I wanted to do something special for Halloween this year, and I’ve been enjoying everything the Nocturne Theatre has been putting out lately, so I decided to purchase an “Inner Circle” VIP ticket for their immersive event, “Haunted Soiree: Vampire.”
Haunted Soiree is the newest evolution of what I believe used to be called House of Spirits: A Haunted Cocktail Soiree. It’s a signature immersive event created by Meyer2Meyer Entertainment, which is the creative force that owns the Nocturne and produces its best shows. The company is named for its founders Justin and Melissa Meyer. I believe a version of Haunted Soiree also took place in Seattle this year.
Entering the theater.
Although they’re also putting on their original show Dracula: The Musical on the Haunted Soiree’s off-nights, the vampire theme is a coincidence, and no costumes or props are reused between the musical and this event. After seeing Dracula already, I can confirm that this was a very separate experience. This is immersive theater, which is a whole different experience, dissolving the traditional stage/audience divide and injecting you into the action personally.
It’s reportedly more about the atmosphere and environment instead of real fear or jumpscares, which immediately appealed to me. I love the aesthetics and lore of Halloween, but I’m not interested in an actual horror event. Jumpscares in haunted houses have never really worked on me. And, anyway, I’d rather keep it a little more classy.
Classy.
As the name implies, Haunted Soiree is a darkly elegant adults-only cocktail party that incorporates live theater and performance arts, interactive character actors, and a storyworld experience where you can wander freely, find clues, use code phrases, discover secrets, and collect items that lead to a final victory. It is a riddle-solving scavenger hunt with characters straight from a haunted house.
Sophisticated and spooky is the exact vibe I want out of Halloween. So on 10/31/2025, I arrived fashionably early and ready for an adventure. I was not disappointed.
The Event
Part of the Inner Circle VIP experience benefit package was that you had extra time inside. The show started at 9pm and went until 11, but I was let in and drinking out of a syringe-filled glass by around 8:40.
(Later on I noticed people still arriving even after 10pm, and starting to play the game. There was no way they’d finish in time. If you’re doing something like this, be timely–for your own sake.)
I’m a savvy scavenger hunt player, I’m someone who’s always beating escape rooms ahead of time, and I can get pretty competitive. So when I enter, I’m thinking strategically. The first step is always getting a lay of the land, both the physical space we’re allowed to roam and the framework of the game rules.
While I’d been to the Nocturne before, this event was different in that they let you into almost all of the rooms. It was a lot of fun just to be able to explore through areas that I’d never been able to see before during a regular production. I quickly noted that one room had a line to get in, so I made that my first stop. Better to get in line now ahead of the crowds showing up, than wait and end up with a whole crowd in front of me.
This paid off, as I was in the second group that was led into a small upstairs chamber, where a medium gave us small treats and a large performance as a spectral beast appeared and carried her away. We fled out of the room to safety.
If the Nocturne is known for one thing, in my opinion, it has to be their creative costumes. No performing arts company in Los Angeles is doing costumes like the Nocturne, especially under the creative genius of art director & costume designer Tanya Cyr. The costumes are imaginative, elaborate, detailed, and incredibly well-made. Moving from room to room revealed the amazing variety of creatures and phantoms that I knew I’d be interacting with soon enough.
The first task was to simply find the four QR codes next to tarot cards that were taped to the walls in different rooms. This was a great start–it encouraged exploration and movement right away. They weren’t hidden behind anything, nothing too complicated like that, but often just on parts of the walls you would easily miss, like next to a door you just walked through, and maybe didn’t think to double back and check.
I found three of the QR codes right away, and then realized I could exploit a little hack in the QR code system and load the fourth without finding it. I did later spot it, and I wouldn’t have used the hack for all four, but I decided using it one time was okay.
The QR codes led to riddles. To give you an idea, the first (and easiest) riddle was:
A child, pale, his skin grown cold
He’ll never live, he won’t grow old
Is it fever, plague or blight?
Or something feeding in the night?
