“You never studied.”
More than a week ago, I received a strange package from Los Angeles.
The return address label declared the box was shipped from “Ray Stanz” (a misspelled nod to a character in Ghostbusters, played by Dan Aykroyd) with a return address of 7708 Woodrow Wilson Drive (which is a former home of Aykroyd, which he claimed was haunted by ghosts).
I immediately suspected that the box was a trailhead for an Alternate Reality Game, and contained goodies that would provide a “rabbit hole” gateway into the game’s narrative. I’ve received several packages like this in the past, and always use the opportunity to document and share my unboxing of the package.
I do this to celebrate the awesome artistry of what’s inside … and also to provide folks on the internet with whatever information, puzzles and other mindbenders that might be required to advance the narrative.
The experience with this box from Los Angeles was very different … and I must admit, downright terrifying. If you want to see the unboxing in real-time (and my horrified reactions throughout), take a peek at the first video below. The second video was shot and edited after I’d composed myself a few days later.
Package From a Stranger, Part 1
Package From a Stranger, Part 2
Photos and More Info About the Package
It’s been 10 days since I opened the package, and I’m no closer to solving the riddles within than I was when I received it.
For a few days, I suspected that the package’s spooky contents weren’t a trailhead for an ARG at all, but instead some kind of morbid joke played by a friend—or something worse, like a legit attempt to terrorize me. This dread eventually passed when, by pure happenstance, I spotted a critical clue in one of the package’s artifacts. This convinced me that the box is indeed an ARG trailhead.
Here’s a closer look at the package and its contents. These photos may help folks solve any puzzles lurking within, and propel this spooky story to its next stage.
The Package Itself
We know a few things about the sender of the package:
They are one of my Facebook friends
We know this because they viewed a Friends-only post I made on Dec. 4
In that post, I had spotted and shared information about a spooky painted babydoll toy (named “Dotty”) that had been crafted by someone in the Denver area, where I live. Dotty the doll was for sale via a local Facebook Marketplace listing
They know my legal first name and used it on the address label
They know my home address
The list’s last two items don’t distress me much because I know how easy it is to find a person’s name and address online. The list’s first three items are very unusual in that the Facebook post I made about Dotty was published well over a month before I received the package.
Did Dotty herself provide the creative catalyst for the bizarre package I received? Was the ARG project already in the works, and whomever is involved saw my posting about Dotty and leveraged her as a key artifact for the package? I still don’t know.
I confirmed via the box’s USPS tracking code that it was shipped from Los Angeles.
The “First Layer” of the Package
Resting atop a larger item wrapped in newspaper was this strange item, a little smaller than a manilla envelope. Like all the other newspaper wrappings, this featured pages from the Minneapolis Star or the St. Paul Dispatch newspapers, published on Oct. 3, 1938. (The newspaper pages may be clever forgeries, but they certainly feel old, were very brittle, and tore very easily.)
Note the postage stamps used to seal the contents within this smaller package. They were released in 1938, as part of a U.S. President-themed series. Also note that Bruno Mussolini has been highlighted in red pencil.
Here are the identities of the presidents seen in the stamps:
Top Side (with B. Mussolini):
Ben Franklin
James Monroe (5th president)
Grover Cleveland (22nd president)
William McKinley (25th president)
Chester Arthur (21st president)
Grover Cleveland (22nd president)
James Monroe (5th president)
John Quincy Adams (6th president)
James Monroe (5th president)
Bottom Side (from bottom to top):
James Monroe (5th president)
White House
Grover Cleveland (22nd president)
John Tyler (10th president)
John Tyler (10th president)
James Madison (4th president)
Ben Franklin
White House
Inside the wrapped mini-package were a series of family photos. “Halloween 1938,” its scrapbook page announced.
These eerie photos eventually provided me with the critical clue that this package was indeed an ARG trailhead of some sort. The spooky doll Dotty can be seen in a corner of one of the photos. Are there other visual clues hiding in plain sight in these photos?
The “Second Layer” of the Package
Beneath the mini-package was a larger item, wrapped in more newspaper and surrounded by newspaper padding.
The Crossword Puzzle
One of the newspaper pages contained a crossword puzzle with a distressing message written in red pencil. I’ve included it here, along with the puzzle’s clues. Is this a message simply designed to complement the horrific contents of the box … or is there more to it, and its crossword puzzle?
Dotty’s Wrappings
Dotty the ghoulish doll was wrapped in what appeared to be a front page from The Minneapolis Star, published on Oct. 3, 1938. More noteworthy items were highlighted by the sender:
A headline documenting the deaths of two Minnesota residents: George Pickard and Warren Erickson. Pickard died in a car accident; Erickson died when a rifle he’d been traveling with went off accidentally. Pickard was 27. Erickson was 17.
Another story, mentioning a young woman who received medical treatment after “walking into a car.” Elsie Salter was 23 at the time.
When it comes to ARG trailheads and rabbit-holes, the story’s creators—sometimes called “puppet masters”—highlight noteworthy narrative details or clues. What role do these headlines and victims play in this story?
“Look After This Child”
On the underside of the page enshrouding Dotty was a message written in a ragged, frightening letters:
Dotty Herself
And then there was the spooky doll Dotty herself, finally freed from the confines of the box. It’s unclear what kind of role Dotty plays in all of this. Her appearance is legit ghoulish, and produced a genuine fright from me when I saw her for the first time.
However, Dotty herself doesn’t seem to provide any additional details for our narrative—other than appearing in one of the “vintage” photos seen above. It doesn’t feel like there’s anything inside her other than stuffing, and there’s nothing written on her clothes or underneath them.
What’s Next?
Where do we go from here? I’m leaving that in the capable hands of you and others who want to pursue the clues and unlock the mystery. If you have any questions or requests for additional info, contact me. I’ll update this post as needed.