Sora Tanka
As a lifelong otaku and pop culture enthusiast, I spend my time exploring underground animation, vintage cinema, and the hidden corners of gaming. Through my writing, I cover overlooked anime classics, rising Roblox games, and the internet trends worth paying attention to.
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Published: November 6, 2026 | 10 min read | Last updated: November 6, 2026
You wake up in a school basement. The doors are locked. A furious cartoon kid is patrolling the hallways, and he can hear your microphone. That is South Hell, and it landed on the Roblox Up and Coming chart less than three weeks after its listing appeared.[2][4] This South Hell Roblox guide walks you through the basement exit, all four key locations, hiding tricks, the insanity meter and the ending. You will also learn what the game still keeps secret, because the developer has not explained everything yet. Put on headphones. Whatever you do, keep your flashlight off Ike.
⚡ Quick Answer
Grab the crowbar, pry five boards off the basement stairs, then collect four keys: Blue in the 4TH GRADE classroom, Yellow in the LOCKER ROOM, Red outside the NURSE room, Green in the COMPUTER LAB. Lock them into the basement exit door, then run and press E to escape.
What Is South Hell Roblox, and Why Is Everyone Hiding in Lockers?
South Hell [BETA] is a survival and escape horror game published by S00NR. You spawn in the school basement, hunt for keys while a hunter named Cartman patrols the halls, and try to leave alive. The cast is South Park inspired, which explains why the school feels like a fever dream that learned how to hold a flashlight.[1][4]
Servers hold up to 24 players, so you can play solo or bring a whole friend group to share the screaming.[3] The developer sums up the ideal setup in one line:
"Best with headphones and voice chat on."
📊 Key Stat: By November 4, 2026, South Hell had passed 757,000 total visits, and trackers show about a 91% like ratio.[3][2]
So why the hype? Three reasons. Voice detection turns your mouth into a gameplay mechanic. The locker hiding minigame turns panic into a skill check. And the beta label means any patch can change the rules overnight. It is basically a normal school day, minus the hall passes.
How Do You Escape the South Hell Roblox Starting Basement?
Every run starts here, and every run feels the same: you skim the tutorial cards, ignore half of them, and regret it by minute five. The basement is also a safe zone, because Cartman cannot enter it. Use that calm to learn the controls before he learns your name.[4]
- Time needed: about one minute
- Difficulty: easy
- What you need: the crowbar, and nothing else
- Find the crowbar: It sits between the green electrical cabinet and the toilet. Press E to pick it up. Your bare hands cannot pull the nails, because this is a horror game, not a home repair channel.
- Walk to the boarded stairs: The boards block the only way out of the basement.
- Pry the boards off: Press E on the boards five times. The objective counter reads 0/5 and climbs with every plank.
- Read the new objective: After the fifth board, the game switches to "Find the keys 0/4." The crowbar stays behind, so do not plan on swinging it at anyone.
💡 Pro Tip: Nothing hunts you in the basement, so use the quiet minute to agree on a plan with your group. Decide who takes which key before anyone leaves.
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Where Are All Four South Hell Keys?
Key hunting is the main pain point for most players, so here is the full list. Each key opens one padlock on the glowing exit door in the basement.[4]
| Key | Location | Heads Up |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Green lockers in the 4TH GRADE classroom | Raises the counter to 1/4 |
| Yellow | A lower locker in the LOCKER ROOM | Ike jump scares you here |
| Red | Just outside the NURSE room | Easy to drop in the corridor on the way back |
| Green | The COMPUTER LAB | Starts the final chase if it is your fourth key |
Bank Each Key Right Away
Here is the rule that changes how you play. If Cartman catches you, you lose a life, respawn in the basement and drop your key where you fell. Keys you already locked into the door are safe. That turns the whole hunt into four round trips, and only the key in your hands is ever at risk.[4] Hoarding is not a strategy here. Walk it back, turn the lock, then go again.
