Richard S. Shaver

Richard S. Shaver
Born	8 October 1907(1907-10-08) Berwick, Pennsylvania
Died	5 November 1975 (68)  Summit, Arkansas
Burial	Layton Cemetery, Yellville, Arkansas
Nationality	American
Known for	The Shaver Mystery
Noted work(s)	I Remember Lemuria

Richard Sharpe Shaver (October 8, 1907 - November 5, 1975) was an American artist and writer, the originator and namesake of the Shaver Mystery, a series of allegedly true stories that document an ongoing conspiracy against humanity conducted by malevolent beings from the underground world known as Deros, stories which were popularised in the 1940s and 50s by Ray Palmer, editor of Amazing Stories and similar pulp science fiction magazines.

Selected Bibliography

Amazing Stories (1945-1950)

Shaver was first published (under his real name) by Amazing Stories as a letter-writer in the January 1944 issue (18.1, p. 206), entitled "AN ANCIENT LANGUAGE?", in which he outlined the Atlantean coded meanings of the letters of the alphabet. Following the printing of this letter, Shaver began active correspondence with editor Ray Palmer, culminating in an extensive body of short fiction, detailing his beliefs as fantasy adventure stories.

• Shaver, Richard S. (March 1945), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "I Remember Lemuria!", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 19 (1): 12-70, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v19n01_1945-03_Ziff-Daviscape1736/page/n11 
• Shaver, Richard S. (June 1945), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Thought Records of Lemuria", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 19 (2): 16-52, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v19n02_1945-06.Ziff-Daviscape1736/page/n11  — [introduced by Shaver's Open Letter to the World (p. 12-15), in which he outlines his beliefs, asserting the story-behind-the-fiction to be true]
• Shaver, Richard S. (September 1945), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Cave City of Hel", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 19 (3): 6-29, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v19n03_1945-09_cape1736/page/n5 
• Shaver, Richard S. (December 1945), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Quest of Brail", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 19 (4): 8-61, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v19n04_1945-12_cape1736_/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S. (February 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Invasion of the Micro-Men", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 20 (1): 6-42, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v20n01_1946-02_cape1736/page/n5 
• Shaver, Richard S. (May 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Masked World", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 20 (2): 6-73, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v20n02_1946-05.Ziff-Daviscape1736/page/n5 
• Shaver, Richard S. (June 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Luder Valley", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 20 (3): 99-117, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v20n03_1946-06_cape1736/page/n98 
• Shaver, Richard S.; McKenna, Bob (July 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Cult of the Witch Queen", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 20 (4): 8-38, 109-145, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v20n04_1946-07.Ziff-Daviscape1736-ufikus/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S. (August 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Sea People", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 20 (5): 9-45, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v20n05_1946-08_cape1736/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S. (September 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Earth Slaves to Space", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 20 (6): 8-53, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v20n06_1946-09_cape1736/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S.; McKenna, Bob (November 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Return of Sathanas", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 20 (8): 8-62, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v20n08_1946-11.Ziff-Daviscape1736/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S. (December 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Land of Kui", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 20 (9): 8-24, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v20n09_1946-12.Ziff-Daviscape1736/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S. (January 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Mind Rovers", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 21 (1): 96-134, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v21n01_1947-01.Ziff-Davis_cape1736/page/n96 
• Shaver, Richard S. (March 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Joe Dannon, Pioneer", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 21 (3): 10-31, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v21n03_1947-03_cape1736/page/n9 
• Shaver, Richard S. (May 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Crystalline Sarcophagus", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 21 (5): 10-19, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v21n05_1947-05_cape1736/page/n9 
• Shaver, Richard S. (June 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Formula from the Underworld", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 21 (6): 10-29, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v21n06_1947-06_cape1736/page/n9 
• Shaver, Richard S. (June 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Zigor Mephisto's Collection of Mentalia", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 21 (6): 30-60, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v21n06_1947-06_cape1736/page/n30 
• Shaver, Richard S. (June 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Witch's Daughter", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 21 (6): 62-88, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v21n06_1947-06_cape1736/page/n61 
• Shaver, Richard S. (June 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Red Legion", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 21 (6): 90-129, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v21n06_1947-06_cape1736/page/n91 
• Shaver, Richard S. (June 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Proofs", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 21 (6): 136-146, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v21n06_1947-06_cape1736/page/n137 
• Shaver, Richard S. (August 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Mer-Witch of Ether '18'", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 21 (8): 82-99, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v21n08_1947-08_cape1736/page/n83 
• Shaver, Richard S. (December 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Of Gods and Goats", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 21 (12): 59-84, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v21n12_1947-12_cape1736/page/n58 
• Shaver, Richard S. (January 1948), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Shaver on Inertia", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 22 (1): 126-127, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v22n01_1948-01_cape1736/page/n126 
• Shaver, Richard S. (March 1948), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Gods of Venus", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 22 (3): 8-123, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v22n03_1948-03_cape1736/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S.; Geier, Chester S. (June 1948), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Ice City of the Gorgon", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 22 (6): 8-65, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v22n06_1948-06/page/n5 
• Shaver, Richard S. (July 1948), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "If We Get A Chance!", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 22 (7): 156-160, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v22n07_1948-07_cape1736/page/n156 
• Shaver, Richard S. (September 1948), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Titan's Daughter", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 22 (9): 64-146, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v22n09_1948-09_cape1736/page/n64 
• Shaver, Richard S. (December 1948), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Daughter of the Night", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 22 (12): 8-28, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v22n12_1948-12_cape1736/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S. (January 1949), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Cyclops", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 23 (1): 72-78, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v23n01_1949-01_cape1736/page/n71 
• Shaver, Richard S. (July 1949), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Exiles of the Elfmounds", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 23 (7): 8-27, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v23n07_1949-07_cape1736/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S. (September 1949), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Erdis Cliff", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 23 (9): 62-115, 119, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v23n09_1949-09_cape1736/page/n62 
• Shaver, Richard S.; Geier, Chester S. (November 1949), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Battle in Eternity", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 23 (11): 58-99, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v23n11_1949-11_cape1736/page/n58 
• Shaver, Richard S. (January 1950), Browne, Howard, ed., "We Dance for the Dom", Amazing Stories (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 24 (1): 8-36, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v24n01_1950-01_Missing_fcifc_archive.org/page/n7 

