Writing a homicide question script takes careful planning.
Choose props for your mystery that fit the era. For example, electric candles can be used for a Victorian setting. Keep the props safe; don't use real candles.
Instructions
Create the Plot
1. Research how murder mystery writers plot their novels. Through their works, writers such as Agatha Christie and Ellis Peters can show you develop characters such as Christie's Ariadne Oliver, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and Peters' Cadfael.
2. Choose your murder victim. Ask someone who can play dead with authenticity. You also can use a mannequin or draw an outline of a body with red paint to represent the victim. Write the murder victim's biography. Two forms of victim are standard in murder mysteries. The first trope or standard character is the wealthy and elderly uncle who does not leave a will and whose heirs feud over the spoils of his demise. The second trope is the murder victim who everyone wants dead because that victim had a sleazy background. For example, you can create a murder victim who was an owner of a home moving business and guilty of defrauding real estate customers. Name your victim with an original name appropriate to the character, such as Aldous Witherspoon for an old and eccentric uncle.
3. Choose the person who will be your murderer and give her a motive. For example, the wealthy and elderly uncle may have changed the will or not left a will, and so the inheritance is in dispute. The character with the questionable background may be a moving company owner who defrauded his customers or committed other criminal activities. After deciding on the clues about your murderer, place them on note cards that you hand to guests as they arrive. Define the physical, occupational and emotional characteristics for your murderer. Be vague in some of the clues that also can apply to other guests, such as, "A brown hair was found at the scene of the crime."
4. Create the characters of the suspects. Are the alcoholic son of the old uncle, the younger trophy wife of the elderly tycoon, members of the household staff, such as the parlor maid and butler, or the unacknowledged love child from the uncle's distant past your prime suspects? The defrauded customers of the mover can be suspects of a criminal script. Invite guests who will fit into the characters you create and who will get into the spirit of the roles. Do not script the lines for these characters, but ask them to act and dress in the roles you give them.
5. Create a character who keeps the mystery on track in the persona of a sleuth or hard-boiled detective. This person's role is to keep the guests engaged with the story if they become frustrated at solving the clues. Give the sleuth lines as to the killer's identity that she can use to prod the other guests.
Create the Setting
6. Decide what era in which to set your mystery. The Victorian Era of Sherlock Holmes is one example; the Roaring '20s would allow you to have a flapper theme. Decide on a dinner menu that is current with the era you chose, such as Yorkshire pudding for a Victorian murder mystery.
7. Find your location. The location of the murder mystery is important to give atmosphere to the event. Choose a place that is dark and sinister, such as a Gothic Victorian house. Ensure the location has furniture appropriate to the era.
8.Hosting a homicide secrecy dinner requires that you assemble a script for your guests to result and to adore. The script must cover the basic elements, such as direction, characters and, most critical, the murder victim. Your script also requires that you are familiar with the basic elements of a murder mystery, such as writing clues and characterization. Also be aware of the pacing in the murder mystery and the time needed to conduct the event. Remove or hide modern objects such as computers.
9. Select the murder weapon. Have a prop such as a fake bottle of poison or blunt knife with red paint smeared on the weapon to simulate blood.
10. Set a time limit of one to two hours for the mystery. A murder mystery that drags on for a long time goes stale, and guests can become bored.
