The Subtlety of Witches – a 16th century cipher mystery

Back in 1982 a man named Byron Priess decided it would be a good idea to publish a treasure hunt. He spent a year or so traveling around the country, burying small ceramic boxes two feet underground. He wrote a few poems, and had a friend of his paint some images. The goal was to get the reader to match a poem with a verse, produce a treasure map of sorts, then go dig up the treasures.
He thought it would be easy.
40 years later we are finding out he was wrong.

So far two treasures have been found. One in Chicago, and one in Cleveland… so at least we know they are real. That’s about all we know for sure.

This project started with Byron recruiting a bunch of his friends. Sean and Ted to write some descriptions of strange creatures that Byron’s friend JoEllen sculpted out of clay and cloth, which were photographed by his childhood friend Ben. Then Byron’s friends John Palencar, John Pierard, and Overton Loyd made a bunch of images with the sole purpose of confusing all of us.

The project was created by a community of friends, and it is my opinion that a community of friends is the only way to solve it.

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Back in 1982 a man named Byron Priess decided it would be a good idea to publish a treasure hunt. He spent a year or so traveling around the country, burying small ceramic boxes two feet underground. He wrote a few poems, and had a friend of his paint some images. The goal was to get the reader to match a poem with a verse, produce a treasure map of sorts, then go dig up the treasures. He thought it would be easy. 40 years later we are finding out he was wrong. So far two treasures have been found. One in Chicago, and one in Cleveland… so at least we know they are real. That’s about all we know for sure. This project started with Byron recruiting a bunch of his friends. Sean and Ted to write some descriptions of strange creatures that Byron’s friend JoEllen sculpted out of clay and cloth, which were photographed by his childhood friend Ben. Then Byron’s friends John Palencar, John Pierard, and Overton Loyd made a bunch of images with the sole purpose of confusing all of us. The project was created by a community of friends, and it is my opinion that a community of friends is the only way to solve it.

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The Subtlety of Witches – a 16th century cipher mystery

The Subtlety of Witches – a 16th century cipher mystery

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