The third season of Escape the Night premiered on June 21, 2018, through YouTube Red, and concluded on August 15, 2018, after 10 episodes. Following his death in the second season finale, Joey Graceffa's Savant is offered a bargain in the world between worlds: if he saves the town of Everlock — trapped in time in the 1970s by the Carnival Master — he will return to the living, but his friends "will need to die". He recruits nine fellow internet personalities, each dressed as a persona from the 1970s, without telling them the terms of his contract.

Three guests — Graceffa, Matthew Patrick, and Nikita Dragun — survived the night and escaped Everlock.

Format The season is set in Everlock, a small town locked in time on the night of its carnival by the Carnival Master, whose power flows from eight artifacts hidden throughout the town, each protected by one of his monstrous guardians. To free the town — and, secretly, to fulfill the contract that will return Joey to life — the guests must find and cleanse all eight artifacts before sunrise, when the Carnival Master will be released and the town destroyed. A map of Everlock reveals new locations each time an artifact is cleansed, and the guests regroup between challenges in a lounge that serves as their safe room.

Each episode centers on one artifact and its guardian. After a recap and a scripted flashback introducing the guardian, the guests solve that guardian's puzzles and trials, then typically vote two of their own into a lethal cleansing challenge; each guest picks a card, and an in-story character shuffles the cards and draws. The loser dies and the artifact is cleansed. The season varies this mechanism repeatedly: partners compete on behalf of the nominated guests in the first challenge; one guest earns automatic nomination by toppling the tower in a preliminary game; one episode replaces the challenge with a direct vote on who dies; one challenge instead kills the guest who voted for its winner; one sends every guest cursed during the episode into the trial together; and in one episode, any guest touched by the guardian has their name added to the vote.

The season also introduces resurrection to the series through the Harp of Lazarus, sealed in a box that can only be opened with two brass coins earned through optional side tasks. Once both coins are recovered, the guests use the harp to bring one dead friend back into the game. The storyline was scripted and performed with actors, while the votes and challenge outcomes were decided in play.

Guests

+ Guests from the third season of Escape the Night Guest Persona Outcome Cause of Death Joey Graceffa The SavantEscaped(Episode 10) rowspan=3 Matthew Patrick The Detective Nikita Dragun The Troublemaker Manny Mua The Record Producer Dead(Episode 9) Shot by Nikita The Jet-Setter Dead(Episode 8) Stabbed to death by the three witches Safiya Nygaard Dead(Episode 7) Stabbed with a fishhook by Willy Colleen Ballinger The Disco Dancer Dead(Episode 6) Impaled inside the Maiden of Madness Teala Dunn The Super Spy Dead(Episode 4) Strangled by Benjamin, the Man with No Name Roi Fabito The Daredevil Dead(Episode 3) Poisoned and bitten by the Snake Woman JC Caylen The Hippie Dead(Episode 2) Stabbed by knives thrown by the killer clowns

Note: Matthew Patrick was killed in Episode 5, beaten to death by the Strong Man, and revived in Episode 6 through the Harp of Lazarus, becoming the first guest in the series to return from the dead.

Cast The inhabitants of Everlock and the Carnival Master's forces were played by actors.

Recurring Character Played by Role Outcome Mortimer Jack O'Conner Son of Mayor Janet and the guests' ally in Everlock Corrupted by the Psychedelic Swirl; betrays the group by freeing the Carnival Master, who kills him Calliope Shontae Saldana A member of the Society Against Evil who locked Everlock in time; the guests' guide Killed by the Carnival Master after his release The Carnival Master Micah Fitzgerald The season's main antagonist Defeated in the finale

The guardians Within the season's story, each of the Carnival Master's guardians protects one of the eight artifacts that must be cleansed.

