Believers in the theory that Earth has a hollow, inhabitable core sometimes also believe in evil creatures called the Deros, which were supposedly created through genetic engineering. Resembling demons, these creatures supposedly visit the surface of the earth to kidnap human beings, whom they then subject to a variety of tortures. They also supposedly wreak destruction on the inhabitants of Earth’s surface by using technologically advanced machines hidden in caves to alter weather, alter brain waves to cause mental illness, and cause industrial, traffic, and other accidents. The idea of the Deros originated with Richard Sharpe Shaver, who, in 1943, told the editor of the magazine Amazing Stories that he had seen these beings; their name, he said, was derived from the words detrimental robots, though they were not actually robots but living creatures. According to Shaver, the creators of the Deros, whom he called the Titans, were beings as tall as 300 feet (91.4m) who had originally come from an ancient yet highly advanced civilization called Lemuria, which had been located on Earth’s surface, but they had abandoned Earth for another planet roughly twelve thousand years ago, leaving the Deros behind. Shaver believed that the only hope for eliminating the Deros were the Teros, which were also created by the Titans and were heroic humanlike beings who, though small in number, were intent on fighting the Deros. Amazing Stories editor Raymond A. Palmer published many tales based on Shaver’s supposed adventures in the hollow-Earth realm, not only in Amazing Stories but in its sister publication, Fantastic Adventures, as well. (Shaver’s name was on these stories, but they were actually ghostwritten by Palmer.) The first of these stories, “I Remember Lemuria,” which appeared in Amazing Stories in 1945, prompted a few other people to claim they had encountered the Deros too. However, many of the magazines’ fans complained about the Shaver tales, which increasingly explored the sexually perverse nature of the Deros, and in 1948 the magazines stopped publishing the stories.
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The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning