You’ve been invited to the ominous mansion of the rich and eccentric Simon McCobb for a special Halloween event.  The gothic residence sits atop a hill on the edge of the town of Spookum Hills.  The estate includes a grand ballroom, stately dining room, solemn gardens, surrounding woods, and perhaps a few nightmarish secrets.  Before tonight, few people have dared to trespass on the dreadful premises for fear of the haunted domain and the eerie and elusive McCobb family. But on this unprecedented occasion, Simon McCobb has invited citizens of Spookum Hills to his grim home to attend a séance that will attempt to contact Pumpkin Jack – a legendary ghost of Spookum Hills that is rumored to appear every Halloween night to claim a new victim.  Some believe in the ghost of Pumpkin Jack while others dismiss him as merely an urban legend.  But tonight, the McCobb’s will use their keen affinity with the supernatural to attempt to conjure the ghost and discover the truth.  Some of you are guests, skeptical but curious, from Spookum Hills that were brave enough to come to McCobb Manor for the séance.  Some of you are members of the weird and creepy McCobb family.  But some of you are hiding more sinister motives.  Consider everyone a suspect and ask your questions thoroughly.  The murderer will be implicated in three way: Motive, Opportunity, and Weapon (the Pumpkin) Many players will have one or two of these things, but only one of them will have all three.  For best results concentrate your questions in these three areas.  Everyone must tell the truth except for the murderer.  He or she is the only person who can lie.

The Crime:

Within the halls of the ghastly McCobb Manor, the medium commenced the séance.  The lights dimmed and only candlelight flickered in the shadows.  All the participants nervously joined hands as the medium called out to the spirit of Pumpkin Jack.  Suddenly, the candles flickered out and everything became dark.  Moments later, a spine-chilling laughter was heard and the grinning face of a jack-o-lantern lit up in the center of the room.  Pumpkin Jack was there!  The ghost went straight for Simon McCobb and drove a stake through his heart.  A blood-curdling scream rang out, and Simon McCobb – the wealthy owner of the McCobb estate – was dead.  The lights came back on, but Pumpkin Jack was gone.  Many of the guests are terrified, but some are skeptical.  Was there really a ghost, or is there a murderer among you?  One of you may be the murderer, posing as Pumpkin Jack, the rest of you need to find out who it is.  When you have found someone with a motive to murder Simon McCobb, who was in the dining room when the séance occurred, and possesses, or has access to, a possible disguise – a pumpkin – then you may have found the true murderer.  But keep your guard close, Pumpkin Jack is still on the loose and he may not be the only ghost in spooky McCobb Manor this Halloween night.