Guardian Played by Episode(s) Notes The Killer Clowns Alejandra Cejudo, Kerstin Schulze,Savannah Southern-Smith, Tyler James 1–2 Overrun Everlock at the carnival; their leader kills JC Cindy, the Snake Woman Siri Miller 3 Guardian of the Serpent's Eyes Benjamin, the Man with No Name Alexander Ward 4 His true name must be discovered to claim the Blood Gem The Strong Man Dean Jacobs (human)Brandon White (demon) 5 His title — and the artifact — pass to whoever defeats him The Twin Dolls Roy Johnson, Sammy the Dwarf 6 Keepers of the Maiden of Madness Willy Dan Aho 7 The funhouse's four-headed caretaker, embodying joy, anger, sadness, and fear The Three Witches Aylya Marzolf, Jamie VanDyke,Kaley Hatfield 8 Their curses on three townsfolk must be broken to cleanse the Wickerman Doll Lucy and the Demon Dog Taylor Nicolette (Lucy)Alexander Ward (Demon Dog) 9 The Carnival Master's daughter and her pet guard the final artifact

Minor characters

Notes:

Guest progress Legend:

+ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 VotedPlayers (None) JCTeala NikitaRoi TealaRosanna MannyMatthew (None) MannyNikita JoeyMannyMatthewRosanna MannyNikita (None) ChallengeWinner(s) Teala Nikita Rosanna Manny Nikita JoeyMannyMatthew Nikita Eliminated JC Roi Teala Matthew Colleen Safiya Rosanna Manny Joey No vote Teala Teala Teala Matthew Colleen Safe Won JoeyEscaped Matthew JC Nikita Teala Joey Revived Won Matthew Nikita Teala Rosanna Teala Matthew Colleen Won Safe Nikita Manny Roi Colleen Matthew Matthew Colleen Safe Won Manny Rosanna JC Nikita Teala Manny Colleen Manny Lost Safiya Teala Teala Manny Colleen Nikita Colleen Teala Teala Matthew Joey Teala Roi Nikita Rosanna Roi Rosanna Teala JC Rosanna

Challenges Legend:

+ Episode Guest(s) Challenge Eliminated Cause of Death 2 JC Caylen vs. Teala Dunn While the two voted guests were tied to spinning wheels, their chosen partners raced through the killer clowns' four carnival trials. JC Caylen Stabbed to death by knives thrown by the killer clowns. 3 Roi Fabito vs. Nikita Dragun Roi, who toppled the tower in the Serpent's preliminary game, faced a voted guest in searching the innards of a serpent and completing a mosaic to claim its heart, cleansing the artifact. Roi Fabito Poisoned and bitten by the Snake Woman. 4 Rosanna Pansino vs. Teala Dunn Each nominee hunted letters of her assigned color in the dark to spell the true name of the Man with No Name and retrieve the Blood Gem that cleanses the artifact. Teala Dunn Strangled to death by Benjamin. 5 Manny Mua vs. Matthew Patrick Two men were voted in to compete to become the next Strong Man and retrieve the holy band of leather that cleanses the artifact. Matthew Patrick Beaten to death by the Strong Man. 6 Colleen Ballinger The group voted directly on which guest would be killed inside the Maiden of Madness to cleanse the artifact. Colleen Ballinger Trapped and impaled inside the Maiden of Madness. 7 Manny Mua vs. Nikita Dragun The only two guests not captured in the funhouse voted two of the captured guests back into it; unbeknownst to them, the guest who voted for the winner would be killed. Safiya Nygaard Stabbed in the stomach with a fishhook by Willy. 8 Joey Graceffa vs. Manny Mua vs. Matthew Patrick vs. Rosanna Pansino Every guest cursed by the witches during the episode had to pass through the witches' tangled skein to retrieve the amulet of youth; the last to pass through became the witches' sacrifice. Rosanna Pansino Stabbed to death by the three witches. 9 Manny Mua vs. Nikita Dragun Straitjacketed, the two searched a pool of popcorn for a key to free themselves and reach a box holding "salvation" — a pink gun that the winner could turn on themselves or their opponent. Manny Mua Shot to death by Nikita.

Episodes

Awards and nominations + Award Year Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Shorty Awards 2018 Best Web Series Escape the Night Streamy Awards 2018 Best Comedy Series Escape the Night Best Costume Design Olivia Hines Best Ensemble Cast Escape the Night Show of the Year Escape the Night

See also Murder in Small Town X The Murder Game Whodunnit? The Quest

References