Smoke & Mirrors Plots
All the plots listed below are tried and trusted favourites, and we’re always more than happy to talk through the options and make some suggestions. In terms of the number of actors that work best for different sizes of audience, a rough guide would be as follows:
- Two actors: audiences of about 8-20 guests.
- Three actors: up to about 40 guests.
- Four actors: up to about 80 guests.
- Five actors: up to about 120 guests.
- Six actors: up to about 160 guests.
And please feel free to send us any suggestions for new murder mystery scenarios. Just call or text 07769 977779, email info@hauntedmysteryweekend.co.uk, or get in touch via social media. We’d love to hear from you.
Seven Deadly Gins
Michelin-starred chef John Thomas and disgraced public health inspector Claude Brûn need to get rich quick. So they’ve opened an upmarket gin bar in a downmarket location and called it John Claude van Dram’s. Unfortunately, John’s 84-year-old mother has insisted on coming along for the ride, and neither John nor Claude knows much about gin …
THINK: Withnail and I meets MasterChef
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Seven Deadly Sins!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 4
Larry Trotter’s Murderous Parody
Welcome to the Hogwash Academy! Larry Trotter’s two best friends are getting married, and Larry’s been tasked with arranging their “hag do”. Alas, the world-famous wizard is missing, two detectives are on the scene, and everyone on the guest list is a suspect. So begins a world-class parody of witchcraft, wizardry and magic puns involving magic wands …
THINK: St. Trinian’s meets Love Island
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Your Favourite “Larry Trotter” Character!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 2
Carry On Up the Tiber!
Ancient Rome, 54AD, and the Emperor Claudius has issues. His third wife has been suspiciously quick to agree to a divorce, his mistress is a little too close to her ghastly son, his chief eunuch is behaving very strangely, and the Senate appear determined to thwart him at every turn … Thus begins a murderous comedy of politics, plumbing, and peanuts.
THINK: Carry On Camping meets Gladiator
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Ancient Rome!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 5
The Nile-High Club
Ancient Egypt, 55AD. The Emperor Nero has been invited to Egypt to attend Queen Cleopatra's Annual Festival of Drunkeness. He's also hoping to marry her. What he's not counting on is devilish plot that's been cooked up by Cleopatra's High Priest, and her apparently chaste Lady-in-Waiting ... So begins a spectacular sequence of backstabbings and double-crosses played out against a backdrop of passion, poison, and pyramids.
THINK: Carry On Camping meets The Mummy
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Ancient Egypt!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 5
Bone of Contention: Hen Party Special
The dashing young novelist Dicky Clifford is dead – and his two most distinguishing features are missing. But who killed him? Could it have been the nurse who found him, the local lady of the night who debauched him, or a highly irregular occupant of the nearest nunnery? Could it have been the novelist who blackmailed him, the actress who betrayed him, or the psychic who inspired him? Could it even have been his gorgeous fiancée? In this hilarious Agatha Christie-esque black comedy, two brave detectives try to work out “whodunit”, and you get to play the suspects!
THINK: And Then There Were None meets Fawlty Towers
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Roaring Twenties!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 2
Murder at the Talent Show!
Our new and perfect plot for younger audiences! At a talent show setting of your choice, everyone gets a chance to perform a dazzling audition before murkier motives intervene and someone gets carried out feet first. This event is endlessly flexible, and is ideal for ages 10-16, and up to about twenty guests. Perfect for birthday parties, Christmas, Halloween and all-round entertainment, this event can easily be staged anywhere you like!
THINK: The X-Factor meets Traitors
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Wannabe Celebrities!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 2
Chapter & Curse
It’s 1927, and celebrated erotic novelist Clarissa Braithwaite (aged 88) is about to pseudonymously publish her latest bodice-ripper, “The Erotic Exorcism”. As Clarissa’s cantankerous maid, her live-in lover and many selected admirers gather to see the great woman in action, Clarissa’s fourteen-year-old grandson makes a startling discovery. Cue machinations, merriment, and murder …
THINK: Downton Abbey meets The Exorcist
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: The Occult!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 3
Bloody Business
Husband and wife dream-team Georgia Somerville and Hugo Latimer are highflying corporate trouble-shooters who have just been called in to aid a well-known company in their hour of need. Alas, they’ve done their job a little too efficiently and discovered all manner of horrors. Worse still, Hugo’s just got back from a stag do in Bratislava, and Georgia’s onto the mother of all data-hacking scandals …
THINK: The Office meets Benny Hill
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Corporate Away Day!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 3
PLEASE NOTE: This plot is specifically designed for corporate audiences and will be adapted so your company and colleagues are at the centre of the action!
