The 20 Most Mysterious Books in History – Can You Solve Their Secrets?

1. The Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript sits at the peak of literary enigmas. Discovered in 1912 by rare book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, this 15th-century tome is written in a language no one can decipher. Its pages are filled with bizarre plants, odd astrological diagrams, and naked women bathing in green pools. Despite years of work by cryptographers, linguists, and even artificial intelligence, the manuscript’s code remains unbroken as of 2025. In 2020, Yale University’s Beinecke Library, which houses the book, reported a surge in digital visitors hoping for a breakthrough. The text’s strange alphabet and the lack of repeatable patterns continue to baffle researchers. Some believe the book is a masterful hoax, while others are convinced it holds a lost scientific knowledge.

2. The Rohonc Codex

The Rohonc Codex, discovered in Hungary in the 19th century, is another book written in an unknown script, using a mysterious alphabet of nearly 200 unique symbols. The codex is illustrated with detailed images of battles, religious scenes, and cryptic symbols that don’t match any known culture. Linguists have spent decades trying to crack the code, but the language doesn’t resemble any historical tongue. In 2022, a Hungarian IT group attempted digital analysis, but even modern algorithms failed to reveal its secrets. Some researchers suggest it’s a medieval forgery, while others think it records a forgotten civilization. The Codex’s origins, purpose, and meaning remain fully unsolved.

3. The Book of Soyga

The Book of Soyga, also called Aldaraia, was owned by the famous mathematician and occultist John Dee in the 16th century. The book vanished for centuries until two copies were found in the British Library and Bodleian Library in 1994. The text is filled with astrological charts, encrypted squares, and rituals. John Dee himself was unable to decode much of it, and legend says the book brings misfortune to those who try. In 2006, researcher Jim Reeds partially decoded the tables using computer algorithms, but most of the book’s content remains unreadable. Its mix of Latin and undeciphered script continues to puzzle academics and occultists alike.

4. Codex Seraphinianus

Created in the late 1970s by Italian artist Luigi Serafini, the Codex Seraphinianus is a modern masterpiece of mystery. The book mimics an encyclopedia, but the language is entirely invented and the illustrations are surreal — think elephants with removable trunks and plants that turn into chairs. Serafini claims the writing is asemic, meaning it’s meant to have no meaning at all. Despite this, fans and codebreakers have spent years searching for patterns, convinced there’s a secret message. In 2013, Serafini stated in interviews that the script is intentionally unreadable, but the debate continues. The Codex has inspired artists and cryptologists who hope its odd pages will someday reveal a hidden logic.

5. The Devil’s Bible (Codex Gigas)

Weighing in at 165 pounds and measuring nearly three feet long, the Codex Gigas is the largest medieval manuscript in existence. Created in the early 13th century in Bohemia, it’s famously called the “Devil’s Bible” because of a full-page illustration of Satan. The book contains the entire Latin Bible, magical formulas, and historical texts. Legend says it was written in a single night by a monk who made a pact with the devil. In 2018, scientific analysis confirmed the handwriting is almost entirely by one person, but how they completed it remains unexplained. The Codex’s ominous aura and the unexplained speed of its creation fuel rumors of supernatural involvement.

6. The Ripley Scrolls

Named after English alchemist George Ripley, the Ripley Scrolls are a collection of beautifully illustrated medieval manuscripts that detail the secrets of alchemy and the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone. Their swirling imagery, cryptic captions, and allegorical stories have fascinated both historians and mystics. No two copies are identical, adding to the confusion. In 2023, the British Library reported renewed interest, with researchers using AI to search for hidden narrative structures. Despite centuries of study, the Scrolls’ true meaning and the reality of their alchemical recipes remain hotly debated.

7. The Dresden Codex

The Dresden Codex is one of the few surviving pre-Columbian Maya books, believed to date to the 11th or 12th century. Written in hieroglyphs and lavishly illustrated, it contains complex astronomical tables and ritual calendars. The Spanish conquest destroyed most Maya texts, making this codex especially precious. In 2018, astronomers confirmed the accuracy of its Venus tables, but much of the content remains mysterious. Efforts to translate the remaining glyphs continue, but as of 2025, large portions are still undeciphered. The Codex is stored in the Saxon State Library in Dresden, Germany, drawing both tourists and scholars.

8. The Popol Vuh

The Popol Vuh is often called the Maya “Bible,” but its origins are clouded in secrecy. Written in the 16th century but based on much older oral traditions, it details the Maya creation myth, gods, and heroes. The surviving text, written in the Latin alphabet in K’iche’, was hidden by Maya scribes to protect it from Spanish destruction. In 2024, linguists found evidence of coded metaphors and ritual cycles previously overlooked. Despite ongoing research, many passages remain ambiguous, suggesting layers of secret knowledge meant only for initiates.

9. The Copper Scroll

Unearthed in 1952 near the Dead Sea, the Copper Scroll stands apart from other Dead Sea Scrolls because it’s engraved on metal. It lists locations of massive hidden treasures, but with cryptic directions. Archaeologists have tried to follow its clues, but no treasure has ever been found. In 2023, researchers at the University of Haifa used digital imaging to clarify damaged parts of the scroll, uncovering new place names — but the riches remain missing. The scroll’s odd language and abrupt style fuel theories that it encodes secret knowledge or priestly codes lost to time.

