The Zodiac Killer Enigma, Cracking the Zodiac Killer Code

The Zodiac Killer Enigma

This article will take you through the process of measuring out the scale of the Zodiac Killer Halloween card that was sent to San Francisco Chronicle journalist, Paul Avery.

We have had the thought that the eyes on Halloween card could be an overlay key for some kind of code. Before we can try any experiments we must determine the scale of the Halloween card itself. There are no known examples of the card that include proof of scale on it (like a police photo), but it should be relatively easy to determine. So, we are going to do so in this article. Some may also find what we do here today useful at some point in the future. Unfolded, the Halloween card should around the same size as a sheet of paper or somewhere close to it. That is just speculation though at this point but we are about to find out. We will also post some examples of the Zodiac Killer "Dragon card" and the Zodiac Killer "Pen card" with proof of scale in this article.

First, we are going to post some examples of the cards.

Here is the dragon card with scale included.

We cleaned up and restored the "Dragon card" by brightening the background then using the writing from the black and white scans to improve the looks of the card. Then we include a San Francisco police scale in the frame and make it stand out a bit. That is all we did. We just wanted a clear color example of the card since the original has been damaged and degraded. It is still original. We reference the unrestored card in other articles, but since no one had an issue with a distorted black and white image of the card, we think no one will have a problem with a restored scale image of the card. Since doing this, we have seen the card we restored used in many other places around the internet.

Here is a reproduction of the Dragon card.

Here is the Pen Card with scale.

We took the example below and matched it to the example above. We then erased everything except the scale mark.

We had a hunch that some of these documents may be overlay masks to find hidden messages. This is just conjecture but it is a very likely possibility. It is something I shat should be explored in the future. We won't try to pass some b.s.off on you. Take the example below. We want to use the eyes on the card to see if they may reveal any hidden messages or codes in the Zodiac letters. But if one tried to use this version of the card, it would never work because it is the replica card that was created for the movie "Zodiac". This card has been blown up, cropped off, and distorted. Though it was created by a very talented artist. That is why we colorized, restored, and scaled the original Zodiac Killer Halloween card from an old black and white scan. We made it look just as good, if not better than the replica card created for the movie, and it includes a scale marker just in case it is some kind of mask or key for finding other secret messages or codes on the Zodiac Killer letters. Since we have already restored the card, now, we have to figure out the scale of the Halloween card.

First, you will see some of our experiments and some info on the envelope size and scale the card saw mailed in. This is crucial also. Then, a few examples of the envelope we have worked on that show detail. Then, you will see some of our experiments on the card scale itself.

Here is the envelope with a scale marker. I think I can use this to help verify size.

Here is the movie replica envelope the Zodiac Killer Halloween card was mailed in with scale for comparison. You will see more on this in a moment.

Below is an image we borrowed from discjunkie. It is a site that sells movie memorabilia.

We did a few of these from a few different sources, and check them a few times against others to be sure.

This is a replica below.

We were pretty confident that we could deduce the size of the card. First, we found this example as a reference to the sizes of average cards. We thought it would be a good idea to include this also.

Here is another link from zodiackillersite (ran by Morf) that we think is relevant to all of this. The author, .a man by the screen name, Tahoe27 (an experienced hunter) states that the card was a standard card of the time. We have actually heard nothing but good things about these guys.

http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-big-clue-in-case-of-zodiac-killer.html

Richard Grinell helped us out and sent us a link to some work that someone else has recently done on this. Here is a screenshot and a link to their work. http://crack-proof.com/zodiac-killer/envelopes/5/

He is right about the addresses not matching up. We will show you an example of the two overlaid onto each other shortly. Something we want to mention, he stated you could not determine the scale of the card from the replica. I just want to point out that when we overlaid the original envelope over the replica and matched the v symbol with the postmark and the stamp, then erased everything but the proof of scale. We pretty well determined the correct size of the envelope of the replica with 1/16 of an inch difference in width than he had calculated. Either way, it is close enough. We will compare the replica card against the original later. Still, his work was a great help to us. Without it, we surely would have made mistakes. Kudos to Charlie. you have been a great help many times.

Let's see if we can create a model to those exact dimensions and see if it works.

Later, you will see fade overlay animations between the two envelopes. Also, we can put actual rulers in these images to measure them.

These are some of the rulers and tools we used in this project.

A scan of the original envelope.

Here is the envelope with scale according to Charlie's specifications.

6 3/4 x 4 1/16

Here is an envelope with a scale marker inside the border.

6 3/4 x 4 1/16

Here we have a winner!!!!!

Here is an overlay of the original and the replica from the movie. As you can see, the addresses on the two envelopes do not line up as, Charlie, stated in his article that we linked earlier.

This animation will show you the exact difference between the two

Here is a still shot of the Zodiac Killer Halloween card overlaid onto the replica used in the movie.

Then we created a clean, scale example of the Halloween card. Why? Why not?

Here we are going to show the entire process to preempt any questions that anyone may pose as to how we did this. First, we erased the lines from the scale example with all the rulers and cleaned it up a bit. This example is to scale and everything else is just like the original found on the internet. So, if anyone has any problems with what they can refer back to this example.

