Author Denver Michaels

My latest book,  California (Lucid!) Dreaming: Water Dragons, Lemurians, Bigfoot and More  is now available for  preorder on Amazon . Full-time traveler Denver Michaels navigates torrential rains in Santa Barbara, the blazing sun in Blythe, mudslides along the Pacific Coast Highway, swollen creeks in Yosemite, knee-deep snow in Lake Tahoe and other obstacles while seeking out water monsters, giants, megaliths, Bigfoot and other mysteries in the Golden State. In the eighth installment of his popular Detours Into the Paranormal series, Michaels investigates the Winchester Mystery House, rumors of ancient nuclear war in Death Valley, sky gods over the Colorado Desert, Bigfoot sightings beneath the giant redwoods, thunderbird reports, lucid dreams, strange stone walls, the Lemurian civilization and much more. What will he uncover in his never-ending search for truth? Over 80 photographs chronicle this epic seven-month tour.

Western Nebraska is home to a lake monster tradition believed to predate the arrival of white settlers to the region. It has been said that Walgren Lake, formerly known as Alkali Lake, has its own version of the Loch Ness Monster. The creature—Nebraska’s only lake monster—is called the Alkali Monster, and alternately, the Walgren Lake Monster. Generic terms used to refer to the beast include, "horse-head alligator" and "great horned alligator." These descriptions refer to the bony protrusion, a single horn, like that of a rhinoceros, said to jut out of the creature's head. Walgren Lake is the centerpiece of the Walgren Lake State Recreation Area, located southeast of the town of Hay Springs, Nebraska. Walgren Lake makes up about 50 acres of the 80 acre recreational area. The Walgren Lake State Recreation Area is reached by gravel roads and has 40 primitive campsites—a perfect place for a weekend fishing trip. Origins of the Monster The Alkali Monster, if it exi...

I spent early May 2022 at a campground in Ulster County, New York. The campground lies between the Shawangunk and Catskill mountains and the scenery is gorgeous. About thirty minutes away lies the town of Poughkeepsie which sits on the banks of the Hudson River. The town is home to Kipsy, the Hudson River Monster, and I had every intention of visiting. They say life comes at you fast. Life hit me like a freight train in New York. I had to rush my dog to the emergency veterinarian in Kingston. Sadly, he did not come back home with me. My ole buddy had an aggressive form of cancer, and a tumor caused his spleen to rupture. Understandably, I spent a good bit of my time in New York moping around. I just didn't feel like doing much. So, my trip to Kipsy's stomping grounds didn't happen. Rest in peace ole buddy. Well, anyway, I wanted this post to be about my trip to Poughkeepsie where I had hoped to learn a little more about Kipsy, the Hudson River Monster. But since I have not...

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 reno...

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...

In my RV travels across the nation, I’ve spent a fair amount of time on the shores of Lake Erie. Lake Erie is the twelfth largest lake on Earth and the primary source of drinking water for over 11 million people. The lake spans almost 10,000 square miles and holds six quadrillion gallons of water. For someone like me that has an interest in the weird and unexplained, some of the towns along Lake Erie are perfect for a visit. There are ancient burial mounds and tales of giants, lake monsters, haunted buildings , Bigfoot sightings and more. Monroe Monster In early autumn 2021, I stayed in a Michigan state park on the outskirts of the town of Monroe. Immediately, I began thinking of the “Monroe Monster.” The Monroe Monster made a name for itself in the summer of 1965 after locals began spotting the creature. The monster made headlines nationwide after it attacked a teenage girl named Christine Van Acker while she sat in a car with her mother. According to a report in the Independent (Lon...

The Evening Herald , a newspaper from Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, reported an encounter in which a lake monster  attacked a boat with four men inside in their June 22, 1893, issue. The incident occurred in Cedar Bass Lake outside of Knox, Indiana. The article is titled "Lake Monster Smashes Boat, Men Thrown Overboard" and is reprinted below:

In late summer 2022, I spent close to two weeks in Wisconsin . During my time in the Badger State, I visited Lake Mills. Lake Mills is a nice town and sits on the shores of Rock Lake. Shortly after arriving in Lake Mills, I stopped off for a Chicago-style hot dog, and then made my way over to the lake. I knew it was a long shot, but I hoped to catch a glimpse of the fabled Rock Lake Monster. The Rock Lake Monster, or “Rocky” for short, is dark brown in color with spots, almost like a pickerel. It has eyes similar to a snake, a horse-like head, and a long neck. Rock Lake Monster Sightings Sightings of the Rock Lake Monster go all the way back to 1867 when several witnesses claimed they saw a saurian creature in the water. In one encounter, the creature hissed at a man. On August 31, 1882, a local newspaper, the Lake Mills Spike, reported a frightening meeting between two boaters and the Rock Lake Monster. The traumatic encounter began when Ed McKenzie and D.W. Seybert were racing one a...

