Excited participants flit around actors, commenting audibly on their behavior. They stare, point, and occasionally shout their realizations to players in the other room. But it’s all perfectly fine: the actors don’t miss a beat. These participants are “ghosts,” and the main conceit of The Shadow Space is that they are utterly invisible — and inaudible — to the living.

The Shadow Space is a high-energy game in which participants play nosy spirits, spying on a dinner party of the living. When a murder occurs offstage, it’s up to them to deduce the truth. Participants eavesdrop on intimate conversations, trick the living into changing their behavior, and manipulate objects charged with psychic energy (aka glowing under black lights), all to identify and ultimately accuse the killer. The rules are simple, but just in case players have trouble, two more actors play fellow ghosts, who as old hands can easily clarify what is permissible and what is not.

My group had no trouble diving in. Our experience had the vibe of a public escape room — strangers quickly learning to communicate their findings, passing clues back and forth, and shouting out questions. But the divide between ghosts and the living added a fun new component to the action. Certain objects — like drawer handles — could not be touched by the dead, meaning that in order to get them open, we had to find clever ways to manipulate the living. On top of that, any accidental brush against the living would mean spirit world catastrophe, which sent players scattering in their efforts to stay out of the actors’ way. One player clutched my arm and nearly stopped breathing when a “living” actor appeared unexpectedly beside her.

Meanwhile, the actors did an excellent job of being “unaware” of us, never appearing to see or maneuver around us, yet never accidentally colliding with us. And their movements throughout the space were well-choreographed, allowing us to split up, find new ways of communicating with them, and leave surprises for them to find. I particularly appreciated the variety of ways we were able to find to get their attention.

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That said, there were a few glitches to be worked out. Some objects were not clearly marked as safe to touch. An actor appeared to give some inaccurate instructions, which none of the others corrected, resulting in our “accusation” not functioning as it should have. And perhaps the most confusing miscommunication occurred before the show even began, on its website.

The Shadow Space’s site used genre markers usually reserved for horror/haunt experiences — from describing it as a “near-death experience” to using images and videos of shadowy hooded figures, frightening abandoned settings, and smoke effects. After being primed for creepy environments and eerie characters, it was slightly jarring to discover myself in a merry, energetic dinner party setting, solving a mystery led by jovial ghost hosts. But these kinks can be easily worked out.

Once it’s marketed properly, The Shadow Space can be enjoyed for what it is: a murder mystery experience with a clever conceit, an unusually intimate audience size, and strong, nuanced acting. And if they remount around Halloween, participants who enjoyed Heritage Scare and similar adventures won’t want to miss it.

The Shadow Space’s current run is sold out. Keep an eye on their site for future availability.

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