The Tension Experience
…What is it? Who is it?
There’s something new creeping around the minds of haunt and puzzle fans in Los Angeles. The Tension Experience started a few weeks ago. It seems as if everyone found out about it through word of mouth. There was no marketing, no email campaign, but more of a viral “Hey, have you seen this site?” being passed around groups of friends.
Exploring their website, you notice a little spinning triangle with a “4” a “1” and a “16”. You can move this around the page, but it seemingly does not unlock any sort of code on the page. The page is clickable and when you go to the next level of the site, you’re met with a bunch of boxes and pulleys and some creepy background noise. If you click anywhere, random images and quotes pop up from the likes of Edgar Allen Poe, Aleister Crowley, Charles Manson, and more. Much like the previous page you were on, you can move these boxes, but unlike the previous page, the moving boxes do unlock something (that you will have to find on your own).
If you follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or explore their website, you’ll see posts and letters that may have clues locked inside them. A post from last week contained a code that eventually led to a way to contact them, after deciphering a difficult series a clues. Once you contacted them, you were set up with a “consultation” at the OOA Institute. Mind you, we still don’t know exactly who the OOA is or what the OOA stands for. Leading up to this meeting, there was a slight indication that things may not be as they seem… was there a warning? We are not sure. We don’t even know if this is for a haunt, an ARG, an immersive theater experience or if it’s a legit cult starting. Fan’s willingness to attend this oddly scheduled private meeting shows you the enormous trust level of people in the haunt community. “Oh a new website that no one knows anything about wants me to come in for a consultation? Sure!”
A few of us went to our consultation on Friday and all had different, but similar, experiences. We do think this is the beginning of something cool and are playing along like it’s an ARG. We are excited to discover what’s coming next. So far, the lack of information is exciting and we love the feeling of not knowing. It brings paranoia, true fear, and uncertainty into play, but those cautionary vibes do not outweigh our feelings of curiosity. We want to know where this is all leading.
The big questions are the most basic. Who are they? What do they want? What’s next? And, when?
As of last night, things are taking an interesting, weird, and creepy turn. Both of us (Russell and Mike) got emails from 2 different people. Russell got an email from a woman who had done the experience right after him and heard the people in the lobby talking about him. She sought him out and said they needed to speak. A mysterious phone call followed and she indicated they may need to speak in person, but asking her to commit to a specific time and place seemed to make her nervous and the call ended abruptly. Again, is this a warning of some kind? Mike got an email from a private investigator who is in LA to investigate an old case that he thinks has to do with The Tension Experience (and to visit his brother). His investigation into this goes back 10 years, where 4 people mysteriously died in a house fire and the beneficiaries of their insurance all went to the mysterious Church of Anoch. He asked to meet, but as of now, we do not have a time or date set. He also mentioned that the church recruits a certain “type” of person using puzzles and tricks. Early on, Russell received a message telling him not to focus on the religious overtones of their communication with him, but what is Anoch?
Is The Tension Experience part of the Church? What the hell is going on?
Either way, this is only the beginning and there is still time to become involved. This quote is taken from a Facebook post they made “for those of you asking – it’s not to late for you to sign up – – nothing has transpired yet – – remember, you will only get what you put in.”