Which Key Should You Grab Last?
The chase begins when you pick up the fourth key, whatever its color. The Green Key was the last one in the route I watched, but nothing I found says the order is forced. My take: save the key whose room gives you the cleanest path back to the basement, because once the alert fires, nowhere is safe. I cannot confirm exact distances in every lobby, so scout once and decide as a team.
⚠️ Important: The exact locker holding the Blue Key and the exact lower locker holding the Yellow Key are not pinned down yet. Open every locker in those rooms, and expect a scare in the Locker Room.
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How Do You Survive Cartman, Ike and the Insanity Meter?
Hide in Lockers Without Panicking
Look for a green locker marked HIDING PLACE and press E. Then click the shrinking circles to stay hidden. Finish the minigame while Cartman is nearby and he walks right past you. Players also report that loud breathing can get a hiding player pulled out, which is both terrifying and a little rude.[4]
Mind Your Noise, Including Your Mic
- Running is loud, so walk whenever Cartman is close.
- Walking on glass is loud too, so step around it.
- The tutorial warns that Cartman can hear your microphone. One session showed a single whistle pulling him toward a group.
- Playing with friends? Agree on a quiet signal before the hunt starts.
Use Safe Rooms, Traps and Your Three Lives
Two spots are safe: the basement and the maintenance room lit in red. Step inside, press E to close the door, and Cartman can stand outside but cannot enter. Some lockers also hold traps. Switch to slot 5, aim at the floor and click to place one, and take every trap you find. You get three lives, and each catch costs one, drops your carried key and sends you back to the basement.[4]
💡 Pro Tip: If a safe room is closer than a locker, take the door. A closed door stopped a charging Cartman in a recorded session, and you skip the circle minigame entirely.
Manage Insanity and Your Flashlight
Darkness pushes your insanity up. When the message "The dark is getting to you" appears, switch on your flashlight or step into the light. You carry a flashlight and batteries from the start, so use them. The one hard rule: never aim the beam at Ike. The tutorial says so in capital letters, and the results screen counts every time he screams at you, which makes it a shame meter. How fast insanity builds under different lighting is not documented, so treat your batteries like a budget.[4]
How Does the South Hell Ending Work?
Picking up the fourth key flips the switch. The screen flashes red with a RUN alert, and Cartman announces that he knows you hold every key. The basement stops being a hug and becomes a finish line.[4]
- Grab the fourth key: The counter hits 4/4 and the alert starts.
- Sprint to the basement: Run back through the corridors and the gym. Nowhere is safe now, so skip the detours.
- Turn the final padlock: Wait for the message "The exit door is open. Get out!"
- Press E to escape: An open door is not an escape yet. You still have to press the button.
Want to watch the panic in action? Here is a full group run from the first board to the final dash.
A finished run shows a "You Escaped" results screen with your time, keys found, times caught, trap catches and Ike screams, plus a Roblox badge called Escaped! A full group run takes roughly 15 minutes. As far as anyone can tell, there is one escape and one ending, so no secret good ending is hiding behind a locker.[4]
Should You Play South Hell Solo or With a Group?
In my experience watching a full group run, the monster is not the main threat. The doors are. One player shut a door on a teammate who was carrying a key, and the next two minutes were a heated debate about directions, blame and the meaning of friendship. Cartman barely had to try.
My advice is to treat the school like a relay race. In a group, split the keys by room, bank each one right away, and keep one person near the basement as the door keeper. Close doors only when everyone carrying a key is already inside. Solo, you make all four round trips yourself, but the fourth key alert targets whoever holds the keys, and that is you either way. Neither mode is easier. Groups just fail louder.
Mistakes That Wipe Teams
- Sprinting everywhere, then wondering why Cartman keeps finding you.
- Walking through glass because the shortcut looked tempting.
- Shining your flashlight on Ike. The tutorial did warn you.
