Front cover of The Riddles & Realms Case Book, Vol. 1: Dark Riddles and History Mysteries. Gold title on black inside a thin red double border, with the Riddles & Realms Publishing seal.

The Riddles & Realms Case Book

$16.99
Skip to product information
Front cover of The Riddles & Realms Case Book, Vol. 1: Dark Riddles and History Mysteries. Gold title on black inside a thin red double border, with the Riddles & Realms Publishing seal.
  • Front cover of The Riddles & Realms Case Book, Vol. 1: Dark Riddles and History Mysteries. Gold title on black inside a thin red double border, with the Riddles & Realms Publishing seal.
  • Look inside The Riddles & Realms Case Book: the 'A Note to the Reader' page, explaining that every case has three parts (the thing that remains, the failure, the silence), one facing hint, and an answer key at the end.
  • Look inside The Riddles & Realms Case Book: the first page of the Contents, listing cases 1 to 31 of the fifty-two, from 'The tunnel' to 'The building still standing in Harbin'.
  • Look inside The Riddles & Realms Case Book: Case 1 as an open spread. Left page: 'The tunnel is still there. The drills ran dry. No masks were issued. The dead were never given one number.' Right page: its hint.
  • Look inside The Riddles & Realms Case Book: Case 38 as an open spread. Left page: 'The wreck lies in two pieces on the ocean floor,' with its failure and silence. Right page: its facing hint.
  • Look inside The Riddles & Realms Case Book: the top of the Answer Key, showing only entry 1, Hawks Nest Tunnel, West Virginia, 1930 to 1936, with its sources. The case already shown as the sample.
  • Front cover of The Riddles & Realms Case Book, Vol. 1: Dark Riddles and History Mysteries. Gold title on black inside a thin red double border, with the Riddles & Realms Publishing seal.
  • Look inside The Riddles & Realms Case Book: the 'A Note to the Reader' page, explaining that every case has three parts (the thing that remains, the failure, the silence), one facing hint, and an answer key at the end.
  • Look inside The Riddles & Realms Case Book: the first page of the Contents, listing cases 1 to 31 of the fifty-two, from 'The tunnel' to 'The building still standing in Harbin'.
  • Look inside The Riddles & Realms Case Book: Case 1 as an open spread. Left page: 'The tunnel is still there. The drills ran dry. No masks were issued. The dead were never given one number.' Right page: its hint.
  • Look inside The Riddles & Realms Case Book: Case 38 as an open spread. Left page: 'The wreck lies in two pieces on the ocean floor,' with its failure and silence. Right page: its facing hint.
  • Look inside The Riddles & Realms Case Book: the top of the Answer Key, showing only entry 1, Hawks Nest Tunnel, West Virginia, 1930 to 1936, with its sources. The case already shown as the sample.
The Riddles & Realms Case Book

The Riddles & Realms Case Book

$16.99

Printed when you order. About 12 days to ship.

Printed for you. Sealed copies are final. Damaged copies are replaced.

Members read this book free in the Reading Room. Founding members $7.99 a month

None of these are stories. They happened.

New to the Archive? Start with the free Molasses Flood case file.

The Riddles & Realms Case Book, Vol. 1: Dark Riddles and History Mysteries. Fifty-two cases, each built the same way. A thing still in the world. A failure somebody made, or refused to make good. And the part the record never settled: a number nobody agreed on, a name nobody proved, a grave nobody found.

There is no question mark. The page stops on the silence, and you name the event.

The tunnel is still there.
The drills ran dry. No masks were issued.
The dead were never given one number.

How it works

  • Three beats. The thing that remains: an object, a place, or a trace you could go and stand in front of. The failure: what people did, or refused to do. The silence: the part the record never settled.
  • A hint facing each case. It narrows the ground without naming the event. Cover it with your hand until you want it.
  • An answer key with sources. The name, the year, the place, and where to read further. Where historians still disagree, the key says so instead of choosing for you.

What's inside

  • 52 true dark-history cases, each about one object, one event, or one person
  • 52 hints, one facing each case
  • A full answer key: name, year, place, and sources
  • 6 x 9 in paperback

Who it's for

  • History readers who want the parts the record left open
  • Reading aloud with a group. One person reads the case; the table names the event.
  • A gift for anyone who loves dark history

Plays with the Riddle Deck

The same 52 cases are on the Riddles & Realms Publishing Riddle Deck Vol. 1, a 52-card poker deck that matches this book case for case. Use the book's hints and answer key to play the deck, or deal the cards, keep score, and let the book be the referee.

The Riddle Deck is coming soon.

Riddles & Realms Publishing. First edition.

Start free: Get the free case file: the Great Molasses Flood (1919). A 12-page printable dossier, free to download.

After the free file: Founding Members. $7.99 a month for the first 100 Founding Members. The Reading Room is the house library for members, read on screen. 18+.

More from the house