Where There’s a Pill There’s a Way: Hen Party Special
Star “party planner” Roxie Powell is thrilled to be organising her best friend’s big night. But forgive and forget has never been Roxie’s motto. Especially since the absent and unsuspecting groom was once unwise enough to rebuff Roxie’s advances. So tonight is Roxie’s last chance to win the man of her dreams – all she has to do is get rid of the bride. Enter Roxie’s most outrageous friends, her long-suffering manager, and a teetotal stripper trying to make a new start in life.
THINK: Cherry Falls meets Dirty Dancing
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Divas & Devils!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 4
PLEASE NOTE: Roxie’s parties can get very raucous!
A Turn for the Nurse
Professor Herbert Fortescue has problems – serious problems. His funding has been cut, his secret trials haven’t produced the results he was hoping for, and now a patient has escaped. Worse still, his terrifying ex-wife is back on the scene. Fortunately, Herbert has a cunning plan. Unfortunately, he’s also about to discover that revenge is a dish best served cold …
THINK: Silent Witness meets Bedroom Farce
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Doctors & Nurses!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 4
Vicars in a Twist: Hen Party Special
With church attendance at an all-time low, Lionel Lampson and Gerald Jones have agreed to go on a bonding weekend with a party of irresistible lady vicars from a neighbouring parish. Alas, the Mother Superior has the hots for Gerald, Lionel’s bitten off far more than he can chew, and the girls have a bombshell or two of their own in store. So begins a farcical comedy of dodgy habits, desperate measures, and misplaced dog-collars …
THINK: Sister Act meets Up Pompeii
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Tarts & Vicars!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 3
Cinderella: A Musical Murder Mystery!
The Church Rushton Amateur Performing Society has run out of cash. Luckily, celebrity ventriloquist Norman Fiddles has ridden to the rescue with his own version of “Cinderella”. With an unhinged professional director at the helm, Norman as the Fairy Godmother, and one actor playing both Ugly Sisters, Church Rushton’s finest thespians prepare to gamble everything on a production of “Cinderella” that goes very, very wrong …
THINK: A Midsummer Night’s Dream meets Die Hard
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Your Favourite Panto Character!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 6
Burying the Hatchet
After their last business venture went belly-up in spectacular fashion, Dragon’s Den winners John Thomas and Caroline Jones have patched up their differences and opened a gourmet restaurant in a glamorous location. Tonight, they’re throwing a special gala evening to celebrate their first Michelin star. What they’re not counting on is the arrival of a Public Health Inspector …
THINK: Masterchef meets The Apprentice
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Swinging Sixties!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 4
For Whom the Bells Toll
With the Tories in disarray, Morris Middleton – the Morris Dancing MP – is about to launch an audacious leadership bid to become the next Prime Minister. Unfortunately, his partner’s enormous wealth is about to be investigated, the local planning department suspect he’s up to no good, and his tantrum-prone nine-year-old has just been expelled from her elite boarding school. So begins a riotous comedy of deceit, denial, and dancing with bells on.
THINK: Yes, Minister meets Peep Show
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: The Letter M!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 5
Royal Blood
It is the autumn of 1882, and the famous actress Lillie Langtry has invited the cream of theatrical high society to celebrate her forthcoming departure for America. But Lillie isn’t counting on the arrival of royalty, the eruption of scandal, and a particularly intriguing blast from the past … So begins a thrilling Victorian black comedy of divas, dilemmas, and dramatic exits.
THINK: Dangerous Liaisons meets Dead Again
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Your Favourite Historical Character!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 4
Bell, Book & Scandal
The year is 1924: Dame Fanny Rackham is the greatest classical actress of her generation, and her son Freddy is the greatest magician of his. Tonight, you’ve been invited to a double celebration: Dame Fanny’s sixtieth birthday, and an exclusive performance of Freddy’s dazzling new show. Also present are Freddy’s glamorous assistant, Flora; his embittered twin, Fergus; and Dame Fanny’s husband, Ferdinand – who died seven months ago …
THINK: The Prestige meets Theatre of Blood
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Roaring Twenties!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 4
Malice in Wonderland
The King of Hearts is dead; the Queen is missing; and the Duchess rules Wonderland. On the first anniversary of the King’s death, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, Alice and the White Rabbit come together to pay their respects to the great man – and find out what’s in his will. So begins a riotous black comedy of desperate measures, double-dealing and dodgy DNA tests. Not to mention Lewis Carroll’s best loved characters, as you’ve never seen them before.
