by Ryan Bankson, Circulation Services
Horror novels are like pizza; even when they’re bad, they’re still pretty good. Cheap, dated thrills that were horror tropes back when horror fiction was in its infancy still resonate with those of us readers that just can’t get enough of vengeful spirits, murder-saturated summer camps, or car engines that won’t start just as the hook-handed killer is scratching his way along the victim’s fender. A wholly original, expertly crafted horror story may seem like a great white buffalo (Hot Tub Time Machine reference, anyone?) but take it from this horror junkie—they do exist.
Lucky for us all, bizarre, pulpy, and sometimes silly horror novels can still provide the reader with thrills, chills, and other clichés. What self-respecting reader wouldn’t be drawn to titles such as “Seed of Evil” by Edmund Plante (1988) or “Croak” by Robin Evans (1981)? What connoisseur of the creepy could keep their claws off of books featuring brilliantly painted covers crawling with killer caterpillars like “Squelch” by John Halkin (1985) or gore-slicked, murderous clowns (too many novels to name)? My quest for the good, the bad, and the ugly of horror fiction is never ending—and that’s where noted horror novelist Grady Hendrix comes in.
Grady Hendrix, author of novels such as “Horrorstör” and “My Best Friend’s Exorcism,” caught the vintage horror bug when flipping through a bargain bin of books and unearthing “The Little People” by John Christopher (1966). This peculiar novel features Nazi leprechauns terrorizing the owners of a bucolic Irish bed & breakfast. Hendrix was hooked. He needed to know what other bizarre, long forgotten horror tales were still floating around secondhand stores, musty attics, and collector’s shelves.
Hendrix embarked on a journey into the darkest depths of the horror paperback boom that began in the 1960s with seminal classics such as “Rosemary’s Baby” by Ira Levin (1967) and “The Exorcist” by William Peter Blatty (1971), and ended in the 1990s when the adult horror empire was toppled by the burgeoning young adult horror dynasty (thanks R.L. Stine).
The relics of this bygone era consist of hundreds of paperbacks of variable quality, catching titles, and nearly always attractive, enticing covers. Hendrix has done us the service of gathering the best of the best, the worst of the worst, and everything in between in a glossy, full color, beautiful tome.
Enter: “Paperbacks from Hell.” Hendrix has grouped his selections of horror titles into convenient categories such as Hail Satan, Creepy Kids, When Animals Attack, and Splatterpunks, Serial Killers, and Supercreeps to name but a few. As he explores each subject, Hendrix takes the reader on a deep dive of everything the genre has to offer along with the history of horror publication from the 1960s to the present. Readers with even a slight interest in the macabre will come away from this brilliant volume with a solid understanding of how modern horror came to be and will undoubtedly add dozens of titles to their ‘to be read’ list.