Domestic horrors come full flower in A Nest of Nightmares, a paperback collection of short stories by American Lisa Tuttle, published only in Great Britain in 1986. Her work showcases women’s lives and heightens their anxieties to deadly degrees. Melanie Tem’s The Prodigal has a child protagonist trying to make sense of an adult world in which two of her siblings go missing. The very nature of friendship is rent asunder in the creepily excellent Spectre, from Stephen Laws, in which a group of British college mates confront their long-ago secrets and memories.
Some of the best horror titles cannot be classified. The Happy Man, by Eric C. Higgs, introduces Marquis de Sade–style pleasures into a precisely-wrought suburban background. French surrealist Roland Topor’s The Tenant from 1964 oozes paranoia and humiliation, its moody euro-intellectualism a refresher compared to the less subtle horror offerings. Another title that’s hard to classify but not to be missed is Gwen, in Green; the book features one of my favorite covers, by George Ziel. As an eco-horror novel with tendrils of then-current pseudoscience and female sexual liberation, Hugh Zachary’s utterly ’70s novel charms with its datedness and its explicitness.
I hope you find some of the books and authors mentioned here to your liking. Before long, you may find that your horror paperback collection, like mine, keeps growing, almost of its own volition. Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Will Errickson collects and reviews vintage horror literature and celebrates its resplendent paperback cover art at TooMuchHorrorFiction.blogspot.com. He provided many of the cover images for this book from his own collection.
CREDITS
Listed below is publisher and cover artist information for each book reproduced in Paperbacks from Hell. We have tried to include complete and accurate names, titles, and dates. Please contact the publisher to correct omissions or errors in attribution. All artwork copyright of the artists.
1
Total Recall by Peg Case and John Migliore (Paperjacks, 1987), cover art by Tom Hallman
1.1
Child of Hell by William Dobson (Signet Books, 1982), cover art by Tom Hallman
2
The Little People by John Christopher (Avon Books, 1966), cover art by Hector Garrido
3
Rod Serling’s Triple W: Witches, Warlocks, and Werewolves edited by Rod Serling (Bantam Books, 1963), cover artist unknown
Unholy Trinity by Ray Russell (Bantam Books, 1967), cover artist unknown
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (Popular Library, 1963), cover art by William Teason
4
Something Evil by Arthur Hoffe (Avon Books, 1968), cover art by Bob Foster
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (Fawcett Popular Library, 1977), cover artist unknown
5
The Devil’s Dreamer by Alice Brennan (Magnum, 1971), cover art by George Ziel
Fire Will Freeze by Margaret Millar (Signet Books, 1967), cover artist unknown
6
The Guardians #2: Dark Ways to Death by Peter Saxon (Berkley Medallion, 1968), cover art by Catherine Jeffrey Jones
The Guardians #3: The Haunting of Alan Mais by Peter Saxon (Berkley Medallion, 1969), cover art by Catherine Jeffrey Jones
The Guardians #4: The Vampires of Finnistere by Peter Saxon (Berkley Medallion, 1970), cover art by Catherine Jeffrey Jones
7
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin (Dell Books, 1967), cover art by Paul Bacon
8
The Other by Thomas Tryon (Fawcett Crest, 1971), cover art by Paul Bacon
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty (Bantam Books, 1971), cover art by Bill Gold
9
The Dowry by Maggie Gould (Pyramid Books, 1949), cover artist unknown
10
To the Devil a Daughter by Dennis Wheatley (Ballantine Books, 1972), cover artist unknown
The Devil Finds Work by Michael Delving (Leisure Books, 1969), cover art by Jack Thurston
11
Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg (Warner Books, 1978), cover artist unknown
12
Isobel by Jane Parkhurst (Jove Books, 1977), cover by Rowena Morrill
The Colour Out of Space by H. P. Lovecraft (Jove Books, 1978), cover by Rowena Morrill
The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft (Jove Books, 1978), cover by Rowena Morrill
13
The Satan Sleuth #1: Fallen Angel by Michael Avallone (Warner Books, November 1974), cover art by Charles Sovek
The Satan Sleuth #2: The Werewolf Walks Tonight by Michael Avallone (Warner Books, December 1974), cover art by Charles Sovek
The Satan Sleuth #3: Devil, Devil by Michael Avallone (Warner Books, January 1975), cover art by Charles Sovek
14
The Night Visitor by Laura Wylie (Critic’s Choice, 1987), cover art by Paul Stinson
The Succubus by Kenneth Rayner Johnson (Dell Books, 1980), cover artist unknown
Satan Sublets by Jack Younger (Carlyle Books, 1979), cover art by Stephen Shub
Dark Advent by Brian Hodge (Pinnacle Books, 1988), cover art by Bob Larkin
15
The Stigma by Trevor Hoyle (Sphere Books, 1980), cover artist unknown
Exorcism by Eth Natas (Lexington House, 1972), cover artist unknown
Incubus by Ray Russell (Dell Books, 1976), cover artist unknown
Son of the Endless Night by John Farris (Tor Books, 1985), cover art by John Melo
16
The Inner Circle by Jonathan Fast (Dell Books, 1980), cover artist unknown
The Sacrifice by Henry Sutton (Charter Books, 1978), cover artist unknown
The Closed Circle by Barney Parrish (Playboy Press, 1976), cover art by Ron Sauber
17
The Transformation by Joy Fielding (Playboy Press, 1976), cover art by Ron Sauber
18
The Black Exorcist by Joseph Nazel (Holloway House, 1974), cover art by Ruben De Anda
19
The Sentinel by Jeffrey Konvitz (Ballantine Books, 1974), cover art by Judith Jampel
20
The Guardian by Jeffrey Konvitz (Bantam Books, 1979), cover art by Bob Larkin
21
Shrine by James Herbert (New English Library, 1983), cover artist unknown
22
In the Name of the Father by John Zodrow (Dell Books, 1980), cover artist unknown
Night Church by Whitley Strieber (Pocket Books, 1983), cover art by Bill Klimy and Maurine Klimy
23
Legion by William Peter Blatty (Pocket Books, 1983), cover art by Lisa Falkenstern
Dark Angel by Sean Forestal (Dell Books, 1982), cover artist unknown
Dagon by Fred Chappell (St. Martin’s Press, 1987), cover art by Dave Ross
Unholy Communion by Adrian Savage (Pocket Books, 1988), cover artist unknown
24
The Gilgul by Henry Hocherman (Pinnacle Books, 1990), cover art by Jim Thiesen
25
The Keep by F. Paul Wilson (Berkley Books, 1982), cover artist unknown
Red Devil by David Saperstein (Berkley Books, 1989), cover art by Mark Gerber and Stefanie Gerber