Murder in Dreary Hollow | Virtual Murder Mystery
An intriguing murder mystery game for 4-10 players, ages 13+ to be played at home or in a virtual setting. This game takes about two hours to play. This is an instant download version of a virtual format game - no waiting, no shipping fees - download and play - no printing is needed. This murder mystery game was formatted to play on Zoom or other video chat - you send each player a PDF file before the game and meet up virtually to play! (This game does not have required video content as some of the other virtual games.)
Helpful links:
- Host character list
- Free, printable invitation
- Murder Mystery Prop Emporium
- Direct your guests here - the corresponding pre-game site at Your Mystery Party
Mystery Synopsis:
Leota Xavier was the most despised lady in the town of Dreary Hollow. With a sharp tongue and scowls galore, this spinster managed to make more enemies than friends during her miserable lifetime. A five-time widow with more money than good sense, she had retired from being the headmistress at Dark Harbor Preparatory School long ago. She lived alone in a mansion on the outer edge of town with nine cats and terrorized the townsfolk when her butler drove her into town. To nobody’s surprise, Leota’s body was discovered in her front yard early this morning. The Dreary Hollow Police have summoned you. You either have the missing pieces of the puzzle needed to solve the case, or you are a prime suspect. This is where your story begins.
Included: (There are no videos with this game like the others in this virtual catalog).
- Host instruction file - including bonus games to play virtually, player instructions, and a timeline sheet (abbreviated instructions) for your event.
- 10 character packets (PDF files) to send to your players in advance of the party. They include instructions, a character bio, suspect list, and three rounds of game play (optional pre-game, round one materials, round two materials).
- Solution keys for the game and game challenge - host can play along without spoiling the game.
- Editable text field player contact sheet for pre-game
- Free invitation (optional to use)
- Free pre-game website (optional, but suggested)
- Spectator file - if you wish to add non-suspect/non-character players to play along.
- Optional host list for 4 required players - only open if you intend on hosting with 4 or 5 players.
If you wish to host this (or any other) game for profit, in public &/or as a benefit to your organization/brand/business - you will need a commercial license - click here.
- Minimum Age:
- 13 due to difficulty
- Difficulty rating:
- Moderate, 4/10
- Gender of players:
- Flexible
- Number of Players:
- 4-10 unique suspect roles in the main game.
- Expansion pack/ expandable?:
- No. 10 is the max of character roles. However, you can have spectators play along. There is an optional PDF file to download for these spectators - add up to 100+ players.
- Date of publication:
- September 2020
Reviews
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Fun with friends and family
We just completed this mystery. We used Zoom. There were 6 of us and it worked out great. One person guessed the correct killer. When we do another one I am going to let everyone read part one before the party. A few hours before the party I told everyone to go ahead and read part one. Everyone felt much more prepared to start the game. We had a great time. It was fun seeing how everyone decorated their backgrounds and their costumes. This is seriously a great way to enjoy an evening with your family and/or friends when you can't be together.
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Fun family activity from home!
We did this over Zoom with the family and it was great! We’ve done these before in person and we still got the full effect. It does go a lot faster since everyone isn’t “mingling”. I recommend everyone getting into costume and trying to take it seriously. It was much more fun that way! Thanks for making our night :).
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Really Cool for Lockdown
I came across this looking for something else and am glad wife and I went for it. We got several family members mote than willing to participate as we are on current stay at home orders so a virtual murder mystery was great. Everyone loved it and will most likely be purchasing another mystery. Can’t wait for stay at home order to be removed to do one in person but highly recommend virtual parties to pass time.
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So much fun for all!
It was great to do this virtual murder mystery with friends and family across the country. We used Zoom and it was so simple and easy to use for our purposes. Almost everyone got into character. We went full on soap opera style. So many laughs and an interesting twist at the end. I would, and am, totally recommending My Mystery Party.
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Great family activity!
We loved playing this. Once we got settled into our characters and how to play via zoom, we had a great time. Thanks for a fun quarantine activity!
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Fun party game
Very good story line., great characters a lot of fun
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Fun party game
Very good story line., great characters a lot of fun
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Great virtual fun!
I convinced my friends to participate in this game as we have not been able to get together in person for a few weeks. This is great virtual fun! We played with 4 players. As the host, I was still able to play a character and participate in the game. The guides were easy to follow. This is how the game went: I selected at random the assigned characters and sent them to everyone ahead of time. Then, I notified everyone which characters they had and the description and sent the player information. Just before the game started, I encouraged everyone to get into costume and record messenger videos to do the "pre-game" part. Then, we all got together over messenger and read the description of our characters. The game is played in two parts - so we read the first part and shared some information about the story. As the story unfolded - there was a code that we had to break - we couldn't solve it in part one as we needed more information. It was fun to see everyone get into character over messenger and try to figure out the clues. As more information was revealed in part 2 - we were able to figure out more clues and ultimately the coded message. Anyway, this game was good fun and it was a chance to connect with friends given not being able to see them in person.