10. The Oera Linda Book

First published in the 19th century, the Oera Linda Book claims to be a chronicle of a lost Frisian civilization stretching back thousands of years. Its language, Old Frisian, is partly recognizable, but scholars have long debated if it’s a hoax or a genuine ancient document. In 2021, linguistic analysis at the University of Groningen found inconsistencies suggesting forgery, but believers argue it preserves hidden wisdom. The book’s stories of floods, gods, and matriarchal rulers continue to inspire conspiracy theories and fringe historians.

11. The Sifra di-Tzeniutha

The Sifra di-Tzeniutha, or “Book of Concealment,” is a brief yet notoriously cryptic Kabbalistic text. It’s said to encode the deepest secrets of Jewish mysticism within obscure, fragmented sentences. Rabbis and mystics have debated its meaning for centuries, with some claiming it holds the key to understanding the universe itself. In 2022, renewed digital analysis of its Aramaic phrases sparked heated debates among scholars. The book’s blend of riddles and cosmic metaphors continues to defy any final interpretation.

12. The Prodigiorum Liber

Written by Julius Obsequens in the 4th century, the Prodigiorum Liber catalogs strange events and omens in ancient Rome — from rain of blood to ghostly apparitions. The book’s accuracy and sources are mysterious, leading historians to question if Obsequens recorded actual phenomena or crafted allegories. In 2024, a survey of Roman archaeological finds revealed that some events described might align with real natural disasters. Still, the book’s obscure references and dramatic language keep its true intent shrouded in mystery.

13. The Book of Enoch

The Book of Enoch was lost to the Western world for centuries until a full manuscript resurfaced in Ethiopia in the 18th century. Its vivid descriptions of angels, demons, and a cosmic apocalypse diverge radically from mainstream biblical texts. Scholars in 2023 identified ancient Aramaic fragments in Israel, confirming parts of the book’s antiquity. Still, the reasons for its exclusion from the official Bible and its cryptic visions continue to puzzle theologians. Enoch’s prophecies are so wild that some have speculated they encode astronomical cycles or lost science.

14. The Codex Mendoza

The Codex Mendoza, created in the 16th century for the Spanish king, is an illustrated history of the Aztec Empire. Written in Nahuatl with Spanish commentary, it contains mysterious glyphs and pictograms no one has fully explained. In 2023, researchers using multispectral imaging found underlying sketches suggesting lost chapters. The codex’s blend of myth, history, and unknown symbols makes it a puzzle for both linguists and archaeologists, who suspect it hides secret messages about Aztec society.

15. The Red Book (Liber Novus)

Carl Jung’s “Red Book” was kept secret for decades, and it’s easy to see why. The book is filled with Jung’s vivid, dreamlike paintings and psychological revelations. Only published in 2009, it’s written partly in cryptic German and Latin, with passages that still baffle psychiatrists today. In 2025, Jungian analysts are still debating whether the visions described are literal, metaphorical, or something else entirely. The book’s influence on modern psychology is undeniable, but its true meaning remains elusive.

16. The Codex Leicester

The Codex Leicester is a handwritten notebook by Leonardo da Vinci, filled with scientific observations, mirror-writing, and mysterious sketches. Purchased by Bill Gates in 1994, the codex has been studied by historians and scientists eager to unlock da Vinci’s genius. In 2021, spectral analysis revealed erased notes, deepening the puzzle. The book’s blend of art, science, and code makes it one of history’s most captivating unsolved manuscripts, with theories ranging from secret inventions to hidden philosophies.

17. The Emeishan Manuscript

Discovered in a Buddhist temple in China’s Sichuan province in 2007, the Emeishan Manuscript is written in a lost script and contains hundreds of illustrations of unknown deities. Linguists in 2024 confirmed the manuscript’s age to be over 1,200 years, yet its language remains unidentified. Attempts to match its script with neighboring cultures have failed, and the meaning of its ritual diagrams is still debated. The manuscript’s origin story and spiritual significance are as mysterious as the mountain where it was found.

18. The Sibylline Books

The Sibylline Books were legendary collections of prophecies held in ancient Rome. Only fragments survive today, as most were destroyed in fires or lost during invasions. Historians piecing together surviving quotes find predictions so cryptic they could refer to almost any event. In 2025, scholars at Sapienza University in Rome published new reconstructions of the lost texts, but the true content and origin of the prophecies remain speculative. The aura of doom and mystery surrounding the Sibylline Books has inspired countless legends and conspiracy theories.

19. The Codex Amiatinus

The Codex Amiatinus is the oldest surviving complete Latin Bible, dating back to the 8th century. It’s a staggering work of artistry and scholarship, but its origins are still debated. For centuries, it was believed to be of Italian origin, but in 2019, researchers found evidence linking it to Northumbria, England. The codex’s journey across Europe, the identities of its creators, and the reasons for its unique features — such as missing books and odd marginalia — are still being explored. The book’s age and mystery make it a centerpiece of biblical scholarship.

20. The Gnostic Gospel of Judas

The Gospel of Judas was discovered in Egypt in the 1970s but only translated in the early 2000s. Unlike traditional Christian texts, it presents Judas not as a traitor but as Jesus’s closest confidant. The manuscript’s Coptic script and deteriorated state have made translation difficult, leaving many passages unclear. In 2024, digital restoration efforts at the National Geographic Society revealed new lines, but theological debates continue to rage. The text’s radical message and secretive origins have forced scholars to rethink early Christian history, making it one of the most controversial and mysterious books ever found.