Murder Mystery Dinners and Events

By Jim Markus · Published November 2, 2026

Murder mystery dinners give you a chance to participate in a show, usually with a meal, involving some sort of murder mystery. There are a bunch of different styles of these. Most of them are ticketed events where you can participate as much (or as little) as you want.

I'm listing all the upcoming murder mystery dinners and events right here. You can see when and where they're happening, and I'm including details for each of them. When I mention a price, I'm including any fees I've seen in the booking process.

Professional murder mystery dinners usually happen at restaurants or theaters, and you'll pay to get in. Many of them have multi-course meals including appetizers and dessert. Some offer cocktails instead of food.

I also keep track of larp events, which are similar to murder mysteries. In those, you'll play a character in a situation that may not involve a crime to solve.

Upcoming Murder Mystery Shows

For the full list of murder mystery dinners in your area, choose your city. Here are some of the upcoming events from across the US.

• The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show Chicago · Nov 7, 2026
• The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show (Minneapolis) Minneapolis · Nov 7, 2026
• Murder Mystery Dinner Theater Show at Palm Court Chicago · Nov 13, 2026
• A Golden Girls Murder Mystery: North Wales Philadelphia · Nov 14, 2026
• Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre Philadelphia · Nov 14, 2026
• The Jury Experience: The Deadly Boat Ride Milwaukee · Nov 21, 2026
• Blackjack & Bloodshed Milwaukee · Feb 27, 2027
• Summer Of Murders: A very British Whodunit Paint and SIp Minneapolis · Mar 27, 2027

Holiday Murder Mysteries

There are plenty of murder mystery events for the holiday season every year. I'm listing those on their respective city calendars as they become available. You can sort for murder mystery events by city on this page.

What to Expect at a Murder Mystery Dinner

I've written about what to expect at a murder mystery dinner. That advice applies here. Most of these are professional events, so your ticket will usually include admission to the space and the entertainment for the night. It sometimes also includes the food they serve.

The Cost of Murder Mystery Dinners

The price of a murder mystery dinner depends on the organizer, venue, and location. Looking over the past few months, I'm seeing murder mystery event prices ranging from $30-$100. The median price for the events I've tracked is about $55, including ticket fees. I'm including prices for each of the upcoming events here.

If you're looking for a cheaper option (or want to try one out before you go to a show), you can always host your own murder mystery. It's easy to get started with a boxed kit, and they're usually about the price of a single ticket to one of these shows.

Participation at Murder Mystery Events

The fun part about murder mystery dinners is the interactivity. It's live theater, and guests are welcome to participate. This is one of the things I like most about these events, but it's a deterrent for some people who aren't sure if they want to be part of the show.

Fret not, introverts. You usually choose exactly how much you want to participate. It's often a joy for me to engage with the performers to ask questions and find clues, but you don't need to be an outgoing detective to have fun. I've seen plenty of spectators enjoy the show without asking a single question.

Kinds of Murder Mystery Events

I'm including all sorts of murder mystery events here. There are plenty of dinner shows, which include food with your ticket, and I'm also always interested in events without a meal. That includes detective events where you solve a mystery, unique theatrical experiences with immersive elements, and other shows that feel like murder mysteries.

That said, I don't include every event I find. I personally review each of these before they're listed here. I include the mystery events I'm interested in attending.

Note: You can also work with some of these organizers to host your own murder mystery party as a private show.

What to Wear to a Murder Mystery Dinner

Different events have different dress codes, but the vast majority of these require no special effort. They expect their guests to show up dressed for dinner or a date.

On the rare occasion that a murder mystery event has a dress code, I'll let you know in that listing's details.

Submit an event

To submit an event, I need to know the name of the show and a bunch of other details. The survey will ask for the location, cost, and who is organizing it. Please provide all the details you can. I'll review and add submissions as they come in. Note that it may take some time, as I'm adding these manually.

Submit an event

Past events

It's useful to know about past mystery events, too. I'm including those here. Note that some events get scheduled and then cancelled. When I hear about a cancellation, I update my notes to reflect it.

