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You may have seen earlier in the year we covered, ‘There’s Treasure Inside’. The book, written by Jon Collins-Black, contains a series of clues, which are said to ultimately lead to a unique hoard unlike any other. It was the hot topic of the time among avid explorers, seeking the thrill of a treasure trail. The five chests boast an incredible bounty, including an array of rare artifacts, that have great historical significance, as well as being extremely valuable.
The sceptics among us, may find themselves questioning Jon Collins-Black’s claim that anyone can work out his puzzle and find the treasure. Let’s face it, if that was true, then they would not still lay unclaimed all these months later. Online cynics have questioned whether this is another one of those hunts, one that will only lead to disappointment.
Treasure hunts are extremely popular and gain a lot of media attention, but there have been several cases throughout the years where things are not all as they seem. Whether it’s due to nefarious actions of the organizer, logistical nightmares, or trouble amongst the treasure hunters themselves.
Let’s take a look at some infamous cases, where scandal was the only thing discovered.
Take part in your own treasure hunt adventure!
The Golden Key
Ever been so irked that no one could solve your treasure hunt, that you just threw your hands up in despair, and resorted to digging up the prize and keeping it yourself instead? That’s what Don Shaw did when he published his ‘armchair treasure hunt’ in 1982.
No time limit was specified, but he only waited 7 years before closing the hunt in 1989. The solution involves solving a cipher contained within the pages of the book, but it still remains unsolved to this day. According to this website there is still a group of active searchers trying to crack the code.
Hareraiser
This scandal starts with wholesome beginnings, when in the 1970s, artist Kit Williams created Masquerade, a picture book that hid a series of clues within its illustrations, that lead to the location of buried treasure. Specifically, a striking bejewelled hare-shaped pendant. The book was incredibly popular, and captivated treasure hunters all over the world who were seeking the solution. In 1982, finally the location was determined by an anonymous individual.
This is where things get interesting, in 1984, the puzzle game Hareraiser was released, and it promised a prize for whoever could solve it. To win, you had to send your solution to the game’s creator Haresoft, who would advise whether you were correct. Of course, there was no way to verify the solution, since you were relying on Haresoft simply to tell you if you were correct. It was already a little suspicious that the game was sold in two parts, seemingly for no other reason than to make more money. It was more than a little suspicious that the game was confusing at best, and completely unsolvable at worst. Eventually it came out that it was indeed insolvable, and that they never intended to give away a prize.
When Haresoft eventually went under in 1988, the prized Golden Hare from Kit Williams’ original hunt, was used as collateral and auctioned off. It was then eventually discovered by The Sunday Times, that the owner of Haresoft, was in fact the original anonymous solver of Masquerade. Except he never actually solved anything, he circumvented the book entirely and used his personal connection to Kit’s ex-girlfriend, who divulged the location to him. The story has been widely covered, but you can get your TL:DR here on reddit.
Cadbury Creme Egg Treasure Hunt
If you’ve found yourself pondering if the Easter Bunny has ever been trespassed, when laying out the eggs for an Easter hunt, this has to be the next best thing. Discovery turned into disaster in 1985, when Cadbury encouraged children to go metal detecting and digging, at a number of historical sites in a bid to find undiscovered treasure. Unfortunately, in their misguided attempt at a fun marketing stunt, Cadbury linked on their website to official heritage landmarks, who had not actually approved an affiliation with the campaign.
They listed these locations with captions such as ‘get your hands dirty to discover more’, ‘the treasure’s fair game’, and ‘grab your metal detector and go hunting’. The result? Members of the public digging up and trespassing on protected sites and private land, and bonus points for encouraging children to break the law.
Annual Utah Treasure Hunt
There’s always someone who ruins the fun for everyone else isn’t there?
In 2023, this treasure hunt ended in controversy, and jeopardised the future of similar events. It started when users of r/utahtreasurehunt questioned the winner, who incorrectly used the term ‘arc math’ to explain how they solved it. Then, everything spiralled when a leak surfaced online. The leaker, who wanted to remain anonymous, promised the solution to those on Instagram who had been publicly looking for the treasure. In return, they asked for a cut of the prize money. Those who took them up on their offer were given the answer and final location. When all of this came to light, the legitimacy of the hunt was called into question, and the annual puzzle event came to an end, for now at least.
Scavenge without scandal!
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