Ski Lodge Murder Mystery
The Ski Lodge Murder Mystery was a mystery plot, much like [[Sacrificers],] started on 2nd February 2001 where The Neopets Team were being picked off one by one by an unknown murder in their midst. Users were required to guess who was the killer, and could move through the rooms of the Ski Lodge the team were trapped in and interview to some extent the staff members.
Plot summary
The Neopets Team were holidaying in Terror Mountain in an old, abandoned lodge that was formerly owned by Dr Sloth. Trapped in by a storm, the idyllic retreat became a catalogue of gruesome crime scenes as the vacation turned into a nightmare - an unknown murderer began picking off the members of the team one by one over the course of sixteen weeks.
As the murders continued, often becoming more elaborate over time, the staff members became more and more suspicious of each other. In week nine, it appeared as though the horribly series of crimes may have reached an end when J. Boogie, in his dying words, claimed the murderer to be Monster Boy. Monster Boy's own swift destruction shortly after seemed to ruin this theory, and the slaughtering continued.
The finale came when only Beader and Maverick were left. Beader witnessed the murder of Number Six at the hands of Maverick in the laboratory carved into the mountain beneath the lodge. Before Maverick could kill off Beader and complete his plans, the potential victim found salvation in the form of a lever that trapped Maverick under a conveniently placed cage.
The storm outside finally subdued, Chia police arrested Maverick to have him explode - he was, in fact, a robotic doppelgänger placed their by a mysterious villain, almost undoubtedly Dr Sloth.
The plot served as a very interesting, rather dark, and fairly egotistical outing, as many plots were back in the earlier days. TNT wished to vacation at the Terror Mountain Ski Lodge around the time Terror Mountain was originally created (rather, around the time the peak became available to the public; it was possibly this plot that gave rise to the name, or this name that gave rise to the plot).
Murders
At each murder, a picture of the crime scene and a brief description of the events were supplied. The deaths, in chronological order, were:
- Week One: Electric Blue Monkey, in the Hallway, on Thursday. Died after falling down the stairs.
- Week Two: Black Widow, in the Hallway, on Monday. Death by strangulation.
- Week Two: Bubbles, in the Dining Room, on Thursday. Death by excessive blunt trauma with a candlestick (a la the board game Cluedo?).
- Week Three: Cookie, in the Kitchen, on Tuesday: Death by excessive trauma caused by a collapsing shelf of 200 lbs of cooking utensils.
- Week Four: Cupcake, in the Kitchen, on Monday: Death after being impaled by spears.
- Week Four: Jasmine, in the Guest Bedroom, on Thursday: Death by blunt trauma to the cranium, potentially caused by and accidental fall.
- Week Five: Scarlet O'Lara, in the Pool, on Monday: Death by asphyxiation as a direct result of drowning.
- Week Five: Snowflake, in the Pool, on Thursday: Death by asphyxiation after being induced head-first into an ornamental fixture pouring water into the pool. The image is noted for working as a fairly shocking contrast to the thus-far 'passive' death scenes.
- Week Six: Pop Tart, in the Hallway, on Tuesday: Death by immolation by fire, through the use of Exploding Potions.
- Week Six: Sweet, in the Dining Room, on Thursday: Death by excessive trauma post crushing with an anvil, a return to the more comical style of execution.
- Week Seven: Mr. Plaid, in the Kitchen, on Tuesday: Death potentially by asphyxiation, over-consumption, or after receiving heavy burns.
- Week Seven: Dr. Thor, in the Kitchen, on Friday: Death by hypothermia.
- Week Eight: Bye-Gon Jinx, in the Pool, on Tuesday: Death by sever dismemberment, presumably after a light sabre battle. This marks the start of the more 'gruesome' deaths (though the earlier deaths were fully illustrated, the only one noted to stand out before this as a particularly graphic death was Snowflake's demise).
- Week Eight: Snot, in the Pool, on Friday: Death by consumption by a school of Utility Fish.
- Week Nine: J. Boogie, in the Library, on Monday: Death after being impaled on a light sabre.
- Week Nine: Monster Boy, in the Library, on Friday: Death by excessive trauma post crushing by a large Mystery Island tiki head statue.
- Week Ten: Wolverine, in the Library, on Monday: Death by hanging.
- Week Ten: Mr. Insane, in the Library, on Thursday: Death by poisoning.
- Week Eleven: Lazarus, in the Pool, on Monday: Death by hyperthermia.
- Mister Pickles: Week eleven, Thursday; decapitated.
- Dom: Week twelve, Monday; electrocuted and preserved in formaldehyde.
- Dave Scorcheski: Week twelve, Thursday; cleaved through the cranium.
- Mr. Roboto: Week thirteen, Monday; trisected.
- Rhiannon: Week thirteen, Thursday; fell from a cliff.
- Tiger Catcher: Week fourteen, Monday; sucked down the drain.
- Jimmy James: Week fourteen, Thursday; crushed by a shelf stacked with wine.
- Mr. Black: Week fifteen, Monday; assumed beating (although it's not quite clear).
- The Big Spender: Week fifteen, Thursday; unknown (possible strangulation, but this is purely conjecture based on the presence of the bow near the white chalk outline).
- Mr. Shankly: Week sixteen; cooked alive.
- Number Six: 'Cliffhanger' and 'Finale'; dropped from cliff.
- Maverick: 'Finale'; explosion triggered by Dr Sloth.
The Beader was the only remaining staff member after the ordeal was complete.
Prizes
Prizes were awarded depending on how early you guessed who the killer was; guessing on the first week would net you a much higher prize than guessing on the fifteenth. However, the nature of these prizes and their exact correlation to the game of guesswork are unknown.
Issue 20 of Neopets: The Official Magazine notes the Mutant Kacheek Plushie as one of the prizes, and several photographs (1, 2, 3, 4), books (1, 2, 3) and items featuring Maverick ( 1, 2, 3, 4) share similar URLs and were likely prizes also.
Trivia
- The light sabres, used twice as a murder weapon, resemble Star Wars' Lightsabers very closely.
- The Mystery Island Tiki head, used to murder Monster Boy, may be a reference to Sacrificers which was set on the Island.
External Links
- Plot Info: Ski Lodge Murder Mystery
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