In 2016, brothers Jason Brannon and Shawn Brannon opened Deadbolt Escape Rooms in Tupelo, MS. Over the next couple of years, they would write and build many escape rooms, enjoying the excitement of those who walked inside the attraction.

Almost two years later in February 2018, they launched The Deadbolt Mystery Society, a murder mystery game subscription service. The games blended puzzle-solving from escape rooms with the investigation of a crime show. The Deadbolt Mystery Society games allowed people all around the world to enjoy the entertainment experiences, while the escape room required participants to be on location.

When the world experienced the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Deadbolt Escape Rooms permanently closed, and the brothers turned their full focus to The Deadbolt Mystery Society.

Through the years, with the addition of incredible team members in many different facets of the business, The Deadbolt Mystery Society has produced over 100 mysteries, books, and a podcast (The Warwick Recordings). The company has worked with Amazon Studios and been featured in Buzzfeed, USA TODAY, CNN, Yahoo, AOL, The New York Times, just to name a few.

With the release of The Warwick Recordings podcasting 2024 written by Jason Brannon, the podcast was the #1 Fiction podcast on Spotify in Great Britain and continues to climb the charts on Apple Podcasts in the United States, having made the Top 5 Drama podcast and Top 12 Fiction podcast on the platform.

Jason is co-founder of The Deadbolt Mystery Society and serves as the DMS Creative Director.  He is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in Business Administration and has more than 30 years of writing and publishing experience, including over 100 published short stories, numerous collections, and five novels.  His fiction has been translated into German and even optioned for film.  Writing for The Deadbolt Mystery Society is now his primary gig which means he knows where all the bodies in Valley Falls are buried.  When not devising new and inventive ways to uncover the misdeeds of serial killers, Jason enjoys rock concerts (the louder the better), playing guitar, breaking out of escape rooms, and video games. 

Shawn is co-founder of The Deadbolt Mystery Society and serves as the DMS Marketing Director. He is a graduate of Itawamba Community College and The University of Mississippi with a degree in Exercise Science. He continued his education at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center where he studied Physical Therapy. After school, he opened multiple businesses before having The Deadbolt Mystery Society become his career. While content creation, partnerships, and other marketing avenues might be his primary focuses now, Shawn has been involved in every facet of the business. Outside of working at a fun company, he enjoys traveling, hiking, going to concerts with his brother, playing video games, paranormal investigating, and meeting new people.

Make sure you come by and see them at the Supernatural Soiree!