Case Status: OPEN
Purpose:
It is our hope that by making information about oc:0701 available to the public, members of the community may have information regarding the provenance, purpose, or content of the notes.
Background MSG2 (First letter received, 26 Nov 07):
On Monday, November 26, 2007, Diane Fulmer, executive assistant in the New York office of the Whitechapel Foundation returned from the Thanksgiving holiday and found that a single, white, letter-sized envelope with the handwritten word “Whitechapel” had been slipped through the mail slot in the front door of the office. Ms. Fulmer noted that the envelope had no postage or postmark, but did not consider this to be exceptional, as it is not unheard of that a local client or consultant will leave a note or document in this manner if the office is closed. She also noted that the envelope had not been sealed using the adhesive on the flap, but instead had been closed using a single piece of blue painter’s tape.
Thinking to process the letter as she normally would, Ms. Fulmer opened the envelope along the top edge with a letter opener and found inside a single sheet of white paper, inkjet-printed in the landscape orientation with what appeared to be a list of books or stories, along with other letters and numbers, none of which Ms. Fulmer could associated with any current Foundation business.
In light of the cryptic nature of the note, Ms. Fulmer brought it to the attention of Mr. Kennedy once he arrived at the office. Mr. Kennedy also felt that the note was not related to any current cases and asked Ms. Fulmer to forward the note and the envelope to Mr. Patel for processing.
Based on the content of the note, Mr. Patel confirmed that there is no obvious link between it and any current or past case in the Foundation’s archives. In light of the somewhat mysterious nature of the note, and since there has been no other communication related to it, Mr. Patel approved posting images of the note and the envelope as part of this newly established ‘Open Cases’ section of the website - even though it does not appear to relate directly to a paranormal event.
* UPDATE - 02 Jan 08 *
Very early on in the project members of the Open Cases collaborative community solved MSG2. If you would like to see the solve for MSG2, the Foundation has posted it here: OC:0701 - MSG2 Decoded Text . [Please note: This link displays the likely cleartext of this message. If you are interested in independently corroborating this solve you may not want to follow this link.]
The Foundation is still very interested in any information related to the meaning of MSG2 and how it might relate to the other OC:0701 messages. If you have any additional information related to this case, please leave a comment or contact Mr. Ethan Grant directly via the E-mail address below.
Images (Letter 1, ref. MSG2):
Notes, Letter 1 (MSG2):
- Foundation researchers will also be investigating this note, as they are able, with the goal of a) discovering the meaning the note’s content and b) determining the origin and purpose of the note. Any relevant information uncovered by the Foundation will be posted here, on the Open Cases site.
- [It should be noted that with the Foundation’s current heavy caseload, along with the somewhat ambiguous nature of this note, it is unlikely that Foundation researchers will be able to devote substantial time to this project.]
- The symbol visible in the lower right hand corner of the note is handwritten in pencil.
- Examination of the inside of the envelope, including beneath the taped portion of the flap, shows no markings of any kind.
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Background MSG3 (Second letter received, 28 Nov 07):
The following information has just been received. Earlier this evening (28 Nov 07) Diane Fulmer was finishing up work at the New York office of the Whitechapel Foundation. At approximately 18:30 she left her office to take a tea cup back to the break room, which is situated at the rear of the office. As she returned to her office (approximately 5 minutes later), she noticed that a white envelope had been slid through the mail slot in the office door during the time that she was in the break room. She immediately looked out of the door’s peephole and verified there there was no one on the lander. Upon examining the envelope she found that the word “Whitechapel” was written on green Sharpie marker on the front and that it had been sealed with a piece of blue painter’s tape.
Having found the original letter, Ms. Fulmer immediately called Christopher Patel to let him know what she had found. He confirmed that there did not appear to be anything inside the envelope other than a single sheet of paper and instructed Ms. Fulmer to open it and describe the contents. Upon hearing the description, he asked Ms. Fulmer to scan the envelope and letter and mail copies to himself and to Ethan Grant, so that the images [see below] could be posted immediately to the Open Cases site.
In light of the useful feedback we have receive so far, and in the interest of time (should that prove to be a factor), the images are being made available without prior research by the Foundation. Additional information will be added here as it becomes available.
Images (Letter 2, ref. MSG3)
Notes, Letter 2 (MSG3):
1) Initial crossref of the names found on the sheet of paper resulted in the following:
Enlil. The Foundation feels that this relates directly to a major Sumerian deity. Although this deity is referenced in numerous Foundation research documents, it has not been referenced in any past investigations.
W.Wallace (William Wallace?). Without further clarification the Foundation feels that William Wallace is the most likely reference.
The Foundation has worked on three cases within the 50 years that relate to William Wallace. All three cases were investigations into sightings of Wallace’s ghost and all three investigations were conducted at Ardrossan castle where the ghost was thought to have been seen.
- January 2-4, 1968. Findings: Inconclusive.
- April 17-22, 1984. Finding: Inconclusive
- February 29, 2004. Finding: Associate researcher Shane Macnab reported an unexplained feeling of dread and panic as he walked the castle grounds on the night of 2/29/04. No other events were recorded.
Ahasuerus. Without further clarification the Foundation feels that this references either the Persian King chronicled in the biblical book of Esther or the Wandering Jew of legend.
Although both figures are referenced in numerous Foundation research documents, Ahasuerus as Persian King has not been referenced in any past investigation.
There are several references to Ahasuerus as the Wondering Jew in older Foundation archives, all of them from the 19th century. Each consists of nothing more than accounts of regional sightings of the figure from throughout Europe.
2) Examination of the inside of the envelope, including beneath the taped portion of the flap, shows no markings of any kind.