Fantastic Adventures (1946-1949)

• Shaver, Richard S. (May 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "An Adam from the Sixth", Fantastic Adventures (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 8 (2): 96-106, https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v08n02_1946-05_cape1736/page/n96 
• Shaver, Richard S. (July 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Tale of the Last Man", Fantastic Adventures (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 8 (3): 142-145, https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v08n03_1946-07_cape1736/page/n142 
• Shaver, Richard S. (March 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Princess and Her Pig", Fantastic Adventures (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 9 (2): 158-168, https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v09n02_1947-03/page/n158 
• Shaver, Richard S. (October 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Witch of the Andes", Fantastic Adventures (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 9 (6): 8-49, https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v09n06_1947-10_cape1736/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S. (February 1948), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Slaves of the Worm", Fantastic Adventures (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 10 (2): 8-55, https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v10n02_1948-02_cape1736/page/n7 
• Shaver, Richard S. (March 1948), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Thin Woman", Fantastic Adventures (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 10 (3): 78-87, https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v10n03_1948-03_unz.org/page/n78 
• Shaver, Richard S. (July 1948), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Mirrors of the Queen", Fantastic Adventures (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 10 (7): 90-106, https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v10n07_1948-07/page/n81 
• Shaver, Richard S.; Geier, Chester S. (December 1948), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Fountain of Change", Fantastic Adventures (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 10 (12): 38-72, https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v10n12_1948-12_LPM-AT/page/n38 
• Shaver, Richard S. (June 1949), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Cyclopeans", Fantastic Adventures (Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) 11 (6): 112-148, https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v11n06_1949-06_AK/page/n112 

Mammoth Adventure (1946-1947)

• Shaver, Richard S. (Nov. 1946), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Tunca Punca Nugget", Mammoth Adventure (Chicago: Ziff Davis) 1 (3): 28-62, https://archive.org/details/mammoth-adventure-v1-n3-ziff-davis-1946-11/page/n25 
• Shaver, Richard S. (May 1947), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Loot of Babylon", Mammoth Adventure (Chicago: Ziff Davis) 2 (1): 8-72, https://archive.org/details/MammothAdventureV02N03194705/page/n8 

Other Worlds (1949-1953)

(Ray Palmer's pulp sci-fi magazine, briefly edited under the pseudonym Robert N. Webster due to his being under contract to Ziff-Davis, published by Palmer's company Clark Publishing.)

