Twas the night before Christmas and, in the escape room,
one person remained: a skeleton in costume.
He hung the stockings in Sherlock’s Study with care
and draped a blanket across the armchair.
Suddenly, from above, there came a great din,
as though somebody was trying to break in.
A figure tumbled out of the fake fireplace
and fell onto the floor, landing on his face.
The stranger stood up and looked around in surprise
at the sight of the room in front of his eyes.
“This is not a real house,” the bemused man said
as he dusted off his woolen outfit of red.
“Welcome,” said the skeleton. “My name is Bob!
You arrived just as I was finishing my job.”
The man in red looked at Bob with a pause
and he said, “Hello. I am Santa Claus.”
Santa Claus looked all around the study’s walls,
at the books and locks and the journal’s old scrawls.
When Santa was able to find the first clue,
he realized what he was supposed to do.
Santa asked, “May I have a chance to play?”
Bob agreed and allowed him to play that day.
He told Santa what he needed to play the game,
and how to discover the victory to claim.
From study to hall, through the hidden door,
to the secrets buried within the floor;
Santa found clues and evidence to solve the crime
and was able to beat the escape room in time.
Bob Bones, the affable skeleton host,
offered our victorious Santa a toast:
“Congratulations on your great victory!
It certainly was a delight to see!”
Santa Claus laughed and gave a merry cheer,
then called out the names of his eight loyal reindeer.
On his way to the door, he knelt onto one knee
and placed some presents under the Christmas tree.
“These are for you,” he said, “and all of your friends.
I hope that, next year, I may come here again.”
“We’ll be glad to have you,” said Bob with a wave
as he looked at the packages that Santa gave.
“Farewell,” Santa said as he prepared to leave
and pulled one more gift for Bob out of his sleeve.
With a smile and a wink, he flew into the night
and called, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
