Fancy yourself a detective? Calgary is leaning hard into the whodunnit this month, with five murder mystery events scattered across the city — from a downtown hotel ballroom to a historic mansion to an outdoor scavenger-hunt-style case in a riverside park. Some come with dinner, one is strictly for grown-ups, and the cheapest gets you sleuthing for about the price of a pizza night.

The marquee option is The Dinner Detective at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown, running Saturday, Oct. 10 and Oct. 24 from 6 to 9 p.m. The twist: undercover actors are planted among the guests, so anyone at your table could be a suspect — or the killer. A plated dinner is included, and the closest sleuth wins a prize. Tickets run $109.95 plus fees.

For something spookier, Spruce Meadows' British Tea House hosts Hallowe'en Horror: A Night at the Grimmies, an 18+ show where a murder derails a horror-movie awards ceremony. Dates are Oct. 23, 24, 30 and 31, with a cocktail hour before the 7 p.m. show and a buffet dinner during. It's $110 plus GST. Also on Oct. 24, the Lougheed House — Calgary's oldest mansion — stages an interactive mystery built around a town hall meeting that turns deadly. Dinner is part of the deal at $130 a head, doors at 6 p.m.

Prefer a story with a period twist? Death Checks In at The Attic Bar and Stage drops you into 1910 at the Lucky Guest Hotel, where the Alberta Central Railway is under construction and one of your five fellow guests won't survive the night. It runs Sunday, Oct. 25, from 5 to 9:15 p.m., and at $85.27 it's the best-value seated option — your ticket covers a three-course plant-based dinner, with drinks available to buy.

The odd one out is outdoors: on Halloween itself, Pearce Estate Park hosts a daytime mystery from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., where teams hunt for clues and examine evidence around the park. It's just $35 plus fees, but bring a fully charged phone — you'll need mobile data to play.

Why bother? Because this is a genuinely good group activity for travellers passing through Calgary in autumn — it beats another evening scrolling a hotel TV, it works even if you're in town solo (most events seat you with strangers), and a couple double as a chance to see venues you'd otherwise skip. The Lougheed House is a heritage site worth a visit on its own, and Spruce Meadows is famous for its show-jumping grounds. Book ahead: the seated dinner events have limited seatings, and the Halloween dates will fill fastest.