In the 1930s and early 1940s, Popular Publications (founded by Henry “Harry” Steeger) became one of the most notorious publishers of the infamous weird menace or shudder pulp genre. These magazines combined mystery, horror, and crime with heavy doses of sadism, torture, and damsels in distress, all wrapped in some of the most lurid, fetish-adjacent cover art the pulp world has ever seen. Chains, whips, mad scientists, half-naked heroines tied to tables, the covers alone were designed to shock and sell.
What Was the “Weird Menace” / “Shudder Pulp” Genre?
Weird menace (also called shudder pulps or terror tales) was a short-lived but extremely intense sub-genre that flourished roughly between 1933 and 1941. The formula was simple but effective:
• A beautiful woman is threatened by a sadistic villain or cult.
• Graphic descriptions of torture, bondage, and impending doom.
• Supernatural trappings… that are always revealed to be fake at the end (the “rationalized horror” twist).
• Cover art that pushed the boundaries of acceptable violence and eroticism for the era.Public outrage, censorship pressure, and World War II paper rationing finally killed the genre, but the imagery lived on and heavily influenced later fetish and bondage publications.
I realised that a great deal of money could be made with that kind of material. It was not long before I was at it, inventing one pulp magazine after another, until my firm had originated over 300 of them.
Henry “Harry” Steeger, 1973
Popular Publications’ Key Shudder Pulp Titles
- Dime Mystery Magazine 1933–1950 > 200 issues
Genre: Weird-menace, mystery with horror twists
The very first shudder pulp. Covers with women in chains, tortured by mad scientists or psychopaths. often considered the blueprint for the entire genre.
Cover Artists:
Walter M. Baumhofer, Tom Lovell, , Monroe Eisenberg, Gloria Stoll Karn, Rafael DeSoto, Norman Saunders - Terror Tales 1934–1941 > 66 issues
Genre: Extreme horror-menace, sadistic stories
Among the most graphic titles; stories like “Flesh For the Goat Man”. Covers dripping with torture and bondage imagery.
Cover Artists:
Rudolph Belarski, Norman Saunders, Rafael DeSoto - Horror Stories 1935–1941 > 71 issues
Genre: Macabre menace tales
Companion to Terror Tales; half-naked women in distress, sadistic cults, lurid torture scenes. Stopped due to wartime paper shortages.
Cover Artists:
Rudolph Belarski, Norman Saunders, Rafael DeSoto - Spicy Mystery Stories 1935–1942 > 80 issues
Genre: “Spicy” menace with erotic twist
More openly sensual than the others; heavy bondage, sadomasochistic undertones. Renamed Speed Mystery after censorship pressure.
Cover Artists:
Hugh Joseph Ward, Allen Anderson, William F. Soare, Joseph Szokoli, Adolphe Barreaux - Thrilling Mysteries 1935 > 1 issue
Genre: Weird-menace experiment
Single-issue test run; similar sadistic themes, killed by a trademark dispute.
Cover Artists:
Unknown, perhaps Norman Saunders or Rudolph Belarski - Shock 1948 > 4 issues
Genre: Late weird-mystery revival
Brief post-war attempt to bring the formula back; lurid covers, but the market had moved on.
Cover Artists:
Unknown, perhaps Rafael DeSoto or Norman Saunders
Popular Publications’ shudder pulps remain some of the most sought-after items for collectors of vintage fetish and BDSM-related art. The over-the-top covers by artists such as Norman Saunders and Rudolph Belarski are iconic precursors to the bondage magazines of the 1950s and beyond.
