Tim Rayhel – better known to historical codebreakers as “Glen Claston” – died a few days ago (July 2014) in Albuquerque. He was 56.
He was always very private, and once told me that blogs “expose too much of the underbelly to the carnivores, and that I don’t want to do”.
Even so, because the Internet is almost completely silent about his life and work, this page is my attempt to tell his story, to remember my old friend Tim properly.
Timothy Rayhel
Joining the US Army young, he found a natural home in the Army Security Agency which was where his life-long interest in ciphers began.
“Post military I served in the private armies that were the forerunners of BlackWater, etc., in Nicaragua and other points south. My old boss Ollie North took a fall and I retired from that work, having seen a bit too much of what real American policy is all about. I suffered an attack of conscience, became a fundamentalist minister [in the Church of Christ], found that too extreme, and finally directed my efforts toward staying below the radar.”
Tim then became interested in the (alleged) cryptographic writings of Francis Bacon and their possible links to Shakespeare’s works. Yet despite building up a huge regard for Bacon, he ultimately ended up disappointed, certain that most Baconian researchers’ claims were “false and misleading”.
“There was a time several years ago when Mr. Rayhel drank a lot and said some embarassing things, even if he was right. It’s much simpler to be a reformed person with a new name, and it keeps the crackpot mail down a bit as well.”
Glen Claston
He also started researching the Voynich Manuscript from 1986, posting online under his ‘Glen Claston’ (‘GC’) pseudonym from 1994 onwards. He subsequently became convinced that Leonell Strong’s mid-century attempts at decryption were essentially correct. Over a period of several years, he built his own detailed transcription of Voynichese (“Voynich-101”) and released this openly, which many researchers now use.
But his interests were very much wider, covering a whole range of historical ciphers, the early works of John Dee (particularly the Monas Hieroglyphica) and numerous Renaissance books on cryptography, some of which he worked with others on transcribing: but none of these has (as yet) been published.
In 2000, Tim believed that he had cracked the Beale Ciphers (B1 and B3), and that he had even identified the likeliest location of where the treasure had been hidden. A TV production house took out an option to make a documentary on the subject, but this never got made. (By 2004, though, he had changed his mind, concluding instead that the cipher was nothing more than a strange 19th century cipher hoax.)
He is also well known for his research into the Zodiac Killer Ciphers: for years he was intrigued by the numerous apparent connections between Gareth Penn and the Zodiac Killer, but was never ultimately able to find a way into the unbroken Z340 cipher.
He struggled with various health issues, including a heart attack: while severe back pain problems throughout 2012 were later diagnosed as “peripheral neuropathy that may be related to MS”. His cause of death is as yet unknown. He leaves behind a daughter.
My Friend Tim
That’s all the facts. But what to say about my good friend Tim, who I had first encountered in 2001?
In truth, he was like a twin brother to me (and I told him so), equal parts inspiring and infuriating: he would gleefully pick a fight with me over anything inaccurate I wrote or any logical shortcut I inadvertently tried to take.
But I never minded this from him, because here was someone who had walked a thousand crypto miles before I had walked even one – someone whose fiercely-held opinions were guaranteed to be built on obsessive observation skills, sustained hard graft, and a highly analytical brain. How many people can you genuinely say that of?
Having Tim as my friend taught me this: that sincerely disagreeing with someone – and having the strength of will and mind to fight them in the spirit of mutual learning – is the greatest gift you can give. I learnt more from him than from anyone else.
Without him in it, my world seems unchallenged, empty, even (dare I say it) easy. And I can’t begin to tell you what a dreadful loss that is to me.
In memoriam Timothy Rayhel (‘Glen Claston’) 1957-2014
Nick, I sympathize with your loss of a very good friend.
That’s truly sad. 56 is very young. I believe a lot of his story will remain forever unknown.
I am sorry to hear your loss 🙁
Strange things happens:I just wanted today to ask whether he is still working on the VM and whether he is well.These are very sad news.
Condolences from Germany.
Rene: quite possibly – but at the same time, Tim did collaborate with various people on a number of projects, a fair few of which may yet see the light of day in one form or another.
Good friends are hard to find and no one really knows how you feel when they go. Such relationships are deeply personal and are the results of many shared discussions and experiences that are truly unique between you and your friend. As a result no one can say they know exactly how you feel, we can only offer sympathy and understanding at what is a very sad time for you and his family. Sincere condolences from me and mine.
