our first murder mystery

A murder mystery been on my "party list" for ages, but I've never gotten around to throwing one (probably because there are too many other ideas on my party list haha). So even though we were planning to do Harry Potter movie parties every Friday and Saturday in October, when my friend asked if we'd be available for a murder mystery, I told her I would rearrange my schedule to be there! Haha :)

When the actual invitation came, I was super impressed because it was so themed and legit! Diana went above and beyond -- the kit they bought (from Night of Mystery) came with invitations, but she had someone design different ones that were so awesome. Girl knows how to get the party started right from the get-go!

I had heard about and seen other murder mysteries before, and the main thing I always heard about was people dressing up. It was so fun to arrive at Diana and Michael's and find that everyone had really gone all out with their costumes! Wigs, face paint, fake mustaches, sequins -- we had it all! 

Michael and Diana -- Harold and Matilda Hargrove (Boss man and his wife)

Ty and Katie -- Ruby (Clown) and Skylar Toppolet (Tightrope Walker)

Rob and Sarah -- Nick Daggar (Knife Thrower) and Twisty Kristy (Acrobat)

Rob and Ashley -- Robert Flyer (Catcher) and Ariel Swinger (Trapeze Artist)

Ricky and Rocky -- Payton Protection (Head of Security) and Ricky Mammal (Menagerie Worker)

Jessica and Dan -- Rowan McGregor (Midway Director) and Boomer Jackson (Ringmaster)

Russ & me -- Harley Bell (Strong Man) and Agent Swift (FBI agent)

Not only that, but Diana is a freaking party planner!! Her house looked amazing and she decorated to totally make the theme come alive! It was Pinterest-perfect, which -- while not necessary for a good time -- is definitely something I appreciate. I love a well decorated party!

After everyone got there, we each got our envelopes that had a few objectives on them, and then we spent the next little while doing our objectives and seeing what information we could obtain from each other. It was so interesting to see our friends take on these other roles, because everyone was so good at acting their part! 

I had a hard time settling into the acting part . . . I just kept feeling embarrassed about acting, especially when other people were taking on their roles so well! I just felt like they knew exactly how their character was supposed to be, but I wasn't confident in how my character should be. Next murder mystery (whenever that is), I'm going to read all the information I'm given a lot more carefully so I can hopefully play my part better. I think the hardest part about acting in a murder mystery is that you're given so much information in such a short amount of time, so it's hard to really act your part because you'll learn new bits and pieces about yourself and others throughout the game, and it's just tricky to keep up! As the night went on, though, I feel like I settled in more, and I got more comfortable asking questions outside of my given objectives.

** Spoilers ahead**

So we got our first objectives (as I mentioned), and then the murder occurred. Ariel Swinger was killed! We got more objectives and we all tried to figure out who murdered her and why. The plot was sooo intricate though! Like it seemed as though nearly everyone had a motive -- to give a few examples, it could have been the Boss Man or his wife because Ariel had decided to leave for a different circus; it also could have been Skylar Toppolet or Twisty Kristy because they were jealous of Ariel's stardom; other options were Robert Flyer or Boomer Jackson because of a love triangle situation. There was also other confusing information going around related to mob activity, fugitives, and illegal fur coat distribution. Even as we all collected more information and were presented with various pieces of evidence, the answer was unclear. As we all wrote down our guesses, we were all saying how we really had no clue.

Well, it turned out it was Ruby the Clown! He was some sort of jewel smuggler and I didn't catch the whole story, but it had something to do with a jeweled necklace that he had given her but needed back or something. Throughout the game, Ruby had convinced several people to give him money for "what he knew," so he told many people that he had seen Twisty Kristy with Nick Daggar's knife, and he suspected her to be the murderer. Not only did NO ONE guess Ruby to be the murderer, but Twisty Kristy got the most guesses, AND Ruby had the most money at the end. He got away with murder, pinned it on someone else, and made money. He totally rocked it haha :)

Although I felt a bit confused the whole time, the party was super fun. Like I said, the costumes and decor totally set the mood, and it was fun to see so many of our friends in a new situation. I'm so glad to have so many fun friends that all live right around here! 

Way to go, Michael and Diana, for throwing an awesome party :)