BREMERTON, Wash. - A stay-at-home mom went into business for herself using a little murder and mayhem. The Navy wife created one-of-a-kind, fictional murder mystery parties.
Business is booming even in these tough times.
Rae Walaska knows how to make an entrance. She drives up in a souped-up hearse with painted flames, and skull and crossbones doors locks.
And she knows how to make fictional crime pay. She's preparing for a fundraiser called Sanctuary Secrets. It's a murder mystery she wrote and hosts.
Walaska's Kitsap county business "Murder n' Mayhem" has been making a killing since launching at the beginning of the year.
"Movies get old, going out to eat gets old, this is just a different evening, You get to be someone else. You get to come in costume," said Christy Hammrich, a business partner.
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Rae customizes each event. People at this event will have to crack a 25-year-old mystery. But all the research into murder, guns and knives has someone on edge: her husband.
"I do a lot of surfing on the Internet. I know how to tie a noose, I know how to kill someone with sleeping pills," said Walaska.
But Rae is a Navy wife and she will be moving in a couple months. Her business is staying though and she hopes to franchise.
"They can go out and sell it themselves, similar to a Mary Kay. It's a way to make extra money," she said.
She'll start another Murder n' Mayhem franchise wherever she ends up, and she'll introduce herself the same old way.
"I jokingly introduce myself as their local hit woman, killing people off weekly in their community," she said.
The Murder n' Mayhem parties cost $9 to $14 per person. Rae says she's already booking up most weekends.
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