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It’s a mystery: Murder Mystery Dinner hosted by Shepherdstown Community Club

By Staff | Jan 31, 2020

Shepherd University alumna Melina Delo, of Martinsburg, plays the role of Dame Barbara Carthorse, during the Murder Mystery Game in the War Memorial Building on Jan. 21. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — As the Shepherdstown Community Club continues working to bring in more members, to help support its conservation efforts at Morgan’s Grove Park and in the War Memorial Building, it has begun to look for new ways to attract the community’s attention. And one of those new ideas proved to be a huge success.

The club’s monthly dinner on Jan. 21 was the first Murder Mystery Dinner held by the club, featuring a potluck dinner followed by a group Murder Mystery Game.

“We are going to be the actors ourselves,” said SCC President Jennifer Wabnitz about the game, which featured a cast of seven characters. “We’re just trying something a little new, a little different.”

Community members at each table volunteered to play and sport the props associated with each character: Little Fritz with his teddy bear; Maria Von Schnapps and her chocolate truffles; Marchioness Duchamp with her scarf; Dr. Doris Johnson with her hat, notebook and a pen; Dr. Sigmund Fraud with her bowtie, cigar and mustache; Dame Barbara Carthorse with her tiara; and Mike Bison with his boxing gloves and flannel shirt.

For SCC Membership Chair Shannon Taylor, the dinner was right up her alley.

Sandy Green, of Shepherdstown, laughs as she portrays the role of Marchioness Duchamp, during the Murder Mystery Game in the War Memorial Building on Jan. 21. Tabitha Johnston

“I’ve played murder mystery games at home over the years with my kids,” Taylor said, mentioning she also reads murder mysteries. “I enjoy figuring out ‘Who done it?’ Sometimes, like with Agatha Christie’s novels, there have been plots with too many twists in the story for me to guess the culprit. But that can be fun, too.

“We definitely want to do more intergenerational events like this with the club. We want to focus on enlightenment, education and exchange of ideas, as we make plans for the future,” Taylor said.

For Shepherdstown newcomer Sandy Green, the dinner was her first time at one of the SCC events. She said she was enjoying it so much, she already knew that she was going to join the club.

“I am new to the area — I just moved at the end of December. So this is to help me socialize and be part of the community,” Green said, mentioning she was excited about portraying Marchioness Duchamp during the game. “I’m looking forward to just embracing it, to being a part of it. I’d love to do whatever they need me to do for the game — as long as I don’t have to commit murder, I think it will be fun.”

Community members fill their plates with food from a potluck dinner, which preceded the Murder Mystery Game on Jan. 21. Tabitha Johnston

Brother Tim plays easy-listening music, as community members at the potluck dinner in the War Memorial Building on Jan. 21. Tabitha Johnston

A crime scene was marked off in the corner of the War Memorial Building, for the Murder Mystery Dinner on Jan. 21. Tabitha Johnston