Veronica Talks Strange Detective Mysteries Magazine

The Pulp Preservation Project

Strange Detective Mysteries was a pulp magazine published by Popular Publications beginning in 1938, during a period when publishers were experimenting with blending established genres. As its title suggests, the magazine specialized in combining hardboiled detective stories with elements of the bizarre, the supernatural, and the horrific.

This positioned it alongside the “weird menace” and horror pulps, but with a stronger emphasis on mystery and investigation. Readers could expect tales of private eyes and policemen pitted not only against criminals, but also against eerie conspiracies, occult trappings, and seemingly impossible crimes. This hybrid style made the magazine distinctive at a time when crime and horror pulps were booming.

Like many Popular Publications titles, Strange Detective Mysteries relied heavily on eye-catching, lurid covers to grab attention at the newsstand. Often painted by leading pulp artists, the covers depicted terrified women, grotesque villains, and dramatic confrontations meant to suggest both horror and action. Inside, stories leaned on atmosphere as much as action, with plots often involving cults, sinister scientists, or unearthly threats that pushed detective heroes to their limits.

Though the magazine did not run as long as more conventional detective pulps, it carved out a niche in pulp history as one of the more unusual experiments in cross-genre storytelling. Today, it is remembered fondly by collectors and pulp historians as a title that embodied the pulps’ willingness to blur lines and chase thrills wherever they could be found.

Here’s a Top 5 list of standout tales from Strange Detective Stories, a short-lived but memorable pulp"

1. “Death’s Bridal Night” — Wyatt Blassingame, Strange Detective Stories, November 1938

Blassingame was a prolific weird menace writer, and this story is a prime example of the blend of lurid crime and horror that defined the magazine. It stood out for its grotesque imagery and tense pacing, capturing the “strange” in Strange Detective Stories.

2. “The Corpse That Murdered” — Norman A. Daniels, Strange Detective Stories, December 1938

Daniels, one of the most versatile pulp writers, crafted this tale of apparent supernatural revenge, only to provide a rational solution in true weird-menace fashion. It’s important for showing how the magazine leaned on sensational titles and atmosphere to hook readers.

3. “The Red Eye of Rin-Tin” — Ray Cummings, Strange Detective Stories, January 1939

Cummings, a veteran pulp writer known for blending science fiction and mystery, contributed this hybrid tale of bizarre jewels, murder, and occult trappings. It stood out for crossing genre lines and giving the magazine a distinctive identity beyond conventional detective pulps.

4. “The Bride of the Ape” — Russell Gray (Bruno Fischer), Strange Detective Stories, February 1939

Russell Gray was Bruno Fischer’s pseudonym for his darkest weird menace work, and this sensational story of a woman trapped in a grotesque cult made waves for its intensity. It’s a collector’s favorite today for its outrageous premise and lurid execution.

5. “The Murder Mummy” — Steve Fisher, Strange Detective Stories, March 1939

Steve Fisher, later one of the great crime and noir writers, delivered this tale of a detective unraveling an ancient-cult-style murder plot. It’s important because it connected the pulp’s horror themes with Fisher’s emerging mastery of crime storytelling, foreshadowing his later success in Black Mask.