THINK: Alice in Wonderland meets The Rocky Horror Show
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Your Favourite “Alice” Character!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 6
PLEASE NOTE: Malice in Wonderland and Malice Through the Looking Glass are not the same plot. They’re both standalone events, and you don’t have to have seen one to enjoy the other!
Malice Through the Looking Glass
A year to the day after Alice was crowned Queen of Wonderland, all hell has broken loose across the Kingdom – the White Queen is on the rampage, Tweedle Dum isn’t speaking to Tweedle Dee, and Humpty Dumpty is behaving very strangely. Worse still, Alice has just discovered a dastardly plot to put the Red Queen back on the throne …
THINK: Game of Thrones meets Jilly Cooper
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Your Favourite “Alice” Character!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 5
PLEASE NOTE: Malice in Wonderland and Malice Through the Looking Glass are not the same plot. They’re both standalone events, and you don’t have to have seen one to enjoy the other!
Back with a Vengeance
Seven years ago tonight, the beautiful Cordelia Brittain tragically drowned at Strangeways Manor – whilst skinny-dipping on her hen night. A week later, her fiancé married her twin sister. Now, intrepid celebrity ghosthunter Dave Dobbs has brought his TV team to Strangeways, hoping to make contact with the other side. Enter an unscrupulous medium, a vengeful spirit, and a misdirected invitation to a Tarts & Vicars party.
THINK: The Blair Witch Project meets The Pink Panther
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Tarts & Vicars!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 5
VIDEO TRAILER: click here
PLEASE NOTE: This event requires a swimming pool!
Ancestral Vices
A celebrated novelist is dead. His head is missing, his bank account is empty, and his macabre thrillers have a nasty habit of coming true. But who killed him? Was it his fiancée, his lover, his father, his butler, or his foul-mouthed cook? His homeopath, his confessor, his fiercest rival, or his hypnotherapist – who only speaks in rhyming verse? In this classic Agatha Christie-esque black comedy, you get to play the most unusual suspects ever assembled …
THINK: The Mousetrap meets The Comedy of Errors
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Roaring Twenties!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 2
Swine of Passion
For several decades, the Peter Irving Gifford School has been going nowhere fast. Now, under inspirational new leadership, this once shameful establishment is to become the Gloucester Old Spot Academy for Girls. All that’s needed is the small matter of thirty million pounds. As luck would have it, eccentric local pig-breeder Sir Hamish St. John Hattersley has come up with the cash. As luck wouldn’t have it, Sir Hamish’s generosity is about to prove spectacularly misplaced.
THINK: St. Trinian’s meets The Italian Job
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: St. Trinian’s!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 6
Criminal Justice
Percy Strange MP is going places. At least, he will be once his controversial reforms to the criminal justice system make it through Parliament. What Percy needs is a favourable trial run, sixty reformed crooks, and five million pounds. What he’s about to get is a scandal big enough to bring down the government.
THINK: The Usual Suspects meets The Thick of It
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Reformed Crooks!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 5
Stiff Competition
Take one elite sports science company. Add several hundred under-performing athletes and three-dozen out-of-shape celebrities. Mix in an unscrupulous biochemist, a Daily Mail journalist, and two thousand doses of a dodgy Viagra-substitute. Result? Performances that are out of this world, and a scandal that’s out of control.
THINK: Chariots of Fire meets Porkies
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Disgraced Celebrities!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 4
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS: click here
A Study in Fuchsia
Sir Montague Montgomery is presiding over a top-secret recruitment retreat to find MI5’s next master criminal profiler (codename Sherlock Holmes). Cue a wicked blend of farce, horror and satire as Monty and Sherlock struggle to see off an outraged priest, a possessed medium, a determined dominatrix, and a journalist with the scent of scandal in her nostrils.
THINK: Sherlock meets Interview with the Vampire
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Undercover Agents!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 5
Ghost from a Perfect Place
A controversial historian and a dazzling psychic have invited you to witness a revelation that will change our understanding of the supernatural forever. As the clock strikes ten, we turn a page in the book of human history – live on air. For the almost-famous ghosthunter Dave Dobbs, this might be the coup that saves cult TV series “Dave Goes Ghost Hunting” from the scrap heap. Enter (uninvited) a jilted lover, an angry reverend, and the local mayor – who hasn’t had a drink since 1996.
THINK: Scream meets Fatal Attraction
FANCY DRESS SUGGESTION: Angels & Demons!
NUMBER OF ACTORS: 6
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS: click here