Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 26, 2023

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
August 1934 cover of Dime Mystery Magazine
August 1934 cover

Dime Mystery Magazine was a US pulp magazine published from 1932 to 1950 by Popular Publications. Originally Dime Mystery Book Magazine, it contained mysteries, including a novel in each issue. Competing with established magazines, it failed to sell. From 1933, inspired by Grand Guignol, publisher Harry Steeger changed its style, publishing horror stories in what became known as "weird menace" fiction, where the apparently supernatural transpired to have an everyday explanation. Further magazines in the same genre followed. The emphasis on sex and sadism increased, but reverted to detective stories in 1938. The stories now featured detectives with a handicap such as amnesia or hemophilia. After a return to weird menace, it reverted to detective stories until it ceased publication in 1950. Most stories were low-quality, but some well-known authors appeared, including Edgar Wallace, Ray Bradbury, Norvell Page, and Wyatt Blassingame. The last issues appeared as 15 Mystery Stories. (Full article...)

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