Huh...I haven't been in the new riddles section for a bit, so I thought I might post some mysteries I got in a book for Christmas...now these mysteries are slightly different. These mysteries were actually tested live over an AOL "cyber-auditorium" , and cyber-sleuths could ask "Inspector Forsooth" questions to solve the mystery. I will post the mystery *It's a bit long* and the select few *important* questions and answers. Ready?
Halloween Horror
Being a ghost for Halloween is one thing, but becoming a ghost is another. But that's what happened to one teenage girl on this scariest of Halloweens. The trick-or-treating part of the evening went about as expected with house after house trembling as her wispy figure made its way up the front steps. The ghost lived in a town where folks took their costumes seriously, and people were especially generous to inspired creations. By the time the night was through, she had amassed enough goodies to last her until Thanksgiving. But she didn't last even one day, thanks to a fatal choice of late-night snack.
In the ghost's possession at the time of her death was a half-eaten Butterfinger bar, which was immediately sent to the toxicology lab. The results showed that the candy bar had been laced with rat poison. It must have been doctored and rewrapped, but the ghost never noticed it. But even if the question of how she died could be resolved, it wasn't at all clear who might have wanted her out of the way.
In real life, the ghost was in junior high school. She was a good student, seemingly without an enemy in the world. She was also a shoo-in to make the cheerleading squad for the upcoming basketball season. And with that small fact, a motive began to take shape. The problem was that the candy bar could have come from virtually anybody along her Halloween route.
The ghost's rout on her final Halloween journey was painstakingly retraced, and some curious facts turned up: for one, she had been trick-or-treating with a group of friends until fairly late in the evening, and all were pretty sure that the ghost hadn't picked up any Butterfinger bars during their escapades. But after leaving her friends, she had gone to four houses in a final circle near her own home. And of those four families, three of them had a daughter who was vying for the same cheerleading squad. The families in question were the Ackmans, the Bartosavages and the Claxtons, whom the ghost visited in that order. Her final stop came at Old Lady MacDonald's house up on the hill; the old lady was a widow, and her kids had all grown up and moved away.
The interviews with these residents left the police no closer than they had been at first. Everyone professed outrage at the heinous Halloween crime that had shaken the neighbourhood. Each said that the ghost was one of the last trick-or-treaters they had that night (the earlier part of the evening having been taken up with younger kids), and each of them fiercely denied an attempt to poison for the sake of cheerleading—although they had all heard stories about such overzealous parents.
Not wanting to miss any detail, the police compiled records of how everyone was disguised as that night. It turned out that Mr. Ackman had greeted his arrivals in his customary devil suit. Mrs. Bartosavage had greeted her callers in a light up skeleton costume whose bones glowed in the dark. Mr. Claxton had devised a special outfit in which a woman's mask, etc., were places on his back, so that he approached his guests facing backwards! When he turned around, the effect was creepy indeed. And Old Lady MacDonald, who was approaching 80 years of age, rose to the occasion by simply taking out her dentures and painting her face green. That, coupled with the mole or two on her cheek, made her the scariest witch of the night.
Of these four houses, only two—the Ackmans and the Bartosavages—had any Butterfinger bars remaining from Halloween. The ones they had left over were tested for rat poison, but all tests came back negative. As for the Claxtons, they claimed to have treated visitors with many other items—M&Ms, Hershey's and Mars bars, among others. As for Mrs. MacDonald, she was known to be the least generous of all the neighbourhood stops, and she only had liquorice and saltwater taffy, which some trick-or-treaters suspected had been left over from the previous year!
On question that puzzled the investigators was that there had been two other girls who paraded through the neighbourhood just before the ghost came. The first had been dressed as Mary Poppins. The second—wouldn't you know it—came dressed as a cheerleader. And both of them were trying out for the cheerleading team in real life. The existence of these two girls threw a monkey wrench into the entire investigation; because it wasn't clear whether the ghost had been singled out, or whether the killer would have been happy to knock anyone off just to create more space on the squad.
