Until just a few years ago one of the major plusses of collecting horror fiction was that it was incredibly easy and inexpensive to acquire. In the literary world horror was (and is) considered a worthless format, marred by exuberantly trashy cover art and outrageous content—the very things, conversely, that make it irresistible to folks like me. I never had any problem with the establishment’s snobbishness toward such books, as it only made them more easily available.
That was then. Now, in the wake of the Justin Marriott edited pulp zines, books like Grady Hendrix’s PAPERBACKS FROM HELL and—yes—websites like this one, horror fiction has become not quite respectable but certainly popular. Whereas such books were previously the least desired (and so easiest to snatch up) items in used book stores and library sales, in recent years they’ve become the most widely sought after. The situation on the bookfinder sites and eBay is much the same; prior to the release of Hendrix’s book it was quite common to find out-of-print horror paperbacks for under $5.00, but no more.
For context, I’ll provide some standout examples of collectible horror novels. What I won’t be counting are books, such as THE DELICATE DEPENDENCY and HELL HOUND, which were once highly sought after rarities but are now readily available on and off the net. What I’m after are orphaned titles that despite having accrued widespread interest have yet to be taken in.
BIG GURL by THOM METZGER, Richard P. Scott
This 1989 novel’s cult status should need no explanation, as it’s one of the most authentically demented books of any sort to appear in the 1980s. It’s certainly the only novel about a seven foot seductress with the mind of a six year old—and an unfortunate habit of killing anyone who comes into contact with her—that you’ll ever need (or want) to read. A kindle version was put out in the 2010s, but it’s no longer available (although unauthorized pdf versions have flooded the internet). My advice? Make an effort to get ahold of BIG GURL; cheap copies do occasionally become available, and it’s a novel that’s eminently worth searching out.
CHAINSAW TERROR by Nick Blake
A novel summarized by its author Shawn Hutson (writing as Nick Blake) as “A nutter with a chainsaw.” Yes, those five words are an extremely succinct summation of CHAINSAW TERROR’S plot, tone and range. It’s not much of a novel, in short, but has gained considerable notoriety due to the fact that it was withdrawn from publication and reprinted, in supposedly censored form, as COME THE NIGHT—although that’s apparently not the case.
The censorship claims, however, refuse to die down, leading to online prices for this supposed rarity that regularly exceed $300. As anyone who’s ever sold a book on eBay well knows, if you can work “Banned” or “Censored” into your item title or description you’re all-but guaranteed a big sale, regardless of whether those claims are accurate or not.
EAT THEM ALIVE by Pierce Nace
This beyond-outrageous 1977 book’s current notoriety can be traced to one source: the Phantom of Pulp blog. As written by the Australian critic/filmmaker Mark Savage, PoP made a pretty compelling case for the greatness of EAT THEM ALIVE around a decade ago (with many of Savage’s speculations about the possible true identity of the book’s author directly parroted by Grady Hendrix in PAPERBACKS FROM HELL). Back then copies of this long out of print book were not at all difficult to find, and at costs of a few bucks apiece. Today, obviously, the situation is much different; right now the cheapest copy I’ve been able to find online is $109.00.
The book, in any event, is required reading for all true horror fans. If you’re expecting subtlety you’ll be in for a disappointment, but for those unafraid of insanely overwrought descriptions of bloodletting and dismemberment, perpetrated by an army of giant preying mantises, this is the book for you.
LORD HORROR by David Britton
The first of the Savoy Books published LORD HORROR novels, about an alternate universe England in which Nazis, led by the depraved title character, have taken over. Written by the late David Britton (one of Savoy’s founders), LORD HORROR really was censored, having had much of its first and only print run confiscated by British authorities, and its author/publisher jailed due to the contents. Given that Savoy doesn’t often reprint its books, I wouldn’t expect to see this one back on bookshelves any time soon.
NIGHTS WITH SASQUATCH by Jack Couffer
Another novel whose cult following shouldn’t be too hard to figure out: it’s about a horny Sasquatch who turns his attentions to a young zoology student on a hike in the Pacific Northwest. It’s neither the “shock-a-page novel” promised by the front page blurbs, nor the porny thriller about a woman “transformed into a shameless savage” that’s also promised, although it is likely the foremost novel to be published about the sex life of Bigfoot (see also THE BEAST by Walter J. Sheldon). None of this matters, however, to the book dealers who insist on shamelessly overpricing NIGHTS WITH SASQUATCH, or the collectors who continue to avidly chase after it.
NINTH & HELL STREET by Chas. Balun
Hard though it might seem to believe these days, back in the nineties I purchased this, the first novel by the late Chas. Balun, for just ten bucks. Now, of course, finding a reasonably (or even semi-reasonably) priced copy is an impossibility.
A prime example of “gore-nography,” NINTH & HELL STREET isn’t what I’d call great, but it is a definite attention-getter, and an opening salvo in what should have been a long-lasting and prolific fiction career.
RAGE by Richard Bachman
In all fairness, this paperback original, about a deranged high schooler who holds a class hostage after shooting his algebra teacher, was an expensive collector’s item long before horror’s newfound popularization. Written by Stephen King under his Richard Bachman pseudonym, it was initially issued as a 1978 paperback original by Signet. Its print run numbered around 75,000 copies, less than ten percent of which are believed to currently survive. In 1985 the book was reissued as part of the four volume BACHMAN BOOKS omnibus, and was in 1997 taken out of print by King himself (in response to a Kentucky high school shooting whose perpetrator was found to have a copy of the Bachman omnibus in his locker).
A word to the wise: tracking down first editions of Stephen King’s books can be an extremely hazardous process (see Douglas E. Winter’s 1986 essay “Collecting King”), so I wouldn’t recommend chasing after the Signet RAGE. Unauthorized duplications of this most collectible of all King paperbacks have proliferated, and discerning the real thing is said to be an extremely difficult proposition.
THE SHADOW by Bill Garnett
Here’s a book whose collectability can appear be traced to my review. Out of print since its first (and it seems only) 1983 publication, this relentlessly horrific depiction of psychological unease was quite easy and inexpensive to find two years ago (when I reviewed it), but now…
For what’s it’s worth, I continue to stand behind the superlatives I lavished upon this novel, which is eminently worthy of a reprinting by a specialty publisher like Valancourt or Centipede Press.
THE VOICE OF THE CLOWN by Brenda Brown Canary
This 1982 paperback isn’t all that rare (it went through at least two editions), but tends to command outrageous prices online and off. The reasons for this are that 1). its author Brenda Brown Canary died in 2020 without consenting to a reprinting, meaning it will never be republished, and 2). Grady Hendrix afforded it some extremely enthusiastic coverage in the aforementioned PAPERBACKS FROM HELL, introducing me and seemingly everyone else to what Hendrix claimed was “the only book to ever make my jaw drop.” I say he overrates it greatly, but the book, about a possessed girl’s reign of terror, does indeed contain a couple of authentically jaw-dropping passages.
Having gotten an advance copy of PAPERBACKS FROM HELL, I was able to obtain THE VOICE OF THE CLOWN before the prices went insane. That’s a good thing, because, frankly, it’s not worth the $100-plus sums so many sellers are currently demanding.
The good news? There exist countless more horror novels that have cult potential but haven’t yet become overpriced collector’s items. ANTIBODIES, THE VAMPIRES OF ALFAMA and VIRGINTOOTH are examples of out-of-print gems that (as of June 2023) can still be had for reasonable prices. How much longer that will be the case I can’t say.