LOOKING TO add a little mystery to your life? Murder Mystery Ireland, based at The Foxford Lodge in Mayo, organises super sleuthing events all over the country.
According to business manager Carol Whelan, demand is booming, despite the downturn. “We have bookings up until the middle of next year but what we have noticed is that increasingly people will not always book to have a murder mystery event in a hotel, but will rent the local church hall or, if there is enough space, have it at home.” Typically guests are given the game and assigned characters, plus a costume guide, a couple of weeks in advance. Murder Mystery Ireland can provide costume hire if you need it too, or save money and improvise.
All guests are included in the cast so everyone has a role to play. People are assigned characters according to their personality too, so if you find yourself cast as Miss Dormouse, or whatever, you can be pretty sure how your friends view you.
On the night of the event guests have to solve the murder, avoid dying, be prepared to be murdered and find out what everyone else knows.
“It’s very sociable as people are encouraged to trade information throughout the night, but they don’t know if what they are hearing is false information. Also, there may be more than one murderer,” says Whelan, who provides a facilitator to ensure it all runs smoothly.
If you don’t have a posse of your own to round up, you can also book one of the mixed murder mystery nights at Foxford Lodge, which cost €159 for two nights B&B, supper and game.