On May 31st 2014 in Waukesha Wisconsin two 12 year old girls stabbed their friend 19 times to appease an internet creature known as "Slenderman".
On this episode of Clouded we look into the history of Slenderman and how this fictional character may have influenced some kids to commit an awful crime. Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/cloudedpodcast Music in this episode provided by: "Creepy" by bensound.com "Crypto" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "When We Fall" by Philipp Weigl "Haunted" by Laszlo Harsanyi Music: “A Human Being” by Andy G. Cohen Released under a Creative Commons Attribution International License https://andyg.co/hen/songs/human
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Carin Katherine Waldegrave's Facebook profile caused a stir amongst the internet community in 2011. Her seemingly normal profile took a dark turn when she started posting about conspiracies, mind control, kidnapping, and murder. Sometimes the posts became so incoherent they didn't make any sense at all. That's when a group of concerned internet users tried to contact Carin and some of her friends to make sure she was ok. That's when Carin disappeared.
In this episode we try and find out: Who is Carin Katherine Waldegrave? Episode Begins Here Karin Catherine Waldegrave Karin Catherine Waldegrave was born in London, England. She studied at the University of Toronto where she was pursuing her Ph.D. in History of International Relations. Karin was also able to speak many languages including French, Estonian, Latvian, English, Russian, Gallic, Latin, and German. She often posted in these languages on her Facebook profile that was created on April 14, 2010. Karin was living in Canada when something strange happened to her. Her postings went from being coherent to the ramblings of a mad woman. She would often answer her own posts as if she was answering a friends posts. But the replies would get stranger and stranger. They would include conspiracy theories, cryptic messages or simply not make sense at all. It all made for a really creepy feel to her page. She was known for replying to her own status updates, including one particular post that she replied to over 500 times in a 12 hour period. Seemingly hinting that that’s all she did for those 12 hours. Sometimes the posts and/or replies would be time stamped at the exact same time. Was Karin Catherine Waldegrave simply a person who suffered from mental illness? Or was she, as she mentions herself, a part of the CIA’s secret experiment involving mind control called “MKUltra”? Could she possibly be a spy who was communicating through her posts? Or was she, a computer herself? Are you ready to jump down the rabbit hole? The anomaly known as Karin Catherine Waldegrave has kept internet users in the dark since her last post on May 25th 2011 (facebook profile was discovered in earlier that month). Attempts to locate or find out what happened to her have only run into brick walls. On this episode of Clouded we will try and answer 3 questions: Who is Karin Catherine Waldegrave? Why did her posts become increasingly cryptic and crazy? What happened to her? So who is Karin? Karin’s maiden name according to her Facebook profile was von Berg Habsburg. But some may have known her by other aliases as well: Kell von Berg Habsburg, Karin Britt Leppik or Karin Britt Keighley. We know this because of her extensive postings on Facebook and a LinkedIn profile that has been connected to Karin under the name Karin Britt Keighley-Leppik. This profile also includes more information about her studies at the University of Toronto and even more disturbing posts. A lot of the postings on her LinkedIn profile have to do with her genealogy. Including going back as far as 180 AD where she says that her ancestor was a “Germanic proconsul of Egypt for the Roman Empire.” Pretty impressive until you read the next sentence which, frankly, doesn’t make much sense “the only such ancestor at all, none other ever them, as opposed to us, as Celtic-Alpine, Nordic and Gallic (all Germanic, plus France), in the lineage.” She continues: “He failed his bid to become the Emperor on account of not having been born a Roman, which is fine with us.” You can draw you own conclusion on that statement.. She also claimed to be related to the