Murder at Hearst Castle: An Introduction to Basic Mystery Writing (Part 1)

Murder at Hearst Castle: An Introduction to Basic Mystery Writing

Created by: Tessa, Conner, and Sophia

Are you interested in writing mystery stories, but aren’t sure how to make it believable, interesting, and difficult (but not too difficult) to solve? Through the process of solving a mystery yourself, you will obtain a greater understanding of how to create your own! We will discuss certain things such as the development of investigators and suspects, alibis and motives, and evidence and red herrings, and then you will have a chance to write your own ending to the mystery.
This lesson originally created for a writing workshop for fifth to eighth graders.

Disclaimer: This lesson includes a murder mystery. Nothing is graphic and there are no images, but if this will make you uncomfortable, it is probably not the lesson for you.

 

 Murder at Hearst Castle

The Setting: It is 2016, and you have been invited to spend the night at Hearst Castle in California, along with five other well-known investigators from around the country. This is a rare opportunity, as the Castle is usually only open for special guided tours, but your host is very well connected man, and you are one of his favorite prodigies. Well, you and five other people.

The Characters:              Jesse Rivers, LAPD

                                          Skylar Matthew, Private Investigator, New York

                                          Morgan Gilbert, FBI Special Agent

                                          Danny Scarlet, CSPD

                                          Sam Alcott, Department of Homeland Security

                                          Alex Casey, CIA Agent

The Story: The six investigators were invited to Hearst Castle by John Smith for a reunion. They all settled into their guest rooms, changed into their finest clothes, and joined Smith for dinner in the dining hall. They made small talk, and bragged about the elite endeavors they had undertaken after leaving the small police department they had worked in under Smith. However, the old police chief retired early, complaining of an upset stomach.

When everyone woke the next morning, Smith was dead. Alex Casey found him in his room, seemingly dead from a gunshot wound to the chest.

The investigators gather at the crime scene, and immediately become suspicious of each other. After all, they were the only ones in the Castle that night. Before everyone can start pointing fingers, Danny Scarlet suggests that they all give their versions of what happened the night before.

Jesse: “After I arrived last night, I dropped my suitcase off in my room then called one of the tour guides, who drove up and gave me a private tour of the Castle. Immediately after we had finished, I went straight to dinner with the rest of you, then went back to my room, read for about an hour, and then went to sleep. I didn’t even know anything had happened until Alex started running around crazy-like this morning.”

Skylar: “As soon as I had unpacked, I called my family to let them know I had gotten to the Castle safely. We talked for a while, then I went to dinner. Afterwards I just wandered around the grounds for a bit before going to bed. My room was right next to Chief Smith’s though, and at about 1:00 in the morning I heard a loud bang. I thought he had just slammed a door shut or something, so I went back to sleep. I didn’t realize it had been a gunshot.”

Morgan: “Once I got to my room, I took a quick nap before it was time for dinner. Traveling all the way from D.C. was exhausting! And then there was that five hour layover in Dallas… But after dinner I walked around with Alex and Danny in order to see the grounds, which really were beautiful. I had a hard time going to sleep initially, but after taking a sleeping pill I was out for the night. I didn't hear a thing.”

Danny: “So, I hadn’t eaten all day. When I got here, I threw my suitcase down in my room and then went straight to the kitchen because I was starving. I know, I know. Embarrassing. But the kitchen staff can back me up. I was in there chatting with them until dinner, and then afterwards Morgan, Alex, and I walked around and talked for a bit until we all went back to our rooms. Because Smith was in the main Castle and I was staying in a guest house, I didn’t hear anything happen.”

Sam: “To be honest, I didn’t really want to come here. Sure the place is neat and all, but I’m not that into history. So I watched a few episodes of my favorite TV show on my computer before I went down to dinner, and then after dinner I did the same thing before falling asleep. I slept like a rock the rest of the night.”

Alex: “I actually talked to Chief Smith for a while before dinner. He was really curious about how my life has been since I left the police department, especially since I have such a prestigious career now. He didn’t seem that interested in what I was doing for work, but everything else in my life, which was really nice to talk about. We went down to dinner together, and after I finished eating I met up with Danny and Morgan to explore the grounds. I didn’t hear the gunshot, but when Smith wasn’t at breakfast, I went to his room and tried to see if he was there. The door was locked, so I called one of the staff to see if they had the keys. It took them a while to drive back up, but when they did, and I opened the door… I went straight to all of you.”

Part One Lesson

Definitions:

Detective – The one who will solve the crime. May be a professional detective or an amateur sleuth, maybe they’re just playing at detective, maybe they started investigating by accident or circumstance.

Suspect – Usually at least two in a story, but may be many. One or more of them committed the crime, but all of them have motives to commit the crime and it is the detective’s job to decide which one actually did it.

Motive – A reason for wanting to commit a crime. Could be revenge, greed, to keep someone quiet, etc.

Alibi – A place or action that places a suspect somewhere other than the crime scene.

Corroboration – When an alibi is confirmed by another person or physical evidence.

 

Ask Yourself: Which suspects in the story have alibis that can be corroborated?

 To Be Continued...