Join us for a masquerade ball on New Year's Eve!

It’s a New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball at Retribution Manor. In the grand ballroom, costumed guests are gossiping. Everyone wants to know: “Who invited us here?” “Who assigned us our mask colors?” “Who would throw such a lavish party in a haunted house?” No one has answers—they only know that they were instructed to be here, or their secrets would be revealed to the world.

As the clock strikes midnight, the study door opens, the mysterious host staggers out and falls to the floor, dead. (gasp!)

Normally, you wouldn't attend a party with people you don't know, but you were terrified when you received this invitation in the mail:

"I know your secret. If you want to ensure my silence, wear your assigned mask to a masquerade at Retribution Manor on New Year's Eve. You’ll be addressed by your mask color so none of the other guests will know who you are. You may have heard that the manor is haunted. It is, but don’t worry, the ghosts won’t hurt you—although I will, if you don’t show up as instructed."

Sunday, December 31, 2023, 7:30-10:30pm

Is this a dinner show?
No. It's not a show and we don't serve dinner. It's a party with hors d'oeuvres and desserts. More like a game. Think 'Clue, the Movie' but with extra people who are not suspects.

So it's not a show?
There will be people playing suspects (anyone is welcome to sign up for an open character), but it is not show. It's a party with hors d'oeuvres where everyone tries to solve the murder.

Wait, you said dinner isn't served?
Dinner is not served. We'll have hors d'oeuvres only. Please plan to eat actual dinner before you arrive. We can suggest lots of wonderful places in town!

Don't the suspects already know who did it?
Nope. We draw slips of paper once all the suspects have arrived. One slip indicates guilty, the rest indicate innocent. Only the person who draws the 'guilty' slip knows who did it. Everyone else only knows that they themselves did NOT do it.

How do the suspects know what to say?
Every suspect will get a booklet with both innocent and guilty versions of the answers to questions they'll be asked. Suspects will get the answers via email a day ahead of time, but they often just read the appropriate answer.

How do people know what to ask?
There are three envelopes at each table, one for each round of questioning. Each envelope contains a list of questions for that round, along with the pertinent evidence for that round.

Are these events appropriate for children?
Well... they're not inappropriate. Suspect roles are definitely for adults, but we've had preteens and teens attend as detectives and have a great time.

WANT TO PLAY AS A DETECTIVE?

Unless you sign up to play as a suspect (scroll down), you'll play as a detective. THOUGH IT IS NOT NECESSARY, we encourage you to dress for the setting of the party! For instance, the setting of Masquerade & Murder is a ghost-infested mansion! As the mystery progresses, you'll get lists of questions to ask the suspects, and the Lead Detective will let you in on evidence discoveries--there will even be pieces of evidence for you to examine. Then, after all the questions have been answered, all the evidence presented and examined, you can use your critical thinking skills to figure out who murdered the victim.

WANT TO PLAY AS A SUSPECT?

HOW IT WORKS: After you purchase your ticket(s), click the button on the confirmation page 'Sign up to play as a suspect'. You'll be taken to a Google Sheet where you can peruse the available characters and add your name to one that interests you. You do not have to stick with any gender! We'd LOVE for you to dress the part! Please plan to wear the specific style mask associated with your character. (If you need help with that, let us know!) On the day before the event, we'll send you two different versions of short answers (Innocent and Guilty) to three questions (we'll have these printed in a booklet for you the night of the event, as well) FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. You can memorize word for word, but paraphrasing is absolutely fine as long as you get the important points. On the night of the event, you'll draw a slip of paper with either a number or an X on it--you'll keep that utterly secret, too. An X means you're the murderer and you'll answer questions with the Guilty versions.