I began thinking about the old tales of the Utah Lake Monster while traveling through the Salt Lake City area in May 2021 . Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake to the north are both remnants of ancient Lake Bonneville. Lake Bonneville was formed roughly 32,000 years ago and lasted until about 14,000 years ago. According to Wikipedia: Lake Bonneville was the largest Late Pleistocene paleolake in the Great Basin of western North America. The Western Interior Seaway preceded Lake Bonneville. Lake Bonneville was a pluvial lake that formed in response to an increase in precipitation and a decrease in evaporation as a result of cooler temperatures. Lake Bonneville covered much of what is now western Utah and at its highest level extended into present-day Idaho and Nevada. Many other hydrographically closed basins in the Great Basin contained expanded lakes during the Late Pleistocene, including Lake Lahontan in northwestern Nevada. Utah Lake is shallow with the maximum depth of its waters on...

In Canada, there are numerous monsters lurking in the lakes —this almost goes without saying. Most know of Canada's Loch Ness Monster, the Ogopogo, but did you know there are several other lake monsters in Canada with the suffix "pogo"? The Igopogo, Winnipogo, and Manipogo are three of which and they are discussed in my book People are Seeing Something: A Survey of Lake Monsters in the United States and Canada . The following is an excerpt: Dwelling in another large, freshwater lake in North America, is yet another cryptid—the Manipogo. The Manipogo is described as being between 12 and 50 feet long with either a horse-like or a sheep-like head; and the creature’s skin is said to be “muddy-brown” in its color. 1 The Manipogo is another lake monster of the 'multi-humped' variety, much like the Ogopogo and the Loch Ness Monster. Eyewitnesses describe seeing several humps above the water as the creature moves 2 . Not surprisingly, the Manipogo is named after the Ogopo...

The Venetian merchant, explorer, and author Marco Polo (1254–1324) traveled the world and recorded many strange things he encountered along the way in his writings. This includes cryptid encounters. Maybe the most notable strange encounter that Polo had in his travels occurred in Asia when he saw the Great Serpents of Karazan. The enormous snakes were ten paces, or 25 feet in length and 10 spans, or 7.5 feet in girth. Did Polo witness some sort of prehistoric creature that had survived into his day? Especially in light of  the Chinese legends of dragons , this thought may be worthy of consideration.  Dragon legends exist not only in Asia, but all over the world. Could the Marco Polo dragons have been some sort of dinosaur that had survived extinction? Hard evidence is lacking, but there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence to draw from. Consider this strange creature resembling a dinosaur that is found at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Angkor Wat was built in the 12th century—not lo...

In early-January 2022, I spent some time in southern Georgia along the coast. I could not help but think of the legendary beast, the Altamaha-ha while I was there. "Altie" is a water monster that frequents the Altamaha River and the endless marshes in the area. I wrote about Altie in my book   People are Seeing Something . The following is an excerpt: The Altamaha-ha The marshy, briny waters of southern Georgia are home to an unusual creature known as the Altamaha-ha. The monster takes its name from the Altamaha River, which is the third largest contributor of fresh water to the Atlantic Ocean on the East Coast. The Altamaha’s watershed contains 14,000 square miles, and the Altamaha River basin drains almost one quarter of the state of Georgia. 1 With its many swamps, creeks, rivers, abandoned rice fields, and brackish marshes, the Altamaha River Basin provides an extraordinarily rich habitat for a large cryptid. In addition, the Altamaha River with its marshes and swamps ar...

In 1971, an unusual creature was spotted in a lagoon outside of Havana, Cuba. The lagoon, a flooded quarry, is located in San Miguel del Padrón, a suburb of Havana. Rumors of a frightening creature quickly spread throughout Havana; crowds of curious onlookers flocked to the lagoon. As news of the monster spread, the masses grew—crowds that once were in the hundreds, quickly escalated to thousands in number. The creature created such a buzz within the community, that the government-ran radio station, Radio Progresso, took an interest and sent reporters to investigate. The correspondents descended upon the scene; they examined eyewitness reports and interviewed witnesses. Descriptions of the creature vary; some described it as spindle-shaped, with large and threatening yellow eyes; others claimed to see a horned, hippopotamus-like animal with a featureless face. According to one witness who claimed to have seen the animal on multiple occasions: “It doesn’t look like anything but a black...

Surely over the years, you have read tons of stupid " Florida Man " headlines. The tales of Florida Man's exploits are colorful to say the least. For me, when I think of dumb Florida Man stunts and stories, my mind goes straight to the tale of "Old Three Toes." Strange Tracks The story of Old Three Toes goes back to 1948, when Clearwater residents began spotting large three-toed tracks on the beaches. As time went on, the tracks showed up in neighboring communities. It did not take long for the fourteen-inch-long, eleven-inch-wide tracks to attract national attention. One of my favorite Fortean authors and investigators, Ivan T. Sanderson , traveled to Florida to investigate the mysterious tracks for the New York Herald Tribune. Sanderson spent two weeks interviewing witnesses and examining plaster casts of the tracks. Around this time, more three-toed tracks appeared about 100 miles to the north along the Suwanee River. While flying over the Suwanee, Sanderson ...