Brain Teasers
Haunted House
Fun: (3.19)
Difficulty: (2.54)
Puzzle ID: #43309
Submitted By: grilledcheese Corrected By: Psychic_Master
Submitted By: grilledcheese Corrected By: Psychic_Master
Mystery
Mystery teasers are little stories where you need to figure out what happened based on the given clues.Mystery
Robert, the security guard, drew his gun, took a deep breath, and headed down a shadowy corridor full of plastic cobwebs, fake blood, and recorded screams. It was Robert's worst nightmare, a real-life killer on the loose in Cohan's Haunted House. At least one person was dead, and behind any one of these doors might lie another victim -or worse, the killer - waiting for another victim.
Someone somewhere turned off the sound system and switched on the emergency lights. Robert tried the door on the left. Locked. Then the one on the right. Unlocked. He pushed it open two inches, and then it hit something, something that moaned. Robert looked down and saw more blood. Real blood.
An hour later and the police had pieced together the basics. A total of two attacks and one murder. Jason Pierce, a 22-year-old employee, had been killed by an ax. Definitely not one of the prop axes, but a real weapon. Alicia Cohan had been luckier. She, too, was bleeding from an ax attack. But when Robert found her, barely conscious behind the door, she was still alive.
"It could've been worse," Sergeant Greeley told his captain. "There were just a few employees in the haunted house. The attacker wasn't seen coming into the building, or leaving, for that matter. But he was seen." Greeley checked his notepad. "Medium height, in a ghost costume and a full-head rubber mask. We found the costume, the mask, and the ax not far from the second attack scene. The lab matched the blood samples. Jason's blood and Alicia's blood."
"Attacker not seen entering or leaving." The captain had a way of honing in on the essentials. "That's strange, given the limited access in that kind of attraction."
"Yes, sir. I'll interview the second victim, then talk to the others."
Alicia sat up in her hospital bed and spoke with effort. "We were just opening up. Jason and Millie and Todd were changing into their costumes. Dad was there, too. I turned on the sound system and the mood lights. I was checking the halls for garbage when I heard Todd shouting--something about a crazy person with an ax. A few seconds later, this thing came around the corner. I knew right away.
"I don't know why I ran into the dungeon room. There's no other exit. This maniac pushed open the door and started swinging. I fell to the floor, then I must've passed out. I guess he thought I was dead, 'cause the next thing I know, the security guard was waking me up. Was anyone else hurt?"
Alicia hadn't yet been told about her boyfriend's death.
Todd Wilkins seemed more concerned about Alicia than about the death of his best friend. "She's going to be all right," Greeley assured him. "Just some cuts and bruises. You saw the attack on Jason?"
"Part of it," said Todd. "I was changing into my ghoul costume when I heard something. I went into the next room and there was Jason, fighting off this guy in one of our ghost costumes and an old mask. The guy was swinging this ax, and Jason was trying to grab the ax and swing back. I tried to jump in, but the guy got in one last swing, then ran off down the hall. I shouted out a warning to the others, then went to help Jason. He was bleeding so much."
Millie Miller, like the others, was in her early 20s: short blonde hair, an athletic build and slightly taller than average. "I was in the locker room downstairs, changing into my witch's uniform. I guess I heard some screaming, but I thought it was the tape. I didn't realize anything was wrong until I came upstairs."
Sergeant Greeley nodded, then changed subjects. "I hear Alicia and Jason were engaged."
"Engaged? She wishes." Millie's laugh died in her throat. "I shouldn't be mean. Jason and I were together for years, ever since middle school. Things were getting a little stale and too serious, all at the same time. Jason said we should see other people for a while, just to get it out of our systems. That's all Alicia was, a little experiment. He told her that. He was coming back to me."
This was the third different story Greeley had heard. According to Alicia, they were happy, and Jason had already proposed. According to Todd, Alicia cried on his shoulder all the time. She was sick of Jason and ready to leave. And now Millie's variation on the old, familiar theme.
The sergeant caught up with Alicia's father at Cohan's Haunted House. A curious throng stood by the police barricades in front of the boardwalk attraction. "Thank God Alicia's okay." Then he chuckled. "I can't figure out if this will be good for business or bad."
"Are you the sole owner?" Greeley asked.
"Alicia and I," said the sad-eyed, middle-aged man. "Alicia has an inheritance from her grandparents. I'm the trustee until she turns 30 or gets married. A chunk of her money went into Cohan's Haunted House. It's a good investment for her."
"Did you see or hear anything this morning? Anything at all?"
Cohan shook his head. "Robert and the kids were all there when I unlocked the doors. I locked up behind them, then went upstairs to the office. They often joked about a real killer getting loose in the haunted house."
"I'm not surprised."
"That ghost costume came from a storage closet. And the ax..."
