A Night at the Library 2024: It's a Wrap!
Screams, smoke, and the peculiar scent of singed bat filled Hedberg Public Library on Saturday, October 19 during the 15th annual mingle murder mystery, A Night at the Library: Creatures Ball, presented by the
A Night at the Library: Creatures Ball
I ’ve taken you by the hand...
For you must come to my dance.
~ Totentanz textbook (Anon.: Vierzeiliger oberdeutscher Totentanz, Heidelberger Blockbuch, c. 1455/58)
Danse Macabre fans from the world - and underworld - over have gathered for the World Finals of the Danse Macabre Competition – where the winner takes possession of The Centennium Cup. The Centennium Cup is a coveted prize: those in possession of The Cup are under its supernatural protection – no curses, no hunters, no visits from the Grim Reaper – for one hundred years. In addition, when the holder of The Cup drinks from it, they are revitalized and do not age.
It is a prize worth dancing – and killing – for.
Competitors have passed through many stages to get to this point, and there are clear favorites among the competitors. Most odds have a vampire winning the competition, which has caused a lot of grumbling among the other competitors. Vampires already don’t age (much), and it’s unlikely (not unheard of) for a vampire hunter to actually kill a vampire.
Guests are invited to dress in ghoulish formalwear to enjoy an elegant evening of delicious food and monstrous merriment while they dance for their lives amongst the creatures of the night.
Carlus is a favorite to win the Cup this year - AGAIN - much to the dismay of his fellow creatures. Why does a vampire need the powers of the cup? And everyone (except Carlus) knows he can't dance, so how does he keep winning? Is it a glamour? Is he cheating? No one puts it past him.
But who would KILL to see him lose this year?
An ancient and beautiful member of the faefolk, Gossamer has been wanting to win the Centennium cup for centuries. She always goes all out on her (handmade) costumes. exuding all the charisma and grace for which faefolk are known. Anyone with eyes would know Gossamer is the best performer ever to enter the contest. She has millions of adoring fans who follow her every move. She uses social media to show off her costumes and new dance moves and has trained the best human ballerinas and ballerinos in history.
How far will she go to ensure this is her year to be champion?
Lew is just a simple guy who happens to turn into a monstrous, rampaging wolf once a month. He has few interests, but is passionate about them. He loves his job, his pack, dance competitions, and Gossamer. Mostly Gossamer.
There is a long-standing blood feud between vampires and lichen, so Lewis mostly ignores Carlus and his kind while in mixed company. He's more than a little annoyed that Carlus keeps winning, but if the blood-suckers leave him and his pack alone, he’ll leave them alone. Though he cannot be held responsible for anything that he does when completely wolfed-out during a full moon.
Opus remembers very little of her original creator, she put him in the ground ages ago. But he did impart in her a deep desire to win the Centennium Cup. While he was mortal, as a mad scientist-type, he was able to get tickets to local, regional, and continental competitions.
Patty has always dreamed of being beautiful, but with her body parts deteriorating at varying degrees and all the stitching/scars, it felt like an impossible goal. But on his death bed, her creator told Patty that only the Centennium Cup held the power to make her beautiful. So she has spent centuries doing nothing but replacing her body parts as they decay and practicing her dance moves. She would do anything to win. Why can’t the coven see that she needs the prize more than all these perfect vampires and elves they seem to favor?!
The Sisters Three coven is composed of three whimsical, rhythmic, dance-loving witches. Nobody is meant to know their names; they just refer to each other as Sister. Except when the third sister can't stand it anymore and demands people know her name: it's Blair. And she is tired of having to disappear into her little trio all the time.
The Sisters Three created the Centennium Cup on a whim when they were young (which was hundreds of years ago). They are the only ones who can control the cup’s magic and are the judges of the dance competition. They're subjective choices are well known, and they have chosen Count Carlus numerous times for reasons known only to them. Because everyone wants The Cup (and nobody wants to cross the coven) the contest continues to be popular despite most likely being maybe rigged.
Rot is the lead lighting technician for the competition. She is also a rotting corpse.
That aside, she may have clues as to what happened to Carlus - or at least some who, what, where details of the evening. She is a very observant zombie, though her crumbling body parts often become a bit of a distraction.
Wilma is a ghastly ghostly gossip. She floats around quietly observing the creatures around her. She also, disturbingly, sometimes weeps for no reason. But listen closely, as Wilma has gathered several important details during her roaming.
About A Night at the Library
A Night at the Library is a mingle murder mystery event sponsored this year by the Hedberg Public Library Foundation.
Now in its 15th year, the after-hours fundraiser was originally a partnership between The Literacy Connection and the Friends of HPL. It has enjoyed many themes over the years and raised thousands of dollars to support the programs and services not covered by the library's operating budget.
We are thrilled to forge a new partnership with the HPL Foundation as we look to take the event to the next level in order to increase advocacy and support for library resources.