A Murder Mystery Weekend Experience
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, is a charming town best known as the final resting place of the legendary Olympian for whom the town is named.
But there's no mystery surrounding Thorpe's death, so when we visited Jim Thorpe we were more interested in the Packer family, who lived in the town back when it was still known as Mauch Chunk. Now there's a family with plenty of mystery.
(The only mystery surrounding Thorpe's death is why he's buried in a town he never visited while he was alive.
But that one's simple to solve -- the town fathers agreed to rename the town in honor of Jim Thorpe because they believed that having his tomb in town would help Mauch Chunk become a popular tourist destination.)
The splendid Victorian home known as Harry Packer Mansion, built for the son of a man who at one time ranked among the most wealthy of all Americans, today is a bed and breakfast and (on certain weekends) the scene of the crime. The Harry Packer Mansion, located next door to the Asa Packer Mansion (named for Harry's father), provides a glimpse into the grandeur which marked turn-of-the-century homes in those cases when money was no object.
Aside from the building's stunning beauty, both inside and out, one great reason to visit the Harry Packer Mansion is to take part in a murder mystery weekend. Together with three couples we've known for years, Erik and I signed up for one, and we weren't disappointed.
The fun begins on Friday night, when all the participants gather in the inn's mahogany-paneled Study (estimated cost to recreate the Study today: $500,000) for a brief history lesson and to receive their character assignments.
For our weekend, 22 people were playing -- though the mystery can easily be scaled to accommodate almost any number.
The characters, most based on real people, are a mixture of upper, middle and lower class. Mary Packer, the sole remaining heir to the vast Packer fortune, has just nine months to produce a son so that she can fulfill the terms of her father's will and inherit his estate. (Her two brothers and a sister all had passed away already.)
The characters are gathering for a pre-wedding party in the mansion. Among the attendees are the Pellinores, Mary's loyal servants who can't seem to find the bathtub; Gussie, widow of Mary's brother Harry, for whom the mansion is named; Gussie's redneck parents; Mary's personal doctor; several local businessmen; and many others.
Once everyone learns who they are for the weekend, the action moves into the Gentlemen's Parlor, where the murder takes place. Mary's groom-to-be is killed in plain view when he overdoses on prescription medication slipped into a wine glass. Whether or not he was the intended victim is one of the questions everyone must answer before the weekend is up.
Soon after the murder, Inspector Bob (aka innkeeper Bob Handwerk) arrives on the scene and begins to solve the crime. But he saves most of his work for Saturday, when the bulk of the mystery takes place.
The first round of clue-gathering takes place after breakfast in the morning, running from 10:15 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. Round two takes place before dinner on Saturday night, and the mystery is solved in a post-meal gathering on Saturday night. The schedule leaves all of Saturday afternoon open to explore the charming town of Jim Thorpe.
All eight of us (Erik, me, and our six friends) had a great time with the mystery. As it turns out, one of us was the killer (who knew?), but I'm not about to spoil the surprise by telling you who. If you want to know who killed Mary Packer's groom-to-be, you'll have to register to spend some time with Inspector Bob at the Harry Packer Mansion.
But there's no mystery surrounding Thorpe's death, so when we visited Jim Thorpe we were more interested in the Packer family, who lived in the town back when it was still known as Mauch Chunk. Now there's a family with plenty of mystery.
(The only mystery surrounding Thorpe's death is why he's buried in a town he never visited while he was alive.
But that one's simple to solve -- the town fathers agreed to rename the town in honor of Jim Thorpe because they believed that having his tomb in town would help Mauch Chunk become a popular tourist destination.)
The splendid Victorian home known as Harry Packer Mansion, built for the son of a man who at one time ranked among the most wealthy of all Americans, today is a bed and breakfast and (on certain weekends) the scene of the crime. The Harry Packer Mansion, located next door to the Asa Packer Mansion (named for Harry's father), provides a glimpse into the grandeur which marked turn-of-the-century homes in those cases when money was no object.
Aside from the building's stunning beauty, both inside and out, one great reason to visit the Harry Packer Mansion is to take part in a murder mystery weekend. Together with three couples we've known for years, Erik and I signed up for one, and we weren't disappointed.
The fun begins on Friday night, when all the participants gather in the inn's mahogany-paneled Study (estimated cost to recreate the Study today: $500,000) for a brief history lesson and to receive their character assignments.
For our weekend, 22 people were playing -- though the mystery can easily be scaled to accommodate almost any number.
The characters, most based on real people, are a mixture of upper, middle and lower class. Mary Packer, the sole remaining heir to the vast Packer fortune, has just nine months to produce a son so that she can fulfill the terms of her father's will and inherit his estate. (Her two brothers and a sister all had passed away already.)
The characters are gathering for a pre-wedding party in the mansion. Among the attendees are the Pellinores, Mary's loyal servants who can't seem to find the bathtub; Gussie, widow of Mary's brother Harry, for whom the mansion is named; Gussie's redneck parents; Mary's personal doctor; several local businessmen; and many others.
Once everyone learns who they are for the weekend, the action moves into the Gentlemen's Parlor, where the murder takes place. Mary's groom-to-be is killed in plain view when he overdoses on prescription medication slipped into a wine glass. Whether or not he was the intended victim is one of the questions everyone must answer before the weekend is up.
Soon after the murder, Inspector Bob (aka innkeeper Bob Handwerk) arrives on the scene and begins to solve the crime. But he saves most of his work for Saturday, when the bulk of the mystery takes place.
The first round of clue-gathering takes place after breakfast in the morning, running from 10:15 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. Round two takes place before dinner on Saturday night, and the mystery is solved in a post-meal gathering on Saturday night. The schedule leaves all of Saturday afternoon open to explore the charming town of Jim Thorpe.
All eight of us (Erik, me, and our six friends) had a great time with the mystery. As it turns out, one of us was the killer (who knew?), but I'm not about to spoil the surprise by telling you who. If you want to know who killed Mary Packer's groom-to-be, you'll have to register to spend some time with Inspector Bob at the Harry Packer Mansion.
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