Alfred Jan - The Best of Spicy Mystery: Volume 1

[dem]

Alfred Jan (ed.) - The Best of Spicy Mystery: Volume 1 (Altus, 2012)

Alfred Jan - Introduction: Spicy Mysteries Re-Examined

Henry Kuttner - Hell's Archangel
Robert Leslie Bellem - Fiend's Feast
Harley L. Court (Robert Leslie Bellem) - Lorelei of Lynnwold Light
Jerome Severs Perry (Robert Leslie Bellem) - Murder from Nowhere
John Bard - The Second Mummy
Justin Case (Hugh B. Cave) - Mistress of Vengeance
Mort Lanning - Green Eyes
Colby Quinn - The Head of Mike Vasco
Lew Merrill (Victor Rousseau) - Bat Man
Robert Leslie Bellem - Mirror Magic
Rex Norman - Dance of Damballa

Blurb:
The Thrills of Horror! Romantic Tales of the Eerie and Occult! You'll find them in Spicy Mystery—stories of red-blooded men and lovely girls in dangerous situations, in an atmosphere of chills and thrills. Real life is never so tense and dramatic as when a girl is in peril—or as when a siren as deadly as she is beautiful sets her snare for a man…. Are you bored of typical weird menace plots, many of which crept into Spicy Mystery? Then sample these tales which break out of that tired formula where every ending is happy, and the only challenge is guessing which minor character gets exposed as the villain in a rubber monster suit and demon mask! THE BEST OF SPICY MYSTERY VOLUME 1 contains 11 classic stories by the masters of the genre, complete, uncut, and with the original illustrations. It also includes an all-new introduction by editor Alfred Jan, one of the leading experts on the series.

The blurb is a little alarming - who wants their spicy weird menaces to be anything other than spicy weird menaces? Fortunately Henry Kuttner's entirely formulaic opener - concerning a Deliverance-type who believes himself the reincarnation of Gilles de Rais - reassures that Mr. Jan has seen fit to reproduce at least some items which conform to the superbly rubbish tradition. Another huge plus is the inclusion of the original illustrations. And there's a volume II. Blow-by-blow commentary to follow once this horrible year is behind us.

[dem]

Jay McArdle

Colby Quinn - The Head Of Mike Vasco: (Spicy Mystery, Nov. 1935). Fresh back from the Amazon where he's spent a pleasant vacation researching the Jivaro head-hunters for a book, Reilly is introduced to Kittie Wilson, the knock-out #1 squeeze of the late 'Count' Mike Vasco. Vasco was a notorious hoodlum who, to all intents and purposes, passed away in Sing-Sing two days before his appointment with the chair. Over several drinks and an eminently satisfying grapple on the bed - trust me; we're talking gratuitous BREAST action on an almost Laymonesque scale - Kittie explains that her lover was way smarter than the law gave him credit for. He'd mastered self-hypnosis to the point where he could stop his heart for several hours duration. Mike's party piece certainly fooled the Prison medics who pronounced him dead. The next stage of the plan was for Kittie to collect the 'corpse' for burial. Unfortunately for all his genius, Mike hadn't considered one potential snag ....

[dem]

H. J. Ward

Lew Merrill (Victor Rousseau) - Bat Man: (Spicy Mystery, Feb. 1936). John Charters escapes from hospital, sets out to find his fiancée, Alice Drew, and get even with bitter love rival, Dr. Roger Dean, the SADISTIC SURGEON who transplanted his brain into the skull of a bat! John's broken wing has reduced him to a cripple, but a diet of insects and human blood works wonders. Slowly, with the assistance and support of the roost, he regains his strength. The 'Bat Man' strikes terror in the heart of the town. As one terrified victim has it. "You're the - the man who breaks into houses at night and makes love to strange women, aren't you? ... It doesn't matter. I adore you for your daring." And now, at last, he is face to face with Alice. Why does she look at him so sadly. How can she understand him when he squeaks? Perhaps she too is a were-bat. Or, more likely, he is completely out of his mind!

