David Blaine, the infamous street magician, illusionist and endurance artist, published a book, Mysterious Stranger, in October 2002. This book was over 200 pages and included an armchair treasure hunt with a prize worth $100,000 dollars. It was solved in March of 2004 and the cash prize awarded. The winner was Sherri Skanes, a retired school teacher in Ventura, CA.
Mysterious Stranger consisted of twelve sections. These sections took readers on a journey through not only Blaine’s own life and told of his inspiration to become involved in magic and stunts, but also provided readers with fascinating accounts on the history of magic. Intermingled within these pages were then clues to find a solitary stone. This stone would then be used to claim the 100,000 prize of the Mysterious Stranger’s treasure hunt.
Overall the book was a perfect medium for a treasure hunt. Mystery was hidden everywhere, and it was challenging to discern what was essential for the hunt to that for the book. The last two pages of the book described the task. One part offered a glimpse for what searchers needed to do. It was as follows:
“Hidden throughout the book are puzzles, enigmas, and conundrums (clues) that, once understood and solved, will direct you to the location of a Treasure Map (the ‘Map’) concealed somewhere in the forty-eight contiguous United States. The Map will guide its finder to an Amulet (the ‘Treasure’). The first individual (or participants) who, using their own skill and intellect, solve the Clues, and then locate and obtain the Map and the Treasure, must then follow the instructions……. to claim the prize.”
It turned out to be curious elements in the margins of the book searchers needed.
Multiple visual ciphers were found there. They ranged from dangling vines to decorative swirls; from fiery dragons to creeping lizards. All total there were 15 different types of visual ciphers to solve for 41 sentences. To decipher the sentences, searchers had to do things like count toes on lizards, distinguish tiny differences in patterns, align split images, categorize designs, and substitute these then for letters. It was a complex method of decoding.
Below are the 41 sentences the visual ciphers decoded to (in alphabetical order):
1)A fair bird, its wings arise and eastward it flew.
2)A scent so severe, its sheer presence glares.
3)A wonderful little man wigged out his peers.
4)Ahh sighed the monarch hoping to sooth his flu.
5)Any single resounding here will be ousted.
6)Banish those who seem the same and all in between
7)Blithe blacksmiths reject swirled sad tin.
8)Braggart Bartenders avoid tangled tin ice.
9)Clever carpenters never include sabotaged slim pegs
10)Deep sea divers ignore the dizzy depth over hoping.
11)Effective editors eschew pages that echo remorse.
12)Everyone in attendance adores the imp the least.
13)Five nomads fled and tumbles oaf so oaf.
14)Folks flee along routes grown dense with neglect
15)Freak lightning struck all the except the fourth
16)Her majesty exiled all portraits resembling you.
17)Her organ plays to saintly ones their last rite.
18)Hereto the last two were seated twenty fifth
19)His potion of serpents and venoms brews portent.
20)His sealed horse costume preys on the mind.
21)Its urn that it adorned with the leaf engraving shattered.
22)Jester axe jokes with any resemblance to clichés.
23)Most deer envy the froth that blew from the north.
24)My fourth phrase casts shy glimpses near shadow.
25)Naysayers shun and agitate a drowned loathing.
26)Only the stormy night knows the force of the rose.
27)Our coal chute proved the better source of food.
28)Proper precepts impose on prose and decline two.
29)Radio dramas count down every six and two piers.
30)Rubies incite the foulest fear in blue bloodstone.
31)Sane scholars detest any language sounding trite.
32)Shrewd scoundrels do aspire to clear a murder past.
33)That king of spades might be a man of bright sense.
34)That horrible sword the knight wielded with spite.
35)The pause grew tense dare ye to step forward.
36)The very coarse scorn waste once payment is due.
37)Twenty seven countries intermingle legitimately.
38)Twenty who are muddled must mock their mate.
39)Weather stations refuse to confuse this new fog.
40)When the rays of sunlight blaze the subhuman dies.
41)While the black cat waits the mice swap to the right.
It wasn’t over then though.
Searchers had to dwindle the 41 sentences down to eventually 27 words. The sentences themselves provided instructions on what to do. Play with words was key.
The words leftover after deleting, ignoring, and so on were: Horrible Imp Costume Murder Be Man Severe Venoms The Foulest Bird Its Subhuman Monarch Better Scorn Mice Tense Envy Casts Shy That It Routes To Saintly Rose.
It wasn’t over then either.
Searchers next had to turn those 27 words into 21 words by way of anagramming. A hint found in the 41 sentences; ‘Twenty seven countries intermingle legitimately’ was given, and a key was provided for the anagramming. On the last page of the book were seen the numbers: 332.333.343 and 222.332.232.
The first set added to 27. Coincidence? In this case not. They were paired with the second set and directed a searcher to intermingle/anagram the first three words to two. The next 3 to another two. And so on.
So….
The words:
Horrible Imp Costume revealed Cherubim Metropolis (city of Angels/Los Angelas)
Murder be man revealed Numbered Arm (tattoo on Blain’s arm (there was a picture of it: 174517)
Severe Venoms to Remove Sevens (1451)
The Foulest Bird to Double the First (2451)
Its Subhuman Monarch to Mountain Brush Chasm (Laurel Canyon)
Better Scorn Mice to Concrete Timbers (stone bridge (looked like wood at location))
Tense Envy Casts to Seventy Ascents (70 steps)
Shy That It Routes to Thirty Southeast (turn 30 degrees SE)
To Saintly Rose to Solitary Stone (Notice the big W shaped trees where the stone was hidden (like the W in the film ‘It’s A Mad Mad Mad World’)
Revealing of course the location where the ‘solitary stone’ was hidden: 2451 Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, where there is a concrete bridge and 70 steps to walk up. From the 70th step to the Southeast 30 degrees see the ‘Big W’ which hides the solitary stone.
Puzzle solved.
A few clues were given throughout the hunt. One was on the CNN Morning show in November 2002. The clue revealed was given in the image of P.T. Barnum found inside the book with a caption of:
“P.T. Barnum, innovative, nervy, audacious, somewhat typical of New England.”
Blaine told searchers to delete P.T. Barnum from the caption and take the first letters of words. It spelled “In a Stone”.
He also told searchers they needed to find a ‘solitary stone’, but inside that stone was a golden orb with his cell number to call and claim the $100,000. He revealed the stone wasn’t buried.
After the hunt, Blaine mentioned another clue he had hid in the book which no one ever found. It was in the front section of Acknowledgments. Within the list was: Also Thanks – Rick Rubin. Blaine said this was a clue: AT Rick Rubin. By taking the first letters of Also Thanks, AT told searchers the general location of where the stone was hidden. At Rick Rubin’s (2451 Laurel Canyon).
Another clue was given on Larry King Live in November, 2003. It was; “If my tattoo is fearless, then climb ten weeks to find the route.”
This clue referred to the Fearless DVD. Within that DVD, the location of Rick Rubin’s estate (2451 Laurel Canyon) was shown. The ten weeks hinted to the 70 steps which is where the tree (route/root) could be seen once there.
Mysterious Stranger was a successful hunt with many players taking up ‘Blaine’s Challenge’. It came to a close on March 20th, 2004 with Sherri Skanes cleverly putting together the final pieces, and with her son, finding the stone and claiming the prize.
A great ending for treasure hunt!
Best of luck with all that you seek! Always Treasure the Adventure!
So cool. She found it with her son.