Shaver Mystery
Science fiction stories published in Amazing Stories magazine beginning in 1945, presented by editor Ray Palmer as real experiences of Richard Shaver among degenerate subterranean races called Deros, credited as a forerunner of modern ancient-astronaut and underground-civilization theories.
The Shaver Mystery began in March 1945 when Amazing Stories magazine published Richard Shaver's "I Remember Lemuria," presented by editor Ray Palmer not as fiction but as recovered memories of an ancient civilization. The story described Shaver's alleged experiences with underground races called Deros (detrimental robots) and Teros (integrative robots), remnants of advanced ancient civilizations.
According to Shaver's accounts, these underground beings inhabited vast cavern systems beneath Earth's surface, operating advanced technology left by departed elder races. The Deros were portrayed as degenerate creatures responsible for mysterious disappearances, mental illness, and various surface world problems, while the beneficial Teros attempted to protect humanity.
Editor Ray Palmer promoted the stories as factual accounts rather than science fiction, encouraging readers to submit their own experiences with underground phenomena. The magazine received thousands of letters from readers claiming similar encounters, creating the first documented UFO-related media phenomenon before the modern flying saucer era.
The Shaver Mystery significantly influenced science fiction and proto-conspiracy literature, establishing themes later adopted by ancient astronaut theorists, hollow Earth proponents, and UFO researchers. Elements of Shaver's underground civilizations appear in works by writers including Kenneth Arnold, Gray Barker, and later ancient astronaut authors.
Palmer's marketing of the stories as non-fiction demonstrated early techniques for promoting fringe theories through pulp magazines, creating devoted readerships willing to accept extraordinary claims with minimal evidence. The phenomenon showed how science fiction themes could migrate into belief systems when presented as factual accounts.
Critics and science fiction authors including Isaac Asimov denounced the series as exploitative fantasy marketed to gullible readers. The controversy led to Palmer's departure from Amazing Stories in 1949, though he continued promoting Shaver's work in other publications throughout the 1950s.
The Shaver Mystery remains significant as the first mass-media promotion of underground civilization theories and proto-UFO beliefs, establishing narrative templates that continue to influence conspiracy theories about secret underground bases and hidden advanced civilizations.
Bibliography:
- Shaver, Richard S. I Remember Lemuria
- Palmer, Ray. The Coming of the Saucers
- Davis, Richard. The Shaver Mystery Evaluation