2026

52 events

October

45 events

• Oct 31, 2026Improv Murder Mystery at DePaulChicago · Chicago
• Oct 31, 2026I Survived the Zombie Apocalypse! Interactive Murder Mystery & BBQ FeastLibertyville · Chicago
• Oct 31, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show (Milwaukee) · Game OverBrookfield · Milwaukee
• Oct 31, 2026Murder Mystery: A Monsters BallPhiladelphia · Philadelphia
• Oct 31, 2026Mystery Machine (An Improvised Whodunit)Chicago · Chicago
• Oct 31, 2026Murder Mystery: A Monsters BallPhiladelphia · Philadelphia
• Oct 30, 2026The Jury Experience: The Killer AIMedia · Philadelphia
• Oct 30, 2026Mystery Machine (Bloody Bodies)Chicago · Chicago
• Oct 30, 2026Southside Market's Murder Mystery and Cocktail ExperienceChicago · Chicago
• Oct 30, 2026The Jury Experience: The Killer AIMedia · Philadelphia
• Oct 29, 2026Death of a Gangster: A Murder Mystery at Wilbur'sMinneapolis · Minneapolis
• Oct 28, 2026A Tri-Cities Murder MysteryGeneva · Chicago
• Oct 25, 2026The Jury Experience: Frankenstein on TrialChicago · Chicago
• Oct 25, 2026Mystery Machine (Bloody Bodies)Chicago · Chicago
• Oct 25, 2026The Jury Experience: Frankenstein on TrialChicago · Chicago
• Oct 24, 2026Death of a Gangster Murder Mystery NightHampshire · Chicago
• Oct 24, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show (Milwaukee) · Game OverBrookfield · Milwaukee
• Oct 24, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show · The Hollywood HitChicago · Chicago
• Oct 24, 2026Mystery Machine (An Improvised Whodunit)Chicago · Chicago
• Oct 23, 2026Mystery Machine (Bloody Bodies)Chicago · Chicago
• Oct 23, 2026The Widow's Manuscript: A Regency Murder Mystery Bookstore Crawl · Starting at Uncharted BooksChicago · Chicago
• Oct 23, 2026The Widow's Manuscript: A Regency Murder Mystery Bookstore Crawl · Starting at Skunk Cabbage BooksChicago · Chicago
• Oct 23, 2026The Widow's Manuscript: A Regency Murder Mystery Bookstore Crawl · Starting at Passages Wine & BooksChicago · Chicago
• Oct 23, 2026The Widow's Manuscript: A Regency Murder Mystery Bookstore Crawl · Starting at Partners in Crime BookshopChicago · Chicago
• Oct 23, 2026The Widow's Manuscript: A Regency Murder Mystery Bookstore Crawl · Starting at Lilliput BooksChicago · Chicago
• Oct 23, 2026The Widow's Manuscript: A Regency Murder Mystery Bookstore Crawl · Starting at Goblin MarketChicago · Chicago
• Oct 21, 2026Murder Mystery Networking Event for Small Business OwnersWheeling · Chicago
• Oct 17, 2026Fraud on the Fairway Murder MysteryElkhorn · Milwaukee
• Oct 17, 2026Murder Mystery & MartinisChicago · Chicago
• Oct 17, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show (Minneapolis) · A Noteworthy CrimeMinneapolis · Minneapolis
• Oct 17, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show (Milwaukee) · Game OverBrookfield · Milwaukee
• Oct 17, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show · The Hollywood HitChicago · Chicago
• Oct 17, 2026Mystery Machine (An Improvised Whodunit)Chicago · Chicago
• Oct 16, 2026Murder Mystery Dinner Theater Show at Stillwater Event CenterStillwater · Minneapolis
• Oct 16, 2026Murder Mystery Dinner Theater Show at Palm Court · Modern Billionaire's Masquerade BallArlington Heights · Chicago
• Oct 16, 2026A Killer Chapter: Murder Mystery PartyChicago · Chicago
• Oct 15, 2026Murder Mystery DinnerMilwaukee · Milwaukee
• Oct 10, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show (Minneapolis) · A Noteworthy CrimeMinneapolis · Minneapolis
• Oct 10, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show (Milwaukee) · Game OverBrookfield · Milwaukee
• Oct 10, 2026Clues, Candles & Cocktail MakingChicago · Chicago
• Oct 10, 2026Mystery Machine (An Improvised Whodunit)Chicago · Chicago
• Oct 3, 2026Killer Queen Murder MysteryDelavan · Milwaukee
• Oct 3, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show (Minneapolis) · A Noteworthy CrimeMinneapolis · Minneapolis
• Oct 3, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show · The Hollywood HitChicago · Chicago
• Oct 3, 2026Mystery Machine (An Improvised Whodunit)Chicago · Chicago

September

7 events

• Sep 26, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show · Dirty MoneyChicago · Chicago
• Sep 25, 2026Murder Mystery Dinner Theater Show at Palm Court · 1920s Mafia WeddingArlington Heights · Chicago
• Sep 25, 2026Murder on the Rocks: A Murder Mystery Cocktail ExperienceChicago · Chicago
• Sep 19, 2026The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show · Dirty MoneyChicago · Chicago
• Sep 19, 2026Mystery Machine (An Improvised Whodunit)Chicago · Chicago
• Sep 18, 2026Pub Trivia Murder Mystery Challenge: The Case of the Killer EndingChicago · Chicago
• Sep 12, 2026Mystery Machine (An Improvised Whodunit)Chicago · Chicago