Five of Arizona's Most Bizarre Newspaper Headlines

Arizona has always been a little… different. Between its wide-open desert landscapes, Old West roots, and a steady stream of eccentrics, it’s no surprise the state has produced some truly bizarre newspaper headlines over the years. From ghostly apparitions in the territorial days to peculiar modern museums, Arizona's headlines have chronicled a history stranger than fiction. Here is a journey through five of the most bizarre, verifiable stories ever to grace the pages of Arizona's newspapers.

1. "Poozeum: World's Biggest Collection of Fossilized Poop Comes to Arizona" - The Arizona Republic, 2024

You might think the world doesn’t need a museum dedicated entirely to ancient dung, but Arizona disagrees. The town of Williams became home to the Poozeum, housing the largest collection of fossilized poop (coprolites) in the world. The Arizona Republic reported in 2024 on an attraction that is both scientific and wonderfully weird. The Poozeum brilliantly blends legitimate paleontology with the kitschy fun of a roadside attraction. It even holds a Guinness World Record for it's collection.

2. "Mystery 'Whatsis' Photographed Over Phoenix" - The Arizona Republic, 1947

Shortly after the infamous Roswell incident, Arizona made its own contribution to UFO history. William A. Rhodes snapped photos of a strange, shoe-heel–shaped object flying over Phoenix, and the Arizona Republic ran it front and center. Rhodes's photos were taken seriously, triggering an investigation by the FBI and the Army's Counterintelligence Corps, cementing their place in the annals of early UFO history and kicking off a decades-long fascination with UFOs in the Southwest.

3. "'Saucer Man' Wants Peace" - The Arizona Daily Sun, 1975

The story of Travis Walton, a 22-year-old woodcutter from Snowflake, exploded into a national media spectacle. After disappearing for six days following a reported encounter with a UFO in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Walton reappeared, dazed and confused, in a phone booth in Heber. The article recounts the core of the incident: Walton and his six crewmates saw a hovering object and a ray of light; his friends fled in terror and returned to find him gone. Five of the six men subsequently passed a lie-detector test. Upon his return, Walton told a fantastic story of being taken aboard a UFO by strange creatures who placed him on an examining table but did not harm him. The paper covered his story without mockery, adding another layer of mystery to Arizona’s long history with UFOs.

4. The May Day Mystery - Arizona Daily Wildcats, 1981 - Present

For over four decades, a bizarre and impenetrable mystery has unfolded on the pages of the University of Arizona's student newspaper, the Arizona Daily Wildcat. Every year on May 1st, a cryptic, full-page advertisement appears, paid for in cash by an anonymous source. Known as the May Day Mystery, these ads are intricate, seemingly nonsensical collages of historical figures, maps, mathematical equations, scientific diagrams, and passages in multiple languages.

First appearing in 1981, the puzzle has baffled students, locals, and a dedicated community of online sleuths for generations. The ads are placed by a Tucson attorney, Robert Truman Hungerford, who claims he is merely an intermediary for a secretive group that calls itself "The Orphanage." Despite the high cost of the ads and the decades of effort poured into creating them, no one has ever claimed to have solved the riddle. It stands as one of Arizona's most enduring and intellectual curiosities—a complex, long-running puzzle hidden in plain sight.

5. "The Phantom that Terrified All Arizona for a Time" - Mohave County Miner, 1893

Long before Arizona was a state, it was a territory haunted by a terrifying legend. Beginning in 1883, settlers and prospectors whispered tales of a monstrous, reddish-colored beast roaming the frontier, a horrifying apparition often seen with a human skeleton strapped to its back. The newspaper chronicled the decade of terror inspired by this creature, which became known as the Red Ghost. The story gained notoriety after a woman at a ranch near Eagle Creek was found trampled to death.

These headlines came straight from Arizona’s press. Just the strange reality of a place that never runs out of bizarre stories were written, printed, and published. Arizona newspapers have recorded ghost sightings, poop museums, UFOs, cryptic codes, and more. If this is what made the news, imagine what didn’t. There’s always more to find. Keep looking.