Pulp Fiction Mystery Stories Revisited

By and large, mystery stories may be divided into two sorts: tales of the supernatural and riddle stories. Although we normally associate "mystery fiction" with crime, in the 1930s and 1940s, pulp fiction mysteries genres dealt also in the supernatural, horror, or what was known then as "Weird Menace." Pulp magazines such as Dime Mystery, Thrilling Mystery and Spicy Mystery, offered up a delicious array of twists and turns, gritty realism and the all important question of "whodunit."

The pulp magazines were so named because of the cheap pulp paper they were printed on and for at least 2 decades the pulp magazines sold for a dime. The slick or glossy magazines sold for 25 cents. It was during this time that an education for all was in full swing. With a literate population and affordable magazines, mystery pulp fiction captivated and entertained as many as one million readers per issue.

Writers, known and unknown honed their skills churning out issue after issue. During that period genres within genres would develop. Case in point, the hard boiled detective genre. These stories had hard as nails detectives that lived and worked in the mean streets administering justice while trying to maintain a balance between everyday living and upholding the law. Writers such as Dashiell Hammett, who wrote "The Maltese Falcon" demonstrated his ability to weave very complex plots with many twists and turns. Raymond Chandler was another such author (with his book "The High Window") who demonstrated the hard boiled detective dealing with the worst kind of human criminality.

Then there is the classic "whodunit" mysteries. These mysteries often involve the puzzling elements in need of a logical solution, pulse pounding action and of course, dangerous women! Pulp writers such as L. Ron Hubbard, "Killers Law and Carnival of Death" (two of his five pulp fiction mystery novels) are examples of heart pounding stories of treachery and suspicion.

As pulp fiction mysteries stories started to slow down in the early 1950s, they became a huge inspiration for radio and TV shows that followed. Memorable characters such as Dick Tracey and Perry Mason would not have been created had it not been for the pulps. Television became the visualization of these stories. We still love a good read though and mystery stories can grip one's attention where we must know how it all ends.

With today's technology the pulp fiction stories can enjoyed again in the form of e-books, cinema quality audio books and reprinted paperbacks. There is nothing like reading a good mystery book. Revisiting the Golden Age of pulp fiction stories is your ticket