OK folks, time for you guys to dig up & dust off your copies of "The Secret".  I realize the actual prizes are no longer available but the casques are still hidden and wouldn't you like to be the one to finally crack this hunt which has been around since 1982?  If anyone out there would like to colaborate, please email me: [email protected] I have some solid ideas for a lot of the riddles and am really trying to crack one in particular since I believe it is located not far from me. Hope to hear from you soon.........

Hi Foxy, This is one Hunt that I haven't heard of. Can you post any details please as to what it's about and if it's still available. Ta, Tel

Unknown: Each treasure consists of a hand painted treasure casque, the painted key inside it, and the treasure jewel or jewels. Only the casques and the keys are buried... OK, I've been scanning through the posts on the American Treasure Hunt society bulletin board - even though it isn't a very good discussion board anymore, there are still some good posts from the past on there that contain some useful information. From what I can gather, some years ago, our very own Mark Parry contacted someone by the name of Byron Preiss (I don't know if that name rings a bell with anyone) and the information that he got back was that only 1 of the 12 caskets was found and that was in a park in either New York or Chicago - I'm not sure which. Also, it seems that each casket contained a key that was redeemable for some jewels. The jewels are no longer available, but the caskets containing the keys are still around. An apparant quote from the book: But, it has also been mentioned that the jewels themselves were in the caskets and the thing that had to be claimed was money. Further Information: The authors of the Secret (full name - The Secret: A Treasure Hunt) are Sean Kelly and Ted Mann. Amazon is the only place where I have been able to find copies for sale so far (second-hand). Chris.

This was some time ago. Byron Preiss developed and edited the book. From the cover of the book: The Tale The tale begins over three hundred years ago, when the Fair People-the goblins, fairies, dragons and other fabled and fantastic creatures oa a dozen lands-fled the Old World for the New, seeking haven from the ways of Man. Wuth them came their precious jewels: diamonds, rubies emeralds, perls... But then the Fair People vanished, taking  with them their twelve fabulous treasures. And they remained hidden until now... The Twelve Treasures Across North America, these twelve treasures, over ten thousand dollars in precious jewels, are buried. The key to finding each can be found within the twelve full colour paintings and verses of The Secret. The Descendants Yet The Secret is more than that. At long last, you can learn not only the whereabouts of the Fair People's treasure, but also the modern forms and hiding places of their descendants: The Toll Trolls, Maitre D'eamons, Elf Alphas, Tupperwerewolves, Freudian Sylphs, Culture Vultures, West Ghosts and other delightful creatures in the world around us. The Secret is a field guide to all of them. THE SECRET A TREASURE HUNT ISBN 0-553-01408-0 There are many copies available on www.abebooks.com Just go to the search page and use Author: Sean Kelly Title: The Secret Watch the prices they range from $3.95 to over $50 Mark

Excellent site Mark - thanks for the link...... just found a book I was looking for.

Glad to be of assistance LP. I've bought several books via ABE, all excellant and hard to  find. Mark

Spirit of the Stones has just arrived - I was after a copy of Conundrum too but it had gone. I shall keep trying - I'm building up a collection..... Got Masquerade the other day off ebay.

Lady Pakal - if you're still after a copy of Conundrum, there is was going cheap on ebay: Check out this thread Chris.

Hi folks. I'm looking for the following information on this hunt: 1. Illustrator(s) names 2. Publisher name (Bantam Books ??) 3. Publication date (1982 ??) 4. Whether it had a closing date and if so, when 5. Original cost Cheers, Chris.

Hi Chris, 1) Illustrators - John Jude Palencar/John Pierard/Overton Loyd 2)Bantam Books 3)1982 4)No closing date, that I can see. One treasure found in Chicago's Grant Park. 11 caskets remain, but competition over. 5)Not sure, no price on it. Stephen.

I can't believe that someone else other than me is thinking about this book after so many years.  I obsessed over it in college from 1982-84.  I went to school in Philadelphia, Pa, where I believe I had located one of the sites.  I had my back to the stairs, went there night after night at certain times, etc. I packed the book away with all my college stuff, and it was forgotten.  I found it in a box 15 years later.  I got obsessed again.  This led to me trying to contact Byron Preiss for a solution.  By a remarkable coincidence, I spoke to him right around the same time that Mark Parry did, and asked him for the solution.  I was floored when he told me that as far as he is concerned, THE CONTEST IS STILL ON.  He also told me that one of the treasures was found in Chicago. My former college roommate is currently perusing my copy of the book, and he believes he is close to figuring out several of the riddles and pictures.  I would like to know several things from you people: 1.  Please give me more info on how the Chicago treasure was found --- if there was an article on it, when it was found, who found it, etc.  That may lead to solving the rest of the book. 2.  Where did you get the idea that the contest is not ongoing?  Preiss says it is. Thanks all.

Hi Egbert, I can't tell you much about The Secret, except that I was told by someone that the casket that was found was in Grant Park in Chicago. Aparently the clue said somthing about a 'green picket fence'. I also know there to be one near the statue of Lincoln in washington. Also I think there is one in Pennsylvania, the 'Keystone' state (hence the gem in the keystone). Also the picture has LB (liberty bell). I did do alot of work on this with Robert Fox, I'll have to have another look at it. Stephen.

