Kitsap Sun:
You might say she’s stabbed, shot and strangled her way into a business she says is perfect for stay-at-home moms.
Rae Walaska, 29, of Port Orchard started Murder & Mayhem: Murder Mystery Parties a few months ago and already has gone from whodunits in her home to some big-time public fundraisers.
Not bad for a Navy wife who is busy at home with a 2-year-old, who hasn’t been in the area very long and who must soon leave.
That said, Walaska is focused on building her business, in which she writes customized mysteries for party-goers to solve. Themes might be pirates or the Wild West. Venues might be a restaurant, church or business.
Her dream is to grow Murder & Mayhem into a Mary Kay-style national network, where people looking to augment their family incomes can plan parties on their own schedule and with her help, wherever she is.
“I’m just really trying to make the most of the circumstances,” said Walaska, who started writing murder mystery parties when she was a college student and hotel events manager in Waverly, Iowa.
Her first effort had a plot in which a famous racehorse was buried in the hotel’s courtyard. Walaska, who studied business and tourism in college, presented the idea of the “Who Killed the Horse” mystery and the hotel bit. Walaska’s parties were soon fueling banquet business and filling rooms.
“We had the same story every month, and I had to rewrite the ending every month,” she said.
Logo from Murder n’ Mayhem