Terror Tales was one of the flagship “weird menace” pulp magazines, first published in 1934 by Popular Publications. It quickly became infamous for its lurid blend of horror, crime, and sadistic thrills, setting the tone for the entire subgenre.
The stories usually followed a formula in which seemingly supernatural horrors plagued the protagonists, only to be explained away by the end as the schemes of criminals or madmen. Despite these rational explanations, the magazine leaned heavily on graphic descriptions of torture, depravity, and bizarre cruelty, which made it both popular with thrill-seeking readers and controversial among critics and reformers.<
The magazine was known as much for its sensational covers as for its content. Painted by artists like Rudolph Belarski and John Newton Howitt, the covers typically depicted terrified women in peril—chained, menaced by masked villains, or threatened with gruesome deaths. This imagery was designed to shock and entice newsstand buyers, and it played a major role in cementing the “weird menace” aesthetic.
Terror Tales ran through the late 1930s and into the early 1940s before declining, as public pressure against violent and sexually charged pulp content grew stronger. While short-lived compared to other pulp genres, the magazine remains a notorious example of the extremes of pulp publishing, remembered today for its mix of horror, exploitation, and high-octane sensationalism.
Here’s a Top 5 list of standout tales from Terror Tales:
1. “Cavern of the Damned” — Arthur Leo Zagat, Terror Tales, September 1934
Zagat was one of the magazine’s star contributors, and this story exemplified the early weird menace formula—dungeons, grotesque villains, and heroines in peril. Its combination of atmosphere and relentless menace helped define the pulp’s identity.
2. “Death Holds the Stakes” — Wyatt Blassingame, Terror Tales, January 1935
Blassingame’s work was particularly grisly, and this tale cemented his reputation as a master of shocking imagery. It is important because it set the tone for the magazine’s willingness to push the boundaries of violence and sadism.
3. “Slaves of the Blood Wolves” — Wayne Rogers, Terror Tales, April 1935
Rogers specialized in lurid horror plots, and this one, with its cult-like villains and animalistic savagery, became one of the pulp’s most talked-about stories. It highlighted the magazine’s fascination with both the supernatural and its rational unmasking.
4. “The Corpse Caravan” — Arthur Leo Zagat, Terror Tales, June 1936
One of the most memorable Zagat entries, this tale delivered both shocking imagery and relentless action. It is remembered by collectors as a quintessential Terror Tales yarn, balancing pulp thrills with grotesque spectacle.
5. “The Devil’s Virgin” — Russell Gray (pseudonym of Bruno Fischer), Terror Tales, October 1936
Fischer, under his Russell Gray pseudonym, wrote some of the most notorious weird menace fiction. This story is a prime example of how the magazine reveled in taboo-breaking scenarios, making it both infamous in its time and highly collectible now.
