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Paperbacks from Hell

This history explores the horror paperback boom of the 1970s and '80s. Vintage covers, forgotten authors and bizarre plots trace how the genre evolved.

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Take a wildly entertaining tour through the horror paperback boom of the 1970s and ’80s as Grady Hendrix unearths forgotten authors, bizarre plots, publishing history, and gloriously lurid vintage book covers.

Horror author and vintage paperback book collector Grady Hendrix offers killer commentary and witty insight on these trashy thrillers that tried so hard to be the next Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby . Complete with story summaries and artist and author profiles, this unforgettable volume dishes on familiar authors like V. C. Andrews and R. L. Stine, plus many more who’ve faded into obscurity.

From Satanic children and haunted houses to killer rabbits, murderous moths, flesh-eating Vikings, and other forgotten nightmares, Hendrix charts horror's evolution through two unforgettable decades with sharp commentary, bizarre plot summaries, publishing history, and an infectious love for the genre.

Packed with over 300 reproductions of outrageous vintage paperback artwork, this richly illustrated celebration is a treasure trove for horror fans, book collectors, pop-culture obsessives, and anyone who believes books really were weirder back then.

An exhaustive retrospective of the golden age of paperback horror novels from the 1970s and 1980s

Trace horror crazes from occult fiction and haunted houses to slashers and killer creatures, as well as the prolific authors of the time

Features over 350 vintage horror novel covers

Includes Grady Hendrix's recommendations on which novels are worth your time, and which should be allowed to fade into obscurity

A fascinating resource for horror readers, vintage paperback collectors, artists, designers, and publishing-history fans

Descend into two decades of gloriously weird paperback horror and discover the bizarre books and forgotten nightmares that made the era unforgettable.

First published: 2017
Publisher: Quirk Books
Pages: 256
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Book tags

Content warnings

No content warnings are recorded. Missing warnings do not mean the book is warning-free.

Horror profile

Scary: Not rated
Creepy: Not rated
Gore: Not rated
Disturbing: Not rated
Weird: Not rated

How we calculate this

These are editorial estimates of intensity, informed by reading and review evidence, then checked before publication. They aren't star ratings, reader-vote averages or a measure of quality.

Each dimension runs from 1 (low) to 5 (exceptionally intense). A 5 is reserved for strongly consistent evidence. People experience horror differently.

Scary: Fear, tension and immediate threat.
Creepy: Unease, dread and an uncanny atmosphere.
Gore: Graphic injury, blood and bodily detail.
Disturbing: Upsetting ideas and lingering psychological impact.
Weird: Surreal, strange and reality-bending elements.

We draw a filled profile only when all five scores have been reviewed. Unrated does not mean mild. Missing scores are not estimated from genre tags or your saved taste. This profile isn't a complete content-warning guide.