Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party

***Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party*** is a 2016 web series produced by Shipwrecked Comedy. Before Headless: A Sleepy Hollow Story, the series was Shipwrecked's largest project and "flagship series." The series has a large cast and crew, high production value, and lots of *Clue* references. In the show, Edgar Allan Poe and his roommate, Lenore, invite guests over for a dinner party. During the party, things go awry, and guests begin to be murdered. It is up to the remaining guests to determine who the murderer is before everyone dies.

## Watch it Here!

* Playlist of all episodes of Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party on YouTube

## Plot

Edgar Allan Poe invites a host of famous authors over for a dinner party, but things go awry when his guests mysteriously start dying.

#### "Chapter One: The Bells"

Edgar Allan Poe and Lenore welcome their guests- Ernest Hemingway, Louisa May Alcott, Mary Shelley, Charlotte Brontë, Oscar Wilde, HG Wells, Emily Dickinson, George Eliot, and Fyodor Dostoevsky- to the dinner party. Once the guests are seated, they are given character cards for the murder mystery game, but many of them seem unhappy with their assigned roles and attempt to trade. However, Edgar puts a stop to this by telling them that it is not allowed. During the chaos, Lenore conjures soup for the guests, and Annabel Lee arrives late with her plus one, Eddie Dantes, who is a banker and a generally great guy. Poe grows jealous and tries to continue the game, but Mary Shelley stands up and announces that she has something to say. The room suddenly goes dark. When the lights come back on, Eddie is lying face down in his soup.

#### "Chapter Two: The Masque of the Red Death"

Initially, all of the guests besides Annabel believe Eddie's "death" to be part of the game and don't understand Edgar's insistence that this wasn't planned. Eventually, Charlotte checks Eddie's pulse and confirms that he is, in fact, dead. After some argument about what is to be done, Louisa May Alcott leaves the dining room with a coughing fit and intending to go for help. The guests hear a thud, and when they run out to the hallway, Alcott is dead on the floor.

#### "Chapter Three: The Purloined Letter"

A red handkerchief with the letter 'A' and a bell symbol is found on Louisa May Alcott. Charlotte suggests that "A bell" equals Annabel; several people agree and begin to accuse her. However, Annabel and others insist that the handkerchief is not hers. They decide to table the discussion about who the murderer is in order to move the dead bodies to the cellar. When they return to the dining room for Eddie's body, they find a note pinned to an apple with a knife, threatening that they will be killed if they seek help. For the time being, Edgar decides they should follow this advice. After the men return from the cellar, Mary, Charlotte, and George reveal that they all knew Eddie: Mary says he tried to take credit for *Frankenstein*, Charlotte says he was going to foreclose on her house, and George says he was going to reveal George's identity as a woman...izer. During this time, HG Wells has been taking notes and making calculations, and he reveals that the most likely killer is Mary Shelley. As she tries to leave the room, she is electrocuted to death by a doorknob. Ernest Hemingway opens the door to discover that the microwave that HG brought has been hooked up to the other side of the door. HG denies having put it there.

#### "Chapter Four: A Descent Into the Maelström"

After some argument, they all agree (somewhat reluctantly) to take a suggestion from Hemingway to split up and search for clues and the killer. Ernest, Edgar, and Annabel search the upstairs bedrooms, and they discover a vial of poison and that Ernest owed Eddie money. HG and Lenore explore the attic and grow their relationship. HG decides that he is going to create a cam-eh-ra to hopefully catch the murderer in the act. He reveals that he also knew Eddie, who had laughed at him when he'd asked for a loan to build a model time machine. Lenore tells HG about how she died the day she was to marry Guy de Vere, who later killed himself before she had a chance to come back and haunt him. Charlotte and Fyodor search the study, but Charlotte quickly gets frustrated with him and leaves. Emily Dickinson doesn't get paired with anyone because the other guests haven't really noticed she's there; she tries the soup and comments that it tastes pretty good. Oscar and George take Shelley's body down to the cellar and discover an elevator that takes them to the kitchen. On another floor, George gets locked in a room full of ravens. Then, a scream pierces the house. Edgar and several others run into the study, where Charlotte is screaming over Dostoevsky's dead body with an ax buried in his skull.