However, Inspector Forsooth thought it extremely likely that the ghost had in fact, been singled out of the crowd. Acting on that assumption, he was able to identify the perpetrator.
1) Who killed the ghost?
2) How could the killer feel confident that no one other that the intended victim would be killed by the poison?
3) How did the killer's choice of costume play a role?
INSPECTOR FORSOOTH ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
Q1: Was the victim still wearing her costume when she died?
A: No, she wasn't.
Q2: How did the killer know who the ghost was?
A: The killer found out through the grapevine, meaning there was discussion about who was dressing up as what, so the ghost's identity was known in advance.
Q3: Was there anyone else dressed up as a ghost that night?
A: Not in the neighbourhood, no.
Q4: How did they know she would pick that particular Butterfinger bar?
A: It was the only Butterfinger bar there!
Q5: Did any of the people in the suspect houses know that the victim was coming by?
A: No. They had no idea who was coming until they got there.
Q6: Does the fact that the ghosts left her friends to go alone have any significance?
A: Yes, it is quite significant. Had the ghost not gone out alone, there could have never been any assurance that she would pick up the tainted bar.
Q7: Was it important that the ghost was one of the last trick-or-treaters?
A: It sure was
Q8: Were Butterfingers the victims favourite candy bar?
A: No, they weren't necessarily her favourite, but they were certainly preferable to other choices.
Q9: So the widow, who had bad candy, wanted the cheerleader dead, and she put a good candy in with the bad candy?
A: I didn't say that! What motive could she possibly have had?
Q10: What did Mrs. MacDonald's teeth have to do with it?
A: Well, remember that the killer wasn't taking any chances that the poisoned Butterfinger bar might end up in the wrong hands...or mouth
Q11: Did the Marry Poppins carry an umbrella?
A: Sure did. And you're on the right track—but it looks as though you have to dig a little deeper.
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Huh...I haven't been in the new riddles section for a bit, so I thought I might post some mysteries I got in a book for Christmas...now these mysteries are slightly different. These mysteries were actually tested live over an AOL "cyber-auditorium" , and cyber-sleuths could ask "Inspector Forsooth" questions to solve the mystery. I will post the mystery *It's a bit long* and the select few *important* questions and answers. Ready?
Halloween Horror
Being a ghost for Halloween is one thing, but becoming a ghost is another. But that's what happened to one teenage girl on this scariest of Halloweens. The trick-or-treating part of the evening went about as expected with house after house trembling as her wispy figure made its way up the front steps. The ghost lived in a town where folks took their costumes seriously, and people were especially generous to inspired creations. By the time the night was through, she had amassed enough goodies to last her until Thanksgiving. But she didn't last even one day, thanks to a fatal choice of late-night snack.
In the ghost's possession at the time of her death was a half-eaten Butterfinger bar, which was immediately sent to the toxicology lab. The results showed that the candy bar had been laced with rat poison. It must have been doctored and rewrapped, but the ghost never noticed it. But even if the question of how she died could be resolved, it wasn't at all clear who might have wanted her out of the way.
In real life, the ghost was in junior high school. She was a good student, seemingly without an enemy in the world. She was also a shoo-in to make the cheerleading squad for the upcoming basketball season. And with that small fact, a motive began to take shape. The problem was that the candy bar could have come from virtually anybody along her Halloween route.
The ghost's rout on her final Halloween journey was painstakingly retraced, and some curious facts turned up: for one, she had been trick-or-treating with a group of friends until fairly late in the evening, and all were pretty sure that the ghost hadn't picked up any Butterfinger bars during their escapades. But after leaving her friends, she had gone to four houses in a final circle near her own home. And of those four families, three of them had a daughter who was vying for the same cheerleading squad. The families in question were the Ackmans, the Bartosavages and the Claxtons, whom the ghost visited in that order. Her final stop came at Old Lady MacDonald's house up on the hill; the old lady was a widow, and her kids had all grown up and moved away.