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Background MSG1 (Third letter received, 03 Dec 07):
At approximately 07:40 this morning (03 Dec 07) Isabelle Hawkins was entering the New York office via the front entrance. As she approached the front steps she was greeted by Ralph Jacobs, a partner in a law firm located about one block up from the Foundation’s office. Ms. Hawkins recognized Mr. Jacobs as someone who works in the vicinity, but she had not previously made his acquaintance.
Upon introducing himself and verifying that Ms. Hawkins was with the Foundation, Mr. Jacobs produced a battered envelope and stated that he had discovered it minutes earlier in the bushes next to his office’s front steps. He stated that he couldn’t be sure how long the envelope might have been there, as he had just returned from a holiday which had begun at Thanksgiving.
Ms. Hawkins is familiar with OC:0701, so upon entering the office she mentioned the envelope to Ms. Fulmer and they both agreed that the best course of action was to take it immediately to Mr. Patel who was already in the office. Mr. Patel opened and documented the envelope and the letter that was found inside. There is no question that these items are related to OC:0701.
Assessing that there is a high likelihood that the letter is another, and potentially more complex, cipher, along with the fact that there is no other useful information on the letter or the envelope, Mr. Patel immediately directed that the letter and envelope be posted to the Open Cases site, associated with OC:0701.
* UPDATE - 02 Jan 08 *
Members of the Open Cases collaborative community have decoded MSG1. Apparently, each “X” in the message corresponds to a whole word from a well-known poem. If you would like to see the decoded text of MSG1, the Foundation has posted it here: OC:0701 - MSG1 Decoded Text . [Please note: This link displays the cleartext of this message. If you are interested in independently corroborating this solve you may not want to follow this link.]
The Foundation is still very interested in any information related to the meaning of MSG1 and how it might relate to the other OC:0701 messages. If you have any additional information related to this case, please leave a comment or contact Mr. Ethan Grant directly via the E-mail address below.
Images - MSG1
Notes - MSG1:
1) As of the initial posting (03 Dec 07 - 0930), The Foundation is not aware of any connection between the particulars of this letter and any other past cases or activity.
2) The pencil lines under certain parts on the content of the letter were not added by the Foundation, they were already on the letter and are assumed to be related to the content.
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Background MSG4 (Fourth letter received, 19 Dec 07):
At approximately 13:00 on Wednesday, 19 Dec 07, Foundation IT Specialist Frank Taglione was returning to the office from lunch when he remembered that he needed to retrieve a small tool kit from the trunk of his car. As he approached his car he saw that a white, letter-sized envelope had been placed under the driver’s side windshield wiper of his car. Mr. Taglione retrieved the envelope, which had “Whitechapel” written in black marker on the front and was sealed with a piece of blue painter’s tape, and brought it into the Foundation’s office.
Mr. Patel was consulted via telephone and he approved opening the envelope. Inside was a single sheet of white paper with a large square printed in the middle of the sheet. Apparently nonsensical words are printed inside and outside the square. Hand-written in pencil in the lower right-hand corner of the paper is a number ‘4′ inside a small square.
There can be no doubt that this letter is related to OC:0701. This letter is being referred to as MSG4.
Images - MSG4
Notes - MSG4:
1) Mr. Taglione is the only member of the New York office staff who regularly drives his personal vehicle to the office, which he does two or three times a week.
2) The Foundation has searched its internal archives for all the words found on MSG4.
2.1) The phrase “SEALED ITS OWN FATE” is written inside the square. This phrase resulted in numerous hits against the Foundation’s archives but the phrase on its own is considered too general, and is far too numerous, to present any likely connections.
2.2) “DUKE OF MANCHESTER” is printed upside-down directly above the square. There is only one reference to a Duke of Manchester in Foundation archives; the reference pertains to the 4th Duke of Manchester and notes that he held the Freemasonry Office of Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England from 1777–1782.
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Background MSG5 (Fifth letter received, 07 Feb 08)
On Thursday, February 7, 2008, Diane Fulmer, executive assistant in the New York office of the Whitechapel Foundation was preparing to close up the office for the evening when she heard a “thump” on the landing outside the front door of the office. Ms. Fulmer has a feed of the front door’s security camera piped to her workstation and, checking this, she discovered that a newspaper was now on the front landing. The Foundation does not receive an afternoon paper.
Ms. Fulmer called for the security guard, who was in the back of the office locking up, and together they retrieved the newspaper from the the front landing. There was no one outside the front of the office. The newspaper was today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal and there were no labels or makings on the paper. It was wrapped in a plastic newspaper bag and clearly visible inside the wrapper was a white envelope with the word “Whitechapel” written in what appears to be an orange Sharpie marker. The newspaper had landed in such a way that the envelope was not visible until the newspaper was picked up. Ms. Fulmer and the security guard reviewed the tape of the front landing camera (as well as the other exterior cameras) and the only event of interest that can be seen is the newspaper landing in front of the door, apparently thrown from the street outside of the camera’s view.
Ms. Fulmer contacted Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Patel, and they both agreed that she should scan the single page found inside the envelope and post the images to OC:0701 as soon as possible. She did this (having to photograph the letter itself, as the scanner stopped working after scanning the envelope) before leaving the office for the evening, escorted by the security guard.
Images - MSG5
Notes - MSG5:
- Since the layout of MSG5 is similar in some ways to the layout of MSG4, the Foundation feels that the ominous words in the center of the page are likely an anagram. The Foundation is reserving judgment on next steps until this assumption is either confirmed or disproved.
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Contact:
Please direct any information or questions associated with this case to Mr. Ethan Grant, the site’s administrator, by leaving a comment below or by E-mail at:
ethan at whitechapelfoundation dot org