If you find him, just pretend…
And ask him if he needs a friend
In other words, you had to find the person dressed up like a deathly pale little child (still an adult actor of course), approach him, and say, “do you need a friend?”
This would have him give you a new clue, something else abstract, that pointed you in a direction of a different character actor.
And when you found that character actor, and had figured out the clue to also know what to say to them, you’d say the right phrase, and be rewarded with a victory token.
Each QR code would follow the same pattern of riddle -> first actor -> second actor, but don’t let the simplicity of the formula when it’s laid out like this fool you–the riddles were varied enough and the story was compelling enough that it didn’t feel formulaic in the moment. If anything, the repeated structure was appreciated so it didn’t spiral too far out of comprehension.
One of the quests featured knowing what to ask this wall-mounted Ouija board and watch as a ghost moved the marker to answer your question.
While you were on these quests, there was much more to do, too. A room upstairs had a small stage, which featured live music on and off throughout the night.
Another room featured the “Vampire Wine Cellar” with some delicious choices, and an open-robed man in a sealed chamber who seemed to madly paint all night oblivious to the audience behind him.
One of the hallways was full of moving laser lights, which was a lot of fun to walk through.
There were actors all around who could offer other helpful hints in case you were stuck on the riddles, or to simply make conversation with and ask about the greater narrative taking place in the world of the story. They were all such excellent sports, very entertaining, just the right level of helpfulness (needed for gameplay) vs. hostility (as malevolent spirits).
There was also a nice upstairs balcony in case you needed a break and a little fresh air.
Downstairs, in the main area of the theater, character actors roamed the stage, but often moved to the side for different performances to cycle through. There was one striking number of some sort of matronly figure dancing with a demon, until a tall, topless, feminine demonic entity appeared, walking on stilts that made her tower above everything else, drinking out of a skull and then pouring it over herself before commanding the demon to drag the matron away. I’m not sure I understood the place in the narrative, but it didn’t really matter–it was a great number.
My favorite performance on the stage was by a fire spinner named Dani van Darling. In her elaborate costume, she would twirl and fan two flaming structures and dance along with the music. It was one of the best fire spinning acts I’ve ever seen (and I have seen a few).
After maybe an hour, hour and a half, including thorough exploration, I finished all four item quests. I went back downstairs to the game master (known as “the White Rose”) at the lobby and put them in their respective jars. In return, the White Rose gave me a new QR code, with a full event-special comic that went through the whole story that was going on behind the event. Mostly, though, I finished it because it was there to finish.
I forget what the first one was, but then you’ve got your eyeballs, fingers, and maggots.
I spent the next half hour meeting people, socializing, and watching more of the performances on the main stage. Although some nights involved aerial acrobatics, I either missed them all tonight, or it was an off-night for them.
There was also a throne that made for a lovely photo opportunity.
Finally, just after 11pm, it was time to go. It was a good ending time that still left more time for later Halloween parties or other spooky fun.
My Reaction
I had a great time. It was all about the aesthetics and boy did they do the aesthetics well. So many delicious details, so much going on, so many talented actors in so many incredible costumes. This was an amazing Halloween event.
My primary critique was that it felt a bit crowded. There were a lot of people and it could be a struggle at times to make your way from one room to another. There was often a line for the character actors, since everyone needed to meet with the same people eventually. It was packed. This is another reason I’m glad I got there early, so I could take care of a lot of things with plenty of time to spare.
The narrative also felt a bit complicated. I wish there had been a better explainer going into it. The comic that you got at the end as a reward for solving all the puzzles was cool, but I wish we had gotten something like that beforehand instead! Getting it at the end, and reading it after you’ve left, feels like a waste–now I finally understand everything that’s going on, but I’m no longer in a position to talk to any of the actors or do anything with it.
There was no published cast or crew list for Haunted Soiree, at least none that I can find. I’m going to reach out to the production company and see if I can get a list to publish here.
Really, though, these are pretty minor complaints, and the event was a total success in my eyes. If Haunted Soiree returns in 2026–and I hope it does–I’ll be there again on Halloween.
