‘Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of ‘70s and ‘80s Horror Fiction’ – Grady Hendrix (Quirk)

 


According to Amazon, I bought my copy of ‘Paperbacks from Hell’ back in March 2023 and then presumably, completely forgot about it. Easily done, I’ve had a fair bit going on these last couple of years, that and a lot of books to read while it was all happening ;o)

Anyway… I’m looking after my ex’s place along with her/my daughters pets, the rabbit with a dislocated toe (she’s been to the vet, there’s nothing they can do with it) and a cat that absolutely cannot stand me. The cat does have good reason for this but… That’s another story.

I’m digressing though. Being stuck in a house with two animals that aren’t particularly communicative is exactly the right time to try and catch up with some reading (work too, you know what I mean…) and I figured that ‘Paperbacks from Hell’ would be a good choice for the mini-TBR Pile…

Take a tour through the horror paperback novels of two iconic decades . . . if you dare. Page through dozens and dozens of amazing book covers featuring well-dressed skeletons, evil dolls, and knife-wielding killer crabs! Read shocking plot summaries that invoke devil worship, satanic children, and haunted real estate! 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. Also included are recommendations for which of these forgotten treasures are well worth your reading time and which should stay buried.

Fair warning… There’s a reason why you won’t find me posting about non-fiction stuff all that often. Quite simply, I’m not very good at it :o) I can lose myself in a speculative fiction tale and more often than not, find a few things to say about it. Non-fiction though… I generally go to it when I need to find something out and that doesn’t leave me with a lot to say about the book, other than to confirm that it helped me answer a question (or didn’t). And that doesn’t really make for an interesting post, does it? ;o)

Luckily, ‘Paperbacks from Hell’ isn’t that kind of non-fiction work.

As a child of the eighties, I took my horror fiction wherever I could find it. Funnily enough, most of it came from the shelves of my primary school (watered down but still some intense reading for young me). My interest was really piqued though by all the horror books at the local newsagent, and the Co-Op, where I absolutely wasn’t allowed to read the blurbs (I did though) but was still fascinated by the lurid cover art. ‘Paperbacks from Hell’ was a great opportunity to get a little burst of nostalgia by visiting that cover art again, but also to get a feel for the history of these books and the history of horror fiction during this period. There’s a lot to get your teeth into here but Hendrix delivers it all in such an easy going, friendly way that it didn’t take much to get caught up and just read along :o)

If you’re anything like me, certain sections will resonate a little more than others. I love my ‘Animal Horror’ and ‘Creepy Kids’ but am not too bothered about ‘Gothic and Romantic’ works. Hendrix’s commentary still offers a little something for everyone. The level of detail was a little too dense at times but that’s probably more about me than the book. The way I see it, it just means that I’ll be able to revisit the book and still find new stuff that I missed the first time round :o)

I’ve always fancied a few ‘coffee table books’ that I could leave out for people to dip into; now I finally have one, I should try and find a coffee table to leave it on ;o) ‘Paperbacks from Hell’ is a thoroughly informative read that will reward repeated visits. Not only that, it’s a real source of inspiration for searching out that next ‘horror read’. ‘Paperbacks from Hell’ has been around for a while but if you haven’t read it by now, do something about that sooner rather than later.


Comments

  1. Bookstooge24 July 2025 at 02:11

    If I had ever been into horror, this sounds like something I'd definitely read. But horror just isn't my thing, so I suspect I wouldn't get much out of this book. I'll leave that to you :-D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Graeme25 July 2025 at 11:55

      This is very much a book for anyone who read these particular books in the seventies and eighties, or even if they just liked the garish covers. I got loads out of it, and will likely continue to do so, but it's not going to be to everyone's taste.

      Delete

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