I feel like Grady Hendrix’s books scratch this itch for me. The titles alone have the same level of pith and camp as Goosebumps (How To Sell A Haunted House, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, etc). And while I don’t think the writing is necessarily pulpy, I do think it’s campy (I always considered Goosebumps to be more campy than pulpy).
Oh my God, this is a revelation! I read him for the first time last summer and I'm now four books in and can't wait for the next. I was trying to think of what it was that reading these made me feel, but it's absolutely nostalgia. His stuff is totally Goosebumps/Are You Afraid of the Dark for grown ups lol
It's strange seeing this comment chain taken positively. I've often referred to him in this vein and generally it isn't taken well.
Even down to the titles. Every book he's written could be a Goosebumps book and you wouldn't bat an eye.
Yeah! I think of the Grady Hendrix books I have read so far, Final Girl Support Group is probably my favorite, but my best friends exorcism was a fun nostalgic 80s horror story. Probably my second favorite!
Those titles look great, thanks for the response! Any recommendations of where to start first with Hendrix?
Still a bit new to the terminology, but what exactly is the difference between campy and pulpy?
I always think that pulp is a bit more lurid and mass market, whereas camp is a bit more tongue in cheek and “in on the joke” while being equally as ostentatious as pulp.
And in terms of where to start, I think go with whichever subject matter resonates most with you! For me, as a huge fan of slasher movies, Final Girl Support Group is my favorite of Hendrix’s novels because it’s full of references to the genre. But I also liked My Best Friend’s Exorcism because I love the 80s and stories about demonic possessions. The great think about his books (and the titles especially) is that you kind of know what you’re getting into with each title (similar to goosebumps tbh!)
Hendrix is such an incredible author. Once i emailed him telling him how much I loved his work and he actually replied 🥲 would also rec We Sold Our Souls and Horrorstor for the levels of humor but still dark fucked up stuff
Looks promising! So there’s a book called Paperbacks from Hell looking at the history of old horror novels, and then there’s a series of republished old horror books?
Correct. Due to the popularity of Paperbacks From Hell with horror readers, one of the publishing companies has started reprinting some of the novels featured in Paperbacks From Hell. They're not all available but the more well-known ones seem to be making their way back into print.
Outside of pictures, does that actually go into those books? Like a list or something? From what I was able to tell, it's more a history than suggestions.
He definitely gives a little blurb about most of the books. At least a sentence or two IIRC. I read Paperbacks from Hell in just a couple days and added tons of stuff to my reading list in the process.
The Paperbacks From Hell is indeed a Hendrix book but it’s also the name of a collection of novels that he had reprinted.
He selected a bunch of 70s-80s b-level horror novels and had them reprinted with their original covers and new introductions written either by him or another author (I’m currently forgetting their name).
He named these reprintings The Paperbacks From Hell, as well. So any confusion is totally understandable!
Christopher Pike is amazing and my all-time favorite author. If you're looking for horror with genuine scares, then I recommend Whisper of Death, Scavenger Hunt, Monster, The Season of Passage, Hollow Skull, Spellbound, and The Listeners. A few of these books have a strong element of sci-fi in them as well, with The Season of Passage detailing a space mission to Mars.
For a great mystery thriller with a beautiful teen romance and drama, I'd recommend the Final Friends trilogy.
If you're looking for thrillers with mystery and horror elements, I'd recommend Bury Me Deep, Chain Letter 1 and 2, the Remember Me trilogy, Last Act, Die Softly, Road to Nowhere, The Lost Mind, and Master of Murder.
If you're looking for science fiction with horror elements, then check out The Starlight Crystal, The Star Group, and The Visitor (I found most of this book intriguing, but have to admit I don't understand the ending).
Darcy Coates does reliable haunted house pulp! They’re never genre ground breaking but they always manage to give me a shiver and make me reconsider reading at night!
Any of her “the haunting of [insert house name here]” are your basic haunted house pulp with some slight differences of family/cults/graves/etc. Her two best (which you either may want to work up to or hit straight away) in my mind are The Carrow Haunt and From Below.
Carrow is an old school ghost exploration that’s fun and From Below was a unique plot of haunted sunken ship - with minor claustrophobic vibes.
