The Secret

**The Secret** is the 4th episode in Season 4 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

Josh travels across the United States to find the treasures featured in the cryptic 1982 book "The Secret"; Josh meets with members of the book's cult following, who each think they are on the verge of locating one of the 10 remaining treasures.

## Historical Context

"In 1982, an enterprising publisher named Byron Preiss buries 12 treasure boxes across the United States and then releases a book filled with cryptic images and verses that reveal clues to their locations. Each box contains a key that can be redeemed for a valuable gemstone. Within a year, three teenagers triumphantly unearthed the first box in Chicago, but then the trail goes cold for nearly 2 decades. But in 2004, a second box is discovered in Cleveland. In a tragic turn of events, Byron Preiss dies in a car accident, taking the locations of the remaining 10 treasures to his grave. But "The Secret" lives on."

~ Josh Gates

## Summary

Josh goes to Chicago, Illinois and meets Robert Wrobel and Eric Gasiorowski, two of the three men who found the first Secret treasure box in the '80s. They walk Josh through how they found the box and show him it. Josh then goes to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and meets James Renner, a reporter, at Lake Park. They follow the poem up 92 stairs past North Point Lighthouse and to a lion statue but they aren't able to continue the search because of a thunderstorm.

Josh heads to New York City and onto a ferry to Ellis Island where he meets Blaire and Karah Preiss, Byron's daughters. They explain the book is about immigration throughout America. Josh follows clues from a poem through Lower Manhattan but it's a dead end. Josh then goes to Cleveland, Ohio, and meets John Jude Palencar, the illustrator of "The Secret." They talk about the illustrations and John says even he can't figure out the puzzles.

Josh meets Andy Abrams at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, where he and Brian Zinn dug up the Cleveland box. Andy explains how they found the box and then they head down to St Augustine, Florida where they search for another Secret box. He searches the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park with Andy, Brian Zinn, and John Fraser, the owner of the park. They also meet Steve Scruggs and Sean who use GPR to help locate a possible box. However, it turns out to just be a tile.

## Final Words

"I can admit when I'm beat, and today I got downright smoked. "The Secret" is maddeningly hard, and I felt crushed that I couldn't decipher it, but it's also probably my favourite expedition of all time. Byron Preiss used these puzzles as bait, tempting readers to embrace a bigger prize, the overlooked monuments and parks of America, the thrill of adventures and the ties that bind us to our immigrant past. Two puzzles are solved, and my hat goes off to Eric and Rob in Chicago and Andy and Brian in Cleveland, but Milwaukee, New York, and Florida are still out there, as is Boston, San Francisco, Virginia, and more. The boxes, with their keys, can still be redeemed with Byron Preiss' estate, so the treasures can still be yours. But, to those seeking glory, a word of warning - we dug with special permission from park authorities, and many people have lost years of their lives in the winding labyrinth of these puzzles. Enter the maze with caution, but be sure to call me if you happen to discover "The Secret."

~ Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* Steve Scruggs was also featured in Vikings in America

## Quotes

* "I'm not talking about the Oprah-approved self-help book."
* "I've got a reading light. I assume this is a cocaine holder, all the mid-80's amenities, really."
* "Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!"
* "It's buried under a lion!"
* "He went on to found the U.S Treasury, he's the guy on the front of the 10-dollar bill, and the star of a Broadway musical that, for some reason, I still cannot get tickets to."
* "This is like Watergate."
* "Oh, I like secret weapons."

## References

1. ↑ https://www.chicagotribune.com/resizer/XOumxKHDxJdT-OWYsddU\_oWB4T4=/1200x674/top/www.trbimg.com/img-5a56d282/turbine/ct-1515639422-yla3efuu2f-snap-image