Escape Games and Treasure Hunts: The 12 Riddles of Byron Preiss’s "The Secret"

Cover of Byron Preiss's The Secret

We’re sure many people will agree with us here at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game when we say what the world could use a bit more of these days is a good spot of wholesome mystery fun. That’s where people like the author and publisher Byron Preiss step in.

Though responsible for publishing many children’s books, Preiss’s 1982 project is the one that most people remember him for. Titled The Secret, it’s a puzzle book featuring 12 poems and 12 highly detailed fantasy paintings. But the most interesting part? Why, that would be the 12 related treasure boxes Preiss buried in parks across North America.

Each of the 12 ceramic boxes contains a key, which the treasure finder can trade in for a jewel worth $1,000 (with the casques they’re kept in also worth a good bit of coin). To this day, only two of Preiss’s Secret boxes have been found: one in Chicago in 1983 by a group of students, and the other in Cleveland in 2004 by members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Tragically, Preiss was killed in a car accident in 2005, but the rest of the jewels are kept in a safe deposit box in New York City for any future treasure finders.

Where exactly are the other boxes? Well, you’ll have to read The Secret and piece together its clues to find out. The 12 verses are linked to the 12 paintings, which each depict a different group of immigrants that came to the United States throughout the country’s history. The idea is to match the images to the poems, and piece together the exact location of the treasure boxes.

Unsurprisingly, the Internet has allowed Secret treasure hunters to band together to try and solve the locations of the remaining ten boxes (you can find The Secret wiki here). Along with more information on how to begin uncovering the mystery of The Secret, you can find a map of the most recent suspected treasures locations.

Test out your mystery-solving skills in one of Krakit’s four Vancouver escape rooms. You can book you and your treasure-loving friends a lot here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.