"Was the stairwell fire ax."
Cohan sighed. "It doesn't look like an outsider, does it?"
Sergeant Greeley agreed. It was an inside job, all right. And he had a good idea which insider it was.
Someone somewhere turned off the sound system and switched on the emergency lights. Robert tried the door on the left. Locked. Then the one on the right. Unlocked. He pushed it open two inches, and then it hit something, something that moaned. Robert looked down and saw more blood. Real blood.
An hour later and the police had pieced together the basics. A total of two attacks and one murder. Jason Pierce, a 22-year-old employee, had been killed by an ax. Definitely not one of the prop axes, but a real weapon. Alicia Cohan had been luckier. She, too, was bleeding from an ax attack. But when Robert found her, barely conscious behind the door, she was still alive.
"It could've been worse," Sergeant Greeley told his captain. "There were just a few employees in the haunted house. The attacker wasn't seen coming into the building, or leaving, for that matter. But he was seen." Greeley checked his notepad. "Medium height, in a ghost costume and a full-head rubber mask. We found the costume, the mask, and the ax not far from the second attack scene. The lab matched the blood samples. Jason's blood and Alicia's blood."
"Attacker not seen entering or leaving." The captain had a way of honing in on the essentials. "That's strange, given the limited access in that kind of attraction."
"Yes, sir. I'll interview the second victim, then talk to the others."
Alicia sat up in her hospital bed and spoke with effort. "We were just opening up. Jason and Millie and Todd were changing into their costumes. Dad was there, too. I turned on the sound system and the mood lights. I was checking the halls for garbage when I heard Todd shouting--something about a crazy person with an ax. A few seconds later, this thing came around the corner. I knew right away.
"I don't know why I ran into the dungeon room. There's no other exit. This maniac pushed open the door and started swinging. I fell to the floor, then I must've passed out. I guess he thought I was dead, 'cause the next thing I know, the security guard was waking me up. Was anyone else hurt?"
Alicia hadn't yet been told about her boyfriend's death.
Todd Wilkins seemed more concerned about Alicia than about the death of his best friend. "She's going to be all right," Greeley assured him. "Just some cuts and bruises. You saw the attack on Jason?"
"Part of it," said Todd. "I was changing into my ghoul costume when I heard something. I went into the next room and there was Jason, fighting off this guy in one of our ghost costumes and an old mask. The guy was swinging this ax, and Jason was trying to grab the ax and swing back. I tried to jump in, but the guy got in one last swing, then ran off down the hall. I shouted out a warning to the others, then went to help Jason. He was bleeding so much."
Millie Miller, like the others, was in her early 20s: short blonde hair, an athletic build and slightly taller than average. "I was in the locker room downstairs, changing into my witch's uniform. I guess I heard some screaming, but I thought it was the tape. I didn't realize anything was wrong until I came upstairs."
Sergeant Greeley nodded, then changed subjects. "I hear Alicia and Jason were engaged."
"Engaged? She wishes." Millie's laugh died in her throat. "I shouldn't be mean. Jason and I were together for years, ever since middle school. Things were getting a little stale and too serious, all at the same time. Jason said we should see other people for a while, just to get it out of our systems. That's all Alicia was, a little experiment. He told her that. He was coming back to me."
This was the third different story Greeley had heard. According to Alicia, they were happy, and Jason had already proposed. According to Todd, Alicia cried on his shoulder all the time. She was sick of Jason and ready to leave. And now Millie's variation on the old, familiar theme.
The sergeant caught up with Alicia's father at Cohan's Haunted House. A curious throng stood by the police barricades in front of the boardwalk attraction. "Thank God Alicia's okay." Then he chuckled. "I can't figure out if this will be good for business or bad."
"Are you the sole owner?" Greeley asked.
"Alicia and I," said the sad-eyed, middle-aged man. "Alicia has an inheritance from her grandparents. I'm the trustee until she turns 30 or gets married. A chunk of her money went into Cohan's Haunted House. It's a good investment for her."
"Did you see or hear anything this morning? Anything at all?"
Cohan shook his head. "Robert and the kids were all there when I unlocked the doors. I locked up behind them, then went upstairs to the office. They often joked about a real killer getting loose in the haunted house."
"I'm not surprised."
"That ghost costume came from a storage closet. And the ax..."
"Was the stairwell fire ax."
Cohan sighed. "It doesn't look like an outsider, does it?"
Sergeant Greeley agreed. It was an inside job, all right. And he had a good idea which insider it was.
Answer
Alicia CohanAlicia's "unconscious" body was too close to the door to allow the killer to exit.
Millie was right about Jason's state of mind. He had been ready to dump Alicia and return to his old love. But Alicia wasn't ready to let go.
