I got hooked on murder mystery parties the first time I attended one. (Maybe because I turned out to be the murderer?)
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It was a 1920's party that took place during a train ride from Milwaukee to Chicago.
In Chicago, we had dinner at a restaurant owned by ex-Bears football coach Mike Ditka where the murdered was revealed.
We then rode the train back to Milwaukee, partying the entire way.
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It was amusing to watch the facial expressions on the faces of our fellow travelers trying to figure why a bunch of 1920's flappers were boarding their train. LOL
Although hubby and I knew none of our fellow murder mystery party guests, everyone got so into it that we made some lifelong friends on that trip.
Tip for the ladies: Do not wear DIY glue-on fake fingernails as part of your costume if you're going to be on a train. Trains move back and forth and when you go to pee, those fingernails are going to come off and get stuck in your underwear. I learned this the hard way!
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Hubby and I eventually tried throwing our own murder mystery dinner party. It's not as easy as it seems. At least it wasn't for me. The following video will give you some tips:
Here are some more tips from my learning the hard way with my first murder mystery party:
1. Do NOT try to write your own murder mystery game! Big mistake.
Spend the $50 or so to purchase a murder mystery kit that includes everything you need for your party - character dossiers, clue cards, etc.
If you don't, you could get to the end of you party and murderer reveal (as I did) just to discover the whole mystery didn't work and no one could have guessed who the murderer was because you screwed up on clues or whatever. There are a ton of murder mystery games out there, many of them downloadable.
Check out Mystery Party for some great ones!
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2. Know your guests before planning your party.
The most successful murder mystery parties involve those who are loud, outgoing and not afraid to step into character and remain in character during the entire event. You need to have an idea as to how many friends might be interested and how fun and loud those personalities are before you go about selecting your party.
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3. You need to consider whether you will play a character or simply serve as host of the event.
I have done it both ways. It is possible to play a character while hosting the party, but keep in mind you are going to know more information about the other characters (simply from handling all of the game paperwork) than is probably fair. If you do play a character, you probably should refrain from “guessing” the murderer at the end of the night. Also, you will have to be super organized about keeping the party running (drinks refilled, food put out and cleared away, etc.) while you are also playing the game. i found it easier NOT to be a character during the game and simply host the party.
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4. When selecting your murder mystery game purchase, consider its setting and what will be the easiest for you to stage - a manor, a movie theater, a casino, a castle?
The game is far more entertaining if your guests feel like they're IN the location the game is staged in. It's easier for them to get into character and stay in character.
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5. Understand what is involved with each character before assigning roles to your guests.
You would not want to put your most shy friend in the main character role. Match friends to murder mystery character descriptions carefully. The more outgoing and outlandish the personalities in the main roles, the more fun your party will be. Also, some of the games come with some “optional” characters. Obviously, these optional characters are not going to be necessary for the game’s outcome. If you have some unreliable friends (who don't always stick to their comittments) that you aren’t 100% certain will show up, assign those friends to the optional roles. Make sure you have back up guests to invite for last minute no shows!
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6, Notify your friends of their murder mystery character assignments as soon as possible.
They need time to hunt down costumes. I try to do this at least three weeks in advance. The online games come with a bio sheet that includes the character description, costume suggestions, and “script” sheet for each person. The script sheet is not a word-by-word script. It basically tells the person how he/she should act and engage with certain other characters throughout the game. Each person will still have to ad lib most of the night. I usually save each page as a separate PDF or document and email each individual person his/her sheet with some additional brief info about the character. The info is found in other parts of my game materials. No participant of the murder mystery game should see any other character’s bio sheet.
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Follow these tips and your murder mystery party will be a smash hit.
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By the way, there are downloadable murder mystery games out there.
My favorite two websites for instant download games are Night of Mystery and My Mystery Party. Both of these companies offer flexible game packages with the possibility to range from 6 characters all the way up to 50 (in some cases). So if you have more interested friends than the basic game can accommodate (which is usually 8-12), you can buy the expansion pack so you can let all your interested friends have a role. These companies also offer some teen versions (read: clean) versions of some of the adult games. There is often some adult humor or adult themes in the murder mystery games. There are also some all female mystery games, and some of the games (like Murder at the Four Deuces) are truly unpredictable with nonstop twists.
