Yesterday was my friend’s birthday, so her roommate and I surprised her with a Tim Burton/Harry Potter scavenger hunt for her when she woke.

First, she woke up with this taped above her head.

Inside, the clue read:

(^Nightmare Before Christmas reference there!)

The first clue was this:

Off to the bathroom she went…

And there were Edward Scissorhands’ hands! (Along with a clue, of course.)

Another Nightmare reference- remember Jack Skeleton’s song: “And if I were dead, I would take off my head to recite…”

“… Shakespearean quotations!”

The kitchen table was set with a plate, a “meat pie”, a butcher’s knife, and, of course, another clue in the form of a puzzle!

Turn it over…

And here’s the next clue!

“You must be thirsty! Take a break

though it’s your birthday, don’t eat any cake!

You mustn’t grow big, there isn’t the time,

Instead, have a treat that James would opine-

open the icebox and have a drink,

You never know, it may help you think!”

(Its peach Snapple by the way- hence, the James and the Giant Peach reference in the clue.)

So Elissa threw on her shoes and opened the door to go outside…

And came face-to-face with a giant Sandworm strait out of Beetlejuice!

Once she defeated the beast with Edward’s hands, she found this sign:

She followed the sign, where she found her first surprise- a Sphinx! (AKA me)

To get her next clue, she had to solve a riddle:

“Old, yet spry, not human am I.

Yet I’ve a mind of a special kind.

I make my choice, then raise my voice.

In times of need, my warnings heed.

For a Gryffindor bold, a secret I hold.

What am I?”*

After a few moment’s deliberation, Elissa had the answer: The Hogwarts Sorting Hat!

She was correct! Quite the Ravenclaw. So I gave her the next clue:

“To Anna the gatekeeper you must go,

I shall join you, but help I shall not show.”

Anna is the concierge, and she was excited to present Elissa with her final clue:

“Jenna didn’t want to be me,

Friday doesn’t want to be me.

The Gay Devil loves me (inside joke there, folks)

I think I’m lucky

and I don’t exist here.

Come find me!”

Elissa was puzzled at first, but after much thought came to the conclusion that the answer was the number 13- Jenna from 13 Going on 30 doesn’t want to be 13, Friday the 13th is considered unlucky, and there is no 13th floor in her building. So she took a leap of faith and decided to travel to the 14th floor (which is actually the 13th floor)…

… where Alex was waiting with Elissa’s birthday gift!

So the weary traveler made her way home to open gifts and eat muffins. 

Here’s to hoping Elissa had a very macabre birthday, in true Tim Burton style.

Happy Birthday Elissa! 

*Note that I did not come up with the Sorting Hat riddle; I found that one online. All of the other riddles and clues were brilliantly devised by Alex, though!