Scary Games to Play

Murder Seek

• The traditional game of hide and seek gets a scary twist when the person seeking is a masked murderer. Have everyone hide except the designated killer and shut off all the lights. The killer dons a mask and lurks about with a flashlight, trying to find those who are hiding for their lives. When someone is found, they must scream and then lie down in a room that has been designated as the morgue. The last person living wins.

Murder Whisper

• Another murder game keeps the killer a secret. Count the number of players and put the same number of folded slips of paper in a bucket. On one of the slips, write the word "Murderer." Each person selects a slip, with the killer keeping his identity a secret. Shut off the lights and have everyone roam about the room. The killer's job is to approach some and whisper, "You're dead." The victim waits 15 seconds, screams, then drops to the floor. Turn on the lights and give players the chance to guess who the killer is. If a person guesses right, he wins. If he guesses wrong, he's dead. Repeat the game until someone guesses correctly.

Murder Portraits

• This game captures a murder or another frightening scene in progress. Divide everyone into teams of three to five people and give each team a bagful of random props. Make sure the props are not easy to use in a death scene, but rather are innocuous items such as a spoon, a water bottle or a shoe. Each team has to create a frozen scene using the props. The host snaps their photos to give out as souvenirs of the party. The team with the most creative, scary or hilarious scene wins.