Habsburg’s; famous for once being the most prominent aristocratic royal family in Europe, but is now remembered for the incest between first cousins that occurred in the family. She didn’t stop there, she also said that she was the sole heir to Sir James Vernon George Waldegrave Kell, the founder and first Director General of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5. (music) On Facebook Karin listed herself as married. Presuming that “Leppik” is her married name, it appears as though she was married to Peeter Leppik. This seems to be one of the stronger pieces of fact based evidence that can be found on her Facebook page and LinkedIn profile. Peeter’s LinkedIn profile puts him in Toronto as the CEO of a company called Technograph. Googling “Technograph” takes you to a company that is a “graphics and prepress” company. On the contact page there is an email for the company president. That email starts with pleppik. I sent an inquiry to the email address but have yet to hear back. I could find no mention anywhere online of Peeter being married. Karin’s Facebook page also contained pictures. They seemed to be pictures of herself, of people she knew, and places she has visited. Oddly enough all of the pictures she posted had some sort of weird damage to them. Some of it appears to be water damage but not all. There are also blemishes that seem otherworldly, ghostlike almost. It’s kind of hard to describe, but once you see it you’ll understand. Following the paper trail of both her Facebook and LinkedIn profile, the only other evidence I could find of Karin’s existence was an email listing on the UofT G8 Information Center under the name Karin Britt Leppik, one of the aliases she has been associated with. Finally I want to take a moment and read part of Karin’s bio from her Facebook page: Sports Karin Catherine Plays Sailing Lake Ontario, and beyond, Great Lakes, and beyond, family yacht cruising, some racing, last dinghy race won was in 2004. Interested In Men Relationship Status Married Anniversary October 6, 2003 Sex Female And most interestingly: People Who Inspire Karin Catherine Me, myself and I. Included here was a picture of earbuds and the spine of a book with the words “Just Listen”. Was the “me, myself, and I” a hint at split personalities? Was the picture of the words “Just Listen” a small cry for help of a person who knew reality for her was changing? Or was the cry for help from a lady her was under some sort of mind control experimentation by the CIA? Lets dig deeper. Why did her posts become increasingly cryptic and crazy? Karin’s post at first seemed pretty normal. Nothing too crazy. She came off as intelligent and highly motivated. But then something happened. What that something is nobody's quite sure of, but it does have a name online. People called it, the switch. After the switch her posts went from seemingly normal to incoherent with claims of conspiracies everywhere. There are many theories as to who or what Karin was. Let’s explore. Was Karin part of a covert government experiment or a spy? There are many people who believe that Karin either a spy who communicated with other spies through cryptic text. Through her many posts she mentions the Canadian Government, local police, the FBI, MI5, MI6 and Cia. Here is an example of this and how she answers her own posts within minutes: “MARCH 15, 2011 Karin Catherine Waldegrave The FBI/EFPI and UPS/UBS Warburg should also be mentioned together with the RCMP and MI5, also “they had the temerity” = “would have the temerity” March 15 at 10:39am Karin Catherine Waldegrave They are trying to kill me and I am more than you are, always have been. March 15 at 10:40am Karin Catherine Waldegrave You have serially kidnapped, battered and killed my whole family just in time for the recent University of Edinburgh graduate commoner Middleton nuptials (2011) and the London Olympics (2012) as you did just in time for Charles and Diana, and the Moscow Olympics (1980), also Atlanta (1996) and Salt Lake City (2002).” In this post she replied to herself 49 times between the hours of 10:29 am and 12:21pm. . She also mentions the nazi’s, leprechaun’s, Kate Middleton, Saddam Hussein, the Canadian government, murder, kidnapping, the Cold War, and foreign intelligence operations. Could there be some sort of secret code hidden in