Schuylkill notes are cryptic messages printed on little pieces of paper appearing in many locations in Pennsylvania. Authorship of the notes is unknown. They are found inside food packaging, hanging from trees along hiking trails and state parks. They have been discovered primarily in northeastern and central Pennsylvania. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Amateur investigation made by Reddit users dubbed the messages Schuylkill notes because of their locations seemingly focused around Schuylkill County. Reddit has a subforum dedicated to investigating the mystery with over 22.000 members (as of March 2024).
After a report on 28/22 News in December 2023, over 100 emails and phone calls have been made to law enforcement with reports of mysterious notes. Some of the notes were found in sealed food packages and beauty products. Local, state, and federal authorities initiated investigations, including the Food and Drug Administration (tampering with food products is a federal crime). Congressmen Dan Meuser and Matt Cartwright expressed their concern about the notes worrying the public. [3] [8] Crowd sourced Google Map suggests that at least 139 individual notes have been discovered as of February 2024. [9]
Earliest social media report of a found note comes from 2019, whereas media reported them in 2020. [4] Red Web podcast investigating the notes mentions first notes found as early as 2015. [10]
The notes are pieces of paper sized approximately 2 by 3 inches. They are found folded in product packaging, pockets of store bought clothes, or packed into a plastic bag closed with a string and attached to trees along trails. [2] Messages printed on Schuylkill notes vary greatly. They usually contain 19 lines of text printed in narrow font. The common theme in the text is secret societies, their symbolism and their connections to business, culture, nations, history and government. The notes seem to combine multiple conspiracy theories. [2] [6]
Schuylkill notes mention cultural phenomena such as Lord of the Rings [2] [3] and Disney. [2] [4]
Government themes appearing in the notes include New World Order, [3] [2] nazism, CIA, [3] FBI, [1] Federal judiciary of the United States, Drug Enforcement Agency, European Union, World Bank, [2] [1] Hamas, [3] Vladimir Putin, [2] John Fitzgerald Kennedy, [1] Barack Obama, [7] Donald Trump, British royal family, Dalai Lama, [7] and the pope. [1]
Media and companies mentioned on the notes include Fox News, [2] CNN, [4] Google, [1] Bing, [2] Pfizer, [1] [2] AstraZeneca, [1] Bayer, [4] Ford, [1] Toyota, [3] Audi, Mazda, [2] BMW, [3] [7] Subaru, [3] Pillsbury, Aquafina, Folgers, Nescafe, Domino's, [2] Exxon, [4] [2] Sunoco, Oprah Winfrey [1] [7] and Elon Musk. [4] [3]
The notes have been reported found from as far east as Easton, to as far west as Johnstown. Northernmost report of a note was from Lackawanna State Park, whereas southernmost report comes from Gaithersburg in Maryland. [1]
They were discovered in variety of products such as Lucky Charms, [11] Lindt chocolate, [6] Nature's Path Panda Puffs, Belvita cookies, [4] Milk Duds, [4] Hot Tamales candy, [4] Duncan Hines cake mix, [7] Tylenol medication [7] and Velveeta [12]
The products containing cryptic notes were purchased in multiple grocery stores such as Walmart, Target, GIANT, Weis Markets, Wegmans, Trader Joe’s, Dollar General, CVS, Kohl’s, Goodwill, Lowe’s, Cabela’s and Aldi. [5]
Schuylkill notes are cryptic messages printed on little pieces of paper appearing in many locations in Pennsylvania. Authorship of the notes is unknown. They are found inside food packaging, hanging from trees along hiking trails and state parks. They have been discovered primarily in northeastern and central Pennsylvania. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Amateur investigation made by Reddit users dubbed the messages Schuylkill notes because of their locations seemingly focused around Schuylkill County. Reddit has a subforum dedicated to investigating the mystery with over 22.000 members (as of March 2024).
After a report on 28/22 News in December 2023, over 100 emails and phone calls have been made to law enforcement with reports of mysterious notes. Some of the notes were found in sealed food packages and beauty products. Local, state, and federal authorities initiated investigations, including the Food and Drug Administration (tampering with food products is a federal crime). Congressmen Dan Meuser and Matt Cartwright expressed their concern about the notes worrying the public. [3] [8] Crowd sourced Google Map suggests that at least 139 individual notes have been discovered as of February 2024. [9]
Earliest social media report of a found note comes from 2019, whereas media reported them in 2020. [4] Red Web podcast investigating the notes mentions first notes found as early as 2015. [10]
The notes are pieces of paper sized approximately 2 by 3 inches. They are found folded in product packaging, pockets of store bought clothes, or packed into a plastic bag closed with a string and attached to trees along trails. [2] Messages printed on Schuylkill notes vary greatly. They usually contain 19 lines of text printed in narrow font. The common theme in the text is secret societies, their symbolism and their connections to business, culture, nations, history and government. The notes seem to combine multiple conspiracy theories. [2] [6]
Schuylkill notes mention cultural phenomena such as Lord of the Rings [2] [3] and Disney. [2] [4]
Government themes appearing in the notes include New World Order, [3] [2] nazism, CIA, [3] FBI, [1] Federal judiciary of the United States, Drug Enforcement Agency, European Union, World Bank, [2] [1] Hamas, [3] Vladimir Putin, [2] John Fitzgerald Kennedy, [1] Barack Obama, [7] Donald Trump, British royal family, Dalai Lama, [7] and the pope. [1]
Media and companies mentioned on the notes include Fox News, [2] CNN, [4] Google, [1] Bing, [2] Pfizer, [1] [2] AstraZeneca, [1] Bayer, [4] Ford, [1] Toyota, [3] Audi, Mazda, [2] BMW, [3] [7] Subaru, [3] Pillsbury, Aquafina, Folgers, Nescafe, Domino's, [2] Exxon, [4] [2] Sunoco, Oprah Winfrey [1] [7] and Elon Musk. [4] [3]
The notes have been reported found from as far east as Easton, to as far west as Johnstown. Northernmost report of a note was from Lackawanna State Park, whereas southernmost report comes from Gaithersburg in Maryland. [1]
They were discovered in variety of products such as Lucky Charms, [11] Lindt chocolate, [6] Nature's Path Panda Puffs, Belvita cookies, [4] Milk Duds, [4] Hot Tamales candy, [4] Duncan Hines cake mix, [7] Tylenol medication [7] and Velveeta [12]
The products containing cryptic notes were purchased in multiple grocery stores such as Walmart, Target, GIANT, Weis Markets, Wegmans, Trader Joe’s, Dollar General, CVS, Kohl’s, Goodwill, Lowe’s, Cabela’s and Aldi. [5]