The date is October 30, 2010—exactly 72 years since Orson Welles’s infamous “War of the Worlds” broadcast, and a Martian invasion is underway in the Mercer County town of Grover’s Mill. However, a supply ship carrying the aliens’ medical equipment was thrown off course and crashed in Cape May. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find that stray cylinder before the beings from Mars get their hands on it (assuming, of course, that they have hands).
This two-night adventure, the latest in a series of similar events created by production company Looking Glass Mysteries, pits teams of participants against each other in search of clues at various Cape May venues. “I take guests and plop them in the middle of the plot, and everything they do from that point on affects the plot,” says the creator, a former Cape May resident who goes by the alias Mr. Denham.
Participants will be recruited into four teams—two teams of Martian invaders and two teams of Earthling defenders. Each will face a series of challenges as they attempt to reconstruct a map identifying the location of the missing medical cylinder. The weekend will kick off with a wine-and-cheese reception at the Mad Batter Restaurant (19 Jackson Street), but “the danger begins the moment they check into their rooms [at one of the three participating B&Bs] and will continue nonstop…until Sunday’s final briefing,” Denham says.
Some dangers include preliminary investigations into the death of several Martian participants plus night patrols of the area to collect pieces of cylinder wreckage. “Our timelines tend to be nonstop, filled with goings-on. Constant sneaking and searching and up to no good,” says the self-described problem child who admits to once hiding a rubber roach with a clue in the toilet paper roll in a participant’s bathroom.
Prizes will be awarded to the winning team. And in true Halloween spirit, there also will be prizes for Best Martian Prop and Costume, Best Earthling Prop and Costume, Best Halloween Costume, and Best Throw-in-the-Eyeball Toss. Dressing up is optional.
Since “War of the Worlds” was the inspiration for the event, Denham says he will pepper material from the broadcast, the novel, and the film throughout the weekend. For room prices and reservations, call the following participating Cape May B&Bs: the Carroll Villa Hotel, 609-884-9619; the Bedford Inn, 609-884-4158; and the Queen Victoria B&B, 609-884-8702.