Road Crew Finds Giant Skeleton on Sycamore Creek

In February 1913, a road crew started digging "where the grade of the Verde railway passes" over Sycamore Creek in order to facilitate improvements. Soon, they uncovered evidence that they had found a prehistoric gravesite. What shocked them further was the enormous size of the bones located within it.

It was later calculated that this humanoid skeleton must have stood at least 8 feet tall.

Popular Preacher Struck Down by Lightning

"His death [was] all the more dramatic for the reason that he held in his hand a bible which he had been reading."

Shocking, isn't it?

1970: UFO Lands in Prescott

Dick Zabriski 

It all started when a 7th grader named Dick Zabriski looked up into the night sky and saw an object that, according to him, "seemed to stand still within a column of four stars and then it started to move [erratically]...It changed colors from red to blue, then to green." (*1)

This incident would be only the beginning. Soon, the town would be abuzz over a massive wave of UFO sightings, and the curtain would be raised for the most bizarre event in Prescott's history.

1911: Giant Humanoid Skeleton Unearthed in Yavapai County UPDATED

(Not the skeleton found in AZ)

The 1911 monsoon floods had cut a new wash through the farm that Peter Marx had been working since 1870. By chance, this new cut exposed some bones sticking out of its bank. Marx went to investigate and quickly unearthed a large leg bone about twice the size of a human's.

Puzzled, he wondered what animal it could have come from.

He continued to dig, finding more large bones until, about three feet in, he discovered a giant human skull!

Meet the Kakaka: The Little Indian People Who Live in the Mountains

Granite Mountain--one of the homes of the Kakaka.

For those of us whose minds were formatted in the style of Western Civilization and culture, the Kakaka pose a paranormal puzzle. Are they spirit beings? Are they aliens? Are they elementals? Do they even exist at all? However, for the Yavapai and other Arizona tribes, the Kakaka aren't only real--they're a vital part of their culture.

For it is the Kakaka who give instruction and teaching to their medicine men.

1890: The Dam, The Drunk, & The Disaster

Walnut Grove Dam

The Dam:

"Besides being the largest piece of solid masonry in the United States, [the Walnut Grove Dam] also drains [ed] the largest watershed in the world, being upwards of 400 miles of territory." (*1)

But in the dark, early hours of February 22, 1890, heavy rains would cause the dam to "literally explode."

"The disastrous breach of Arizona's first major dam poured 4 billion gallons of water into a canyon above Wickenburg and killed approximately 100-150 people, although no one will really ever know how many people drowned." (*2)

1953: Prescott is a Hotspot for Flying Saucers

Prescott Evening Courier, May 22, 1953.

It was a time when the study of UFOs was in such infancy that the very term "UFO" hadn't been coined yet. There were no national databases of sightings, and those who did see something unexplainable most often kept their experiences to themselves.

However, in the first half of 1953, there was such a rash of sightings in the skies of Prescott that it would turn ardent skeptics into true, vocal believers.

In fact, so numerous were the accounts by respected citizens that even the newspaper was compelled to cover the story.

For the increasing number of eyewitnesses, the saucers brought astonishment, awe, wonder, and worry.

The Haunts of the Jerome Grand Hotel

Many have heard that the Jerome Grand Hotel is haunted--it's been featured on cable television.

But few know exactly what kinds of paranormal activity to expect if he or she is brave enough to stay there.

Would you spend the entire night if the following creepy things happened to you?

The Yavapai People's Ancient Flood Story

Most cultures have ancient stories of their beginnings. The Yavapai people are no exception. Their story is recorded in "Oral History of the Yavapai", chapter 19.

Those who are familiar with the flood of Noah in the Book of Genesis will be intrigued by the commonalities with the Yavapai's flood story.

However, the Yavapai's "Genesis" story includes two floods: one that brought them up out of Ahagaskiaywa, and a second, the Great Flood...

The Incredible Story of the 100 Million-Year-Old Frog

The Arizona Toad

Life is tenacious. But one frog,  found deep in a Prescott area mine, showed a tenacity to stay alive that many biologists would have considered impossible.

Although described in the title as a "million-year-old frog," the depth at which it was discovered suggests that this remarkable amphibian was tens or even a hundred times older than that!

9 Cryptid Monsters of Arizona (UPDATE: Bigfoot near Prescott?)

Most locals have heard of the Mogollon Monster, but descriptions of exactly what kind of creature it might be have changed over the years. A rash of sightings of a particular type of creature would make that animal a sort of "Mogollon Monster du jour."

As a result, this author will not give the title of "Mogollon Monster" to any of the following six that live in northern Arizona.  Instead, it is hoped that people who might have seen these strange creatures and are afraid of coming forward might learn that they are not alone in their experience.

Some of these monsters are truly bizarre, but every one of them has been seen in other locations on our planet. The first six have all been seen in northern Arizona.

Part 2: 6 Crypt-id Monsters That Live In Northern Arizona (Plus 3 More from South. AZ)

Artist's conception of the Aswang

(Part 1, "Land Dwellers" can be found by clicking here)

The Crazy Cave Creatures of Route 66:

The last three monsters on the list are cave-dwellers.  Due to the 600+ known volcanoes in the area, there must be hundreds of square miles of undiscovered caverns, lava tubes, and caves in northern Arizona, and the creatures that purportedly live in them are easily the strangest and most bizarre.  Why sightings seem to occur mostly around historic Route 66 may simply be because that's where the humans are present to see them. All of these cave-dwellers are nocturnal, and sightings are rare. (*13)

6 Crypt-id Monsters That Live In Northern Arizona (Part 1: Land Dwellers)

Most locals have heard of the Mogollon Monster, but descriptions of exactly what kind of creature it might be have changed over the years. A rash of sightings of a particular type of creature would make that animal a sort of "Mogollon Monster du jour."

As a result, this author will not give the title of "Mogollon Monster" to any of the forthcoming six.  Instead, it is hoped that people who have seen these strange creatures and are afraid of coming forward might learn that they are not alone in their experience.

Some of these monsters are truly bizarre, but every one of them has been seen in other locations on our planet.

Part 2 of this duet will focus on "The Cave Dwellers." This article focuses on "The Land Dwellers."