View source for The Secret (treasure hunt)

{{Short description|Book treasure hunt started by Byron Priess}}
[[File:The_Secret_treasure_book_cover.jpg|thumb|right|Cover of 1982 book ''The Secret'']]
'''The Secret''' is a treasure hunt created by [[Byron Preiss]]. The hunt involves a search for twelve treasure boxes, the clues to which were provided in a book written by Preiss in 1982, also called ''The Secret''. These boxes were buried at secret locations in cities across the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] that symbolically represent events and peoples that played significant roles in North American history. Anyone who uncovered one of the treasure boxes was entitled to exchange it with Preiss for a precious gem.

Preiss died in a [[Traffic collision|car accident]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.easthamptonstar.com/archive/man-killed-trying-turn-highway |title=Man Is Killed Trying to Turn Onto Highway |date=July 14, 2005 |first=Alex |last=McNear |work=[[The East Hampton Star]]}}</ref> His estate assumed the responsibility of honoring the terms of the treasure hunt. As of 2024, only three of the twelve boxes have been found. Preiss kept no record of the treasure boxes' exact locations before his death, leaving it a possibility that the remaining boxes may never be recovered.

==Book==
Clues for where the treasures were buried are provided in a puzzle book named ''The Secret'' produced by [[Byron Preiss]] and first published by [[Bantam Books|Bantam]] in 1982.<ref name=BookVersions/>  The book was authored by Sean Kelly and Ted Mann and illustrated by [[John Jude Palencar]], John Pierard, and Overton Loyd; JoEllen Trilling, Ben Asen, and Alex Jay also contributed to the book.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thesecret.pbworks.com/w/page/87278728/History|title=The History Behind 'The Secret'|accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> A Japanese version was published in 1983, and the English version was re-issued in 2014.<ref name=BookVersions/> The book contains 12 images and 12 verses; an image must be linked to a verse, with the information they contain used to locate a buried "treasure casque".<ref>''The Secret'' (1982), pp. 7–8</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size: 100%;"
|+''The Secret'' book variants
|-
! Year !! ISBN !! Language !! Format !! Publisher
|-
| rowspan=2|1982 || rowspan=2|{{ISBN|0-553-01408-0}} || rowspan=2|English || Paperback || rowspan=2|[[Bantam Books|Bantam]]
|-
| Hardcover<ref name=BookVersions>{{cite web |url=https://12treasures.com/book-variants/ |title=Book Variants |website=12treasures.com |accessdate=November 9, 2019}}</ref>
|-
| 1983 || 0276-831122-7339 || Japanese || Paperback || Futami-shobo
|-
| rowspan=2|2014 || {{ISBN|978-1-59687-444-2}} || rowspan=2|English || Hardcover || rowspan=2|ibooks.com
|-
| {{ISBN|978-1-59687-401-5}} || Paperback
|}

==Treasure boxes==
{{as of|2024}}, three of the treasure boxes have been recovered.<ref name=12Treasures>{{cite web |url=https://12treasures.com |title=Shhh! The Secret Podcast |website=12treasures.com |accessdate=November 10, 2019}}</ref><ref name=Boston/> The first was found in [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]]; the second in [[Cleveland|Cleveland, Ohio]]; and the most recent treasure box was found in [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]].<ref name=Boston/> The remaining nine treasure boxes have not yet been recovered.<ref name=12Treasures/> The Boston treasure box's recovery was filmed for [[Discovery Channel]]'s television show ''[[Expedition Unknown]]'' and aired on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, a recovery which only occurred due to the puzzle being featured in two previous episodes of the series.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-newsroom/epic-season-finale-of-discovery-channels-expedition-unknown-starring-josh-gates-uncovers-famed-hidden-treasure/ |title=EPIC SEASON FINALE OF DISCOVERY CHANNEL'S 'EXPEDITION UNKNOWN' STARRING JOSH GATES UNCOVERS FAMED HIDDEN TREASURE |website=discovery.com |date=October 28, 2019 |accessdate=November 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discovery.com/shows/expedition-unknown/expedition-unknown--the-secret-treasure-found-in-boston-pictures|title=Expedition Unknown: 'The Secret' Treasure Found in Boston|last=|first=|date=|website=Discovery Com|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref><ref name=ExpeditionUnknown2019-TheSecretSolved>{{cite episode |series= Expedition: Unknown |title= The Secret Solved |year= 2019 }}</ref>