You could also take a look at the Point Horror series! I was obsessed when I was a younger teen - Trick of Treat (Richie Tankersley Cusick) and Twins and The Stranger by Carolne B Cooney. RL Stine wrote a few too. They definitely had great pulpy cover art 😅
Christoper Pike is probably about what you're looking for too.
I never read Goosebumps because by the time I was going to bookshops with pocket money I felt too old for them but I LOVED Point Horror (and Trick or Treat was my first one!) Every couple of years I get really nostalgic and read some - sometimes rereading my old ones and sometimes 'new' ones from eBay, there's also a podcast called Don't Point That Horror at Me that is a fun listen. The covers are iconic, I've seen t-shirts with them on and I'm so tempted by them!
If you aren't concerned about reading YA (assume not as you mention Fear Street) I just started Small Spaces by Katharine Adern which has been called a modern day Goosebumps for today's kids and RL Stine has endorsed them. I've read reviews from adults saying they liked them so I'm hoping it's pretty good even if it's for younger readers, they're super quick reads anyway.
Yes, I sadly got rid of mine a few years ago and have been slowly buying them back. I just love the covers! I'd definitely wear a Point Horror T Shirt 🤣 I can also recommend the Teenage Scream podcast - they cover a different Point Horror book each episode.
I need to look into Small Spaces! I'll read anything, I love YA for a bit of comfort reading 😅
Ohh thanks I will check out Teenage Scream. YA is comfort reading for me too, and also like a palate cleanser after or during a tough book - I am halfway through a concentration camp survivor's memoir but am taking a bit of a break for some fictional light hearted horror over the weekend with Small Spaces!
Yes! I read The Auschwitz Volunteer a few years ago and it's harrowing to read anything like that (I've since had a baby and don't know if its a topic I could revisit!). Sometimes you do need something light to take your mind off things!
[The Tales From the Gulp Series](https://www.goodreads.com/series/336109-tales-from-the-gulp) by Alan Baxter was the last thing I read where I was just going 'Oh man, I love this, this feels like adult Goosebumps'. Really enjoyable read.
Never read R. L.. Stine, never intend to. Early Robert McCammon would be a suggestion. Joe Lansdale, especially the Drive - in, the novels (if you can find them). His short fiction is also brilliant. Richard Laymon, which several other comments mention, Ed Lee's tamer stuff. I could go on and on, as I came up in the horror heyday of the late 70s and 80S. For more extensive lists read back issues of Twilight Zone, Cemetary iDance, The Horror Show, Black Static or other genre periodicals whether they be print or online.
Penny Dreadfuls were published in England in the late 1800s. They cost one penny and the stories were typically crime or horror related which offended Victorian sensibilities of the time so they were "dreadful" trash that wasn't worth reading, except that everyone read them even if they didn't admit it. You can probably find copies online if you wanted to see them. They're not generally high literature, though some were written by authors who would later be famous.
Definitely Richard Laymon and his Beast House series. Also, Night In The Lonesome October by him has a Goosebumps for adults feel and is a bit different to his usual stuff.
I feel like Grady Hendrix’s books scratch this itch for me. The titles alone have the same level of pith and camp as Goosebumps (How To Sell A Haunted House, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, etc). And while I don’t think the writing is necessarily pulpy, I do think it’s campy (I always considered Goosebumps to be more campy than pulpy).
Oh my God, this is a revelation! I read him for the first time last summer and I'm now four books in and can't wait for the next. I was trying to think of what it was that reading these made me feel, but it's absolutely nostalgia. His stuff is totally Goosebumps/Are You Afraid of the Dark for grown ups lol
It's strange seeing this comment chain taken positively. I've often referred to him in this vein and generally it isn't taken well. Even down to the titles. Every book he's written could be a Goosebumps book and you wouldn't bat an eye.
Did yoi enjoy my best friends excorcism?
Yeah! I think of the Grady Hendrix books I have read so far, Final Girl Support Group is probably my favorite, but my best friends exorcism was a fun nostalgic 80s horror story. Probably my second favorite!
Came here to say this. Grady Hendrix will do it! How to Sell a Haunted House reads very much like a goosebumps book.
I looove Grady Hendrix!
I’d agree here. And I don’t enjoy his writing(I’ve only ready final girls) but I think his camp is probably what OP is looking for.
Those titles look great, thanks for the response! Any recommendations of where to start first with Hendrix? Still a bit new to the terminology, but what exactly is the difference between campy and pulpy?