this text? It is possible that a “true code”, “Enigma Code” or some other type of code is being used here. But to use such a public forum on a public profile it seems highly unlikely. There is also the possibility of Karin being a part of the secret MK Ultra experiments. She mentioned it more than once on her Facebook posts. MK Ultra was the codename given to the CIA’s illegal covert experiments that were officially conducted from 1953 to 1964. According to the 1977 hearing report, the project was intended to “develop a capability in the covert use of biological and chemical materials.” Many believe this included the CIA’s attempts at mind control. As a result of these experiments 2 American lives were lost. I find it highly unlikely that she was a part of these experiments simply because officially the last known experiment ended in 1964. Unless of course the experiments were a success and they are still using mind control on subjects covertly today without our knowledge. I say this because most of the paperwork was destroyed prior to them being investigated in 1976 and 1977. Was Karin a computer program? Another one of the theories that appeared online was that Karin was a computer bot. The ramblings that were posted could have been some sort of script or API that was being used to test something on Facebook. Some people think it is just a random text generator or some sort of Markov Chain spam. In other words is someone playing a joke or prank on the internet. I don’t think any of these are viable simply because of the amount of traceable and verifiable personal information on Karin out there. There is also a screenshot of a Facebook messenger conversation between someone asking one of Karin’s Facebook friends if she was ok. The friend replied “Why don’t you just ask Karin?” Why did her posts become increasingly cryptic and crazy? Reading through her online posts you can’t help but have a creepy feeling come over you. There are times when you feel like something else is going on here. Are we reading and witnessing someone slowly slip into the darkness of mental illness? Karen’s posts seem to be pointing to a deeper hidden issue. Because for every type of everyday posting. On August 30, 2010 Karin simply posted: “Mucky muck.” Then there are many more moments where the darkness comes in: On May 25th 2011 Karin goes a rant: “I DONOT NEED A SOCIAL WORKER. I have no intention of starting to meet with your pervert networks representatives afte rwhat you tried to do to my life, the wolf in sheepskin pig clothing. I am a competent member of the upper classes proper here and you are not at all at my level of intellect and proper discernment. Stop trying to rip into my life through your social control perversity financially and otherwise. I have never been governed by you. You are abnormal. For me the mental illness aspect is the most reasonable and likely answer even though I have no proof of it. But I do think that Karin’s mind was slowly slipping away. What happened to her? No one knows for sure. There was a concerted attempt of some of the users on 4chan to try and get in contact with Karin. But when the users were apparently getting close, she promptly deleted her Facebook account. Karin never returned to Facebook. There was a youtube account that posted a reply to a video that appeared to be Karin and a twitter account as well. But they both seemed like copycat hoaxes. I think it’s safe to say that Karin and whatever demons were haunting her have fallen off the grid. I’ll end this episode about the mystery of a Facebook profile with a quote from Karin herself: “This picture is the best I can do? No, It is not. I am better now.” For more information about Karin including links and all the pictures mentioned, please visit cloudedmysteries.com. Also please don’t forget to follow us on twitter @cloudedpodcast. Lastly please rate, review, and subscribe on itunes, podbean, stitcher, or where ever you listen to podcasts. This has been another episode of Clouded, where internet meets mystery.
The enigmatic online puzzle known as Cicada 3301 has become an internet phenomenon. But who is behind these cryptic quests? Is it a government agency or the work of one lone crazy person? In this episode of Clouded we dive deep into the mystery of Cicada 3301 and we will never be the same.
