Meet Rae Walaska, Owner/Founder

Rae Walaska is the founder of Murder n’ Mayhem which specializes in murder mystery parties, adventure hunts and murder mystery scavenger hunts. “When I am at networking events I like to introduce myself as the local hit woman. I am killing people off in the community on a regular basis.” jokes Rae.

Rae’s husband Brock is a Supply Officer in the US Navy. The couple are both originally from Iowa and are currently (as of 2019) living in Sicily, Italy. They have two children; Cade & Bryce, along with a large Goldendoodle named Whirley Pup. Since Rae and Brock have been together they have lived in over 12 cities. The need for a mobile career was what prompted Rae to become an entrepreneur. “As a stay at home mom I found myself going stir crazy. I decided I wanted to start my own business. With Brock being in the military it was crucial that the business be something that could move about the country.”

After taking some time to think about what she had enjoyed doing for work previously Rae came up with the idea of starting a business that provides murder mystery parties. While she was in college Rae was an Event/Sales Manager for a hotel and had been tasked with coming up with an alternative source of revenue during their off season. She pitched the idea of holding murder mystery parties because they were on a historical property. The idea was a hit!

Rae promptly hired someone to write a custom mystery based on the property history and started booking reservations. The custom party arrived and it was a disaster. She knew she had to re-write the mystery or risk getting fired. Rae spent hours re-writing the mystery and then adding extra elements to the story; a phone call from the kitchen, hidden clues in a book… The first event was a huge success and everyone wanted to know when the next one would be.

Fast forward to seven years down the road… Rae is now a stay at home mom and drastically needs something to do that will get her out of the house and socializing with other respectable adults, well they didn’t even have to be respectable, just adult would suffice. In 2008 Murder n’ Mayhem was formed in Port Orchard, WA. The first party was held in partnership with a small mom & pop restaurant. Each month they would host a new mystery. Murder n’ Mayhem then grew to home parties, corporate events, shipping parties all over the U.S. and even hosting a Murder Mystery Weekend Festival on the waterfront.

Today the company not only offers murder mystery parties and kids adventure hunts, but also murder mystery scavenger hunts and a historic true crime tour in San Diego.

When Rae is not busy “killing people”, aka working, she enjoys training for triathlons, cycling the Italian countryside, playing roller derby, traveling the world, reading hot romance novels and of course spending time with her family. You will also find Rae staying busy over at She Sells Studios, as operating just 1 business is never enough. 😉