Unknown: 2.  Where did you get the idea that the contest is not ongoing?  Preiss says it is. When I spoke to Preiss he said that the money was no longer up for grabs but the caskets were still buried. That's all I was going on. Mark

I have done some research, and I have been unable to find any reference to anyone finding one of the treasures.  I am thinking that perhaps it is just an unfounded rumor.  Does anyone have any definite info on the supposed Grant Park finding?  It could have just been a rumor generated by the publisher to generate interest.  Certainly, there would have been some publicity involved for the finder. As for the book, I am still interested in finding a solution, and would be happy to trade ideas with people.  I think the pictures are permanently etched in my brain!

An email by Byron Preiss himself stated one of the casques was indeed found in Grant Park in Chicago IL.  I do not have my book with me; however, the picture for this puzzle is easily found.  It is the one with the troll's face with an elaborate hat which includes castles, windmills and towers.  The turrated tower is obviously the old water tower in Chicago which survived the great Chicago fire.  Another hunter working with me stated Mr. Preiss stated verse 12 was the verse for Chicago.  I too always assumed this pointed to Washington DC but with further investigating, it all points to Grant Park.  So anyone (besides myselft) trying to reverse-engineer this hunt, work with verse 12 and the aforementioned picture. Another fellow hunter is conversing with a friend in Chicago who had (and is currently trying to locate) a news article about the casque being found. robert feel free to email me with any & all of your theories (as wacky as they may seem).  I would love to crack this hunt once and for all.

Original price was $9.95 in US, $10.95 in Canada

I just cant put this book down.  Is anyone out there making any progress?  I would love to share ideas again and see if we can locate at least one of the remaining casques.

I have lots of additional info that I'd like to share with everyone, and talk about, but I have a simple question first: How is this treasure-finding going to work? I don't want all of us to figure out a solution together, and then one person runs to find it.  R.Fox seems very eager to hop on a train or plane and search out the treasures.  I would like to do that too --- I have been trying to solve this for 20 years.  Now, with the advent of the internet, we can uncover more clues I am sure, as Catherwood has already discovered.

Please dont get me wrong egbert....I'm not trying to beat everyone to the punch.  Quite the contrary.  I too have been working on this hunt for some time and have tried time and time again to get others interested in once and for all solving this thing.  I simply volunteered myself (if was semi-near my location) for any and all of the UK hunters working on this.  If someone else is closer to a find, by all means....go for it.  I am just wanting to get a lot of minds together so this thing CAN be solved.  20+ years is far too long for a hunt to remain open.  So, without further ado...............................on to the hunt. As for those who question my volunteering...and possibly thinking that I do not even have any of my own ideas....well, here are a few: just remember, these are just theories to be tossed around and proved or disproved by the masses. V1-  i really like Cat's theories on this.  The reason I so hoped she may be incorrect is because I have found many confirmers linking this (as well as P2) to the Four Corners area. V2 - Boston MA...somewhere in the historic district. V6 - well, we all seem to agree FL. V7 - kind of leaning towards St. Louis MO.  probably somewhere near the Gateway Arch. V8 - Atlanta GA....possibly in Peidmont Park V10 - Good possibility in Pittsburgh PA (along w/ P4).  The Liberty Bell is in Philly but a lot of the lines in the V point me to Pitt. V12 & P5 - casque located in Grant Park, Chicago IL.

Wow! I cannot believe this hunt has resurfaced. I thought it was long since dead. I would very much like to become active in this online effort. I live and travel often through out the U.S. Unfortunately I have not seen my copy of the book in ten years. I down loaded the verses and pictures, however the pictures are very grainy and I cannot see any detail. Does anyone have good quality scans of the pictures they could post? Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated, as I then would something to contribute to this hunt. Thanks

It looks like it's time to unpack that book radar  8)  I'm sure you can remember some of your ideas without finely scanned photos.  The pics that Mark Parry has put up are actually pretty good.  Glad to have you join in....any little bit of info provided could be the key or missing link another hunter needs.

My book is long gone. I have moved five times since then. If anyone can scan the twelve paintings I could decipher them much better. (although I did not have one solid clue ten years ago, I am sure a better look would be helpfull) Thanks

If you open the pictures up in a programme such as Photo Express and increase the brightness, they appear much clearer. Chris.

I am using Image Expert but cannot make out the fine detail. I will try to find a copy on-line

a grainy scan enlarged just makes the grains larger.  No offense -- we're really grateful to have any images online at all -- but, I am also unable to see any detail in these images. Fortunately, I ordered a copy from a bookstore I found thru abebooks.com -- btw, don't use their online shopping cart, just use them to do a search and then call or email the store directly.  (I could have had the book by now, but the store never got the order because abebooks failed.)  When my copy arrives, I might be able to have a friend scan the images and upload them to his server.  The load times will be slower, but if only a few of us still don't have the book, we could all just download the images and view them locally in the future.  My copy of the book only cost $6.95 + $5 shipping, so this is not a major hardship to own a copy for your collection. Anyway, the images we have now are convenient references for discussion, and as such are quite useful and appreciated.

