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.

Oak Island: A Good Old Canadian Treasure Hunt

Richard McCully, McCully Nova Scotia Archives, 2012-010/004

Sure, Canada may be known internationally as sort of a boring place—some people think not a lot goes on here beyond snowstorms and the occasional bear in a swimming pool. But did you know there’s a centuries-old Canadian mystery involving buried treasure, which is still yet to be solved?

We’re sure most people, like us here at Krakit Vancouver Escape Room, would agree that a mysterious treasure hunt is pretty exciting.

Back in the day, a small island just off the coast of Nova Scotia—Oak Island, to be exact—was a favourite stopover for pirates, including the famous Captain Kidd. On this island is something known as the “Money Pit,” first discovered by 18-year-old Daniel McGinnis in 1795. After gathering some friends to help him, McGinnis began to dig down into the strange-looking pit, discovering layers of flagstones and log platforms every 10 feet.

They also found a stone inscribed in a secret code. The most commonly held solution of this code reads: “Forty feet below two million pounds are buried.”

An island, pirates, a money pit, and a code telling of buried treasure? Yes, please.

Unsurprisingly, this discovery caught the attention of more than just McGinnis and his friends. Since their eighteenth-century excavation—during which they did not find the two million pounds—several attempts have been made to dig down deep enough to find the treasure.

However, as several unlucky treasure seekers have found out, the Money Pit is booby trapped, with channels of water directed into the pit, which flood the dig in order to keep out raiders. At least six people have been killed during attempts to excavate the Money Pit.

Today, Oak Island is privately owned, but thanks to the Oak Island Treasure Act of 2011 (yes, that’s a real legal act), treasure hunters are still allowed to access the island in pursuit of solving the mystery. If you want to give it a go, you’ll just need to apply for a treasure hunting licence from the Minister of Natural Resources.

But, beware, for many have failed before you.

If you’re the type who looks for much safer—but equally mysterious—excitement, book a round in one of Krakit’s Vancouver escape rooms here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.