Harley L. Court (Robert Leslie Bellem) - Lorelei of Lynnwold Light: (Spicy Mystery, Sept. 1935) . A baptism of fire for Con Clinton, the new area Lighthouse inspector. Who or what is killing keeper Dan Beucher's assistants in the locked beacon room as fast as they are recruited? Suspicion falls upon Beucher and his golden-haired wife, quite simply because there is nobody else to consider. When a third man dies as horribly as his predecessors, Clinton feels duty bound to spend a night on the premises. Lorelei waits until her husband is fast asleep before creeping into the inspector's room. Cinton has never been one to dabble with another man's wife, but even so. "Never in my life had I seen a woman of such surpassing loveliness .... her bared breasts were hot and throbbing ... rounded mounds of enchantment and desire. My palms flattened those mollescent hillocks of flesh." etc . You can tell she's a wrong 'un, can't you? Sure enough, matters quickly fly out of hand, and Con is forced up into the cursed beacon room to face his doom.

Jay McArdle

[ohthehorror]

"Never in my life had I seen a woman of such surpassing loveliness .... her bared breasts were hot and throbbing ... rounded mounds of enchantment and desire. My palms flattened those mollescent hillocks of flesh."

Oh my! I know I promised myself I was going to give priority to my 'real live books' this year, but now you've got me pining for another Richard Laymon. What to do, what to do...?

[dem]

To date we've had multiple murders at the lighthouse, a suspected man-to-bat brain transplant, a fanatical head-shrinker and a village idiot who thinks he's Gilles de Rais. This selection may even be that rarity, a "Best of ..." that actually is. But, tremendous as they are, none of the above stories can really be said to "break out of that tired [Spicy] formula" (Alfred Jan's words, not mine). Enter Robert Leslie Bellem and his bestial Balkans!

H. L. V. Parkhurst

Robert Leslie Bellem - Fiend's Feast: (Spicy Mystery, June 1938). The premise is simplicity itself. Vulpa Donnwyczi (mammaries: large) demands Burton prove his love by murdering her husband, who, she claims, is a sadistic and demented monster. "Once Stefan was on an expedition into inner Mongolia. His supplies ran out. He ... killed one of his guides and ate him!" Burton is not squeamish. He's had plenty of women, one of whom even killed herself on learning she'd been jilted and it bothered him not a toffee. All things considered, Vulpa's delicious body is worth slaying for so when can he start? Vulpa warns him to be careful. Stefan is indestructible while he wears his Mongolian magic charm!

The deeply unpleasant trio spend a thoroughly horrible evening together, Stefan taking every opportunity to humiliate his wife. There's no question he deserves what's coming to him. Burton trousers the evil charm and laces the host's drink with poison.

So far so decent-if-unremarkable, but this is Planet Bellem and, yet again, he's saved the outrageous best for last. A proper spicy horror story.

[dem]

Henry Kuttner - Hell's Archangel: (Spicy Mystery, April 1938). The Graveyard Rats man is not an author many of us would immediately associate with the Spicies, and sure enough, his contribution to this volume is closer in spirit to the weird menaces, Scooby Doo ending and all. Our heroine, Marie's tits barely get a look in even when she's lashed naked to an altar while wicked 'n wanton sexpot Sylvia Dorte's are merely "ample." Anyway.

On a visit to her uncle John Meagher's place, Marie and fiancé Robert Gordon fall foul of a crazed French-Canadian trapper who believes himself the reincarnation of Gilles de Rais. 'Gilles' is a devoted disciple of Asmodeus, recently taken to haunting the woods, who demands of the "drivelling halfwit" that he procure two specific residents of the Meagher Lodge, Jim Hobson and his floozie Sylvia Dorte, for human sacrifice. The problem is that, mission accomplished (very spectacularly, it must be said), Gilles acquires a taste for sadistic murder until nobody is safe from his hatchet.

[mcannon]

Jan 23, 2017 13:08:46 GMT dem said:

Henry Kuttner - Hell's Archangel: (Spicy Mystery, April 1938). The Graveyard Rats man is not an author many of us would immediately associate with the Spicies, and sure enough, his contribution to this volume is closer in spirit to the weird menaces, Scooby Doo ending and all. Our heroine, Marie's tits barely get a look in even when she's lashed naked to an altar while wicked 'n wanton sexpot Sylvia Dorte's are merely "ample." Anyway.

