In October 1983, author John Howard Worsley hid 40 diamond talismans and 1 larger ‘Great Wight Eye’ diamond talisman in secret locations across the Island- but whatever happened to these?
Once hidden, John (real name John Howard Wright) released a book The Spirit of the Stones containing clues as to where the treasure had been hidden. These could be found by anyone who read the book and solved the clues.
The Spirit of the Stones was based on the following fictional story:
“A cabin boy called Mark, sailed with smugglers in 1763 but after landing on the Isle of Wight, they are ambushed by the Revenue Service for the 40 diamonds and the large talisman the smugglers had.
“In the confusion, Mark managed to flee with the diamonds but was caught and killed. His spirit – realising the evil in these diamonds – scattered them over the island.
“Over the years, people have travelled far and wide to the island but are unable to unravel its secrets.”
The following year, in 1984, Commodore released an early video game based on the book. The instructions for the game were as follows:
“You are a treasure Hunter, and you have arrived on the Island to search for the diamonds. You start your adventure on the actual Island with a part of the Island shown from above at an elevated angle.
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“The screen scrolls as you move around looking for the 21 buildings that contain the diamonds. As you walk around, there are many dead spirits roaming the Island, and if you touch one then part of your PSI bar decreases. If the bar is empty, then it is game over.
“Any building you come across you can enter. The game now turns into a platform game with the whole level shown on the screen. You must avoid the spirits once again as you attempt to retrieve the diamonds placed on various platforms.”
Any diamonds found allowed the finder to also receive royalties from the books sales. The Spirit of the Stones computer game could be played by anyone, anywhere in the world, without necessarily visiting the Isle of Wight. If you solved the clues, then you would receive a share of the royalties, without necessarily physically finding the talisman.
The quest for the 40 talismans was to last for 10 years, until the end of 1993, by which time 19 of the talisman and the Wight Eye diamond (worth around £12,000, nearly £50,000 in today’s money) had been retrieved by those reading the book and playing the game.
When the quest for the hidden talisman had closed, a further 4 were discovered. That leaves 17 talismans, plus 2 joker talismans still yet to be recovered – 19 in total.
Author John Howard Worsley believes they will probably never be found.
John wrote:
“Most lost talismen which have turned up were found some distance from the original hiding places. For instance, number 30 was eventually discovered in the middle of a bush about 30 feet from its original spot.
“Perhaps, by the nature of concealment, they had been picked up and thrown away by someone who had not realized the significance of what they are.
“Look around and about the spot.”
However, John cautions:
“Please respect the countryside if you go hunting. The chances of discovering a lost talisman are pretty remote.”
If anyone would like to search for the remaining treasure, the book Spirit of the Stones can still be bought on Amazon and the Commodore game on eBay.
John Howard Worsley has also released details of the locations of all the talismans. But where? I’m sure most of us can manage a Google search, but solving the clues from the book and the game would be more of a challenge…
My Cousin broke the code, but even then the clues were hard to follow, so never did find any but found a tree in the America woods, by the stream bridge which ‘had’ a diamond which had been found by others.
Spent hours going over the clues and we have a very good knowledge of the Island.
A clever book and idea, from a time when children and adults walked without peering at tiny screens for fun.
Just went into ebay looking to buy this game and guess what ? They don’t post to the I.O.W !!!
Have seen this book many times in charity shops and at car boot sales. Might be worth a hunt round.
An early form of Geo Caching.
Ive still got a copy that we bought in the early 80s spent a lot of time with my mum trying to solve clues and searching for the code. Great memories.