A Haunting in Hartwick

A Haunting in Hartwick is a ghostly murder mystery game for 11 to 13 guests and one host. It is set in a grand manor house in the 1920s. Download the free introductory pdf file.

In A Haunting in Hartwick, Quinn Hartwick is selling the ancestral home to Blake Crowley, an entrepreneur with unusual ambitions. Crowley plans to transform Hartwick Manor into the Crowley Spirit Sanctuary, dedicated to capturing, housing, and displaying spirits. With their protégé Skye Isis, Crowley has developed a device to lure ghosts to the manor, where they will be kept in “gentle captivity”. But what do the ghosts think about this arrangement? And are there secrets in the Hartwick family history that would be better kept hidden?

Your guests will be in the middle of the action, and it will be up to them to wheel and deal to get what they want. Will they achieve their goals, keep their secrets hidden, and solve the murder?

Murders, ghosts, and dark family secrets await you in Hartwick! A great game which anyone can play, and everyone can enjoy. We had a great time!

Emma Cunliffe

See stories and pictures from A Haunting in Hartwick.

Read the Hartwick Gazette.

A Haunting in Hartwick is set in Hartwick Manor, the ancestral home of the Hartwick family in the town of Hartwick.

It is June 1928. Since its founding in 1752 by Beardsley Reginald Van Hartwick III, the quiet town of Hartwick, Connecticut, has been defined by the imposing Hartwick Manor. However, the manor, symbol of the family’s prestige, has stood abandoned since the death of matriarch Eleanor Hartwick in 1919. Quinn Hartwick, Eleanor’s grandchild, is selling the ancestral home to Blake Crowley, an entrepreneur with unusual ambitions. Crowley plans to transform Hartwick Manor into the Crowley Spirit Sanctuary, dedicated to capturing, housing, and displaying spirits. With their protégé Skye Isis, Crowley has developed a device (EGADS) to lure ghosts to the manor, where they will be kept in “gentle captivity.”

To demonstrate their proposal, Crowley and Isis have installed EGADS in and around the manor, using an old utility room as their workshop. They have invited selected guests to witness both the sale and the dawning of a strange new chapter.

Hartwick’s quiet legacy is about to be overshadowed by its new role as a sanctuary for the supernatural! Join us in A Haunting in Hartwick!

 

No combat, no poison.

The free introductory pdf file contains an introduction to the game and a cast list of all the characters.

Please note that solving the murder does not play a major role in A Haunting in Hartwick, as many characters will be focused on their other objectives.

Cast of characters

The family

• Quinn Hartwick: Eldest remaining Hartwick heir, the responsible one
• Dana Hartwick: Youngest remaining Hartwick heir, the irresponsible one

Other citizens of Hartwick

• Cam Collins: Ambitious reporter for the Hartwick Gazette
• Blake Crowley: Eccentric entrepreneur, local millionaire
• Sloan Crowley: Blake’s only child
• Skye Isis: Scientist, inventor, Blake’s protégé
• Jordan Tierney: Chief, Hartwick Police Department

Guests from the city

• Andromeda: Psychic and host of the popular radio show, Andromeda Speaks
• Robin Lapine: President, North American Paranormal Society (NAPS)
• Dr. Sasha Palermo: Psychiatrist
• Parker Poe: FBI agent

Ghosts

• Eleanor Hartwick: Family matriarch, grandmother of Quinn and Dana
• Kit Hartwick: Eleanor’s youngest child

The A Haunting in Hartwick is for 11 to 13 guests, most of them are ungendered.

• 11 guests (11 any)
• 12 guests (12 any)
• 13 guests (1 female, 12 any)

You also need a host – someone to organize the party and ensure everything runs smoothly.

How Freeform Games murder mystery games work

A Haunting in Hartwick is unlike other murder mystery games. Although the game starts with a murder, each character has several goals they must try to accomplish. While they may want to solve the murder, A Haunting in Hartwick contains plenty of other plots and secrets to keep everyone busy. A Haunting in Hartwick isn't scripted, and lets the players decide how to achieve their goals and thwart their enemies.

On the evening of the game the guests are met by the host, who plays the Assistant.

They then receive their detailed backgrounds – including dark secrets, objectives and money. The fun then begins as they form alliances, blackmail each other, steal items and maybe even try to murder one another! Along the way they may uncover some of the mysteries of A Haunting in Hartwick. Will EGADS actually work? What happens when ghosts materialise? What dark secrets are hidden in the Hartwick family history? What murders have been carried out before the party starts?

Finally, the game concludes and everyone finds out how they did, and what secrets everyone else was concealing.

Recommended for ages 15+

We recommend  A Haunting in Hartwick for those aged 15+, as it contains adult themes (affairs, mental health and references to bigamy) and references to the supernatural.

Extra characters

Sometimes you have too many guests and need more characters. So most games have free extra characters (written by us or previous hosts) included in the download when you purchase the game.

• Sal Bourbon – a city lawyer. (Any)
  (by Freeform Games)
• J.P. Delacroix – a Hollywood producer. (Any)
  (by Freeform Games)

Please note that we haven't always tested these – and they may not tie in exactly with our games.

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Cast Iron Guarantee

We offer a Cast Iron Guarantee on all our murder mystery games. If you're not completely satisfied with A Haunting in Hartwick then please let us know within 30 days and we will refund you. See our full terms and conditions, and our refund policy.

Trouble downloading? If you have trouble downloading the game files, please first check your spam folder. If you still can't find the download email, contact us with the name of the game and the email address you used to purchase it, and we'll resend it.