Since the start of the pulp era, cults have been a popular subject. Usually dressed in red and concealing their faces behind hoods, cult members have menaced and frightened.
For this Halloween, here are some of the cults of the pulp era.
by Walter Baumhofer
by Arnold Kohn
by John Newton Howitt
by Rudolph Zirm
by Tom Lovell
by John Walter Scott
by George Hargis
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by John Drew
by J. Allen St. John
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
This leggy cover is from October of 1938.
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
This leggy cover is from 1938.
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
This cover from 1940 is a reminder that there’s nothing scarier than snakes.
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
This cover is from 1936.
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
This is from 1940.
by John Walter Scott
Since the start of the pulp era, cults have been a popular subject. Usually dressed in red and concealing their faces behind hoods, cult members have menaced, tortured, and frightened. Luckily, there’s often a strong-jawed hero right around the corner to take them out and save the day.
Here’s a few of the cults of the pulp era!
by George Hargis
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by J. Allen St. John
by John Drew
by John Newton Howitt
by Rudolph Zirm
by Tom Lovell
by Walter Baumhofer
by Arnold Kohn
Artist Unknown
For nine years, from 1934 to 1943, Spicy Adventure Stories tempted pulp readers with adventure stories that featured a lot more sex and violence than even the usual pulp magazine. The covers of Spicy Adventure were shocking and frequently sordid and they left no doubt as to what readers would find within the magazine.
They also worried a lot of the moral guardians of the time and, finding itself under attack as a bad influence, Spicy Adventure Stories ceased publication into 1943 and was instead reborn as the more socially acceptable “Speed Adventures.” The magazine still featured stories about cults, pirates, and explorers but now, they were a little less explicit and the covers was a little more calmer.
Below are some of the controversial covers of Spicy Adventure Stories! As always, the artist has been credited when known:
by Delos Palmer
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by William Soare
by William Soare
by Delos Palmer
Spicy Mystery Stories was published from 1934 to 1943 and was one of the many “Spicy” magazines of the pulp era. The Spicy line featured the same stories as the other pulps, just with a lot more sex and violence. It was a popular magazine but it was also so controversial with the moral guardians of the era that it was eventually forced to tone things down and change its name to Speed Mystery.
Below are some of the controversial covers of Spicy Mystery Stories! As always, the artist has been credited when known:
by Allen Gustav Anderson
by Allen Gustav Anderson
Artist Unknown
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by Hugh Joseph Ward
Artist Unknown
Action Stories was published from 1921 to 1950. It specialized in action-packed stories about men doing manly things and women who knew how to handle a rifle. Despite the dinosaur featured in the cover above, Action Stories was known for usually turning down horror and fantasy-themed stories and instead specializing in westerns, war stories, and sports fiction. Among the writers that were published by Action Stories: Robert E. Howard, Walt Coburn, Morgan Robertson, Horace McCoy, Theodore Roscoe, Greye La Spina, Anthony M. Rud, Thomas Thursday and Les Savage, Jr.
Below are a sampling of adventurous covers from Action Stories!
by Allen Gustav Anderson
by Allen Gustav Anderson
by Allen Gustav Anderson
by Allen Gustav Anderson
by Emery Clarke
by H.C. Murphy
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
by Norman Saunders
Unknown Artist
Unknown Artist
Through the Shattered Lens 