Invitations
Invitations
You'll need:
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1 sheet of parchment paper per guest (Available at your local office supply store or here)
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Red tempera paint
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Brown ink (Available here)
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Fountain pen or calligraphy pen
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Scissors
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Small paintbrush with rounded tip
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Crafting glue stick
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1/2 sheet printer cardboard stock per guest
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1 standard sized manilla folder per guest
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Various mugshots printed off the Internet, 1 for each character
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10x13 catalog mailing envelopes
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Optional: Scrapbooker's deckle edge cutting tool
Your finished invitation will be 5.5 x 8.5 so fold paper in half to that size to get your middle score line.
Then open the paper back up again and lay it flat.
(Note: if you want a deckle edge on your invitation you can make one with a deckle edge scrapbooking cutter OR using a lighter, burn the edges of the paper over a wastebasket, then brush off the resulting ash.)
Per the illustration above, on the right side of your invitation, in brown ink write a fictional diary entry pertaining to your murder mystery. Let the ink dry thoroughly so you don't smudge it.
Once your ink is dry, very lightly pencil in a handprint tracing from your handprint stencil. Then paint it in using your red tempera paint. Let dry thoroughly.
Cut your white printer cardstock to fit, as seen in the illustration above. Glue it down with the craft glue stick.
Using your paintbrush, drop 'blood drops' on your invitation with the red tempera paint. Let dry.
Cut your printed mugshots out, then glue one of them to a manilla folder. This folder is your character profile for each guest/character in your murder mystery.
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That's it! Fold your invitations back up, then insert both items into a 10x13 catalog envelope to mail or deliver to them.
Staging
Decorate to your heart’s desire. The cheesier, the better! It is much easier to decorate for a seasonal theme or a holiday theme murder mystery dinner at home than the non-holiday ones. Obviously, you can rely heavily on generic holiday decor if you choose a holiday theme murder mystery game.
I do suggest adding at least one or two of these to remind your guests they are there to solve a crime!
For my second Murder Mystery party, I chose a manor theme due to the fact it would be really easy and inexpensive to stage given what I already had on hand. If you consider this when choosing which murder mystery game you'll use, you'll save yourself a bunch of time and money.
Show you what I mean...
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The longest of my living rroom walls is all wood. All of my floors are wood - perfect for a manor.
Manors were usually big 'ol places so I enlarged the look of my living room by adding a staircase well backdrop on one end of the long wall. I positioned my cardboard faux fireplace in the center of the remaining wall space and positioned my bookshelves on either side of that. I positioned my armchairs in front of the fireplace with a coffee table between them, holding my pewter coffee/tea service.
I moved a painting from another room to hang above the fireplace along with wall sconces from another room. The wood ladder came from my garage.
One wall finished and on to the next wall...
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On my second wall my sofa is on, I brought the crime scene element into play.
I cleared one corner and hung a mugshot backdrop there. I moved my floor lamp from one side of the couch to the other to shine light on those having their mugshots taken. The footprints were made from black construction paper taped to the floor with doublestick tape. The victim outline was made with black electrical tape, the blood from red construction paper. On my end table, I set my old CSI kit from my days in law enforcement. I blew up a CSI photo, took it to a printer to enlarge and put it in an old picture frame I had lying around downstairs, then stretched a length of crime scene tape across it.
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That left only my window wall to make into a manor wall.
Since my murder mystery party was a dinner party, I had the dining table to tablescape.​
I kept it real simple - white tablecloth with black table runner.
For my centerpiece I dug out one of my old fingerprint cards, a pair of my old handcuffs, some fingerprint powder and a fingerprint brush. My tablescape cost me nothing.
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It's simple enough to make a DIY version of this.
Take a glass jar, remove the label. Cut a piece of black construction paper to wrap around the inside of the jar to simulate the look of fingerprint powder. (You could grind up some charcoal briquettes but no need to make that mess unless you want to.) For a fingerprint dusting brush you can use a fuller head artist's brush or even a cosmetic brush used to apply blush.
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For the fingerprint card, just use a black ink pen and ruler to draw out the card as seen in the photo above left.
