Originally, this was an event we were planning to attend back in March. But then a pandemic shut everything down – understandably – and it was rescheduled for late June. Since it was a smaller event, and I’m constantly self quarantining as it is, we decided to go ahead with attending. And I’m so glad we did!

The Harry Potter Murder Mystery was held at the Arlington Event Center in Desoto, Missouri. They periodically do murder mystery dinner events, and I couldn’t pass this one up. A night of Harry Potter nerdery? Yes, please.

Everyone was mailed a packet before the event with the time, and the characters they’d be for the event. My mom was Professor Sprout, I was Cho Chang, and my friends Kelsey and Dylan (who were our tablemates), were Helena Ravenclaw and Draco Malfoy. Guests were encouraged to dress up as their characters, but not required.

When we first walked in, the magical theme was already in full effect, with a beautiful hallway lit with magical, floating candles. It definitely kicked off the feeling of walking into Hogwarts.

The evening began at 6PM. Our group met up in the parking lot and went in a few minutes before to get our name tags and character envelopes, as well as get seated.

It was a super cute set up. And I was really excited to get chocolate frogs to snack on before things began.

It was like being in a mini Great Hall.

Once everyone arrived and got seated, the staff greeted us all, and explained a bit about how the evening would work out. Everyone was getting drinks, reading their character envelope, and preparing for a murder that hadn’t happened… yet. Wizarding gossip was going around the room.

Soon, we all were served salads, and sometime during that, a body dropped beside me.

We had to tape the body off and begin examining things. Before long, we were given our next envelope, and directions on what to do next.

Clues were scattered around, but we still didn’t have enough direction to really pinpoint a culprit.

After a bit of investigation, we were served dinner.

We were all given the option of chicken or steak: my mom and I opted for chicken, but the steaks Kelsey and Dylan had looked great. I forgot to ask for a picture of their food, unfortunately.

Once dinner was finished, more evidence presented itself. Multiple characters with plenty of motives were presented. But we all tried to keep in mind: no one is above suspicion.

We investigated all the clues and new evidence over and over, to the point Dylan and I were becoming obsessed with figuring out the killer. We got hung up on one clue, and decided to investigate the scenes we’d checked already.

Something about a potion related clue just kept sticking out to us. We checked the option cabinet again.

And the book of options open on the desk.

Finally, we settled on two people. I picked the one I leaned toward the most, and Dylan picked the other. Kelsey and my mom had their own choices, too. Our guesses were collected, and we were served dessert and asked trivia questions while we waited for the verdict.

I was probably a little TOO excited to have solved the mystery, honestly. But I did it!

Yes. I know. I need to self quarantine for two weeks because we had too many people close together for this picture. No worries.

There were also awards for best actors and best costumes.

If you ever have to opportunity, I definitely recommend this event! We were there and entertained for nearly 4 hours, unlimited drinks, served salads, bread, dinner, and dessert. It was a ton of fun, and only $40 per person.

Check out the Arlington Event Center on Facebook and keep an eye out for their next event!

-Angel