Not much makes me nervous but, for some reason, the thought of attending a Murder Mystery party did.
Out of curiosity, I’ve always wanted to attend a “whodunit” event. So, when I received my “Dangerous Vintage” invitation from George’s, a local restaurant, I couldn’t resist. I bought tickets for two, then called my daughter to join me for support.
How Does It Work?
When we arrived, we were handed an envelope containing our roles: either “Murderer” or “Innocent.” Before opening hers, my daughter gave me a knowing look and said, “You know you’re going to be the murderer.”
“Pshaw!” I replied.
We peeked inside our envelopes and kept our findings to ourselves.
As attendees trickled in, the group finalized at 22 participants: 2 murderers and 20 innocents. Turns out Meghan was the first of the night to guess the murderer, only she didnt know it. Me.
Being unsure of the rules—or how I was supposed to “kill” anyone—I feigned going to the restroom and went instead to the maitre d’ for guidance and asked if I could share my role with my daughter. The staff said, “Absolutely! You can form alliances with anyone.”
Relieved, I immediately confessed to Meghan who without missing a beat said, “lets kill all the men”. This didn’t play out well, because as it turns out the other murderer was a man who killed non-discriminately.
How Do You Choose?
Since most attendees didn’t know each other, identifying victims was tricky. To help the murderers, everyone wore name tags—but some were seated too far away for me to read. During introductions, I tried (unsuccessfully) to commit names to memory. That’s when I knew I needed a covert backup plan and began secretly jotting down names.
My first “kill” was purely accidental—I’d written the victim’s name wrong.
About halfway through, the group figured out I was a murderer and “killed” me off. Eventually, they also identified the other murderer. By the end of the night, only a few innocents remained—including my daughter, who won a gift card to George’s.
Conclusion
If you ever get the chance to attend a Murder Mystery, go for it! It’s a great way to make fun memories (and maybe even some new friends). My advice? Fly under the radar. The less attention you draw, the safer you’ll be—something I found impossible after a couple of glasses of complimentary Italian wine.
Get Kerry’s latest blog post every week by entering your information under Join Our Mail List in the side bar, checking the appropriate box, and clicking Subscribe. xoxoxo
