History of the shock that a picture book that solves the mystery hidden in the illustrations and makes a treasure hunt for real is born

"Mask ball"Is a picture book written by Kit Williams in 1979, and it was a mechanism to understand the existence of treasure actually when deciphering the hidden code in the illustration. Furthermore, it was known that many people participated in the treasure hunt and triggered the treasure hunting boom later, as it was the rule that treasure was presented to the person found first. In addition, Mask Ball also has caused a case of shocking participants in the treasure hunt, and its background has been released on YouTube.

The Crazy Story Of A Real Life Treasure Hunt - YouTube


In the mid-1970s, Tom Mashler, who worked for a major publisher in England, visited Kit Williams, a well-known artist at the time.


To Mr. Williams, Mr. Mashura said that he asked for work "I will not make a picture book that no one has ever made."


Mr. Williams who took over the request for work seemed to have thought that "I do not want to make a book that will not be read soon after being visited for the first time", "How to make it long by the reader and examine the content I was worrying about what I can do.


And the idea that was invented was "puzzle book".


This puzzle book looks like an ordinary picture book, but keywords are hidden in 16 illustrations such as rabbits and people ... ...



Successfully deciphering earlier than anyone, you get the "rabbit necklace (made from 18 karat gold and jewelry)" (rabbit of gold) "that Williams himself created and hid somewhere in England It was possible to do.


Williams's puzzle book titled "Masquerade Ball" was published in 1979, and it was a big hit in the blink of an eye.


Mr. Mashura who asked Mr. Williams to do the work said, "Although 50,000 copies were reprinted one day after the publication, the momentum did not stop and it became an abnormal situation that 500,000 copies would be reprinted again three days later. I have never seen a book that called. "


In addition, the gold rabbits described in the "Mask ball" had to get an answer to Mr. Williams in advance so that it would not be unfair to distant people before obtaining the approval before digging up.



And two years after publication, tens of millions challenge this book. A large number of letters arrived under Mr. Williams, but no one was able to derive an accurate answer.


However, in March 1982, an answer indicating the exact position of gold rabbits was sent to Mr. Williams.


Mr. Ken Thomas's letter, which led to the correct answer, lacked consideration on cryptography hidden in picture books. However, because the exact position of the golden rabbit was noted, Mr. Williams confirmed Mr. Thomas' answer and acknowledged it as the correct answer.


After that, Mr. Williams instructed Mr. Thomas to dig a gold rabbit, so that the mask game of the mask ball that involved a lot of people ended the curtain.


The cipher hidden by the mask ball was very unique which Mr. Williams invented independently.


All illustrations of the mask ball are surrounded by a frame with multiple phrases.


Paying attention to multiple creatures present within this frame has become a hint to solve a mystery. For example, there are three creatures in this picture: rabbits, people, dogs.


Then draw a straight line connecting the left eye and the left hand of each creature existing in the illustration and find the character on the extension line.


Next, right eye and right hand.


We will identify the letters on the extension line connecting "left eye and left foot" "right eye and right foot" of each animal.



Then, six alphabets appear from this illustration, and if rearranged, it becomes the word "buried".


Collecting words from all the illustrations in this manner will result in "Catherine's Long finger Over Shadow Earth Buried Yellow Amulet - Midday Points The Hour In Light of Equinox - Look you (Spring Equinox Light at noon, Catherine's on the ground filled with yellow necklace Drop the shadow of the middle finger) "completes.


Furthermore, if we collect only the acronyms of each word ...


"CLOSE BY AMPTHILL (near AMPTOHILL)" and clear places can be specified.


Together with this information, "The gold rabbit is right under the shadow that the tip of the Catherine of Aragon monument in the U.S. Ampto Hill Park drops at noon on the vernal equinox (or autumnal equinox) day" It was a mechanism to clarify the place where gold rabbits were hidden.



However, it became clear that there was a problem in the treasure hunt that seemed to be solved in 1982. In 1988, six years after gold rabbit passed to Mr. Thomas, in EnglandSunday TimesReported a scandal.


"The person called Ken Thomas who got a golden rabbit at the mask ball but it was not real and it was a pseudonym that Mr. Dugard Thompson claimed," was revealed by the Sunday Times.


Furthermore, it is also made clear that a partner of Mr. Thompson's business partner, John Guard, is Veronica Robertson, who previously lived with Mr. Williams of the author.


Mr. Robertson was living together when Mr. Williams was writing a masquerade, and he did not know the exact position of the golden rabbit, but he seems to have grasped the approximate position.


And it is true that Mr. Robertson, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Guard searched for the place of gold rabbits, took Ken Thomas and sent "Well-specified" solution to "Mr. Williams" , The Sunday Times reported. Also, under Mr. Williams, a letter wrote an accurate answer from two physicists just after Mr. Ken Thomas' answer was approved. For this reason, he said he was shocked that Mr. Williams should have given Kim Rabbits to the physicists.


When scandal was discovered, Mr. Thompson launched a game company named "Hare Soft" and developed and sold a game named "HARERAISER". This game diverted the idea of ​​Mr. Williams's "Masquerade Ball" as it was, and was to present "gold rabbit" to the person who unraveled the mystery of the game.


However, in HAIRRAISER 's game screen there are many images and texts showing insufficient information, and many people who played did not understand at all. As a result, no one accepted gold rabbits. Because of this influence, Hare Soft also failed in business and the company went bankrupt.


After bankruptcy of Hare Soft, gold rabbits were auctioned and bid for 31,900 pounds (about 4.8 million yen). However, it is not clear who won the bid.


And in 21 years after August 2009,BBCI chased the location of the golden rabbit and the owner turned out. After that, it seems that gold rabbits returned safely to Mr. Williams.