Read the final two emails sent to those who 'finished' the 2012 puzzles here Episode Begins here On January 4, 2012 a mysterious image appeared online. It contained a simple message in white text on a black background. The message read: "Hello. We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test. There is a message hidden in the image. Find it, and it will lead you on the road to finding us. We look forward to meeting the few who will make it all the way through. Good luck." It was signed 3301. The author or authors of this message have never been identified. Nor has anyone come forward to say they have finished the complex puzzles and personally met the individuals behind it. It is a mystery that has confounded all that have encountered it. It has been called "the most elaborate and mysterious puzzle of the internet age" and we are here to shed some light on it. Are you ready to jump down the rabbit hole? Hi my name is Victor and this is Clouded, where internet meets mystery. The puzzle known as Cicada 3301 has grown in notoriety since 2012. With legitimate cryptographers, coders and everyday citizens turning themselves into internet detectives. It has become, to some, the biggest mystery online. To many others it has become a source of frustration and for some, paranoia. Paranoia because people began “disappearing” from collaborative Cicada forums. There were phone calls at 2 a.m. with only dial tones at solvers houses. There was talk of moles on message boards that were planted by those behind 3301. And then what has become to be known as “The Warning”. It read: “I was part of what you call 3301/Cicada for more than a decade, and I'm here to warn you: Stay away." Today on this episode of Clouded we will try and answer 5 questions How did it start? What are the puzzles? Have the puzzles been solved? Who is behind it? What is the sacred book of Liber Primus? So how did it start? If you were on the anonymous image message board 4chan back in 2012 you may have come accross the original post. It was simple. No hoopla. In fact if those viewing images on 4chan probably didn’t even notice it. At first. The image that was posted was the one you heard at the beginning of this podcast. And because it was white text on a black background it was unlike any other image posted at the time. It soon became hard to miss and nearly everyone on 4chan was talking about it. A clue to solve the first puzzle was given in the text. Once someone figured out the “message hidden in the image” it was on to the next challenge. But first, everyone had to figure out what the Roman Emperor’s had to do with this modern day riddle. What are the Puzzles? Unfortunately we don't have the time to go through every puzzle so I will include some of the best ones from 2012. Hidden within the image that started it all was a line of code that was not code at all. When the image was placed into a text editing application there was a line that read “TIBERIVS CLAVDIVS CAESAR says "lxxt>33m2mqkyv2gsq3q=w]O2ntk"” This is what is known as a shift cipher, or a Caesar cipher. This method of encryption is named after Julius Caesar who used it to encrypt private conversations. It is a type of substitution cipher in which each letter is replaced by a letter some fixed number of positions down the alphabet For example if I wanted to encrypt the word ‘Clouded’ then I would choose a number, lets say 3. Then I would substitute each letter in the word ‘Clouded’ with a letter that is 3 spots down the alphabet. That would give me the word ‘FORXGHG’. As long as you knew how many letters to move down the alphabet you could decipher my word or words. When the text was correctly deciphered it quickly became apparent that it was a url address or web address. That led to another image which was a duck. The duck had text written above which read “Woops! Just decoys this way. Looks like you can't guess how to get the message out.” To solve the riddle behind this image, solvers had to use a steganography program called “OutGuess”. The hint being the text “guess how to get the message out” written above the duck. There was also a phone number that when dialed contained a voice message. Here is the voice message that greeted those who had come this far: The size of the original image was 509 by 503 which are both prime numbers. When you did the math with all 3 numbers. The answer was yet another URL address. There were GPS coordinates that pointed to specific pinpoint areas in France, Poland, South Korea, Australia, and 6 different states in the U.S. Also in 2012 there were GPS coordinates that spanned the globe. They included 6 different states in the U.S., France, Poland, South Korea, and Australia. At each of the coordinates there was a poster with a picture of a Cicada and a QR code. Once the QR codes were scanned with a QR reader, two messages appeared. The first one read: “In twenty-nine volumes, knowledge was once contained. How many lines of the code remained when the Mabinogion paused? Go that far in from the beginning and find my first name.” This was followed my math problems involving prime numbers. The second: “.A poem of fading death, named for a king Meant to be read only once and vanish Alas, it could not remain unseen.” Again followed by prime number equations Both messages were followed by this text: “You've shared too much to this point. We want the best, not the followers. Thus, the first few there will receive the prize.” One of the final clues in the first year was another website