The interviews with these residents left the police no closer than they had been at first. Everyone professed outrage at the heinous Halloween crime that had shaken the neighbourhood. Each said that the ghost was one of the last trick-or-treaters they had that night (the earlier part of the evening having been taken up with younger kids), and each of them fiercely denied an attempt to poison for the sake of cheerleading—although they had all heard stories about such overzealous parents.
Not wanting to miss any detail, the police compiled records of how everyone was disguised as that night. It turned out that Mr. Ackman had greeted his arrivals in his customary devil suit. Mrs. Bartosavage had greeted her callers in a light up skeleton costume whose bones glowed in the dark. Mr. Claxton had devised a special outfit in which a woman's mask, etc., were places on his back, so that he approached his guests facing backwards! When he turned around, the effect was creepy indeed. And Old Lady MacDonald, who was approaching 80 years of age, rose to the occasion by simply taking out her dentures and painting her face green. That, coupled with the mole or two on her cheek, made her the scariest witch of the night.
Of these four houses, only two—the Ackmans and the Bartosavages—had any Butterfinger bars remaining from Halloween. The ones they had left over were tested for rat poison, but all tests came back negative. As for the Claxtons, they claimed to have treated visitors with many other items—M&Ms, Hershey's and Mars bars, among others. As for Mrs. MacDonald, she was known to be the least generous of all the neighbourhood stops, and she only had liquorice and saltwater taffy, which some trick-or-treaters suspected had been left over from the previous year!
On question that puzzled the investigators was that there had been two other girls who paraded through the neighbourhood just before the ghost came. The first had been dressed as Mary Poppins. The second—wouldn't you know it—came dressed as a cheerleader. And both of them were trying out for the cheerleading team in real life. The existence of these two girls threw a monkey wrench into the entire investigation; because it wasn't clear whether the ghost had been singled out, or whether the killer would have been happy to knock anyone off just to create more space on the squad.
However, Inspector Forsooth thought it extremely likely that the ghost had in fact, been singled out of the crowd. Acting on that assumption, he was able to identify the perpetrator.
1) Who killed the ghost?
2) How could the killer feel confident that no one other that the intended victim would be killed by the poison?
3) How did the killer's choice of costume play a role?
INSPECTOR FORSOOTH ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
Q1: Was the victim still wearing her costume when she died?
A: No, she wasn't.
Q2: How did the killer know who the ghost was?
A: The killer found out through the grapevine, meaning there was discussion about who was dressing up as what, so the ghost's identity was known in advance.
Q3: Was there anyone else dressed up as a ghost that night?
A: Not in the neighbourhood, no.
Q4: How did they know she would pick that particular Butterfinger bar?
A: It was the only Butterfinger bar there!
Q5: Did any of the people in the suspect houses know that the victim was coming by?
A: No. They had no idea who was coming until they got there.
Q6: Does the fact that the ghosts left her friends to go alone have any significance?
A: Yes, it is quite significant. Had the ghost not gone out alone, there could have never been any assurance that she would pick up the tainted bar.
Q7: Was it important that the ghost was one of the last trick-or-treaters?
A: It sure was
Q8: Were Butterfingers the victims favourite candy bar?
A: No, they weren't necessarily her favourite, but they were certainly preferable to other choices.
Q9: So the widow, who had bad candy, wanted the cheerleader dead, and she put a good candy in with the bad candy?
A: I didn't say that! What motive could she possibly have had?
Q10: What did Mrs. MacDonald's teeth have to do with it?
A: Well, remember that the killer wasn't taking any chances that the poisoned Butterfinger bar might end up in the wrong hands...or mouth
Q11: Did the Marry Poppins carry an umbrella?
A: Sure did. And you're on the right track—but it looks as though you have to dig a little deeper.
Can you solve the mystery?
<(^-^)>
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