#### "Chapter 5: The Oval Portrait"

Everyone has made their way to the study and is very suspicious of Charlotte. When she tries to explain herself, she accidentaly spills wine on Oscar's shirt. But, she is not very convincing, so they tie her to a chair. Edgar, HG, and Ernest leave to take Fyodor's body to the cellar. Emily tells the others that she was upset with Eddie because he was going to build a bank next to her house. Oscar interupts her story to insist on changing his shirt, so Annabel shows him and George Eliot (who is covered in raven poop) to the bathroom. The doorbell rings: Agatha Christie, a late guest, has finally arrived! When they open the door, she falls forward into the entry with a knife and several stab wounds in her back. Another scream is heard; they all rush to the bathroom, where Oscar is banging on the door. Edgar breaks down the door to find George on the floor with a picture frame smashed over her head. With his dying breath, George discloses that she is, in fact, a woman. Edgar notices that Ernest is missing. They all rush back to the study, where Charlotte is still tied up. Scaring them all, Ernest returns to the study with knives that he says are for everyone's protection. Deducing that Charlotte can't be the murderer, they decide to untie her. HG suggests that they contact the psychic Krishanti, who brought Lenore back, to summon the ghosts of those murdered in the house so they can act as witnesses.

#### "Chapter Six: Spirits of the Dead"

Krishanti arrives and begins a séance. After some confusion about whether or not Emily Dickinson is dead, ghosts of George Eliot, Mary Shelley, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Guy de Vere appear. Guy points to Annabel and says, "She is not able" and other ominous things. He is interrupted when Charlotte sneezes and blows out Krishanti's candle. Krishanti leaves the room, and the others gradually follow her out of worry. In the kitchen, Krishanti makes a phone call and says that she believes she has uncovered the identity of a murderer. She turns and gasps, "You!" before she is strangled with the phone cord by a pair of gloved hands. As she falls, Emily is revealed to be standing in the doorway watching. Her scream is interrupted by the end of the episode.

#### Chapter 7

Emily's scream concludes and she faints. The others all run in and see Krishanti's body. Annabel notices that Emily is missing. Most of the others don't know who she's talking about, but they find Emily's body in the doorway and assume she is dead as well. Charlotte and Annabel leave to fetch her things, Ernest and HG take Krishanti's body to the cellar, and Edgar, Lenore, and Oscar argue about the phone. Emily sits up, screams, and falls over dead. Nobody saw it happen, but Oscar finds a bookend shaped like a feather and jokes that she was "crushed by the feather of loneliness." This gives Edgar an idea, and they all rush to the bathroom, where Edgar reveals that the picture that killed George was a portrait of Oscar Wilde. Edgar points out that all the authors have been killed in ways relevant to their artistic output and speculates that the picture was intended to kill Oscar, not George. Everyone decides to keep an eye on Oscar. HG and Lenore return to the attic so HG can finish his cam-eh-ra. The doorbell rings. Edgar opens the door to two constables.

#### Chapter 8

The constables introduce themselves as Constable Jim and Constable Jimmy. They are looking for Agatha Christie and have found her car with an invitation to Edgar's dinner party on the seat. Edgar tells the constables that he is hosting a writers' conference about food metaphors. Edgar and the constables go back and forth between the front door and the study, where they keep finding the guests in absurd tableaux, which Edgar attempts to explain as part of the conference. Constable Jim notices the pool of Dostoevsky's blood on the floor, uses his club to taste it, and thinks it's wine. At Charlotte's suggestion, Poe and Annabel take the constables to the kitchen to drink some wine - forgetting that Emily's body is still there. Poe manages to get her body out without the constables noticing. In the attic, HG asks Lenore to place his cam-eh-ra on the roof. While she's gone, the attic fills with smoke. Lenore returns, but she's too late; he dies in her arms after revealing that HG is short for Herbert George. Lenore drags his body and the screen for his cam-eh-ra down from the attic, crying for help, but when she sees the constables she tries to cover. Edgar tries to get the constables to leave, but Constable Jim has noticed HG's body.

