The Host Files: October of Haunts, High Stakes & Full Houses

October is loud for a murder mystery company.

But this October? This one felt like stepping into the storm and realizing halfway through we were the storm.

Across three states, three Skills hosts led eight fully immersive mysteries, from arcades to haunted B&Bs, shaping a season that proved one thing: mystery doesn’t just belong to Halloween. It adapts to wherever the story needs to live.

New York: Ashley

Ashley kicked off the month inside the neon-lit chaos of Arsonist at the Arcade at Three Lives, where retro gaming energy somehow made arson even more fun.

From there, into The Claire House, a real haunted B&B in Ogdensburg, where Haunted Homecoming drew ghost hunters, neighbors, and more energy than we’ve ever seen in one room.

She closed the month in Thompson Park, where Haunted Homecoming returned, this time under open skies, shifting its atmosphere entirely, yet losing none of its intensity.

Washington State: Amy

Across the country, Amy transformed a private home in Washington into 1920s prohibition-era intrigue with Murder at the Manor, complete with speakeasy glam, illicit whispers, and guests who dressed like they were auditioning for Peaky Blinders. 

Our first west-coast private booking of the season and absolutely not the last.

Tennessee: Heather

Our incredible friend Heather of Heather's Paint and Sip led four mysteries in the Clarksville, TN region, and she isn’t even done yet.

Among them:

• Diners, Dives & Death — a retro 1950s diner mystery. Think Riverdale meets Twin Peaks

• Haunted Homecoming — hosted twice already, with a third wild, sold-out run coming up on Halloween night

She has been an engine of chaos and joy in Tennessee. And the communities there have made it clear: she could run every weekend and still sell out.

We’re exhausted. We’re grateful. We’re unstoppable.

Eight mysteries. Three states. Thousands of photos taken by players, some hunting killers, others hunting ghosts.

This month felt like proof that mystery is not a seasonal novelty. It’s a living format. It morphs, it travels, it scales, and we’re just getting started.

Next Up: We Trade Pumpkins for Corporate Heat & Christmas Chaos

• Ashley heads straight into November with a corporate Arsonist at the Arcade booking — proving mystery is just as electric in boardrooms as it is in brewpubs.

• Heather takes the spotlight again with Killer Throwback, our 1980s Hollywood slasher mystery, hitting Clarksville next.

• And as for December? Let’s just say… the holidays are about to go homicidal.

We survived October. Now we reload.