Over time, some of the cached casques may have been destroyed, or been built over, as was happening with the Boston casque, which was buried in [[Langone Park]], in Boston’s North End which was undergoing renovation, resulting in the casque being dug up by an excavator. Clues would no longer match in cases where the surrounding area has changed since the book was originally published.<ref name=ExpeditionUnknown2019-TheSecretSolved/> Similarly, boxes in like New Orleans (which faced mass destruction due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-17 |title=Hurricane Katrina {{!}} Deaths, Damage, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Hurricane-Katrina |access-date=2025-10-03 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>) and New York City (which has undergone major renovations<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-06-05 |title=New York City’s Evolving Skyline (Published 2019) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/realestate/new-york-citys-evolving-skyline.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250407142243/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/realestate/new-york-citys-evolving-skyline.html |archive-date=2025-04-07 |access-date=2025-10-03 |language=en}}</ref> since the 1980s) have become extremely difficult to track.

Note: This table is the consensus from the majority of searchers.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size: 100%;"
|-
! Image No.<ref name=PBW>{{cite web |url=http://thesecret.pbworks.com/w/page/22148559/FrontPage |title=The Secret (a treasure hunt) |via=pbworks.com |accessdate=November 9, 2019}}</ref>
! Verse No.<ref name=PBW/>
! Verse opening
! Status
! Location (solved, or likely)
! Ref.
|-
| 1 || 7 || ''At stone wall's door''  || bgcolor=red | Unsolved || [[San Francisco, California]] || <ref>{{cite news |url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/03/04/treasure-hunters-san-francisco-golden-gate-park/ |title=Treasure Hunters May Be Closing In On Prize In Golden Gate Park |first=Wilson |last=Walker |website=[[KPIX-TV]] |date=March 4, 2019 |accessdate=November 10, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/secret-buried-treasure-san-francisco-parks |title=S.F. Marks the Spot for Buried Treasure |quote=A fantasy author’s 37-year-old cache may soon be unearthed in one of the city’s 220 parks. But which one? |first=Shoshi |last=Parks |website=[[Atlas Obscura]] |date=September 20, 2019 |accessdate=November 10, 2019}}</ref>
|-
| 2 || 6 || ''Of all the romance retold'' || bgcolor=red | Unsolved || [[Charleston, South Carolina]] || <ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/news/discovery-channel-team-to-dig-up-charleston-s-white-point/article_4319b540-5c8e-11e9-b98d-0f7341873982.html |title=Discovery Channel team to dig up Charleston's White Point Garden in search of buried key |first=Robert |last=Behre |website=[[The Post and Courier]] |location=[[San Francisco, California]] |date=April 22, 2019 |accessdate=November 9, 2019}}</ref>
|-
| 3 || 11 || ''Pass two friends of octave'' || bgcolor=red| Unsolved || [[Fort Raleigh National Historic Site#Elizabethan Gardens|Elizabethan Garden]], [[Roanoke Island]], [[North Carolina]] || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://mysteriouswritings.com/in-search-of-the-roanoke-island-casque-of-the-secret-armchair-treasure-hunt-six-questions-with-dustin-and-deidra-white/ |title=In Search of the Roanoke Island Casque of The Secret Armchair Treasure Hunt: Six Questions with Dustin and Deidra White |first=Jenny |last=Kile |website=Mysterious Writings |date=June 9, 2019 |accessdate=November 10, 2019}}</ref>
|-
| 4 || 4 || ''Beneath two countries'' || bgcolor=Green | Solved (2004) || Greek Garden, [[Cleveland, Ohio]] || <ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38739736/treasure_hunter_strikes_pay_dirt/ |title=Treasure hunter strikes pay dirt |first=Merry |last=Firschein |newspaper=[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]] |location=[[Bergen County, New Jersey]] |page=1 |date=July 18, 2004 |accessdate=November 9, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38739883/treasure_a_22year_quest_ends_in_a/ |title=Treasure: A 22-year quest ends in a park in Cleveland |first=Merry |last=Firschein |newspaper=[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]] |location=[[Bergen County, New Jersey]] |page=12 |date=July 18, 2004 |accessdate=November 9, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
|-
