Author Denver Michaels

Most are familiar with the story of David and Goliath, found in the Old Testament, but most do not know Goliath had a counterpart of sorts in Mesoamerica named Tzilacatzin. In this post I will discuss the two stories . David and Goliath, one of the first Bible stories taught to young children in Sunday school, is a timeless tale that has permeated our culture. It is spoken of metaphorically—how many motivational speeches have referred to the hero David rising to the challenge and confronting the evil giant ?    Let’s take a look at the David and Goliath story as recounted in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 17:   4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.   5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.   6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders

Among the innumerable legends of haunted places, haunted bridges play a prominent role. Horrible accidents occur on bridges; corpses have been dumped off of bridges to hide evidence of horrible crimes; countless desperate people have chosen to jump off of bridges to end their lives. Think of it, how many ghost stories have you heard centered around a bridge with a phantom jumper? There are categories of bridges known as crybaby bridges and suicide bridges. Crybaby bridges are usually attached to legends of a mother drowning her child or babies being thrown into the water below—the angry spirit of the infant stays behind to haunt passersby. It is obvious what the other category, suicide bridges, are all about. In the early part of the 20th century, there was a bridge in Chicago that served as a perfect example of a suicide bridge. The bridge was simply known as the High Bridge or the Lincoln Park Arch—because of the large arch that allowed sailboats to pass underneath—it was also refer

In 1937, a site along Potomac Creek in Stafford County, Virginia yielded a skull “which far exceeds in brain capacity any skull previously recorded.” The Washington Post reported:  A primitive Algonquin Indian who hunted and fished along the Potomac River 300 years ago and was probably a friend of the princess Pocahontas, probably was the brainiest man the world has ever seen. The skull of this man, which far exceeds in brain capacity any skull previously recorded, was found in Stafford County, Va., by presiding judge W. J. Graham, of the United States Count of Customs and Patent Appeals, a prominent amateur archaeologist. He announced his discovery yesterday. Judge Graham found the skull about two weeks ago. It was in several pieces, and he sent it, as he has his other archaeological finds, to the Smithsonian Institution. There it was assembled and officials were astounded to find that it exceeds the brain capacity of any skull on record. Judge Graham said when he saw the sku

Given the sheer number of Sasquatch sightings throughout North America, it certainly seems plausible that an uncategorized large ape is roaming the forests. With that in mind—if a large ape exists in North America—could there be other primates as well? Could there be some sort of smaller monkey yet to be discovered? Believe it or not, and as strange as it sounds, this might be the case—devil monkeys. There are reports of strange, baboon-like primates that lurk in the forests of Appalachia and beyond . These creatures, nicknamed “devil monkeys,” appear from time to time leaving behind intrigue and mystery—and sometimes carnage. Devil Monkey sightings in the Appalachians can be traced back as far as the 1920s. Descriptions of the creatures vary; however, certain characteristics are commonly reported: dark hair with white hair on the neck and belly, a dog-like snout, pointed ears, and long claws and teeth. Some reports state that the creatures look like a wild dog from a distance. The si

In the summer of 2021, I spent a week in Kalispell, Montana, a short drive from the crystal clear waters of Flathead Lake. I was excited to be here, as Flathead Lake holds a legendary water monster. According to eyewitnesses, the creature moves with vertical undulations and is seen at times frolicking in the lake. The Flathead Lake Monster is about 10–20 feet in length, although some witnesses have reported that it could reach a length of up to 40 feet. Observers often describe the monster as having several vertical humps visible above the water. It has smooth skin that is gray to black in color and large, dark eyes. When the Flathead Lake Monster swims, it is known for leaving a wake in the water up to 12 inches tall, similar to that of a motorboat.  Flathead Lake It would be difficult to find a lake surrounded by scenery that is more gorgeous and breathtaking than Flathead Lake. Moreover, the waters of the lake are enormous in size, and splendid in beauty. The lake is world renowned

On July 29, 1880, the Northern Pacific Farmer , a Wadena, Minnesota newspaper, ran a piece reported by the  New York Evening Star . The report recounted a harrowing encounter between fishermen and a "sea serpent." The event took place on Cayuga Lake, the longest of New York's Finger Lakes. (Yes, I know the creature should be called a lake monster rather than a sea serpent—the paper called it a sea serpent.) The Finger Lakes were formed by glaciers during the last ice age. In my research into the lake monster phenomenon, it is glacial lakes such as these that hold the bulk of lake monster sightings. Cayuga Lake reaches a depth of 435 feet and maintains an average depth of 182 feet—perfect for a large cryptid to dwell and remain undetected. The encounter occurred on a summer evening when a salesman from Broadway was fishing with a local farmer. The pair were trolling and two fish carriages were trailing behind the boat. Suddenly, a whirlpool emerged; one of the carriages di

When thinking of the various "monsters" out there, the New Jersey Vegetable Monster will undoubtedly come up.  Wait a minute... A vegetable monster? C'mon, man... What the *%^* is a vegetable monster?  Glad you asked. I briefly discussed the New Jersey Vegetable Monster in my book Detours Into the Paranormal: Atlantic City Road Trip .   The following is an excerpt: ...This creature, if it ever existed at all, has little evidence to support its existence. In fact, New Jersey Vegetable Monster is a term used within the cryptozoology community to describe a report that is so “out there” that no one could possibly believe it. The addition of the New Jersey Vegetable Monster to the lexicon comes from a sighting by an elderly gentleman who was severely intoxicated. The man claimed to see a large humanoid that resembled a stalk of broccoli. Unsurprisingly, the encounter occurred in the Pine Barrens. As ridiculous as a “broccoli man” sounds, there is another case that comes to mi