#### Chapter 9

The guests tell the constables about the murders. Constable Jim admonishes that "even in cases of self-defense, murder is often punishable by death." After finishing their drinks, Constable Jimmy pulls out a pamphlet labeled "What to Do in Case Your Dinner Party Turns Into a Mass Homicide" and reads that the first rule is "Don't drink anything" before he and Constable Jim both collapse, dead. The remaining guests and hosts all accuse each other. Oscar reveals that he had a brief affair with Eddie. Lenore reveals that Annabel told her who to invite to the party. Annabel runs out of the house, the others run in different directions attempting to catch her or cut her off. We see on HG's screen a hooded figure stop Annabel on a bridge and strangle her until she falls to the ground, then run away. Edgar finds Annabel gasping for breath. He asks her who did this, but she says, "It was always you" before dying in his arms.

#### Chapter 10

In a flashback, Edgar arrives at Annabel's house on her birthday, intending to read a poem he wrote for her, but when Eddie shows up he loses his nerve and instead picks up a rock and gives that to her. Back at the party, Edgar carries Annabel inside and sets her body on a chair in the study. The rock he gave her falls out of her pocket, and he picks it up. Charlotte screams, and Lenore and Oscar rushes into the dining room, where Ernest appears to be threatening her with a bloody pocket knife, but he claims he just dropped it in the soup. Edgar enters the dining room tells the others that Annabel is dead. Charlotte accuses Ernest, who in turn accuses Edgar. Lenore disagrees because she knows how much Edgar loved Annabel. After several more accusations, Charlotte lets slip that she and her sisters used male pen names with the last name of Bell. Edgar deduces that the A. Bell handkerchief belongs to her family. Charlotte then makes her Bond Villain Speech before her sister Anne appears, menacingly polishing a large knife.

#### Chapter 11

So Charlotte and Anne Brontë are the murderers, but something still doesn't add up: if Charlotte was tied up while two people were murdered, how would Anne have killed both of them? That's when Eddie suddenly appears at the dining room table. He tells them that he is Guy de Vere's brother and also the descendant of Edward de Vere, whose work Shakespeare took credit for. Eddie orchestrated these murders for revenge, partly against Lenore, whom he blames for his brother's death, partly against all authors in general because of what Shakespeare did, and partly because of his connections to these particular authors. The Brontës explain that they got involved because Jane Austen threatened to expose their brother's affair and Eddie walked in right as Anne was killing her, which is shown in a flashback. The trio reveal how they killed everyone. When Eddie talks about killing Annabel, Edgar attacks him, and a major fight breaks out. Oscar ends up shocking the Brontës with HG's microwave. Eddie has Edgar pinned to the floor with an ax to his throat, when Edgar pulls the pet rock out of his pocket and bashes Eddie over the head with it. The constables' words against murder haunt him. More police show up and arrest the Brontës. When they are interviewing Poe, they notice blood near a loose floorboard. Poe tries to shrug it off, but then he starts to hear a beating heart. The floorboard creaks. Roll credits.

#### Epilogue

After the events of Poe's party, there is a new ghost in the house named Annabel Lee. Lenore decides to show her the ropes of how to flawlessly haunt and go corporeal. During her lesson, Annabel takes the chance to tease Lenore about reading HG Well's works. Practically on cue, the time traveling ghost of HG Wells appears in the room with the two girls. In several nerdy words and phrases he explains what he's done and the implications of it. His appearance makes Annabel happy because she now has someone to test her haunting on. And, Lenore is now surrounded by nerds. It's kind of great.