- Closing a door on a teammate who holds a key.
- Carrying a key around the school instead of banking it.
- Narrating your fear loudly into voice chat while Cartman is close.
What Do We Still Not Know About South Hell?
This is a beta, and the developer publishes no patch notes. The listing shows an update on November 4, 2026, but nothing explains what changed.[4] Here is where things stand.
| Topic | Status |
|---|---|
| Hard Mode | Not announced or confirmed anywhere I could find |
| Difficulty tiers | The results screen carries a MEDIUM tag, which hints at tiers but proves nothing |
| Losing all three lives | Not clearly documented in anything I found |
| Key spawn rules | Rooms are consistent, but exact locker spots and any randomness are unconfirmed |
| Cartman and Ike lore | The developer has not explained who or what they are |
| Extra badges and secrets | Only the Escaped! badge is confirmed |
Treat any guide, including this one, as a snapshot. A patch can move a key overnight, so check the game page for updates before you blame the walkthrough.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I escape the starting basement in South Hell?
Pick up the crowbar between the green electrical cabinet and the toilet, then press E on the boarded stairs five times to pry the boards off. After the fifth board, the objective changes to finding four keys. The crowbar stays behind, and Cartman cannot enter the basement while you work.
Where do the Blue, Yellow, Red and Green keys spawn?
The Blue Key is in the green lockers of the 4TH GRADE classroom. The Yellow Key is in a lower locker in the LOCKER ROOM. The Red Key is just outside the NURSE room. The Green Key is in the COMPUTER LAB. Carry each one back to the glowing basement exit door.
What does the insanity meter do and how do I manage it?
Darkness raises your insanity. When the message about the dark getting to you appears, turn on your flashlight or step into a lit area. You start with a flashlight and batteries, so use them. Never aim the light at Ike, because he reacts to it with a jump scare.
Can the monster hear my microphone or voice chat?
Yes. The tutorial warns that Cartman can hear your microphone, and running and walking on glass are loud too. Stay quiet while hiding in a locker and lower your voice whenever he is close. Players also report that loud breathing can get a hiding player pulled out.
Where can I find the crowbar?
The crowbar sits in the starting basement, between the green electrical cabinet and the toilet. Press E to pick it up. You need it to pry five boards off the stairs, because your hands cannot pull the nails. It stays behind once the boards are gone.
How do I use lockers to hide effectively without getting caught?
Find a green locker marked HIDING PLACE and press E to climb in. Click the shrinking circles to stay hidden until Cartman walks past. Stay quiet, because he reacts to noise and your microphone. If a safe room is closer, close its door instead, since Cartman cannot enter.
What happens when you lose all your lives?
You start with three lives. Each catch costs one, sends you back to the basement and drops any key you carried. I could not find a clearly documented outcome for losing the third life, so play as if every life matters and bank your keys early.
Is there a Hard Mode in South Hell?
No Hard Mode has been announced or confirmed. The game is still in beta, and the developer says bugs are being fixed quickly. Updates come without published patch notes, so any new difficulty or map is only a rumor until the developer announces it on the game page.
Final Thoughts: Is South Hell Worth Escaping?
South Hell is short, loud and surprisingly fair for a beta. The loop is simple: four keys, four round trips, one very annoying cartoon kid. Bank every key you find, keep your mic quiet, keep the light off Ike, and never close a door on a friend who is holding a key. The gaps in the game, from Hard Mode to what happens at zero lives, are the reason to come back after each patch. This guide will be updated when the game changes.
📚 Sources & References
- South Hell [BETA] game page, Roblox, S00NR, accessed November 6, 2026
- Roblox Charts: Top Trending and Up and Coming, Roblox, accessed November 6, 2026
- South Hell [BETA] stats and trends, Zing, last observed November 4, 2026
- South Hell Wiki: walkthrough, keys, survival and ending pages, fan made reference, accessed November 6, 2026