The following is an excerpt from my book Giants: Men of Renown , published by Adventures Unlimited Press in which I discuss the giants in the Book of Moses:

Looking at the title of this blog post—Pig Lady—if you're old enough to remember Seinfeld , you might hear in your mind Kramer shout:  "It was a pigman, Jerry! Half man, half pig!" The Pig Lady, from Cecil County, Maryland, however, is no joke. She is not a "fat little mental patient" as Kramer's pigman turned out to be. In my book Detours Into the Paranormal: Atlantic City Road Trip , I discussed the legend. The following is an excerpt: ...According to the tale of the Pig Lady, she was horribly disfigured in a house fire. She escaped the burning structure with her life but suffered awful burns in the process. A nearby person came to help, but when he laid eyes on her, he became so frightened by her burnt, disfigured face that he took off running. The poor woman who had just lost her home had now lost her face—she was a freak, an outcast; she fled into the woods and became the Pig Lady. As with a lot of these urban legends , there are several variations of

In 1885, the American Antiquarian ran an article discussing a mound which had been opened in Pennsylvania. The mound yielded several interesting finds, chief among them the large skeleton of a Pennsylvania giant who wore a copper crown: " A large Indian mound near the town of Gasterville, Pa., has recently been opened and examined by a committee of scientists sent out from the Smithsonian Institute. At some depth from the surface a kind of vault was found in which was discovered the skeleton of a giant measuring seven feet two inches. His hair was course and jet-black, and hung to the waist, the brow being ornamented with a copper crown. The skeleton was remarkably well preserved. Near it were also found the bodies of several children of various sizes, the remains being covered with beads made of bone of some kind. Upon removing these, the bodies were seen to be enclosed in a network of straw or reeds, and beneath this was a covering of the skin of some animal. On the stones whi

Many in the cryptozoology community credit Theodore Roosevelt with recording an early Bigfoot encounter in his 1893 book The Wilderness Hunter .  Teddy Roosevelt's Bigfoot story began with him saying that frontiersmen, as a rule, were not superstitious. They lived hard and austere lives and had “little imagination in things spiritual and supernatural.” That said, Roosevelt did hear a “goblin story” that impressed him. I have reprinted Teddy Roosevelt's Bigfoot story, taken from his book, below:

On December 17, 1891, Nature ran an interesting piece about the discovery of an enormous skeleton clad in copper armor in a mound in Ohio. The following article describes the Ohio giant: "According to the “World's Fair Notes,” sent to us from Chicago, the party which, under the direction of Mr. Putnam, has been making excavations in the mounds of Ohio, made an important discovery on November 14. While at work on a mound 500 feet long, 200 feet wide, and 28 feet high, the excavators found near the centre of the mound, at a depth of 14 feet, the massive skeleton of a man incased in copper armour. The head was covered by an oval-shaped copper cap; the jaws had copper mouldings; the arms were dressed in copper, while copper plates covered the chest and stomach, and on each side of the head, on protruding sticks, were wooden antlers ornamented with copper. The mouth was stuffed with genuine pearls of immense size, but much decayed. Around the neck was a necklace of bears’ teeth, s

I have often wondered if the Bible mentions a long-necked dinosaur in the Book of Job. Verses 15–24 of chapter 40 speak of an enormous herbivore called “behemoth” that is the “chief of the ways of God.” Is this massive creature a dinosaur? I think it could be. 15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. 16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. 17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. 18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. 19 He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. 20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. 21 He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. 22 The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about. 23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that h

George Bird Grinnell (1849–1938) spent decades recording the histories, legends, and cultural practices of the Plains Indians. According to a Pawnee narrative recounted to Grinnell, the first people to inhabit the earth were giants. These mighty men of old were so powerful that they hunted buffalo on foot. The giant buffalo hunters ran fast enough to catch buffalo and were strong enough to kill them with only clubs and flint knives. So powerful were these giants, and of such enormous stature, that they carried slain buffalo upon their shoulders. These giant buffalo hunters of the Plains were also arrogant and haughty, and they refused to honor their creator, Tirawa. The giants believed themselves to be invincible; as time went on, they grew in their arrogance and their behavior became completely unacceptable to their creator.  Like so many other deities spanning a myriad of unrelated cultures, Tirawa also decided to rid the earth of the arrogant giant buffalo hunters. He turned the gr

Books about Bigfoot are a dime a dozen. I certainly have read my share over the years and I have a stack in my "to read" pile. Some Bigfoot books are great, some are terrible, and then there are plenty of so-so books. Having read a couple that fall into the mediocre category recently, I decided to reread a classic. So, I downloaded an e-book version of Ivan Sanderson’s Abominable Snowmen, Legend Come to Life. While reading the other night, something Sanderson wrote grabbed my attention—the idea that Bigfoot creatures are more human than animal. ABSMs In his book, Sanderson lumped Bigfoot into an overarching category called Abominable Snowmen or ABSM for short. Everyone knows ABSMs are elusive. Sanderson hinted at why: It is simply that ABSMs are Hominids or, just as every benighted native has always asserted, human rather than animal, and thus are endowed in one degree or another with human attributes, and most notably their powers of survival, their adaptability, their to