During the party, we often play the victim. After getting murdered, we disappeared into the bathroom and quickly changed into a new character’s costume (which was hidden inside our shower). Our guests loved the surprise of seeing us reappear in totally different outfits.

I wanted to give everyone a keepsake and spent time making pins! These are 3D printed and handpainted, with a layer of UV resin on top. I gave a colored pin to every guest, and gave gold versions to anyone who won an award or correctly guessed who the murderer was.

I used a mixture of smart lights and smart switches to change our living room however we need. It’s also fun for the lights to go out during the murder, or for a spotlight to appear when accusations are made.

Regular lights can also become colored by covering them with a translucent colored gel sheet, which is also used in theater shows and can withstand the heat from the bulb.

When the murder happens, the lights go out and the room is plunged into darkness. But to make the darkness even more eerie, we covered our windows in cardboard so no moonlight could get in. We also covered any blinking lights in our home with electrical tape. As a result, you couldn’t even see your hands once the lights went out.

Of course, the most important part of our murder mystery parties is our friends. Our friends had creative costumes and ideas and it was a blast to see everyone running around to solve the murder.