## Credits

### Cast

* Sean Persaud as Edgar Allan Poe
* Sinéad Persaud as Lenore
* Mary Kate Wiles as Annabel Lee
* Sarah Grace Hart as Emily Dickinson
* Jessica Jade Andres as Krishanti Ravenwolf
* Whitney Avalon as Mary Shelley
* Emma Chandler as Anne Brontë
* Ashley Clements as Charlotte Brontë
* Tom DeTrinis as Oscar Wilde
* Ryan Garcia as Eddie Dantes
* Lauren Lopez as George Eliot
* Curt Mega as Guy De Vere
* Margie Mintz as Agatha Christie
* Jim O'Hair as Constable Jim
* Tara Perry as Louisa May Alcott
* Joey Richter as Ernest Hemingway
* Blake Silver as HG Wells
* Clayton Snyder as Fyodor Dostoevsky
* Laura Spencer as Jane Austen
* Jimmy Wong as Constable Jimmy
* Dante Swain as Constable Wesley
* Christopher Higgins, Corey Lubowich, & Tia Workman as Constables
* Rachel DiPillo as Microwave

### Crew

* Production Designer: Katie Moest
* Art Director: Kim Brunner
* Composer: Dylan Glatthorn
* Sound Design: Justin Lee Dixon
* Editor: Raymond Fraser
* Director of Photography: Alex Gallitano
* Assistant Director: Wes Middleton
* Executive Producers: Gregg Gibbons & April Morris
* Shipwrecked Comedy Producers: Sean Persaud, Sinéad Persaud, Mary Kate Wiles, & Sarah Grace Hart
* American Black Market Producers: Brent Madison & Ryan M. Murphy
* Gaffer: Devin Hassan & Zach Ziedman
* First Assistant Camera: Allan Chavarria & Daniel De Menezes
* Key Grip: Sebastian Johnson & James Sowka
* Wardrobe: Sarah Grace Hart, Sinéad Persaud, & Mary Kate Wiles
* Hair & Makeup: Morgan McDonnell
* Script Supervisor: Taylor Brogan
* Grip/Swing: Nick Leucking & Jamie Gonçalves
* Assistant Hair & Makeup: Keely Williams
* Logo, Animation, Thumbnail & Endscreen: David Cater
* Site Rep: Darlena Roberts
* BTS: Christopher Higgins
* Production Assistants: Tia Workman, Oriana Scafidi, Stacy Baker, Kelly Baker, Kelsey Geller, Erin Wert, Delaney Peterson, Caitlin Olsen, Ilana Elroi, Jennifer Richee
* Camera Services: Neinhuis Camera Services, Inc.
* Catering: Boyz in the Kitchen

## Production

Shipwrecked originally planned to launch the Kickstarter on Poe's birthday, January 19, 2016, but preparation took longer than anticipated, and it ended up launching on February 2. The initial $55,000 goal was reached on March 1. When the Kickstarter ended on March 7, 1139 backers had pledged $72,140, reaching three stretch goals guaranteeing bonus author videos, BTS content shot by Christopher Higgins, and an epilogue.

The series was shot over ten days in May of 2016 at Sunny Gables. The first scene that was shot was the Annabel birthday flashback from Chapter 10. The final scene that was filmed was the authors arriving one by one in Chapter 1. Bonus author prologue videos were shot at the YouTube space and released in May through July.

On July 27, 2016, Shipwrecked posted a trailer to their channel, announcing that the series would premiere on August 22. The eleven chapters were posted weekly on Mondays at 9 a.m. Pacific Time, with the finale released on Halloween. The feature cut premiered at Buffer Festival on Sunday, October 23, before chapters 10 and 11 had aired. The epilogue was officially published on November 7, but a mysterious twitter account revealed clues the weekend before so that some fans could unlock it early.

## Extras

Bloopers and some Behind the scenes videos have been published to Shipwrecked and Mary Kate Wile's youtube channels. In addition, other bonus features can be purchased on Shipwrecked's website.

## Trivia

* Originally, an even longer title for the series was tossed around; it would have been called Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Invite Only Causal Dinner Party/ Gala for Friends' Potluck.
* In the dining room scenes, there were not enough seats for everyone to sit. So, they had to move the chairs depending on the shot.
* The first episode of the series was released on Sean Persaud's birthday, and the final episode was released on Halloween.

1. ↑ Shipwrecked Comedy's Website