Then, cleaned up all of the features on the card, and placed the correct stamp back onto it with all of these old postage marks features place exactly where they were back over that.

First the stamp.

Then we cleaned up the postmark.

The example above actually looks pretty good but we kept working and included some different models in this article to show differences in the process.

Then we cleaned up the "V" symbol. We left the scale on this so everyone will know it has been worked on.

Here is the final product. A restored version of the envelope the Zodiac Killer Halloween card was maile in.

The Zodiac Killer Enigma - The Final Restored Zodiac Killer Halloween Card Envelope

Here we have some fade animations to show differences and before and afters between the envelope we restored and the original found on the internet. Though the one in the animation was not the complete final product. The final product is an exact match. we had it posted, but the file went corrupt. Still, it gives you a pretty good idea that they are accurate. We will fix the corrupted file at our earliest convenience.

Here is the fade animation.

The final product one more time.

Zodiac Killer Enigma - The final restored zodiac killer halloween card by randall scott clemons

The Zodiac Killer Enigma - The Final Restored Zodiac Killer Halloween Card Envelope

Here is one more slightly different version.

The Zodiac Killer Enigma - The Final Restored Zodiac Killer Halloween Card Envelope

Now let's work on the card itself.

We borrowed this from Charlie and he borrowed it from Graysmith.

Thank you Graysmith and Charlie.

The example below is all we needed to figure out the exact scale of the card and envelope. If you keep the aspect ratio the same then you can not get it wrong.

Let's draw a few guidelines for good measure and comparison.

Ok, now we did some overlays of the card and envelope with scale to create a proof of scale.

Then we match a full-size model with the model above and throw in a complete ruler.

Remember as long as you keep the aspect ratio the same, then you can not mess it up. We had another idea to take a part of the example above and overlay it onto a full-size scale of the envelope then match the full-size card to that. As another way of confirmation.

Here it is.. I can tell you the length of the card is 6 1/2 inches.

Now we just match the full-size card to the points on the example above and that will give us the width of the card.

6 1/2 x 4 inches which means 6 1/2 x 8 inches unfolded.

Here is a final example. Sorry about all of the detail but I have to work with what I have and document it for those who question how we came to our conclusions.

Thank you, Richard and Charlie, for your help.

This is the card we will be using. It is the one in the book in the example above.

Here is a fade to show you the difference between these two cards. They are not the same scale. Size wouldn't matter if they were the same scale. You can see them off just a little and the eyes do not line up. First, the top of the color card has been cropped off and it is also a little wider than the original.

Now we are going to put a ruler in the Halloween card and match it to 6 1/2 x 8 inches.

Here are few with the one-inch scale in different spots.

There is a Halloween card with a scale marker. The Zodiac Killer Halloween card scale is dead on 6 1/2 x 8 inches.

Here is the outside/front of the Zodiac Killer Halloween card with scale.

We want to see the difference between the front of the real card and the reproduction card. I made two fade animations.

This one is aligned with the writing on the back of the card.

In this example, we aligned the words on the front of the card that read," I can feel it in my bones you ache to know my name , And so I'll clue you in".

They are close.

We want to include a model that shows the relative size of the zodiac Killer Halloween card against the 340 cipher.

Here is the section of the card that we are really interested in right now.

We snipped both of those from each card to show how different they are.

Let's see if the eyes match up. In this example, we lined up 3 of the eyes on each card and kept the aspect ratio. We can use the black and white card for our experiments but still, this needs to be known and may save someone some trouble later down the line.

Just to illustrate, we lined them up with one another.

Here is a fade of the two.

It is shocking how different they are. This actually confused me because the color reproduction was bigger than the original when it was created. In the end, we had to shrink it and change the aspect ratio just to make the eyes match..and it's crooked...wow. That is good to know though. We might avoid future mistakes with this info.

This occurred because, for the reproduction card, they cropped off part the original card. In the example above you can just how much they cropped from each end.. Then they blew up the remaining section and then printed or copied it as the reproduction. If this is indeed an overlay mask for finding hidden messages or codes, something like that could have messed everything up.

It is safe to say, that to avoid confusion we will be using the black and white scans for my experiments. Though we did add this info to the Halloween card that we restored and colorized from the scans while also adding proof of scale to it. We have another article on that process. It looks just as good, if not better than the replica created for the movie, and it is original and correct to scale.

We will put a scale mark in this photo and post it at the bottom of the article.

If this stuff helps anyone out then you are welcome to use it. Just remember us.

Here are some to scale models of the envelope.

Here is the original.

One of the finals we restored.

The Zodiac Killer Enigma - The Final Restored Zodiac Killer Halloween Card Envelope

Here are some we restored. they are the same as the ones you have seen earlier.

This is a little different style. It is created from the replica but everything has been placed to scale with the real envelope.

Here is the inside of the Halloween card with scale.

Here is the outside of the card with scale.

Here is the section with the eyes with proof of scale.

Here is a restored original of the Zodiac Killer Halloween Card in color. With a scale marker.

Here is what the card was supposed to have looked like before it was altered. We have an article explaining all of this and going through this process also. It can be found on the main page.