How to throw a Halloween Murder Mystery Party

This Halloween season, our family decided to throw a murder mystery party – and it was a blast! If you are looking for a great party idea for Halloween, then you have come to the right place.

We decided to purchase a mystery party kit. We bought an instant download version for $37 HERE. Or, if you have a creative mind, you can try to make up your own characters and story line!

This party will take 2-3 hours and will include three rounds. What makes this party fun is if people dress up and truly try to get in to character and make it fun!

Rules: Do not make up clues, stick to the script. Stay in character the entire time. Talk to every guest in every round about your clues that you have been given.

Characters: The packet that we purchased had 20 characters, but only 8 were required. The characters come with names, costume ideas, personalities, jokes, and talking points. You can also buy the expansion pack if your guest list exceeds 20 people.

GAMES: You can choose to play different Halloween games during the party. If you buy the pack, there will be optional and mandatory games.

BEFORE THE PARTY: Send your party invitations about two weeks before and include character and costume assignments. That way they can come dressed up and ready to “get into character”. You can also give them the character list and guest instructions to review before they get there. As the host, you can decide to find out who the murderer and victim are beforehand, but you do not have to. You can be surprised just like everyone else.

ARRIVAL: When the guests arrive, give them a name tag and discuss the rules with them. Let them know that there are three rounds and that they will be getting instructional clue cards in each round. You can let everyone introduce themselves and their characters.

ROUND 1: Serve appetizers and drinks. Pass out round 1 clues and give everyone a couple minutes to read through them. Then tell everyone to start mingling while they eat appetizers and reveal clues from their clue cards.

ROUND 2: Dinner is served. Pass out round 2 clues, which will include pre-murder and post-murder clues. Give everyone time to discuss their pre-murder clues. Then the murder victim will be instructed to leave and re-enter the room (their clue card will indicate what to do). Then guests can implement their post-murder clues.

ROUND 3: Time for dessert. Pass out a murder investigation sheet to each guest and have them fill it out. They will write down their guesses for who, why, where, and how the murder happened. Then have everyone sit in a circle and one by one, everyone shares their guesses. Then hand out Round 3 clues. The clue cards will instruct the guests when to read their clue cards out loud. (The person instructed to read theirs first will read first, etc). When the last person reads their clue card out loud, they will expose that they are the murderer and why and how they dunnit!

We hope that you have as much fun as we did! Get creative with your costumes, decorations, and food 🙂

PS, here are some ideas for food from our party……..

Spider Deviled Eggs