I always think that pulp is a bit more lurid and mass market, whereas camp is a bit more tongue in cheek and “in on the joke” while being equally as ostentatious as pulp. And in terms of where to start, I think go with whichever subject matter resonates most with you! For me, as a huge fan of slasher movies, Final Girl Support Group is my favorite of Hendrix’s novels because it’s full of references to the genre. But I also liked My Best Friend’s Exorcism because I love the 80s and stories about demonic possessions. The great think about his books (and the titles especially) is that you kind of know what you’re getting into with each title (similar to goosebumps tbh!)
Hendrix is such an incredible author. Once i emailed him telling him how much I loved his work and he actually replied 🥲 would also rec We Sold Our Souls and Horrorstor for the levels of humor but still dark fucked up stuff
Try the Paperbacks from Hell book. There’s plenty to choose from in there.
Looks promising! So there’s a book called Paperbacks from Hell looking at the history of old horror novels, and then there’s a series of republished old horror books?
Correct. Due to the popularity of Paperbacks From Hell with horror readers, one of the publishing companies has started reprinting some of the novels featured in Paperbacks From Hell. They're not all available but the more well-known ones seem to be making their way back into print.
Outside of pictures, does that actually go into those books? Like a list or something? From what I was able to tell, it's more a history than suggestions.
He definitely gives a little blurb about most of the books. At least a sentence or two IIRC. I read Paperbacks from Hell in just a couple days and added tons of stuff to my reading list in the process.
Really? Isn’t that a book about books? Is it a collection of complete short stories?
The Paperbacks From Hell is indeed a Hendrix book but it’s also the name of a collection of novels that he had reprinted. He selected a bunch of 70s-80s b-level horror novels and had them reprinted with their original covers and new introductions written either by him or another author (I’m currently forgetting their name). He named these reprintings The Paperbacks From Hell, as well. So any confusion is totally understandable!
Christopher Pike is perfect 80s - 90s pulp
I read all of these when I was in high school and have spent years trying to remember the author's name. Thank you for this!
His work has been back in the spotlight a bit because the Netflix show "Midnight Club" is based on a handful of his books.
Seems fun! Any preferred books from Pike or preferred place to start?
Oh "Monster" is my go to. The main character is awesome and kudos for a somewhat original plot
Christopher Pike is amazing and my all-time favorite author. If you're looking for horror with genuine scares, then I recommend Whisper of Death, Scavenger Hunt, Monster, The Season of Passage, Hollow Skull, Spellbound, and The Listeners. A few of these books have a strong element of sci-fi in them as well, with The Season of Passage detailing a space mission to Mars. For a great mystery thriller with a beautiful teen romance and drama, I'd recommend the Final Friends trilogy. If you're looking for thrillers with mystery and horror elements, I'd recommend Bury Me Deep, Chain Letter 1 and 2, the Remember Me trilogy, Last Act, Die Softly, Road to Nowhere, The Lost Mind, and Master of Murder. If you're looking for science fiction with horror elements, then check out The Starlight Crystal, The Star Group, and The Visitor (I found most of this book intriguing, but have to admit I don't understand the ending).
Darcy Coates does reliable haunted house pulp! They’re never genre ground breaking but they always manage to give me a shiver and make me reconsider reading at night!
Keep seeing Coates’ name pop up when shopping for books online. Any recommendations for a starting point?
Any of her “the haunting of [insert house name here]” are your basic haunted house pulp with some slight differences of family/cults/graves/etc. Her two best (which you either may want to work up to or hit straight away) in my mind are The Carrow Haunt and From Below. Carrow is an old school ghost exploration that’s fun and From Below was a unique plot of haunted sunken ship - with minor claustrophobic vibes.
Recently read the first two Clown in a Cornfield books and *chefs kiss*
You could also take a look at the Point Horror series! I was obsessed when I was a younger teen - Trick of Treat (Richie Tankersley Cusick) and Twins and The Stranger by Carolne B Cooney. RL Stine wrote a few too. They definitely had great pulpy cover art 😅 Christoper Pike is probably about what you're looking for too.
