Hello You Beautiful People!
For the past few weeks I have been working on something very fun! As you can see from the title, I have been writing a Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery. I wrote this fun little mystery for a picnic my friend was planning, and we thought this would be great entertainment for the guests. The picnic was quite a big event, hosting over 200 people, so naturally we needed a large scale mystery to accommodate the large amount of people who wanted to play.
Set in 1938 England, Dr. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes attend a party to celebrate renowned Explore Sir Clyde Adkins' return from his African Safari. But the party soon turns sour when Lady Ansley, the host of the nights event, disappears. Soon everyone becomes a suspect, and Lady Ansley's disappearance causes chaos among the guest, and soon everyone becomes a suspect. Who dunnit? It's up to you and Sherlock Holmes to solve this case.
There were 10 primary suspects, but a total of 75 characters were created. There were five main groups of characters: The House of Lords, the Americans, the Musicians, the Explorers, and the Housing Staff. Every character had their own background story (as you can imagine, 75 back stories was quite a lot to work), but the supporting characters played more of the role of detective, while the suspects tried to prove their innocence. There was a total of seven clues, plus an introduction to the crime and Sherlock's ultimate reveal of the murderer.
Everyone who played had a great time, but no one actually did solve the crime... I guess this is a tough case to crack...
...
Discovered in the Journal of Dr. John Watson
2 June 1938
Yorkshire, England
On the eve of the Second of June, 1938, a party was held on the Ansley Estate in Northern England. Both Holmes and myself made the extensive journey from London to Yorkshire to welcome home Sir Clyde Adkins from his recent African Safari. I had been a long time acquaintance and admirer of Sir Adkins, but Holmes, on the other hand, found attending the party to be of the greatest vexation.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by a merry band of musicians performing a wonderful Anton Webern composition. Although the tranquil music rang through the halls, the tension among the guests was unbearable. A baffling party of Americans, who flooded the sitting room with cackling laughter and obnoxiously loud proclamations, were looked upon with disgust by the elite English Lords and Ladies. Sir Adkins grimaced with irritation in a corner, and I sensed anxiety among the housing staff. Holmes had stolen himself away to the library to admire the book collection, while Lady Ansley, the host of the party seemed to make the strain among the guest even worse. From the murmurs I heard, Lady Ansley and her husband were far from welcoming hosts.
Finally, at 7 o’clock it was time for dinner. Dinner was an even more extraneous affair. Lady Ansley had made a fool of her staff by criticizing everything they did. She was rude to her American guest, and when it was time to honor Sir Adkins, she made a right spectacle of herself. I was overjoyed when dinner had finished, and it was time for the men to take drinks in the library. Sherlock had been more than silent for most the night, only commenting to correct the Americans’ grammar.
I was more than thrilled to be away from the rude Lady Ansley. With all of the commotion of the evening, this would have been my first opportunity to congratulate Sir Adkins, who, after all, is for whom we came to see. Unfortunately, Sir Adkins never arrived to drinks. I suppose he wanted to escape from Lady Ansley as much as everyone else. Ten minutes into drinks, Lord Ansley also took a leave of absence.
At 9 o’clock, Mr. Clarkson, the butler, came bursting through the library doors. “Lady Ansley, she’s missing!” he exclaimed. And with that, Sherlock Holmes came to life. “Wonderful!” proclaimed Holmes, as he threw his hands in the air and grinned like a five-year-old in a candy store. “Finally, Watson, something riveting!” He ran into the hall to begin his detective work.
...
Lord Ansley’s outburst caused a stir of anger in Clyde Adkins. A physical fight broke out between the two men, prompting the women to yelp in fright and the other men to get involved. The commotion in the hall alerted the staff members; they all ran upstairs to see what had happened. Next, the musician’s came bustling down the stairs to try to break up the fight. A deranged Madeleine Hancock flew into the hall, out of breath, trying to tell anyone who would listen what had happened to her. Isobel, frightened that her brother had done something drastic, searched through the crowd adding to the wall of sound with screams of “Christopher!”.
Lady Ansley’s kidnapper was among them, and soon it became a game of “who dunnit?”. Everyone was to blame, causing complete chaos among the throng of guests. Things were getting out of hand; this hoard of civilized guest quickly turned monstrous and rabid, as if they had returned to their primitive state from the animal kingdom.
Watson, becoming panicked, looked towards Holmes for the answer. His face was calm, not an ounce of anxiety in his expression. “Holmes, these people, they’re out of control. They are going to start tearing each other apart!” A small grin formed upon Sherlock’s hard expression.
“Well, it’s obvious, is it not, Watson? Even the most daft members of Scotland Yard could figure this one out.” He pulled Mr. Clarkson from the group quarrel. “My dear Mr. Clarkson, would you mind contacting the police. I believe we have a kidnapper to arrest.”
...
We got this beautiful stationary from Hobby Lobby.
Lots and lots of envelopes with clues!
Our character was used to keep track of who was playing which character. This, along with name tags, was very helpful when it came to handing out clues. With a group this big playing this complicated of a game, things can get confusing... And you don't want to be the one to accidentally hand the murderers clues to someone else! Yikes!
The lethal clue!
Within the clues, individual letters had been bolded and italicized. These letters formed a phrase that would help you solve the case and discover the murderer.
Along with the hidden letters, there we four hidden clues to be found. There hidden clues would help you solve the crime, and make it fairly obvious who the killer was... But they weren't easy to decipher!
The hidden clues were placed in unmarked envelopes and were hidden throughout the area we were playing.
And the aftermath... That is a lot of envelopes!
Overall, the game was very well received by guest. This is game is great for any party, small, big, or anything in between. Bring your magnifying glass and deerstalker, and enjoy a fun night of mystery!
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