S. Dylan Zwickel and I started the company Ghost Ship Murder Mysteries in 2016. We were both fans of murder mysteries in various forms: Agatha Christie novels, the One Night Ultimate Werewolf game. We’d played the box kits, gone to mystery parties, and attended immersive theatre mysteries.
Still, we found ourselves frustrated.
Why were so many mysteries silly, stereotypical stories? Where were the stories with modern themes and intricate plots? And why were there so many games where the murderer didn’t know who they were until the very end?
So we decided to make our own version: an elevated murder mystery experience that immerses guests in an intricate narrative of intrigue and betrayal where they play the characters, including the murderer, and unravel the truth.
We both have a background in theatre and in screenwriting, and are award-winning writer-directors. Dylan’s play The Moss Maidens is currently being developed into a feature film, and my short film Little One recently screened at Palm Springs International ShortFest.
We relied on the same skills to design our mysteries as we do to write our screenplays.
Ghost Ship started as a set of six mysteries: Murder in the West Wing, Space Smugglers (think Firefly meets Battlestar), That Show About Love (channeling reality shows like the Bachelor, but if the Bachelor was murdered), Mafia, Superheroes, and Western. Meant for audiences of 6-12 people, we’d send one of our actors to someone’s home and run the mystery there. All of the suspects, including the murderer, were played by the audience, and our actor played a minor character and moved the game forward.
Each of the mysteries takes place over four rounds. At the start of each round, our audience members receive a set of instructions, prompting them to share information, seek answers, and find clues to share with the other characters. The majority of the game takes place through conversation, like a big game of telephone. Through conversation and deciphering clues, motives are uncovered. Finally, the audience votes for who they think the murderer is and the truth is revealed.
Last year, in 2024, our system shifted. We produced two mysteries in New York with Outside the Box Amusements (OTBA), a production company that specializes in high-concept immersive events. We rewrote our mysteries to incorporate 75 audience members—each one still playing a character in the mystery and trying to solve the mystery. As we gear up for our next production, a collaboration in London with the producer Sophie Cairns, we’ve been reflecting on the structure of our mysteries and how we’ve applied the Save the Cat! beat sheet in creating each of them.
While we don’t have a typical script, here’s how our mysteries track along a beat sheet, and the ways they deviate sometimes too.
Beat Sheet for A Ghost Ship Murder Mystery
Act 1 | Round 1 of our murder mysteries
1. Opening Image: The audience are greeted by four actors in costume or masks, walk down a smoke-filled hallway, and arrive at the main room decorated to match the theme. An actor takes the stage and greets them, laying out the rules of the game and introducing the world. Round one of the mystery starts before the murder has happened.
2. Theme Stated: The audience is prompted to share information and begin to establish themselves as their characters. While we don’t have specific dialogue that states the theme, themes begin to emerge in the audience’s interactions. In our Superheroes mystery, we plant questions of morality and seeds of jealousy between those who have superpowers and those who don’t. Our Wild West mystery teases corruption in a small town. Murder in the West Wing is a political mystery about ambition and betrayal. Meanwhile That Show About Love (a riff on reality TV) plays with the allure of fame at the cost of true love.
3. Set-Up: We establish the status quo before the murder occurs, building the world and introducing the main suspects. In our Superheroes mystery, for example, we learn that one of the superheroes has been missing for months and only recently returned. In our Mafia mystery, there was an assassination attempt made on the mob boss’s daughter the previous week. The audience begins to learn the relationships between the characters as they get into character.
4. Catalyst: A murder is announced. In one mystery the Sheriff’s Deputy finds a body; in another a character has been ejected through an airlock into deep space. This happens at the end of our first round and launches us into the second round.
5. Debate: There’s always a strong reaction to the Catalyst (aka the murder) and we find that audience members naturally begin to debate what to do as they process the murder. Everyone becomes a suspect.
Act 2 | Round 2 of our murder mysteries
6. Break into 2: While we don’t have a single hero who decides to take action, instead every audience member is the protagonist of their own story, and they each act as a detective, investigating, finding clues, and interrogating the other audience members. The only exception is the murderer, who knows who they are from the beginning, and who starts to spread rumors and deceive the others.
7. B Story: As motives are discovered through clues and sharing secrets, B Stories emerge. There may be an affair between characters who are not the murderers or long-lost siblings reunited. Relationships continue to develop between the characters.
8. Fun & Games: The second round of our shows are when we deliver on the promise of the premise. Audience members are encouraged to talk to each other to unearth the many secrets. Slowly but surely they begin to uncover motives and narrow in on a suspect.
Round 3 of our murder mysteries
9. Midpoint: At the middle of the story, we shift from round 2 to round 3. We are meticulous in what information comes out when, dictated by the prompts we give audience members at the start of each round.
In the second round, much of the information that comes out is red herrings, but we’ve also begun to lay groundwork about the true motive of the murderer. At the Midpoint something shifts or a key clue is revealed. In our Superheroes mystery, a freeze ray terrorizes the city. In Space Smugglers, crew members begin to mutiny. All of these actions are guided by our actors but driven by the audience itself. The audience decides how to fight the freeze ray in a series of missions. We provide various cards or mechanics to give the audience members choices and creative challenges.
We often include a ticking clock to raise the stakes—sometimes the police are on their way or the President will be arriving soon and we need a suspect to hand over. Alternatively, in Space Smugglers the ship’s been sabotaged and we’re nearing a dangerous mystery destination. It’s up to the audience to fix the ship and save the crew.
10. Bad Guys Close In, All Is Lost, and Dark Night of the Soul: These beats combine for us at the end of round 3. In some of our mysteries, the murderer chooses a second person to kill—this time it’s one of the audience members who acts out a dramatic death and becomes a ghost for the rest of the show. In our Superheroes mystery, the superheroes face a final confrontation with the Freeze Ray that’s been destroying their city and must make a difficult choice that might involve losing their super powers or sacrificing themselves to save their city. Whatever they choose, they reckon with the loss.
Act 3 | Round 4 of our murder mysteries
11. Break into 3: The final clues and motives are revealed. The audience members put the final pieces together to determine who the murderer is and how the murder occurred.
12. Finale and Final Image: The audience members vote for who they think the murderer is and the true murderer is revealed, along with how they did it and why.
Following these beats helps us balance structure and creativity. Each of our mysteries follows a satisfying arc, while leaning into its own flavor and fun.
Check out more of our work on our site. While most of our recent work has been ticketed events, we’re always thrilled to create a bespoke mystery for a private event or party. If you’re looking for a smaller, more accessible experience, we also offer online parties for groups of 6-12 people.