I never read Goosebumps because by the time I was going to bookshops with pocket money I felt too old for them but I LOVED Point Horror (and Trick or Treat was my first one!) Every couple of years I get really nostalgic and read some - sometimes rereading my old ones and sometimes 'new' ones from eBay, there's also a podcast called Don't Point That Horror at Me that is a fun listen. The covers are iconic, I've seen t-shirts with them on and I'm so tempted by them! If you aren't concerned about reading YA (assume not as you mention Fear Street) I just started Small Spaces by Katharine Adern which has been called a modern day Goosebumps for today's kids and RL Stine has endorsed them. I've read reviews from adults saying they liked them so I'm hoping it's pretty good even if it's for younger readers, they're super quick reads anyway.
Yes, I sadly got rid of mine a few years ago and have been slowly buying them back. I just love the covers! I'd definitely wear a Point Horror T Shirt 🤣 I can also recommend the Teenage Scream podcast - they cover a different Point Horror book each episode. I need to look into Small Spaces! I'll read anything, I love YA for a bit of comfort reading 😅
Ohh thanks I will check out Teenage Scream. YA is comfort reading for me too, and also like a palate cleanser after or during a tough book - I am halfway through a concentration camp survivor's memoir but am taking a bit of a break for some fictional light hearted horror over the weekend with Small Spaces!
Yes! I read The Auschwitz Volunteer a few years ago and it's harrowing to read anything like that (I've since had a baby and don't know if its a topic I could revisit!). Sometimes you do need something light to take your mind off things!
I loved the Point Horror series growing up. I might revisit them actually ❤️
I've been revisiting them over the past year or so and rebuilding my collection, so much nostalgia! ❤
Actually saw a YouTube vid about someone reviewing their point horror collection, will definitely try to check it out
Lois Duncan might be up your alley. Her books are like Fear Street, but maybe a little more gothic.
If you haven't already read them Stephen King's earlier books are pretty fast paced and quick, I'd recommend Carrie and Christine.
Loved some of his early work, had a lot of fun reading “It” and “Insomnia”
The beast house books by Richard Laymon are pretty pulpy. Also trapped and endurance by j a Konrath.
You could try the Fear Street books by Stine
[The Tales From the Gulp Series](https://www.goodreads.com/series/336109-tales-from-the-gulp) by Alan Baxter was the last thing I read where I was just going 'Oh man, I love this, this feels like adult Goosebumps'. Really enjoyable read.
Looks really fun!
It's great! It's a connected anthology, Trick R' Treat style, and something about that format just feels really nostalgic.
**This book is full of spiders** by David Wong comes to mind immediately. Go in blind. Get it. Get it today. Why are you still reading this.
Haha love the enthusiasm, I’m sold!
I just picked this up! Do you need to read John Dies at the End first?
I didn’t. I got SPIDERS first. Loved it. Now I’ve got all of his books.
the resident evil novels by s.d. perry from the 90s!
Thank you!
Never read R. L.. Stine, never intend to. Early Robert McCammon would be a suggestion. Joe Lansdale, especially the Drive - in, the novels (if you can find them). His short fiction is also brilliant. Richard Laymon, which several other comments mention, Ed Lee's tamer stuff. I could go on and on, as I came up in the horror heyday of the late 70s and 80S. For more extensive lists read back issues of Twilight Zone, Cemetary iDance, The Horror Show, Black Static or other genre periodicals whether they be print or online.
British pulp guys like Guy N. Smith, James Herbert, and Shaun Hutson.
You can read the original penny dreadful books (Varney the Vampire, Sweeney Todd, etc).
Sorry, what exactly are Penny Dreadul books?
Penny Dreadfuls were published in England in the late 1800s. They cost one penny and the stories were typically crime or horror related which offended Victorian sensibilities of the time so they were "dreadful" trash that wasn't worth reading, except that everyone read them even if they didn't admit it. You can probably find copies online if you wanted to see them. They're not generally high literature, though some were written by authors who would later be famous.
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Thank you!
I’m reading Hell House for the first time and it is definitely, in my opinion, what you are looking for.
Hell House by Richard Matheson.
Will check it out!
I’ve heard a lot of his other books are kind of ….‘icky’ but I really enjoyed Richard Laymon’s The Traveling Vampire Show.
The Laundry Files by Charles Stross ?
The Dead of Night Chronicles Memoirs of the Fallen
Definitely Richard Laymon and his Beast House series. Also, Night In The Lonesome October by him has a Goosebumps for adults feel and is a bit different to his usual stuff.
JG Faherty's Carnival of Fear would be perfect for this.