Five Things You Need to Throw a Killer Murder Mystery Party

The heat is brutal, the humidity is unwavering, the mosquitoes, beetles and bugs are out in full force. It's officially late summer in Virginia. Is anyone ready for fall?

Yeah, I'm not either. I love summer too much, except for those pesky mosquitoes. If you're itching to throw a really cool party before the season ends, check out the guest post below on how to host a murder mystery party, courtesy of Tiny Prints!

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It seems lately that murder mystery parties are all the rage, whether they are thrown as birthday soirees, New Year’s Eve gatherings, or random get-togethers. Professional murder mystery performances can be attended at a theater, but you are able to get much more involved when such a party is held in someone’s home with a smaller crowd of no more than twenty guests or players. They’re fun and can be relatively inexpensive to host, depending on how elaborate you want to be. If you are going to throw a murder mystery party of your own, you will need the following five things.

Friends who like to have fun: Murder mysteries are highly interactive, so the more your guests get into their assigned character roles, the more fun everyone will have. Send out customized invitations with the party information at least 4-6 weeks in advance. Ask your guests to RSVP so you know how many guests to prepare for. In addition, RSVPing allows you to send people their characters once they commit to coming. If they know the role they are playing, they can dress the part. Nothing’s more fun than a group of guests dressed to the hilt and pretending to be other people all night. If your guests are not up for a night of mystery and aren’t willing to let loose, it will be a lot more difficult to make it through the game successfully.

A good script: The script dictates the entire flow of the evening, as well as character details and plot. Whether you purchase your script or write your own, be sure it contains a varied character list – in other words, the cast of characters is fresh and interesting – several murder suspects, secrets, and plot twists. After all, guests want to be surprised at the turn of events, which should be revealed slowly throughout the evening. In addition, with a good script, clues should lead to a logical conclusion about the identity of the villain, which is the goal.

Creativity: To throw a great murder mystery party, you must be able to think outside the box. Whatever theme you choose for your party – whether it be set at a hotel in Mexico, the opera, or a wedding – be sure the costumes, décor, and food match your choice. Also, have a good prize for the guest who guesses the villain correctly to encourage guests to be as creative and involved as possible.

A killer menu: What’s a murder mystery party without a delicious buffet of themed foods? If you’re hosting a party that takes place in a specific state or country, serve food appropriate to that region – for example, gumbo if it takes place in New Orleans, or mini deep-dish pizzas if it’s Chicago. No matter the location, you can also create fun names for the foods and desserts you serve, such as Death by Chocolate Cake, Red Death Cocktail, Killer Kebabs, or Mystery Meat.

Confidence: Throwing any type of party presents its challenges and takes some work – from creating a guest list and sending invitations to figuring out a location, where to get enough chairs, and what food to serve – but murder mystery parties take an extra dose of confidence. Not only do you take care of all the normal party details, you also have to keep the game moving along all night. Keeping people on track and proceeding through the game with a confident attitude will calm confusion and allow people to have more fun overall.

Make sure each of these things is present at your murder mystery party and you’ll have a hit on your hands. Remember to also send personalized thank you cards after the party so guests know how you appreciate them playing along and doing their part to make the evening a success. So dive in to planning mode and prepare a killer murder mystery party sure to keep people talking for weeks.

Author Bio: Cindy Rollins is a seasoned writer and guest author who enjoys sharing products, services and ideas that combine thoughtful design with a functional purpose.