The Weird Menace Pulp Fiction Genre
The October, 1933 issue of Dime Mystery Magazine kicked off a new era in the pulps where terror, horror, torture, murder, and other bizare and sadistic means were meant to strike fear in all but the most courageous of readers.
The Weird Menace phase, also referred to as the Horror Pulps or Shudder Pulps, lasted the better part of the 1930's. But their peak period was primarily 1934 through 1937.These stories often followed a well defined formula.
Usually, some horrible, devilish, and to some degree, supernatural being was threatening the well being of all, but in most cases caused a great deal of torture and sadistic attacks on women. The pulp covers usually captured the essence of the torture and showed girls in various stages of torture and nudity.
Our hero, usually after his girlfriend has been taken hostage, must now confront the evil villian. After saving the day, our hero then explains how the devilish villian is only human and was using the latest in high-tech science to scare the victims so that he may gain in worldly possesions.
In some respects, this genre spilled over into the hero pulps like the Spider and G-8 and His Battle Aces for certain aspects of this type of story.
But the weird menace phase as featured in such magazines as Dime Mystery, Terror Tales, and Horror Stories was a unique era where the stories were meant to keep you on the edge of your seat with a mixture of page turning action plus the suspense and fear of the unknown.
- Eerie Mysteries: City of Stone Corpses: Aug 1938
- Eerie Stories: Soul Searcher's Lair: Aug 1937
- High Adventure 73: Secret Agent X- Ambassador of Doom
- Mystery Tales Dec. 1939
- Replica: Dr Death: 12 Must Die
- Replica: Dr Death: The Gray Creatures
- Replica: Dr Death: The Shriveling Murders
- Replica: Horror Stories January, 1935
- Replica: Strange Stories Feb. 1939
- Replica: Strange Tales #1, September 1931
- Replica: Strange Tales January 1932
- Replica: Strange Tales June 1932
- Replica: Strange Tales March 1932
- Replica: Strange Tales November, 1931
- Replica: Strange Tales, October, 1932
- Replica: Terror Tales April, 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales August 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales December 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales December, 1934
- Replica: Terror Tales February, 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales January, 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales July, 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales June, 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales March, 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales May, 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales November 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales November, 1934
- Replica: Terror Tales October 1935
- Replica: Terror Tales October, 1934
- Replica: Terror Tales September 1935
- Replica: The Octopus February-March, 1939
- Replica: The Scorpion
- Replica: Thrilling Mystery Oct. 1935
- Reprint: Ghost Stories June 1931
- Reprint: Sinister Stories: February 1940
- Reprint: Uncanny Tales: April May 1939
- Shudder 3-Pack
- Strange Tales (new issue) #8
- The Octopus
- The Scorpion
- Weird Menace 3-Pack
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