On a visit to her uncle John Meagher's place, Marie and fiancé Robert Gordon fall foul of a crazed French-Canadian trapper who believes himself the reincarnation of Gilles de Rais. 'Gilles' is a devoted disciple of Asmodeus, recently taken to haunting the woods, who demands of the "drivelling halfwit" that he procure two specific residents of the Meagher Lodge, Jim Hobson and his floozie Sylvia Dorte, for human sacrifice. The problem is that, mission accomplished (very spectacularly, it must be said), Gilles acquires a taste for sadistic murder until nobody is safe from his hatchet.

There’s a fair amount of his Weird Menace material in the first two volumes of Haffner Press’s “The Early Kuttner”, particularly Volume One. I believe both books are still in print (Vol 2 was only released late last year) and are well worth acquiring by anyone interested in WM, Kuttner’s work in general, or both. Like all of the Haffner publications the books are quality productions and, while not cheap, they’re excellent value. If you’re not in the USA, though, international postage can be rather shriek-inducing!

Mark



Terror in the House: The Early Kuttner, Volume One
The Graveyard Rats, Weird Tales, Mar ’36
Bamboo Death, Thrilling Mystery, Jun ’36
The Devil Rides, Thrilling Mystery, Sep ’36
The Secret of Kralitz, Weird Tales, Oct ’36
Power of the Snake, Thrilling Mystery, Nov ’36
Coffins for Six, Thrilling Mystery, Dec ’36
It Walks by Night, Weird Tales, Dec ’36
Laughter of the Dead, Thrilling Mystery, Dec ’36
The Eater of Souls, Weird Tales, Jan ’37
Terror in the House, Thrilling Mystery, Jan ’37
The Faceless Fiend, Thrilling Mystery, Jan ’37
The Dweller in the Tomb, Thrilling Mystery, Feb ’37
I, the Vampire, Weird Tales, Feb ’37
Nightmare Woman, Thrilling Mystery, Mar ’37
The Salem Horror, Weird Tales, May ’37
My Brother, The Ghoul, Thrilling Mystery, Jun ’37
I Am the Wolf, Thrilling Mystery, Jul ’37
The Jest of Droom-Avista, Weird Tales, Aug ’37
Four Frightful Men, Thrilling Mystery, Sep ’37
When the Earth Lived, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Oct ’37
Terror on the Stage, Thrilling Mystery, Sep ’37
Lord of the Lions, Thrilling Mystery, Nov ’37
The Bloodless Peril, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Dec ’37
Invasion from the Fourth Dimension, Thrilling Mystery, Jan ’38
Messer Orsini’s Hands, Spicy Mystery, Jan ’38
Worlds' End, Weird Tales, Feb '38
The Graveyard Curse, Spicy Mystery, Mar ’38
The Unresting Dead, Thrilling Mystery, Mar ’38
The Shadow on the Screen, Weird Tales, Mar ’38
Hell’s Archangel, Spicy Mystery, Apr ’38
My Name Is Death, Spicy Mystery, May ’38
Devil’s Masquerade, Mystery Tales, Jun ’38
The Dark Heritage, Marvel Science Stories, Aug ’38
Dictator of the Americas, Marvel Science Stories, Aug ’38
The Disinherited, Astounding Science Fiction, Aug ’38
Hands Across the Void, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Dec ’38
The Frog, Strange Stories, Feb ’39
The Invaders, Strange Stories, Feb ’39
The Bells of Horror, Strange Stories, Apr ’39
Beyond Annihilation, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Apr ’39