• Shaver, Richard S. (November 1949), Webster, Robert N., ed., "The Fall of Lemuria", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 1 (1): 4-41, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_01v01n01_1949-11_LennyS-EXciter/page/n5 
• Shaver, Richard S. (March 1950), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Lady", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 1 (3): 40-53, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_03v01n03_1950-03_LennyS-EXciter/page/n40 
• Shaver, Richard S. (October 1951), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Lightning over Saturn", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 3 (6): 18-59, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_14v03n06_1951-10_Gorgon776/page/n17 
• Shaver, Richard S. (October 1951), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Journey to Nowhere", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 3 (6): 122-133, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_14v03n06_1951-10_Gorgon776/page/n121 
• Shaver, Richard S. (December 1951), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Yelisen", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 3 (7): 46-70, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_15v03n07_1951-12_LennyS-EXciter/page/n46 
• Shaver, Richard S. (July 1952), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Sun Smiths", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 4 (5), https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_20v04n05_1952-07_Gorgon776/page/n6 
• Shaver, Richard S. (August 1952), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Sun Smiths, Pt. 2", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 4 (6): 48-91, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_21v04n06_1952-08_Gorgon776/page/n47 
• Shaver, Richard S. (October 1952), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "The Sun Smiths, Conclusion", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 4 (7): 82-116, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_22v04n07_1952-10_cape1736/page/n82 
• Shaver, Richard S. (November 1952), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Beyond the Barrier", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 4 (8): 102-133, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_23v04n08_1952-11_LennyS-EXciter/page/n103 
• Shaver, Richard S. (December 1952), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Beyond the Barrier, Pt. 2", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 4 (9): 108-137, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_24v04n09_1952-12_Gorgon776/page/n107 
• Shaver, Richard S. (January 1953), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Beyond the Barrier, Pt. 3", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 5 (1): 100-139, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_25v05n01_1953-01/page/n99 
• Shaver, Richard S. (February 1953), Palmer, Raymond A., ed., "Beyond the Barrier, Conclusion", Other Worlds (Evanston, Ill.: Clark Publishing) 5 (2): 98-133, https://archive.org/details/Other_Worlds_26v05n02_1953-02/page/n98 

Shaver Mystery Magazine (1947-1949)

• Published by the Shaver Mystery Club and Shaver himself between 1947-1949, seven issues in three volumes, containing the serialisation of "Mandark (Story of the Messiah As Told in the Caves)".

The Hidden World (1961)

• The Hidden World (Palmer Publications Inc.) (1), Spring 1961, https://archive.org/details/HW19611 

The Secret World (1975)

• Shaver, Richard S.; Palmer, Ray (1975), The Secret World, Amherst, Wisc.: Amherst Press 

Collected Works

• Shaver, Richard S.; McKenna, Bob (1946), Cult of the Witch Queen 
• Shaver, Richard S. (1948), I Remember Lemuria, and the Return of Sathanas  — collection of earlier stories from 1945-1947
• Shaver, Richard S. (1948), Gods of Venus 
• Shaver, Richard S. (1952), The Sun-Smiths 
• Shaver, Richard S. (1953), Beyond the Barrier 

Aliases

In addition to works published under his own name, Shaver has been credited with some works attributed to Alexander Blade, D. Richard Sharpe, Edwin Benson, Frank Patton, G. H. Irwin, Gerald Vance, Paul Lohrman, Peter Dexter, Richard Dorot, Richard English, Stan Raycraft, The Red Dwarf, and Wes Amherst. (Some of these aliases were shared by several writers of Ziff-Davis pulps.)

Resources

• Internet Speculative Fiction Database entry on Richard S. Shaver (isfdb.org)