The Whistle Pig, by Duck Miller

For those of you who follow the blog, you already know that I spent a good part of 2017 diving head-first into Byron Preiss’ cult classic “The Secret: A Treasure Hunt.”  And even though it looks like I’m still stuck three feet short of uncovering the buried casque in Charleston, South Carolina, that awesome experience was all it took to get me hooked on the obscure world of armchair treasure hunts.  Recently, I’ve also joined the (much smaller) club of readers who’re actively working on “The Whistle Pig” by Duck Miller.

“The Whistle Pig” was written in the same spirit as “The Secret”:  somewhere within the borders of the United States is a unique, unmistakable “key” which was hidden on accessible public land. The key’s identity and physical location are known only to the author, although the astute reader may be able to discover the spot by deciphering clues hidden within the book’s intriguing short stories.  Since this hunt began in 2003 only limited progress has been made towards cracking the puzzle, although recently the author has indeed confirmed that the key is still in place.  Fifteen years  later, the chase continues!

Unlike “The Secret”, Duck Miller’s book is strictly prose, with no illustrations except for a mysterious silhouette of a groundhog.  Each of the book’s ten stories, while excellently written in their own right, appear to have subtle clues in need of interpretation.  One recurring pattern involves the use of alliteration, for example; another is the curious recurrence of misspelled words throughout the book.  And of course there’s page 22, where instead of a page number the digit on this page has been replaced with a single “X”?  And what’s up with all those references to calendars, dates, and the Chinese zodiac?

So far, at least, my own success on this hunt has been… limited.  Although, it’s important to note that these well-written stories have be themselves made the book’s purchase worthwhile.  And besides, the real fun seems to be in the search, like this odd quote from Samuel Clemens says:

“If there wasn’t anything to find out, it would be dull.  Even trying to find out and not finding out is just as interesting as trying to find out and finding out; and I don’t know but more so.”

“The Whistle Pig” went out of print a few years back, but if you keep your eyes open you can probably still snag a used copy off of Amazon.  So what are you waiting for… the key is still out there!  Good luck in your hunt, and please, keep me posted on your progress!