The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two
We Are the Dead, Weird Tales, Apr ’37
The Case of Herbert Thorp, Weird Tales, Nov ’37
The Transgressor, Weird Tales, Feb ’39
Hydra, Weird Tales, Apr ’39
Murder for Fun, Thrilling Mystery, May ’39
The Watcher at the Door, Weird Tales, May ’39
The Hunt, Strange Stories, Jun ’39
“Telepathy Is News!”, Science Fiction, Jun ’39
Death Is Where You Find It, Thrilling Mystery, Jul ’39
The Curse of the Crocodile, Strange Stories, Aug ’39
The Misguided Halo, Unknown, Aug ’39
The Devil’s Brood, Thrilling Mystery, Sep ’39
Corpse Castle, Thrilling Mystery, Nov ’39
Towers of Death, Weird Tales, Nov ’39
Suicide Squad, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Dec ’39
Death Has Three Sisters, Thrilling Mystery, Jan ’40
When New York Vanished, Startling Stories, Mar ’40
All Is Illusion, Unknown, Apr ’40
Beauty and the Beast, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Apr ’40
Pegasus, Famous Fantastic Mysteries, May ’40
50 Miles Down, Fantastic Adventures, May ’40
Improbability, Astonishing Stories, Jun ’40
The Room of Souls, Strange Stories, Jun ’40
The Mad Virus, Science Fiction, Jun ’40
Dr. Cyclops, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Jun ’40
Time to Kill, Strange Stories, Jun ’40
No Man’s World, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Aug ’40
The Seal of Sin, Strange Stories, Aug ’40
World Without Air, Fantastic Adventures, Aug ’40
The Uncanny Power of Edwin Cobalt, Fantastic Adventures, October ’40

[dem]

Jan 24, 2017 5:35:42 GMT mcannon said:

There’s a fair amount of his Weird Menace material in the first two volumes of Haffner Press’s “The Early Kuttner”, particularly Volume One. I believe both books are still in print (Vol 2 was only released late last year) and are well worth acquiring by anyone interested in WM, Kuttner’s work in general, or both. Like all of the Haffner publications the books are quality productions and, while not cheap, they’re excellent value. If you’re not in the USA, though, international postage can be rather shriek-inducing!

Mark

Thanks Mark, these look brilliant. Do they include the original magazine illustrations, or am I just being too greedy?

[mcannon]

Jan 24, 2017 13:21:58 GMT dem said:

Jan 24, 2017 5:35:42 GMT mcannon said:

There’s a fair amount of his Weird Menace material in the first two volumes of Haffner Press’s “The Early Kuttner”, particularly Volume One. I believe both books are still in print (Vol 2 was only released late last year) and are well worth acquiring by anyone interested in WM, Kuttner’s work in general, or both. Like all of the Haffner publications the books are quality productions and, while not cheap, they’re excellent value. If you’re not in the USA, though, international postage can be rather shriek-inducing!

Mark

Thanks Mark, these look brilliant. Do they include the original magazine illustrations, or am I just being too greedy?

Sadly, they don't have the illustrations, although there's a deluxe edition of Volume 1 supposedly on the way which will include that material - www.haffnerpress.com/book/terror-in-the-house-175-limited-edition/ It will cost a small fortune, though.

It's a particular pity because Haffner has also been publishing a series of Edmond Hamilton collections, and these _do_ include the original magazine art, and other supplementary material. i think Volume One may have been my first encounter with the work of the great G O Olinick, who illustrated several of Hamilton's early stories.

Mark

[dem]

Jan 24, 2017 23:26:36 GMT mcannon said:

i think Volume One may have been my first encounter with the work of the great G O Olinick

All hail his Holy name!

Thanks for the additional info. They still look like great reads, as indeed is Best Of Spicy Mystery 1.

Man turns into serpent and a girl loses her soul to the god in the weird voodoo rites that the magician has brought to Harlem! Only Derek's Thunderstone Ouanga can save her from complete dishonour.

Rex Norman - The Dance Of Damballa (Spicy Mystery, Sept. 1937). Reminiscent of the Voodoo episode in Dr. Terrors House Of Horrors. Mesmerised by their extraordinary performance of the Danse Damballa at the Club Haytien, Erica the showgirl ill-advisedly ingratiates herself with the troupe that she might steal their routine for a new revue. Voodoo Priest Ti Mich is delighted to welcome her into the fold. He is in the business of procuring souls, and great will be Damballa's reward for enslaving a white woman with "heaving orbs." Lucky for Erica, 'Marcus the Magician,' a popular stage illusionist, is an expert on mumbo jumbo. Even as the foolish young lady bumps and grinds toward the jaws of her dancing partner - a were-snake! - he whips out his skin bag, bringing the hellish ritual to an abrupt end. A furious Ti Mich is not one to give up without a fight, and his curse is a corker. "Strike with thy poison fangs, Oh, Damballa! Shrivel the flesh from his bones! seethe the eyes in the sockets of his skull! Boil him ..."

