THE SECRET WORLD OF RICHARD SHAVER

"We live in the valley of the blind."

- Richard Sharpe Shaver

One of the most interesting individuals in the annals of the paranormal is Richard Sharpe Shaver (October 8, 1907 – November 5, 1975). In the last months of World War II, he contacted Ray Palmer, then editor of AMAZING STORIES (and later editor of FATE magazine), claiming he had, after hearing "strange sounds" from equipment at the factory he was working at, acquired knowledge of an ancient civilization that lived in underground caverns beneath the earth. Still living, they supposedly frequently raided the surface and kidnapped humans for the purpose of torturing and eating them. The society was comprised of the "good" Teros and the "evil" Deros. He added that he was also able to understand their unique language called "Mantong" and for which he provided a rudimentary lexicon.

Palmer, already a devout UFO-ologist, was intrigued and published Shaver's first writing, "I Remember Lemuria" as a fiction piece in the March 1945 issue. Many more intriguing stories followed for the next several years and readership grew substantially as a result. He continued to write for Palmer when Palmer left AMAZING STORIES to become editor of OTHER WORLDS (and I suspect he wrote uncredited pieces for the Palmer-edited MYSTIC). During this period, Shaver also wrote fiction stories for the pulp magazine, MAMMOTH ADVENTURE. 

In his later years he devoted his efforts to photographing and painting rocks he claimed contained hidden images that only he was able to discern. Hundreds of these images were recorded and while they can be initially dismissed as simulacra, it is still incredible that he made such a compelling -- and tangentially convincing -- study of it.

Shaver was prolific and his writing is at once dense, verbose and frankly hard to believe, but it doesn't make his generally unbelievable assertions any less engrossing. As with others who delve into the highly controversial topics of the occult and paranormal, the line between sanity and madness is often hard to discern.

The following article is from the June 2005 issue of FATE. Composer, performer and author on Fortean subjects, Doug Skinner provides more background on Shaver and his relevance in contemporary times. Following this are excerpts from Ray Palmer's THE SECRET WORLD, an inventory copy of which I was able to purchase from the magazine many years ago. It is an account of his experiences that includes a large section on Richard Shaver and his "rock books". The book is not hard to find, but now commands prices of $200-$300 or more, depending on condition.

More on Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer and AMAZING STORIES HERE.

More on FATE magazine HERE.

Visit the FATE magazine web site HERE.

AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN SCIENCE FICTION (1950/1967)

The diminutive Raymond A. Palmer was far from averse to printing everything from Richard Shaver's "memories" of Lemuria to the distinct possibilities that flying saucers were from alien planets in his magazine, OTHER WORLDS SCIENCE STORIES. He published 31 issues from 1949 to 1953. Earlier in his career, Palmer was the editor of AMAZING STORIES and FATE.

Now the editor and owner of his own publishing company, he had free reign over the selection of material for OWSS. As a result, controversial topics didn't escape his omnivorous imagination. One of these stories was by the fantasy and science fiction grandmaster, Ray Bradbury. Titled, "Way in the Middle of the Air", it told the tale of all the African-Americans (called "Negroes" in this story) on Earth gathering en masse for transport to Mars. Bradbury said that he was so distressed about the plight of African-Americans at the time of its writing (1950), "I put them in rocket ships and send them off to Mars, in a short story, to rid myself of that tension".

Using the "N" word in a number of instances to reflect the social climate in the South (where the story takes place in 2003!), Bradbury pulled not punches in this powerful tale. Professor Emeritus of English, Robert Crossley stated that it was "the single most incisive episode of black and white relations in science fiction by a white author".

"Way in the Middle of the Air", was rejected by several mainstream "family" and literary magazines, including COLLIER'S, until Palmer had a chance to publish it in OWSS. Palmer thanks Bradbury for the opportunity to include it in his editorial for that issue.

The story found its way into Bradbury's landmark collection, "The Martian Chronicles", but removed from the 1997 edition, presumably for its controversial language and subject.

Below is an article written by the pre-eminent science fiction historian and anthologist, Sam Moskowitz discussing the role of the African-American in science fiction. It appeared in Fredrick Pohl's WORLDS OF TOMORROW (May, 1967). Following that is Bradbury's story from Palmer's OWSS.

WARNING!

THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOCIALLY-SENSITIVE INDIVIDUALS.

R.I.P. HILLY ROSE

Hilly Rose in 2008.

For over seventy years, Hilly Rose was a talk show radio personality. Reporting exclusively on everything from The Beatles to the UFO phenomenon, Mr. Rose was a pioneer of the AM Talk Show format. He passed away on December 27 at the age of 91.

Rose was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame as a "Living Legend" pioneer broadcaster in 2016 after a long career covering pop culture and paranormal phenomena. He was at one time a host of the longtime radio program, Coast 2 Coast, as well as a contributor to FATE magazine.

He is survived by his wife Mary Shepper Rose and children Adam, Roger and Patricia. His oldest son, now deceased, was ABC-TV news anchor Judd Rose. He died of natural causes.