Honors Program Holds Murder Mystery
Abby Thatcher
On Tuesday, Oct. 25, Manchester Honors students were invited to attend a Murder Mystery Masquerade. The event was hosted in the Wine Recital Hall. Honors students were each assigned a character and a backstory, ranging from mobsters to mayors.
At the scene of the mystery, players were created with notes for each of their characters and were instructed not to open them. Later, it was revealed that these were clues for the pre-murder investigation. These clues listed things such as player relation, character secrets, and questions for other players.
One character secret was for mobster Maria Lime and her crew of three fellow mobsters. It instructed that, should anyone ask, the four worked as chocolatiers for “Smirshey Chocolates.”
The mobsters needed to help Mayor White with her political campaign via blackmailing and “taking care of ” other players. While attempting to help the mayor, players also had to keep from getting caught by secret agents for the government.
One such secret agent was Madison Scarlet, played by English major Madison Cunningham. Hoping to catch the famed Silver Dollar Mobsters, Cunningham came prepared with a Nerf gun garter.
“Discovering the murderer was my favorite part of Murder mystery,” Cunningham said. “Personally, I didn’t see it coming and I had my suspicions of a lot of other people in the room. The plot line also had a lot of scandals going around the town which made you suspect other people.”
Cunningham was accompanied to the party by her roommate, Serina Bachman. While Cunningham had a rather serious investigation involving the Mob, Bachman got to be a bit more relaxed with her character’s portrayal.
Bachman played Brad Olive, the main actor at the local theater. Although she came prepared in a Sharpie mustache and beard, her acting is what really managed to sell people on her character.
Before the mystery began, the honors students were treated to a chocolate fountain and “mocktails.” However, the pre-party was livened by Brad Olive running around in an attempt to sign everyone’s arms. Evidence of the signing can be seen on the Manchester Honors Instagram.
“I liked how we each got assigned a character then had to dress the part,” Bachman said. “Overall, I thought it was a fun night!”
When it came time for the actual murder, Ashton Jade fell victim. The character was a news reporter who got too invested in the town’s business. It seemed that every character wanted her gone for a different reason.
For the rest of the night, Jade’s ghost haunted players as they tried to solve her murder. Each player got clues as to who it could be, but was ultimately forced to make the decision on their own.
After coming to a decision on who the murderer was, players then had to vote on best costume. While it was a tight race, Bachman won for her portrayal of Brad Olive and received a plush pumpkin and fall bucket hat.
The event is hosted yearly by the Honors Society and they hope to see it grow next year as more people hear about it.