As a fatal air bubble was injected into a man’s major artery, the fatality count in the Covel Grand Horizon Room rose to three.
The scene was part of a murder mystery dinner held Wednesday night on the Hill.
On Campus Housing Council planned the dinner, which is the first of its kind on the Hill in recent memory, said Zoe Robbins, a second-year undeclared student and an OCHC director of programming. A group of actors role-played as suspects, while students worked in teams to analyze clues and find the killer.
OCHC members chose to combine a murder mystery into a dinner setting ““ with finger foods and dessert ““ because they wanted to try something fun and different with their programming, Robbins said.
The evening started on Covel Commons’ terrace, where about 130 students, Robbins said, congregated around eight blue-tableclothed tables lit only by small LED candles, reading a piece of paper they had just been handed.
“Keep your back to the wall,” one of the messages on the paper read.
Some of the students wore mystery-themed costumes. Others feigned a British accent.
Among the participants was second-year theater student Venk Potula. Potula said he was drawn to the event in part because he liked the combination of a social activity and solving a puzzle.
“I’ve always loved Sherlock Holmes,” he said as he chewed on a toothpick.
As students were about to enter the ballroom, one actor began handing out fliers advertising his made-up businesses to students on the terrace.
OCHC found six actors through the murder mystery dinner company Keith and Margo’s Murder Mystery USA, Robbins said.
Once inside Covel Grand Horizon Room, the actors roamed around the room and on a low stage, either interacting with other characters or students, or staying on the edge of the room.
Students split up into teams as they attempted to figure out who among the suspects was the killer.
The mystery’s narrative started when a man came rushing into the ballroom with a seemingly wild look in his eye and a gun in his hand.
A tan-coated police officer who was chasing the man pulled out his own gun and fired a shot.
The students gasped.
There were two more mock murders as the mystery unfolded.
Kaitlyn Ireland, a second-year anthropology student, said she enjoyed the idea of solving a murder mystery with friends. This was her first murder mystery experience, she said.
She was wearing a flat cap, while her friend was wearing a deerstalker hat. Together, they were dressed as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes mystery series.
“I am a huge mystery fan, so it’s fun to participate in my own murder mystery,” Ireland said.
Throughout the evening, organizers dropped off clues near each table, which the mock police officer would present to the rest of the participants.
Before the reveal, each table of participants wrote out its explanation for the murder plot, naming a suspect.
Prizes were given out for most correct and most creative response. Groups with the most correct and creative responses received mystery-themed prizes, such as a do-it-yourself murder mystery CD and T-shirts.
Addam Hammond, a first-year physics student, said he thought the mystery was a little too simple but was fun regardless.
“It was fun because we got to be a part of it,” he said.
Robbins said that she felt great about the final product of weeks-long planning.
There is no guarantee that the program will be repeated because programming directors change from year to year, Robbins said. It is, however, possible for popular programs to be put on again.
“My goal was that everyone that went had a great time, and that’s the feedback we got,” she said.