[dem]

Jonas Bard - The Second Mummy: (Spicy Mystery, May 1936). "Great brute, I love you." Now this one is truly weird. Among the most prize exhibits at the Museo Nacional is a ten-inch mummy doll of the sixteenth century princess Ixtaxihuatl, stolen from an impossibly ancient sorcerer by curator Dr. Jose Sandoval. Sandoval explains to Ernie Slade, a private detective on vacation in Mexico, that each night the old magician sends a demon to steal back his property. Ernie agrees to keep watch and conceals himself within an extremely smelly sarcophagus from dusk to dawn. At dead of night the half-naked original of the effigy manifests among the exhibits and vainly attempts to escape the locked room with her replica! Ernie leaps from his hiding place and snatches the mummy-doll from her grasp. The Princess Ixtaxihuatl fights like a tigress until she recognises Ernie as the reincarnation of her beloved from the days of the Conquistadors. As befits a spicy, the couple are soon engaged in a different kind of grapple and Ernie Slade is in love for the first time in his (current) life. When he wakes next morning, Ixtaxihuatl has escaped with her effigy. Slade sets off to the market place to locate the sorcerer - her father - who won't stand in the way of their union provided Ernie is prepared to accept his demanding terms.

[dem]

Rex Mason

Justin Case (Hugh B. Cave) - Mistress Of Vengeance: (Spicy Mystery, Aug. 1936). Of the thirty-seven strong expedition who ventured south of the Oganoco river, only seven returned to civilisation. Their mission began to unravel when the team fell foul of a tribe of wild women who threatened them with death should they trespass through the sacred ruins of their city. Laughing off this feeble threat, Mark Lannister's men stubbornly pressed on to the lost 'city,' a jungle shrine shrouded in strange white flowers. Within hours of their discovery, several members of the party succumbed to a lethal, highly contagious "mind-eating disease." Some went insane on the spot, many died, others simply vanished never to be seen again. On a positive note, young Trent returned to the States with a smasher of a wife, Maryata, a half-naked savage purchased for a few coins from her squalid village.

Three years on from the tragedy, William Dykes invites fellow survivors to his home in Cape Cod, prompting a fresh outbreak of ghastly deaths. It seems that the Wild Women of Wongo-a-likes are not done with the desecrators.

Despite the abundance of half-dressed, bosomy beauties, any spiciness is restricted to a ... bare minimum.

[dem]

Mort Lansing - Green Eyes: (Spicy Mystery Stories, May 1936). "The curtain spread revealing a masterpiece, a masterpiece of pain." Another shudder pulp in 'Spicy' clothing. It begins as a routine engagement. Thorpe and a young stunner named Janice Marsh are hired to model nude for the world famous famously reclusive MAD ARTIST, Bertrand Rogell. Thorpe first suspects something's wrong when Kaya, Rogell's ultra-glamorous assistant, dopes both models' drinks and then sadistically murders the chauffeur en route to Rogell's mansion. Rogell, a spectacularly ugly hunch-backed degenerate, has invited several esteemed perverts to witness a master at work on his latest creation, PAIN depicting the torture murders of a man lashed to a crucifix and a woman bound to a lump of gleaming basalt. The excitement proves too much for Kaya, who is another from the same mould as Tala Mag in Russell Gray's Fresh Fiances For The Devil's Daughter. Murder, MINDLESS SADISM, massive knockers, and a 'corpse' rising from the swamp to claim his revenge. What more (other than a Zeppelin) could you reasonably ask?

[Jojo Lapin X]

Feb 14, 2017 12:12:21 GMT dem said:

What more (other than a Zeppelin) could you reasonably ask?

Pterodactyls?

[dem]

Feb 14, 2017 12:37:02 GMT Jojo Lapin X said:

Pterodactyls?

You're a tough audience.