For years, rage rooms have flooded my social media feeds with clips of smashed bottles, shattered vases and shards of glass exploding toward my screen.
I’m not an aggressive person in my daily life. The most violent act I have ever committed was the involuntary manslaughter of a stink bug that wedged itself beside my car seat, only to meet its fate when I slammed the door.
But recently, my course load began to pile up, drowning me in assignments, papers and presentations. I felt overwhelmed, stuck in a repetitive cycle of waking up, going to class, doing homework, eating, sleeping and repeating. I needed something different — something to shake me out of the tedium and restore my peace. Why not a rage room?
All That Rage in West Chester, a 30-minute drive from the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, was my rage room of choice. The first thing I noticed when I clicked on their website was the tagline: “It’s Cheaper Than Therapy.”
All That Rage is just one location in the Bates Motel Escape Rooms family of attractions in West Chester. But a variety of rage rooms can be found across the country, continuing a trend that started with the first known rage room in Japan in 2008, according to a 2024 article from WHYY.
Booking the appointment was simple, with four options to choose from. First, there’s “BYOS” (Break Your Own S#!t) for $14.99 per person, allowing you to bring a five-gallon bucket of your own items to smash. Next is “Smash That $hit” for $24.99 per person, which includes one crate of breakables. Then, there’s “Double Impact” at $44.99 per person, which includes two crates of breakables. Lastly, there’s Annihilation for $44.99 per person that includes three crates of breakables. I chose the “Smash That $hit” option. For an additional fee, you could also purchase larger breakables at the time of your session.
On the day of my rage room experience, I was already overwhelmed. It felt like the universe was intentionally testing me — losing my phone at the mall, dealing with computer issues on a deadline day. Although things eventually worked out, stress still coursed through my veins. I desperately needed an outlet.
As my friend Lily Santi ’24 and I entered All That Rage, our nerves set in. Neither of us had ever done anything like this before, but there was no turning back. We met David Perlmutter, who has managed All That Rage for three years and saw its popularity grow. All That Rage now welcomes an average of 40 customers daily, Perlmutter said.
People visit for a variety of reasons, Perlmutter said, including cheating partners, workplace frustrations and personal struggles.
“We’ve had a couple of Uber drivers,” Perlmutter said. “Teachers and therapists love it. Anyone working in an office who has to be professional but whose boss is a dickhead. It’s just a nice way to let out some of that bottled-up stress.”
The one thing they have in common: They all come seeking a safe, controlled environment to unleash pent-up emotions.
“We have a group of teachers that come every three to four weeks just to let off some steam,” Perlmutter said.
Before working at All That Rage, Perlmutter was a children’s therapist.
“It’s good for trauma as well,” Perlmutter said. “It’s a good way to express that feeling [anger] without feeling crazy.”
Dominick Raffaele, an employee, guided us to the rage rooms and helped us suit up in safety gear. Here’s my formal apology to Raffaele for taking two suits and 10 minutes just to fix the zippers I kept jamming. During the delay, I asked if people usually left looking less stressed. He assured me they did, often commenting on how much fun it was and expressing a desire to return.
“They feel more relief than when they came in,” Raffaele said.
A delightful surprise came when we were asked what music we wanted.
Lily, wide-eyed, blurted out “Olivia Rodrigo” before I could even process the question. Luckily, I’m a fan too.
Equipped with aluminum bats, we stepped into the room. Before me sat a bucket of breakables: glass bottles, vases and a stereo, all waiting to be destroyed. Lily gave me a nod, signaling for me to go first. As I lifted a Tito’s bottle, my mind went blank. The pressure and internal noise that had been weighing on me disappeared. Then, as I swung, those suppressed emotions erupted with the shattering glass.
Even after my first swing, I felt physically lighter, as if I had just completed a marathon or melted like an ice sculpture under the sun.
Michael McCloskey, Ph.D., professor and director of Clinical Science Training in clinical psychology at Temple University, said rage rooms can reduce stress through social bonding and exercise.
“You’re doing a pleasant, enjoyable experience with friends, and we know that that’s a good way for stress reduction,” McCloskey said. “Another stress reduction technique is exercise, exerting energy. They get a chance to get some of that physical tension out.”
I have to agree with McCloskey. My rage room high lasted all night. On the drive home, even the infamous Philly traffic didn’t faze me. When a car nearly sideswiped me on I-76, I simply smiled and thought, “No big deal.”
