The mystery of the Beale Treasure originates from a small pamphlet published in 1885. It includes the story of buried treasure left undiscovered, and encourages you to find it. The pamphlet describes how a man named Thomas J. Beale had discovered gold out west, with a group of fellow adventurers, …
The breaking of the cipher of Mary, Queen of Scots, had grave circumstances and stands testament today for the need of nonpareil security. Passing messages, from one party to another, consisting of information of highly delicate and valuable nature, is something not always avoidable. For this reason, the making and …
Guest Post by René van Slooten (The Netherlands) . The American poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is the most influential writer in modern literature. Since 1860, his works are read and studied all over the world, and they were and still are an inspiration for countless other poets …
I recently had the wonderful opportunity to go see The Voynich Manuscript on display at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. This early 1400’s book is often considered the most mysterious manuscript in the world. It was one, amongst numerous other old spectacular books, concerning the art of codes …
In amongst my collection of games is a solitary game called The Knight’s Tour. It is an intriguing puzzle that I like to bring out once in a while to test my patience. Sometimes, I put it back on the shelf pretty quick. Other times, I can sit and play …
Standing in the main courtyard of the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia, is an impressive encrypted sculpture called Kryptos. Greek for the word hidden, Kryptos features a large S shaped copper plate streaming out from a piece of petrified wood. The grand structure was designed by Jim Sanborn …
After 12 years, the circumstances surrounding the 1999 murder of 41-year-old Ricky McCormick left the Federal Bureau of Investigation asking for help. Very few facts in the murder case of Ricky McCormick are known. His body was discovered face down in a field in St. Charles County, Missouri, and the …
On December 1st, 1948, a man was discovered dead on Somerton beach in Adelaide, Australia. Commonly referred to as simply the Somerton man, because his identity remains unknown today, the deceased man and his body left few clues to help with the investigation. Many of the circumstances surrounding the death …
The Atbash cipher is a basic encoding method known to be used in the Bible. Examples of its employment appear in the Book of Jeremiah which dates to around 600B.C. The simplicity of the code should not have one assume a lack of depth for meaning, though. The name Atbash …
“Let’s just say that he is the only one to point the way to the truth; but so dull in appearance, and short of that which is expected.” The previous sentence was included in The Ultimate Quest; an armchair treasure hunt by William Lynhope. The quote was part of an …