| 5 || 12 || ''Where M and B are set in stone'' || bgcolor=Green | Solved (1983) || [[Grant Park (Chicago)|Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois]] || <ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38745577/travel_channel_show_revisits_80s/ |title=Travel Channel show revisits '80s treasure find in Grant Park |first=Tracy |last=Swartz |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]  |pages=1–3 |date=January 17, 2018 |accessdate=November 10, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXrK_DLFkVA |title=The Secret of Byron Preiss: How they found the Chicago key. |date=27 February 2017 |via=[[YouTube]] |accessdate=November 9, 2019}}</ref>
|-
| 6 || 9 || ''The first chapter'' || bgcolor=red | Unsolved || [[St. Augustine, Florida]]  ||
|-
| 8 || 1 || ''Fortress north'' || bgcolor=Red | Unsolved || [[Hermann Park|Hermann Park, Houston, Texas]] || <ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nola.com/archive/article_9a3a1c58-7b90-5e3e-a5e3-374c247d4c03.html |title=There's a secret treasure in New Orleans. We may have found it |first=Chelsea |last=Brasted |website=[[The Times-Picayune]] |via=nola.com |date=April 9, 2019 |accessdate=November 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/the-secret-theres-a-treasure-buried-in-new-orleans/289-555019370 |title=The Secret: There's a treasure buried in New Orleans |first=Thanh |last=Truong |website=[[WWL-TV]] |date=May 18, 2018 |accessdate=November 11, 2019}}</ref>
|-
| 10 || 8 || ''View the three stories of Mitchell'' || bgcolor=red | Unsolved  || [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]] || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vT5az35Y4lqMOBV7fyWMvymIdl6vOstrniGUnXA_Ducoz9fDcFk95N8C6UHDMlyuxW-tTrRlBUKd27V/pub|title=Milwaukee Solve|access-date=January 30, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| 9|| 5 || ''8'' |''Lane''|| bgcolor=Red | Unsolved  || [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada || 
|-
| 7|| 2 || ''At the place where jewels abound'' || bgcolor=Red | Unsolved || [[French Quarter]]/Lafayette, [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]] ||
|-
| 11 || 3 || ''If [[Thucydides]] is North of [[Xenophon]]'' || bgcolor=Green |Solved (2019) || Puopolo Field, [[Boston, Massachusetts]] || <ref name=Boston>{{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/10/25/hidden-treasure-family-quest-and-the-secret/RkYsVbk5DoSD6ReMCN9JJJ/story.html |title=Hidden treasure, a family's quest, and 'The Secret' |website=[[The Boston Globe]] |first=Billy |last=Baker |url-access=limited |date=October 25, 2019 |accessdate=November 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://northendwaterfront.com/2019/10/north-ends-baseball-fields-are-site-the-secret-treasure-hunt/ |title=Treasure Hunt Leads to North End Baseball Field |first=Matt |last=Conti |website=North End Waterfront |date=October 30, 2019 |accessdate=November 10, 2019}}</ref>
|-
| 12 || 10 || ''In the shadow Of the grey giant'' || bgcolor=red | Unsolved ||[[Queens]]/[[Coney Island|Coney]], New York, New York || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://mysteriouswritings.com/six-questions-with-james-renner-in-search-for-the-new-york-city-casque-of-the-secret-a-treasure-hunt/ |title=Six Questions with James Renner: In Search for the New York City Casque of The Secret (A Treasure Hunt) |first=Jenny |last=Kile |website=Mysterious Writings |date=April 18, 2019 |accessdate=November 11, 2019}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
* [[Masquerade (book)|''Masquerade'' (book)]]
* ''[[A Treasure's Trove]]''
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38745196/a_reallife_da_vinci_code/ |title=A Real-Life Da Vinci Code |first=Erin |last=Heffernan |newspaper=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |page=A5 |date=October 21, 2019 |accessdate=November 10, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} (links Image 9 and Verse 7 to [[St. Louis]])
* {{cite magazine |url=https://medium.com/stanford-magazine/a-treasure-hunt-for-the-ages-440c823fc019 |title=Can This Puzzle Be Solved? |magazine=Stanford Magazine |first=Sam |last=Scott |date=July 16, 2018 |accessdate=November 10, 2019 |via=[[Medium (website)|Medium]]}}

== External links ==
* [http://thesecret.pbworks.com thesecret.pbworks.com]
* [https://12treasures.com 12treasures.com]
* [https://www.kitpalencar.com/home The Secret: The Hunt for the 13th Casque]
* [https://12treasures.com/anniversary-hunt/ The Secret: 40th Anniversary Hunt]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret}}
[[Category:1982 books]]
[[Category:Outdoor locating games]]
[[Category:Puzzle books]]
[[Category:Puzzle competitions]]
[[Category:Puzzle hunts]]
[[Category:Undeciphered historical codes and ciphers]]