Tim and I were in mid-collaboration on a couple of projects, neither of which was close to finished. One concerned the cipher codes in the Folger Shakespeare Library MS. V.b.26 and the other the use of John Dee’s Monas symbol. I don’t know that either work would ever have been actually completed as a collaboration, since we both tended to go off on great tangents and frequently disagreed… those of you who knew him knew how he could go off on a five page digression that really meant something like “No. And by the way, no. And here’s a little historical background to that ‘no.'”
I am trying to put some of that collaboration/conversation together in one place, and I imagine others are as well.
Sometime over the next few months I’ll write up (or paste together, or annotate, whichever seems most appropriate) a few of his more recent hypotheses (those connected to the Voynich, to Folger MS. V.b.26 and to John Dee). I’m sure that at least those ideas will see the light of day. I hope some of the others will, too.
Yes, Nick, I’d vote for GC/Tim as your evil twin any day.
(Or, you as his evil twin, Nick, whichever one prefers. I only put the rib in since neither of you particularly liked to think of some things as “angelic,” and since whatever ability I had to laugh at old texts and the tricks their authors have played on us seems far, far away these days.)
Terry: Tim and I never managed to decide which one of us was the evil twin. Perhaps we both were at different times, who can say?
As a journalist who has written extensively about Gareth Penn and his connection to the Zodiac killings, I knew Tim Rayhel as Glen Claston.
I admired him as one of few people to publicly condemn Penn for trying to finger Berkeley professor Michael O’Hare as the Zodiac killer, using many of the same tools the killer used to taunt police and journalists.
Claston recognized that, in his 30-year quest to see O’Hare charged with the murders, Mr. Penn used the same tools the killer used: U.S. mail; over-the-top taunts peppered with obscure cultural and historical references; and of course, codes and ciphers that led nowhere.
It was all an effort to “build a case against a totally innocent human being, accusing this person of being a multiple murder, or worse,” Claston wrote, about 15 years ago.
“I personally consider Penn’s work to be a work of criminal magnitude. It demonstrates total disregard for established patterns of scientific research; it demonstrates a total irresponsibility toward duties to public information; it demonstrates a criminal disregard for individual privacy; and it demonstrates a criminal disregard for the laws of the United States as established by our Constitution.”
Glen repeated his disdain many times, even suggesting Penn himself was the Zodiac killer.
“I pity a man who has wasted so much time and so much useful intellect and energy…hounding innocent people,” Claston wrote. “I get a little hostile when I’m on the subject of Gareth Penn. Gareth, you’re my public enemy number one.”
Dr. O’Hare wrote of his ordeal at Penn’s hands in this piece for the Washington Monthly:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2009/0905.ohare.html
I’m terribly sorry to hear this, Nick. I remember his input on the Voynich forum “back in the good old days” and missed it when he stopped posting. His posts there and on the Zodiac forum were a staple.
He will be sadly missed 🙁
Nick: Sorry to hear of the loss of Glen. He had recently returned to the List, with his usual intelligent, but sharp, cutting insights, and as he always did, quickly had us on our toes! His sort of free thinking is necessary for any problem to move forward.
He was a valuable asset to the community, and a fascinating man… from what glimpse he would let us all see. All the best his family, and to you. Rich.
Very sad news. Thanks for the posting, Nick.
Sincere condolences
Ruby
I had some dialog with “Glen” on various subjects and would have welcomed more. I send my condolences to his daughter.
We should also not forget his beautiful Voynich Manuscript Font from 2005 (ver. 1.23) ,which is one of my favorite VM fonts.Anybody knows if that is the last version ?
I’m very sad to hear of Tim/Glen’s passing. I much enjoyed my own discussions with him, and plainly you got to appreciate much more of him.
Plainly he left behind some works that would be good to be published. I hope someone sees to that.
Hail and farewell, Tim.
Dennis
Nick, though it is too late for Glen Caston, perhaps you may be able to gain access to the California State Police (Bureau of Investigations) archives. Unsolved murder investigations are sent to the State Police archives when the City Police Detective/Investigator dies, and there is no ‘new’ information.
A little late but I am so sad to hear the news. During our last private conversations he let me know his real name but not his back story. He was a grafter and didn’t go at things half-heartedly. RIP Tim.