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Mystery/Suspense/Horror

From murder mysteries to gothic horror, Stage Partners has an exciting collection of suspenseful plays by some of the most exciting playwrights working today. From high schools and middle schools to community and professional theatres, Stage Partners has chilling new plays for every stage.

Browse our selection below and READ EVERY PLAY SCRIPT FOR FREE!

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  • Rogues' Gallery - Stage Partners

    Rogues' Gallery

    Length: 120-130 minutes, flexible (each play is 10 minutes)
    Cast Size: 6-35+ actors (suggested casting: 9F, 6M, 5 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Two hapless security guards must investigate who destroyed the art gallery's prize sculpture - but every suspect caused mayhem that day, from would-be art thieves and confused tourists, to fumbling custodians and fiendish pranksters. Whodunnit? The better question is, who didn't? And can the guards come up with a really good excuse before the artist comes back? This hilarious build-...
  • The Single Man - A Murder Mystery - Stage Partners

    The Single Man - A Murder Mystery

    Written By: Don Zolidis
    Length: 80-85 minutes
    Cast Size: 15-30 actors (suggested casting: 8F, 3M, 5 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    After a death threat is found on the set of the hit television show, The Single Man, the producers strike upon a brilliant idea: Have suave mustachioed investigator Henri Poisson fill in for the terrified bachelor in order to root out the presumptive killer. But with eight single ladies vying for his attention on the show, will Poisson be able to discover the killer in time? Who will get the rose,...
  • Beware The House on Haunted Hill! - Stage Partners

    Beware the House on Haunted Hill!

    Adapted by Matthew Byrd & Kathryn Funkhouser from the 1959 film House on Haunted Hill, written by Robb White, directed by William Castle, starring Vincent Price
    Length: 85-90 minutes
    Cast Size: 9 actors (suggested casting: 3F, 3M, 3 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Come to the party…stay if you dare. An eccentric millionaire promises six guests a mysterious prize if they can survive the night at the only truly haunted house in the world. Everyone invited has a few skeletons in their closets though, and screwball scares lurk around every corner. The classic 50s horror movie House on Haunted Hill becomes a campy whodunnit in this low-tech stage adaptation. J...
  • Murder by the Book - Stage Partners

    Murder by the Book

    Written By: Jon Jory and Michael Bauer
    Length: 35-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 9 actors (suggested casting: 6F, 3M)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    When mystery writer Mary Graves is found dead, it's up to a detective with anger issues to figure out who among Graves' guests is a murderer. Is it the oil tycoon, the scientist, the Shakespearean actor, the countess, the psychic, or the maid? ...Say, this is starting to sound like a mystery novel! A hilarious one-act whodunnit brimming with larger-than-life characters.
  • Pick Your Poison - Laura Barbieri

    Pick Your Poison

    Written By: Laura Barbieri
    Length: 100-120 minutes
    Cast Size: 9 actors (suggested casting 3F, 5M, 1 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Pick Your Poison is a murder mystery farce in the style of the “country house murder.” Sir Nicholas Blackburn invites his old friends, acquaintances, and one stranger to visit him at his country estate, but some of them may not live through the weekend. In this audience-interactive play, the audience votes at intermission on which of the eight main characters is the murder, and the winning vot...
  • Ten(ish): Horror - Transfer by Elinor T Vanderburg. 10-minute horror play

    Transfer

    Written By: Elinor T Vanderburg
    Length: 10 - 20 minutes
    Cast Size: 5 actors (suggested casting: 4F, 1M)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    Bow returns to her senior year of high school after a personal tragedy that no one wants to discuss head-on. But coming back isn't easy – especially not with the presence of a transfer student who is all smiles, light, and brilliance – and taking over every relationship Bow holds dear. A little Black Swan, a little more Hitchcock, Transfer is a sparse, noir-inspired drama t...
  • The Great, Great Granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes - Stage Partners

    The Great, Great Granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes

    Written By: Jon Jory
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 7-10 actors, flexible
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Clever Sherla Gomes, the Great, Great Granddaughter of famous sleuth Sherlock, teams up with her loyal friend Lolo Watson to get to the bottom of some seriously mysterious happenings. In The Blue Diamond case, they have to figure out what an uncooked goose has to do with a missing jewel - and why Jenny the Scorpion is so dangerously irritable... In The Speckled Band, the g...
  • The Great, Great Granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond - Stage Partners

    The Great, Great Granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond

    Written By: Jon Jory
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 7-10 actors, flexible
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Clever Sherla Gomes, the Great, Great Granddaughter of famous sleuth Sherlock, teams up with her loyal friend Lolo Watson to get to the bottom of some seriously mysterious happenings. In The Blue Diamond case, they have to figure out what an uncooked goose has to do with a missing jewel - and why Jenny the Scorpion is so dangerously irritable... Performed together or separately, these one-act myst...
  • The Great, Great Granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band - Stage Partners

    The Great, Great Granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band

    Written By: Jon Jory
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 8-12 actors, flexible
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Clever Sherla Gomes, the Great, Great Granddaughter of famous sleuth Sherlock, teams up with her loyal friend Lolo Watson to get to the bottom of some seriously mysterious happenings. In The Speckled Band, the girls must solve a high-profile murder involving a cheetah, and baboon, and an expiring inheritance. Performed together or separately, these one-act mysteries, inspired by the stories of Sir...
  • Edgar: A Ghost Story - Stage Partners

    Edgar: A Ghost Story

    Written By: John Haman
    Length: 35-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 6-20 actors (suggested casting: 4F, 2M,)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    A first-year high school drama teacher arrives at school to find her auditorium haunted. Against this backdrop, a terminally ill girl falls in love for the first time with a troubled boy as she works against time to stage a tender, autobiographical play. A love-letter to high school theater, Edgar explores the realms of the living, dead, and dying with humor and grace. The play features virtually...
10 Items