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The Night of the Waxworks
Halloween murder mystery dinner for 8 to 10 players in a hotel full of wax figures
- Players
- 8–10 players
- Duration
- approx. 3 hrs
- Difficulty
- Tricky
- Recommended for ages 16+
- Cast: 4 male, 5 female, 1 any gender
- 2 optional roles
- Host plays along
Content notes: Death by violence (stated plainly, not graphic), Money worries and debt, Gambling, Family conflict, Spooky atmosphere with a séance
One-time purchase · digital download (PDF)
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Exempt from VAT as a small business under § 19 of the German VAT Act (UStG) – no VAT is charged.
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What's it about?
Hotel Marrow, Nebelstein, October 31: Since 1894, historic wax figures have stood in the hallways here, and today the house is a small hotel. For the Halloween gala “Night of the Waxworks,” owner Cornelius Marrow has invited ten people; at midnight he means to announce what will become of the house. Shortly before his grand entrance, he sits in costume on the throne chair in the gallery, dead. The storm surge keeps the police away.
There are ten roles: the hotel manager, the head bartender, the conservator of the wax figures, the night porter, an investor, an appraiser, the old family doctor, a blogger, a medium, and the actor in the Chamber of Horrors in the cellar. Every character saw or did something that night, and not everyone says right away what they know. Over three rounds you compare times, routes and keys, and seven props come to the table one by one.
The case is hard. The solution is in the materials, but spread across ten heads: if you listen closely and match up times, you can work it out; guessing won't get you far. Two roles are optional, so the evening also works with eight or nine players. The host plays along; the host guide contains no solution.
You get a Print version with one role booklet per character, which you print and fold yourself, and a Digital version in phone format for sending. Both versions contain the same case.
What's included
- START HERE and host guide (no solution inside), with prologue and two events to read aloud
- Floor plan of Hotel Marrow
- 10 role booklets with intro and three rounds
- 7 props with an overview
- If Someone Is Missing: separate sealed materials for 8 and for 9 players
- Accusation sheets and sealed solution
- Print pack: host guide and all role booklets in one file, to print in a single run
- Digital version: the intro and each round as a separate file to send
The characters
Marlene Vogt
hotel manager
Marlene has run Hotel Marrow for eleven years and knows every key, every invoice and every rumor in the house. Punctual to the point of pain, Marlene looks at the clock more often than at the guests tonight.
Tilda Ahlers
actor in the Chamber of Horrors
Tilda plays the ghost of the Poisoner in the basement of Hotel Marrow and leads the guests through the Chamber of Horrors. In the séance, Tilda gives the spirit voice behind the fireplace curtain, and nobody except Marlene and Mirabel knows about it.
Mirabel Dorn
medium hired for the séance
Mirabel Dorn has led spirit invocations for thirty years and tonight sits with her tarot table in the corner of the salon. She likes to talk about the “house that listens,” whispers, and reads meaning into every sign.
Dr. Benedikt Falk
family doctor and regular guest
Dr. Falk is Cornelius Marrow’s oldest friend, practices in Nebelstein, and smokes the same pipe mixture as his friend on every occasion. He considers séances hocus-pocus and would rather drink his cognac.
Viktor Halden
investor
Viktor Halden buys hotels with a history and sells them as an experience. He has bid €14 million for Hotel Marrow and negotiates at every opportunity, even over the canapés.
Ines Hartung
appraiser for the auction house Kessler & Rohde
Ines authenticates historic wax figures for the auction house Kessler & Rohde, and at Hotel Marrow she is to assess the collection ahead of its sale. She likes to explain how to tell real wax, and lets no wrong word about it stand.
Leopold Marrow
head bartender
Leopold has run the salon bar for fifteen years and knows every guest’s favorite drink. As the owner’s only son, he knows his father is deciding the future of the house tonight.
Greta Nolte
blogger, “Nebelstein After Midnight”
Greta writes about haunted places and ghost houses, and she invited herself to the gala as a press guest. Her phone is always raised, and no shiver goes unphotographed.
Fenna Ostermann
conservator of the wax figures
Fenna has restored the figures of Hotel Marrow for nine years and lives under the roof. She talks about the wax figures as if they were people, wears the studio key on her belt, and steers clear of every argument.
Oskar Pfeiffer
night porter
Oskar has sat in the porter’s lodge of Hotel Marrow for forty years and logs every call, every guest and every key. He knows the house better than the master of the house does, and he rarely says more than he is asked.
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