The famous "weird menace" pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s are among the rarest and most sought-after publications by collectors. The "Spicy" magazines -- which included Spicy Mystery, Spicy Adventure, Spicy Detective, and others -- published a titilating mix of fantasy, horror, mystery, and suspense, punctuated by episodes of torture, sadism, sex, and other risque elements. Although tame by current standards, and sometimes of dubious literary merit, these publications presented tales which thrilled a sensation-hungry audience. Despite the themes and constraints of the market, writers who would later become famous -- including Hugh B. Cave, E. Hoffman Price, Robert Leslie Bellem, and many more -- were frequent contributors.



The August 1935 issue of Spice Mystery Stories includes contributions from Robert Leslie Bellem, Atwater Culpepper, Ellery Watson Calder, Carl Moore, E. Hoffman Price, Jerome Severs Perry, Don King, Charles R. Allen, Charles A. Baker, Jr., and Arthur Wallace.