address. The web address was that was given ended in a .onion, which when put into a normal browser such as Firefox or Chrome, would give you the results for a search and not a page. But by entering the same url into a tor-equipped web browser, which is an anonymous browser that can get you into the darknet, you were greeted with this message: “Congratulations! Please create a new email address with a public, free web-based service. Once you've never used before, and enter it below. We recommend you do this while still using tor, for anonymity. We will email you a number within the next few days (in the order in which you arrived at this page). Once you've recieved it, come back to this page and append a slash and then the number you recieved to this url.” It was signed 3301. If things weren’t weird enough already, this is where things got really strange. Have the puzzles been solved? From this point on there is only hearsay and “leaked” pieces of what happened. None of the following information was available publicly to those who were solving the puzzles. It could be true, it could not. I will leave it up to you to decide. There were two different emails received by those first few who reached this far. If you want to read the full text please head on over to our website where it will be posted. But the quick cliff notes versions are here: The first email said there would be no more solving of puzzles necessary. It claimed that Cicada 3301 was not connected to any hacker group or involved in any illegal activities. It also mentioned that they were “much like a *think tank* in that our primary focus is on researching and developing techniques to aid the ideas we advocate liberty privacy security you have undoubtedly heard of a few of our past projects and if you choose to accept membership we are happy to have you on-board to help with future projects.” It then asked three questions that were to be answered by the recipient. The questions dealt with privacy, free information, and censorship. The second email still had puzzles that needed to be solved. The first being an RSA puzzle. The second involved two songs that had encrypted text on it. Not too much is known beyond this point. There is an account of a Marcus Wanner who surfaced in 2014. Marcus claims to have finished the puzzle in 2012 and had been recruited by the secretive group. He says he had been working on software for Cicada that would protect whistleblowers who were facing jail time. The software was called CAKE. Marcus and the other Cicada finalists never finished coding the software. They were “let go” before completion. A new cryptic message appeared online in 2013. Then again in 2014 and 16. Since 2012 No one has come forward to say that they have had any further contact with any individuals who claim to be from Cicada 3301. In fact the puzzles from 2014 and 2016 have gone unsolved because of one frustrating aspect, the Liber Primus. So who is behind It? There are many theories as to the identity of the individual or individuals behind Cicada 3301. Could it be an Alternate Reality Game? In 2001 as part of the marketing for the movie AI and game that would follow an ARG was created by Microsoft. It was a murder mystery that played out across hundreds of websites, email messages, faxes, fake ads, and voicemail messages. But to this date no company has come forward to claim Cicada as their own. Was it a recruitment tool for a company to get the best minds into the fold? In 2004 a white billboard with black text appeared in Silicon Valley. It read {first 10-digit prime found in consecutive digits of e}.com. The answer led you to another equation which then led you to an interview with Google. Again no company has come forward and said Cicada was their recruitment tool. Was it a way for the CIA, NSA, Britain’s GCHQ, or any government agency to recruit new hires? Both The U.S. Navy and NSA have used online cryptic puzzles to try and recruit coders and hackers. Both have cited Cicada 3301 as their inspiration for creating their own online cryptic riddles to solve. But no government agency has come out and said they they are Cicada 3301. Is it a cult? The Illuminati? Maybe even the Freemasons or some other secretive group? Could it be a religious cult with a technological bend to it? We may never know. Unless of course you can decipher what has been the bane of all that have answered this calling and been said to be impossible to solve. What is the sacred book of Liber Primus? Ask this to anyone that has tried to solve the 2014 and 2016 puzzles and you will get nothing but frustration. One solver was quoted as saying “ It felt like a slap in the face to those who thought they’d made it through the 2014 puzzle” It seems that the nearly 60 page book of runes is not solvable. Apparently there are too many ways to interpret what is inside and too many places to hide or encrypt data. Many have tried but no one has come forward to say they have figured it out. At least not publicly. In January 2016 a tweet of an image was sent from a twitter account that has been associated with Cicada. The image had white text on a black background and it read : “Hello. The path lies empty; epiphany seeks the devoted. Liber Primus is the way. Its words are the map, their meaning is the road, and their numbers are the direction. Seek and you will be found. Good luck. 3301” If you are brave enough, seek out the Sacred Book of Liber Primus and challenge it runes. But always remember “Everyone except you is Cicada”. |