It sure didnt take long for interest to be lost on this hunt (or folks just not sharing ideas anymore.  What is up?

I was in the middle of David Blaine's Mysterious Stranger $100,000 Challenge, but I like this hunt much better, less crypto and more sluething. I am currently waiting for a new copy of the book as the pictures posted here are a little grainy. I am working on the verses, but I need a starting point(the picture to match) to better understand them. I will post any ideas I find as soon as possible.

had a busy week at work, had a mini-gathering with a player from The Stone, had a school field trip with my daughter, and finally got my copy of the book in the mail mid-week. The weekend will allow me to scan some selected areas of the book for zoomed-in detail.  I'll share them with you all.

Sounds great Cat, thanks!  Glad you finally got your copy of the book.  So, are the P's easier to see now?  I'm really not sure (as with most of us I believe) which parts of the book are used with the hunt.  I am under the impression that it is just the P's, V's and the little blurbs before and after.  I do not believe the detailed stories of each of the creatures is needed, nor is the intro to the book.  Those are just my opinions though.......

Unknown: The weekend will allow me to scan some selected areas of the book for zoomed-in detail.  I'll share them with you all. That would be great, Catherwood.  I had asked a number of questions about things that I recall being hidden in the pics, so if you could take a look (or anyone else for that matter), it would be appreciated.

Unknown: I had asked a number of questions about things that I recall being hidden in the pics, so if you could take a look (or anyone else for that matter), it would be appreciated. what were the questions Egg?  I'll see what I can find out for you too.

Apologies for the delay.  We're upgrading some server hardware and reinstalling software upgrades.  The scanner has moved lower on the list of priorities this weekend.

Thanks for the update. I will be pleased with any help you can provide. Thanks, Radar

here is a sneaky trick for those of you who want to print large copies of the photos but don't want to run down to kinkos and pay for it. Use Excel - seriously- Go into excel - then insert picture - you can then drag the edge of the picture as large as you want to make it flip back and forth between print preview to see how many pages you have expanded it to cover. I find the pix from secrets blow up really well at about 1 page wide - two pages tall. Then you print them and trim them - they overlap stick em together with scotch tape... Matt Sparks

So I was leafing through the new book Origins: The Art of John Jude Palencar today, and on p. 12 is a little picture of the cover art of The Secret . The caption reads: " One of John's earliest jobs was creating twelve paintings for The Secret in 1982--the book and art provided clues to finding "jewels" hidden around the U.S., but the first weren't found until 2005 ." Okay, not entirely accurate, but I can definitely recommend Origins . If you think JJP's art in The Secret is good, you should get a load of what he's been up to since then.

look at the dates of the posts on this page... April 2003, April 2004 & April 2007. Do we have to wait another year to post in this thread

Yeah, I didn't want to create a whole new thread just for my casual observations. Let me revise my recommendation to find Origins to something stronger. It really helps to see some of Palencar's other work to get a sense of what features of the 12 paintings might be significant vs. (from our standpoint) irrelevant artistic flourishes. As it turns out, he likes painting beautiful women, and pitted stone walls, etc. so some of these things probably have no significance beyond that. He also frequently paints from live models (my guess is that P10 is a real person). In any case, it is interesting to see more art from the person who's paintings we've all been staring at on a daily basis for years. Origins is an excellent source, as is Palencar's website: hxxp://www.johnjudepalencar.com/ Did you know, for instance, that P5 has a real title, and that it is called "Castle Hat"? hxxp://www.johnjudepalencar.com/CastleHat.htm

forest_blight wrote:: Did you know, for instance, that P5 has a real title, and that it is called "Castle Hat"? hxxp://www.johnjudepalencar.com/CastleHat.htm interesting indeed... Are the other 11 P's titled as well?

fox wrote:: interesting indeed... Are the other 11 P's titled as well? Would have been more helpful had he entitled the artwork as "Chicago-Grant Park" rather than "Castle Hat"

Trohn wrote:: Would have been more helpful had he entitled the artwork as "Chicago-Grant Park" rather than "Castle Hat" I believe P9 is entitled "Mint Julip Anyone?"  but I am not sure what that means...

fox wrote:: I believe P9 is entitled "Mint Julip Anyone?"  but I am not sure what that means... ROTFL!!

that explains Image 8's title: Pranksters put animals on totems wilhouse

So the solution to all the puzzles just sort of hit me all at once last night.  Someone(not me) should just break into the bank where BP kept the jewels and the solutions.  I figure it has got to be easier than trying to figure out the puzzles.  At least we know where the bank is. just kidding, of course digger7

digger7 wrote:: So the solution to all the puzzles just sort of hit me all at once last night.  Someone(not me) should just break into the bank where BP kept the jewels and the solutions.  I figure it has got to be easier than trying to figure out the puzzles.  At least we know where the bank is. just kidding, of course digger7 I think Wilhouse has tried that.  Too bad BP kept everything in his mattress.

Egbert said that when Preiss opened the magic vault, the jewels were there but the solutions were not... wilhouse