Many researchers tried to pin Shaver down on the location of the cave where he was first taken by Nydia, but Shaver claimed that the Deros mech-rays had confused his thoughts to such an extent that he was no longer able to remember the location. Others have made claims to have found hidden caves containing secret cities and strange inhabitants, but nothing verifiable has ever been introduced as conclusive evidence.

It is easy to see why Shaver's story achieved the popularity that it did and why it resonated with readers. Practically every society that has existed has had their own myths and legends of underground worlds populated by unusual creatures. Just as the heavens were the abodes of higher spiritual beings, gods, and angels (and later, the benevolent space brothers), the inner earth was home to devils, demons, and the dead. The pure and good are above, while the unclean and evil lay below.

So people who no longer believed in the old superstitions of a hell populated by devils instead found a new faith in a physical race of insane creatures that used ancient technology to torture innocent surface-dwellers. It is a lot easier to accept random accidents, senseless murders, and the other unpleasant aspects of life on some unseen creatures, rather than dealing with the fact that much of our lives are really beyond our understanding and control.

Shaver continued to write about the Dero into the 1950s and '60s, but he never achieved the same success and attention that he did in those early years with Amazing Stories. He passed away in 1975 and has since been almost forgotten. Several years ago, some of Richard Shavers writings were rediscovered in the vast archives of publisher Timothy Green Beckley. This "lost" material was compiled into the book Richard Shaver Reality of the Inner Earth, (2005, Global Communications).

Whether you believe that Shaver's experiences were real or simply the writings of an imaginative science fiction author, his vision of ancient races and fantastic lost civilizations have a universal appeal with those who enjoy seeking answers to some of life's most compelling mysteries.