I stumble upon a room with a bathtub in it and some woman is having quite a fit. It feels like I’m in bioshock, and I’m actually creeped out. I spend much of my time wandering the hotel, not really understanding what’s going on for a while. It makes me extremely uncomfortable to see people move so languidly, so I turn my attention to the viewers around me and to my surprise, I think I see him. Before I knew it, I was in a huge ballroom watching all the actors on stage recreating what looks like “the last supper” in slow motion. I end up in some crazy places and situations - a rave complete with an animal head and naked bodies, a jazz lounge with the saddest singer I have ever heard and a telephone booth confrontation gone horribly wrong. How did the eights scatter so quickly? Somehow I realize that I should be looking for and following the actors. Fear slowly creeps into my mind no one’s around and nothing’s happening. I walk around inspecting small children’s rooms and dusty paintings not really sure what I should be looking for. The door opens, “Everyone off.” The elevator man puts an arm out after one guy gets off, preventing the rest from following. Sounds intense, but we’re told we can stop whenever we choose. I’m given another and hear “no one’s ever dropped their mask before.” We’re all standing in a very crowded elevator being told that we aren’t supposed to talk, and if we find the experience too overwhelming to find someone in a black mask for assistance. I’m handed a mask, which I immediately drop. The eights scatter and I find myself in a dark but quaint apartment. The masks set off a string of incomprehensible jokes by a drunk lady and I’m glad to get away from her after a short elevator ride to destination unknown. All the eights are herded into a tiny room and given masks to wear for the night. My number is called and I immediately wondered why I ever agreed to go first. I’m officially on my own, and my phone has just died. “Will all the eights please come to this side of the bar.” She’s gone. To hide my fears, I jokingly suggest that we should pick a meeting point after the show in case we leave at different times. I start to get a little anxious because I planned on this being something we experienced together and although we could just cheat and stick together we decided to play by the rules. Turns out, the numbers represent what group you belong to when entering the hotel. I’m already wondering what the point of the cards is, but I love magic so I’m looking forward to what happens. We step into the hotel and are given playing cards right away - I got a nine and she got an eight. Before your imagination runs away from you, I should clarify that the hotel was the fictional McKittrick, home to the immersive play, “Sleep No More.” We had heard it was one of those unique must-try experiences and we were mentally prepared for actors to pop out at us through fog and darkness, but what we experienced was more thrilling than anything we could’ve imagined. It’s been a few months now since the boy and I checked ourselves into a hotel one Saturday evening and left a few hours later a little bloodied, wearing eyes wide shut masks.
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