Hemlock Parlor
Christmas edition · 8 to 12 players
A Christmas murder mystery for the whole party.
Death at Evergreen Manor: a snowed-in Christmas Eve dinner, a poisoned cup and a will that was never read. Print it and host it in about two hours.
The mystery
Death at Evergreen Manor
Snow has closed the lane to the village. Augustus Evergreen, who made a fortune in Christmas ornaments, has gathered family, staff and neighbors for Christmas Eve dinner, and promises to read "a few changes" to his will at midnight. After the toast, Gus retires to the library. At 10:40 the butler finds him dead, the silver cup on the rug. No one can leave before morning.
- Rosalind EvergreenGus's only child, a novelist
- Felix EvergreenGus's charming, broke nephew
- Marigold VanceGus's assistant for ten years
- Dr. Theo HaleThe family doctor and Gus's chess partner
- Agnes PryceThe cook for twenty years
- Jasper ThorneThe gardener who tends the conservatory
- Celeste DuvalGus's much younger betrothed
- Barnaby CrispThe butler, who found the body
Plus four optional roles for parties of 9 to 12: Gus's younger sibling Winifred, a reporter, the leader of the village carolers and the neighbor from the next estate.
What you get
- One 24-page PDF, US Letter, to print at home in color or black and white
- A host plan: casting for 8 to 12, three rounds, and when to put out each clue
- The scenes to read aloud, and twelve invitations with costume ideas
- Twelve character sheets: eight core roles and four optional ones
- Five clue cards, name tags, accusation slips and a fold-over solution
- A fair puzzle: the clues leave exactly one culprit with eight players or twelve
It is a printable file, not a boxed game: nothing is mailed. It is a different, longer story from the free 6-player mystery, written for a bigger party.
Christmas edition
$19 one PDF, for your own parties
Buy and downloadIf the file doesn't work or isn't what this page describes, write to us within 14 days for a full refund.
Questions hosts ask
What if fewer than eight people can come?
The game needs its eight core roles, so it suits a party of eight to twelve. For six, try our free mystery.
Is it all right for teens?
It is written for adults and teens. There is a murder, but nothing gory: the story is about who went where, and when.
Want to try a smaller game first?
Our free 6-player mystery runs the same way in about 90 minutes, and our host guide covers planning, casting and food.
Who wrote it?
Every mystery is checked before we sell it: a test confirms the clue cards leave only one possible culprit, with eight players or twelve, and that no clue contradicts another. The story was written with AI.