You can apply your own fingerprints to it if you don't mind black fingertips for awhile and walking around looking like you've just been arrested. Get a black ink stamp pad and coat one fingertip at a time with the ink. Place the left SIDE of your finger on the paper and ROLL your finger from left to right. Do this with each finger.
(There, you just learned how to take fingerprints. LOL)
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For the handcuffs a pair of toy handcuffs will suffice.
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Party favors are optional but here's a suggestion: Brown paper lunch bags with Evidence labels applied to them.
Fill them with things like a police notebook and pen, a magnifying glass, a pair of flexcuffs, a badge.​
I folded the tops of my bags over, punched 2 holes in the flaps a few inches apart, threaded black and white ribbon through the holes and tied them shut.
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The cost of my party favors was $8.77 per bag.
Another option: An artist's sketchbook with a magnifying glass tied to it with twine. $4.77
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Note: You do want to provide guests with paper and pen as they will take notes during the solving of the murder mystery.
Food/Menu
Whether or not you're going to host or take part in the murder mystery yourself, I've found the easiest thing is make ahead dishes or food you can prepare in a crock pot or slow cooker. You don't want to be tied up in the kitchen during the party itself.
Slide #1 - Charcouterie board
I put a charcouterie board out for guests to munch on during the questioning period.
34 Drop Dead Gorgeous Charcuterie Board Recipe Ideas
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Slide #2 - Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Shells
I added Italian sausage to half the shells I made so guests had a choice. Get recipe here
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Slide #3 - Slow Cooker Spaghetti & Meatballs
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Slide #4 - Garlic Bread Pasta Torte
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Slide #5 - Big Italian Salad
Get recipe here
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Slide #6 - Chocolate Cannolis
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If you want some murder mystery themed treats, here you go!
Slide #1 - Bloody Slides Candy
Ingredients
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2 C granulated sugar
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2/3 C water
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1/2 C light corn syrup
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3 drops candy flavoring
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red candy dye
Instructions
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Combine water, sugar, syrup in a saucepan over med heat
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When the sugar has dissolved turn heat up, and simmer
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Heat to hard crack stage 310°F
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Stir in flavoring
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Pour over a silpat mat, rotate back and forth to get it flat
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When it’s just started to set but not hard (about 15 mins) use a pizza cutter to cut strips – 1 inch x 3 inches
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Use the red candy coloring to paint “blood” onto each of the slides
Slide #2 - Bloody Broken Glass Cupcakes
Broken Glass Ingredients:
2 C water
1 C light corn syrup
3 1/2 C sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1 cookie sheet
Fake Blood Ingredients:
1/2 C light corn syrup
1 tbsp corn starch
1/4 C water
1 tbsp red food coloring
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Using a large sauce pan, combine the water, corn syrup, sugar, and cream of tarter
Bring the mixture to a boil
Once mixture is boiling, insert a candy thermometer and boil sugar syrup until the temp reaches 300 degree.
Whisk consistently
Once the temp reaches 300 degrees, spray a cookie sheet with pam spray and pour the sugar onto the cookie sheet
Allow to cool overnight
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Fake Blood:
Using a medium bowl, mix together the corn syrup, cornstarch, and water until combined
Add in the drops of red food coloring and mix until combined
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Cupcake Ingredients:
1 box of Vanilla cake mix
3 eggs room temp
1/2 C of softened unsalted sweet cream butter
1 C 2% milk
1 TBSP pure vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp red food coloring
cupcake liners
cupcake pan
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Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Line cupcake pan with the white cupcake liners
In a medium bowl, add the cake mix, eggs, butter, milk, and vanilla extract and stir until combined
Mix in the red food coloring
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full
Bake in the oven for about 21 minutes
Pull out the cupcakes and allow to cool before frosting.
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Frosting
1 C unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
2 1/2 C powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-5 TBSP heavy whipping cream
1 disposable piping bag with a star tip
Directions
Using a stand mixer, combine all ingredients and mix on medium speed.
Mix until you see stiffed peaks in your frosting.
Scoop frosting into a piping bag and frost the cooled cupcakes
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Slide #3 - Claw Mark Cupcakes
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Slide #4 - Fingerprint Sugar Cookies
Activities
Your murder mystery is your party activity.
However, I found the following maze and left copies on a table so guests could pick one up and play it if they wished.
