Murder Mystery Events
Plan Something A Bit Different With Us
What Is A Murder Mystery?
A Murder Mystery event is certainly something a little different. Rather than another night of same old, same old, why not add a bit of excitement as you socialise? For anyone unfamiliar, a Murder Mystery event is a gathering where participants work together to solve a fictional murder.
How Is The Event Set Up?
The event is set up as an interactive game, where guests work together and gather clues to figure out who committed the murder. The key roles in the scenario are played by a cast of actors, and at a BlackStar Maniacs Murder Mystery event, all roles within the murder scenario are played by professional actors.
By only using professionals we are able to ensure that guests really feel like they are involved in a murder investigation, because the interactions between the cast, and also with the guests, are so much more realistic. Our actors familiarise themselves with their character and their character’s back story, so that when the event begins they are already immersed in the story. In some cases the actors will already be in character before guests arrive, blending into the environment and adding even more authenticity.
The murder scenarios themselves all have themes. This could be a period setting like an old jazz club, or something more modern like a corporate dinner or an Am-Dram group. We even have a scenario that combines the Murder Mystery with a live music event, for those that like a bit of rock ‘n’ roll with their murders.
Having a theme helps set the tone and creates an atmosphere to draw guests in and make them feel like part of the murder enquiry. Guests often immerse themselves even further by taking part whilst dressed in line with the theme.
What Happens At A Murder Mystery?
Once underway, guests are given a series of clues that will assist them in detecting who the murderer is. Over the course of the event, characters will also reveal more about their back-stories and their relationships with other the characters. This helps guests establish the motive, as well as the opportunity to have committed the murder. Many of these reveal twists and turns, or information that could change the guests’ way of thinking and take their search for the culprit in a new direction.
Typically, guests work in teams and gather clues and information to build their picture, with the most resourceful pooling information and theories to catch the killer. At various points throughout the event the characters will circulate to give guests the opportunity to to ask questions and try to establish facts.
The successful teams are always those that ask the right questions, but watch out for those red herrings though, because there’s sure to be a few of those. Eventually, through the process of elimination and establishing opportunity and motive, teams conclude who they think the murderer is. As you can probably imagine, things get very competitive and it can get quite cloak and dagger.
At the end of the event the full story is told, revealing the killer and establishing the winning team, who win a prize.
Where Do Murder Mysteries Happen?
There are many possibilities for hosting a Murder Mystery event. Probably the most popular is when the Murder Mystery event is combined with a dinner at a hotel or similar venue. At a dinner, we get underway once the guests have arrived, continue between courses, and conclude post-dinner.
Other formats include birthday parties, family get togethers, or at a private function, where the organiser brings in the Murder Mystery team to organise as part of their gathering. More and more people are using Murder Mystery to make their wedding a bit different, with guests forming teams with the people at their table and trying to find the killer, and it is also possible to host an event for a party at home. Murder Mystery events are also very popular as part of corporate team building days. (There’s more information on our corporate services if you click here.)
We can scale our Murder Mystery as appropriate, depending on the size of the event. The same goes with the number of actors in the cast – the bigger the cast the more intricate the plot can be. The possibilities are almost endless, and we’re happy to discuss your requirements and help tailor something that works for you. Drop us an e-mail by clicking here with your requirements.