The 11B-X-1371 And 11B 3 1369 Videos

09/05/2015

11B-X-1371 is a 2-minutes length viral video that features a black-and-white footage of an individual dressed as a plague doctor walking and standing inside a seemingly abandoned building, complete with a traditional Christian cowl and a Venetian carnival mask.

The video begins with a shaky footage of the masked figure that is mostly concealed in the shadows of window-sized openings at the brick wall, with leaves and trees seen blowing at the background.

Accompanied by electronic buzzing and also hissing sounds, the masked figure is seen holding up a hand with an irregularly blinking light, and beeping noises appear on the soundtrack in coordination with the blinks.

On May 9th, 2015, it was uploaded on YouTube using its binary code “01101101 01110101 01100101 01110010 01110100 01100101” (which translates to “muerte”; or “death” in Spanish). Then on September 15th, a duplicate version of the footage was uploaded under the alternative title "11B X 1371."

The video does not have credits or anyone claiming authorship.

The video first went viral on Reddit after Swedish tech blog GadgetZZ posted an article about the cryptic footage.

John-Erik "Johny" Krahbichler, the founding editor GadgetZZ, posted about a "creepy puzzle" he received on his mail using an envelope, postmarked in Warsaw and addressed to "Johny K." with no return address, and contained a DVD.

On it, was written a long alphanumeric string, making him assume it was a product key.

At first, he thought that someone wanted him to review some software.

But when he tested it in a spare laptop of his, he found no software, and only the video.

"I was unsure what to think of it, but I found it very odd", he said in an interview. Later, he "reexamined it and started noticing the 'codes' and letters hidden all around the video".

After only a brief of time decoding the encrypted messages, he thought that it would be interesting if he shared in on his blog.

And that was exactly what he did. He shared he story, complete with the images of the disc and the envelope.

Sooner than later, people started participating in the solving the mystery, and found that the video and its sounds are used commonly in various cipher and encryption systems.

Most of the messages have been decoded by participants, and the the result sourced to notable murder investigations such as the Boston Strangler, as well as images of tortured and mutilated people.

They have been interpreted as implying a threat of bioterrorism against the U.S..

Due to its creepy context, many people speculated that the video is in reality a prank, a viral marketing stunt by some commercial entity, or a student film.

Then, things went up a notch, as on December 31st, the same YouTuber who had uploaded the original “11B X 1371” video, released another video..

Titled “11B 3 1369,” the video features the same mysterious masked figure, and more encrypted messages.

The reason is because the poster of the video, called AETBX, suggested that GadgetZZ is not telling the truth about how it came to the possession of the video.

The video starts with an outside view of the sanatorium in the forest, and later, scenes were shot within it.

The soundtrack used in the video was quieter than that of the first, and also included some additional electronic tinkling noises which were synchronized with the blinker on the figure's hand.

Later in the video, the plague-doctor figure is joined by a woman in a white dress with her face covered in bandages.

Internet investigators managed to discover that the videos were filmed in the former Zofiówka Sanatorium outside Otwock, Poland.

Some reported that the video's audio sounded like "I would love to kill you" being repeated over and over again. Other users found messages concealed, which says "You Are Already Dead", with the rest being enciphered. The images also depicted women being mutilated and tortured, making people feared that the creator of the video might be a murderer.

There are also phrases, like one that could be an intended anagram for "KILL THE PRESIDENT"

Then later, on January 2016, a few online publication that has been investigating the videos, ran an exclusive interview article with an anonymous Polish-American who was said to be the creator. Going by the pseudonym Parker Warner Wright, he said that the concept behind the video was conceived as a cryptography-inspired art project from the beginning, not a threat or anything that people had thought it would be.

He said that he made three copies of the videos, two on discs, which he left in a subway and a park in Poland. He posted the third to 4chan.

Reporter Mike Wehner concluded that YouTube user AETBX only got the video and had no involvement in the video's creation.

As a way of authenticating himself, Wright challenged people on his Page, telling them to replicate the plague doctor mask, which he claimed to have designed and built himself.

Some commenters were still skeptical of his claims.