While the others changed clothes, Alicia grabbed the ghost costume and the mask, plus the ax from the stairwell. She attacked Jason, but he fought back, cutting and bruising her in the process. The only way that Alicia could explain away the injuries was to pretend to be a second victim. She discarded the ax and costume, then pretended to be unconscious in the dungeon room.
Her one mistake? She lay down too close to the room's only door. If a real attacker had been in there, he would have had to move her body in order to squeeze out the door.
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Comments
Nice one. Took some time and got it right .
Great teaser.
Dumb criminal though.
I know it's just a story,but I just thought I'd point out how dumb she was.
Dumb criminal though.
I know it's just a story,but I just thought I'd point out how dumb she was.
no ofense but by comparing todd and millies answers, i figured it was her. and i also watch the tv show MONK. so i sorta used his mind thoughts.
implus she works there. why would she go to the dungeon room if there is only one door?
that was fun....
kool teaser. . i knew it was Alicia. i dunno why i just did. lolz
It has a good story line. Very enjoyable too!
At what point does it explain that Alicia was too close to the door for someone to have got out?
Maybe I'm being thick but I just can't see it and without that information I think that this is a pretty tough teaser to figure out.
Maybe I'm being thick but I just can't see it and without that information I think that this is a pretty tough teaser to figure out.
Ok, found it now! Sorry, I am stupid
cool... it took me a while to get it, but I got it!
nice one...
I knew it was Alicia, only because of the Love angle. The Door Hint is vague and not conclusive for proof of a crime being committed by Alicia. The Father would have made a more believable Killer, for the father had motive, real motive. The Love angle is weak that Alicia did not want to kill the girl, leaving Jason alone for herself. I thought the plot of this Mystery was great. The writing was awesome, and the story was developed well. All in all, very good work.
the other answer is when the attacker attacks Jason. we know that when Todd tries to fight him, the attacker runs away, right? so that must mean that either the attacker has accomplished 'his' task by killing Jason, or he got injured and try to stay away from further trouble. but instead, when he finds Alicia, he chase her even to the dungeon room. hmm, why would he do that?..
My first guest was Alicia, her story didn't fit in.
She should have just waited until the next guy, but then i guess working in that environment doens't exactly make you calm and collected. Good stuff.
Wow, this was one of the better riddles on this site, kudos to you.
this was a rly good one i officially love you, lol!! keep up the good work.
I thought it was Alica because if she was a second victm she would have more damage.
Apr 23, 2009
I figured this out, because usualy its always the one you least expect! like who would ever think a vitim would be the killer, plus her whole story was suspect, it was to easy! add myspace [email protected] thanks!
I had a feeling that it was her! Yayness
I don't know how, but I just knew it was her. YAY!
Very original! Lots of teasers on this site are copied, but I looked this on up, and it isn't.
I loved it! Very well written too, you know. It wasn't overly dramatic and the plot was good. I sense the next Agatha Christie coming up
Another well done teaser! Figured early on that the body two-inches from the door would come back into play, and sure enough it was. But also enjoyed the sub-plots with the boyfriend and inheritance. All the ingredients for a great mystery
A good teaser, and very long!
I don't think that Alicia could be the only possible killer. Sure, her one mistake gave her away, but it didn't have to be a mistake. I think Todd would be more likely to be the killer.
I don't think that Alicia could be the only possible killer. Sure, her one mistake gave her away, but it didn't have to be a mistake. I think Todd would be more likely to be the killer.
very well done! very impressed.
awsome teaser!
this is a long one,but i got it right,every detail you wrote in the answer
Very nicely written, and fun. BUT I don't think it works - I assumed that Alicia was assaulted and moved herself across towards the door after the criminal had escaped. She wasn't able to open it, being too injured, and slumped up against it, blocking it.
What do you think, detectives?
What do you think, detectives?
this was really well done ! gj
I luuuuuuuvvvvvvv it! I haven't seen a teaser like this ever!!! Soooo exciting and full of action
UGHH! TOO LONG!
Very, very long. Somewhat fun though. But not 100% accurate. It would possible for an attacker to hold the door open half-wide-open, with the victim's unconscious body leaned on the door "sitting" against it, then slip out, letting the body push the door shut as it fell backwards.
This teaser is too short.
Ive heard this somewhere b4... not sure where but yeah but i may be wrong
Nice one. I read this once and didn't bother trying to work it out, just read the answer. Then I went back over it today (one of the few teasers I didn't remember the answer to) and got it right. Except I remembered who did it but not how.
Plot twist!
Thanks, Encyclopedia Brown, for showing me how to figure out mysteries!
Thanks, Encyclopedia Brown, for showing me how to figure out mysteries!
This is an awesome teaser I love it kudos to you.
I was thinking it had something to do with the lights being on mood and the sound being on... and later reported by Robert that the sound was off and the lights on emergency
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