” 

The Swampscott Public Library’s witch’s cottage escape room is designed to be spooky – but not scary – making it a fun and challenging experience for families, teens, and adults alike. There will be sessions for all three demographics from Monday, October 27 to Wednesday, October 29. Guests will have 45 minutes to escape.

Nichols designed and built each puzzle himself, some of them crafted right in the library’s makerspace. Balancing his duties as library director, Nichols began preparing for the escape room weeks in advance to ensure everything would be ready in time.

In previous years, Nichols created vampire-themed escape rooms. This year, the spotlight is on witches, with a new theme titled “Magical Mayhem.”

The upstairs meeting room will be transformed into a witch’s cottage, where participants are “cursed” upon entry and must work together to find an antidote. The group needs to work together as a team to solve puzzles. Nichols said there are no jump-scares.

Once the setup is complete, Nichols and his staff will test the escape room to ensure everything runs smoothly.

A few sessions are still available, with puzzle difficulty tailored to different age groups. To sign up, visit SwampscottLibrary.org. 

“I love escape rooms and also Halloween, so October is my favorite month,” Nichols said.