Edgar Allan Poe On October 22nd 1969, the San Francisco Examiner newspaper published an article by Will Stevens, which laid down a challenge from Professor D.C.B. Marsh of the American Cryptogram Association (ACA) to the Zodiac Killer, attempting to coax him into revealing his name. The newspaper stated "Dr Marsh told the Examiner today: "The killer wouldn't dare, as he claimed in letters to the newspapers, to reveal his name in the cipher to established cryptogram experts. He knows, to quote Edgar Allan Poe, that any cipher created by man can be solved by man. Zodiac has not told the truth in his cipher messages to the Examiner, the Chronicle and the Vallejo Times-Herald. Zodiac has not done this, because to tell the complete truth in relation to his name -in cipher code - would lead to his capture. I invite Zodiac to send The American Cryptogram Association a cipher code - however complicated - which will truly and honestly include his name".
It was probably hoped that by invoking the name of Edgar Allan Poe, the Zodiac Killer would use a technique employed by Poe in the design of his next code. The Zodiac Killer, having created two lengthy ciphers, must have known that code breakers would find it difficult to confirm a solution to such a short code of thirteen characters on April 20th 1970, so may have hinted towards an answer using material created by Edgar Allan Poe. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time.
Edgar Allan Poe's essay A Few Words on Secret Writing began with an examination of the scytale method of encryption and decoding, which can be used to reveal Zodiac's message in the 340 cipher. The essay followed up with a second encryption technique by splitting the alphabet into two sections of thirteen characters, A through M, and N through Z. It didn't go unnoticed that Zodiac used thirteen characters in his code on April 20th 1970, beginning with the ciphertext character A, and ending with the ciphertext character M. In the next section of the essay, an individual who withheld his name, provided us with the following:
It was probably hoped that by invoking the name of Edgar Allan Poe, the Zodiac Killer would use a technique employed by Poe in the design of his next code. The Zodiac Killer, having created two lengthy ciphers, must have known that code breakers would find it difficult to confirm a solution to such a short code of thirteen characters on April 20th 1970, so may have hinted towards an answer using material created by Edgar Allan Poe. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time.
Edgar Allan Poe's essay A Few Words on Secret Writing began with an examination of the scytale method of encryption and decoding, which can be used to reveal Zodiac's message in the 340 cipher. The essay followed up with a second encryption technique by splitting the alphabet into two sections of thirteen characters, A through M, and N through Z. It didn't go unnoticed that Zodiac used thirteen characters in his code on April 20th 1970, beginning with the ciphertext character A, and ending with the ciphertext character M. In the next section of the essay, an individual who withheld his name, provided us with the following:
Being the only date referenced in Poe's essay, it is noticeable that the Zodiac Killer by mailing his April 20th 1970 letter on this date, probably hoped it would be received by the newspaper on April 21st 1970, with "My name is ____", imitating the introduction above. I previously discovered that the only complete novel ever published by Edgar Allan Poe was entitled "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket". The very first line of this book read "My name is Arthur Gordon Pym". But this wasn't all. Here is the opening chapter of the novel mentioning "money", as did Zodiac on April 20th 1970 when he wrote "I am mildly cerous as to how much money you have on my head now". The opening paragraph also mentions the locations of Nantucket and New Bedford.
But how does "My name is" from the novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" tie into Edgar Allan Poe's essay A Few Words on Secret Writing? The unnamed author in the above challenge to Poe on April 21st was from Stonington, Connecticut (revealed by the postmark). Is it possible that the Zodiac Killer, having mailed the thirteen character code within one day of this postmark, was choosing the introduction of "My name is" from a Poe novel to point us towards Stonington, Connecticut? The Zodiac had given us the near-postmark from the essay, so why not give us a clue to Stonington as well. The opening paragraph of the novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket", beginning with "My name is", gave us the two locations of Nantucket and New Bedford. These locations are only 88 miles and 54 miles east of Stonington, Connecticut. The locations of Norwalk, Connecticut and Albany, New York are also relevant to two Zodiac communications on March 2nd 1981 and August 1st 1973.
I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING LOTS OF FUN IN TRYING TO CATCH ME - THAT WASN’T ME ON THE TV SHOW - WHICH BRINGS UP A POINT ABOUT ME - I AM NOT AFRAID OF THE GAS CHAMBER BECAUSE IT WILL SEND ME TO PARADICE ALL THE SOONER BECAUSE I NOW HAVE ENOUGH SLAVES TO WORK FOR ME WHERE EVERYONE ELSE HAS NOTHING WHEN THEY REACH PARADICE - SO THEY ARE AFRAID OF DEATH - I AM NOT AFRAID BECAUSE I KNOW THAT MY NEW LIFE IS LIFE WILL BE AN EASY ONE IN PARADICE DEATH.
"To One in Paradise" was written by Edgar Allan Poe. This poem was first published as part of the short story titled "The Visionary" (later retitled as "The Assignation"). The poem was also published under the names "To lanthe in Heaven" and "To One Beloved". The title "To One in Paradise" was used in the February 25, 1843 Saturday Musuem. This poem was written after the death of Poe's wife. He writes that she was his life and he lived for her and now he looks forward to the future where they will be together again in death. link.
The Zodiac Killer must have known that any solution to the thirteen character code on April 20th 1970 was practically unverifiable, unless the answer resided within the works of Edgar Allan Poe - and this link could be reasonably demonstrated. If the Zodiac Killer was capable of placing "One in Paradice" from a poem title by Poe into the 340 cipher, then he is capable of giving us a solution to the thirteen character code from material within the novel of "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket". "My name is" begins the novel - and is the prelude (with dash) to the thirteen character code - so why shouldn't the answer to the Zodiac's code follow both and be the same. The solution to the thirteen character code may lie within "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" by Edgar Allan Poe. Or can the method used to decode the "Stonington" cipher be used to provide a solution for the April 20th 1970 Zodiac cipher.
"To One in Paradise" was written by Edgar Allan Poe. This poem was first published as part of the short story titled "The Visionary" (later retitled as "The Assignation"). The poem was also published under the names "To lanthe in Heaven" and "To One Beloved". The title "To One in Paradise" was used in the February 25, 1843 Saturday Musuem. This poem was written after the death of Poe's wife. He writes that she was his life and he lived for her and now he looks forward to the future where they will be together again in death. link.
The Zodiac Killer must have known that any solution to the thirteen character code on April 20th 1970 was practically unverifiable, unless the answer resided within the works of Edgar Allan Poe - and this link could be reasonably demonstrated. If the Zodiac Killer was capable of placing "One in Paradice" from a poem title by Poe into the 340 cipher, then he is capable of giving us a solution to the thirteen character code from material within the novel of "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket". "My name is" begins the novel - and is the prelude (with dash) to the thirteen character code - so why shouldn't the answer to the Zodiac's code follow both and be the same. The solution to the thirteen character code may lie within "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" by Edgar Allan Poe. Or can the method used to decode the "Stonington" cipher be used to provide a solution for the April 20th 1970 Zodiac cipher.