ZOMBIES FROM THE PULPS!

Just finished reading ZOMBIES FROM THE PULPS!, a handsome trade paperback published by Skelos Press in 2014 and edited by Jeffrey Shanks. The book collects twenty short stories about zombies that were originally published in various pulp magazines between 1922 and 1941. Magazines represented here include the immortal WEIRD TALES as well as  UNKNOWN along with titles such as DIME MYSTERY, TERROR TALES and SPICY MYSTERY, mags that trafficked in more lurid, sensationalistic fare. 

As with any anthology built around a unifying theme, ZOMBIES FROM THE PULPS! is a decidedly mixed bag. The best stories are, as to be expected, by the best writers, scribes who cut their teeth in the pages of the pulps and whose names are still recognized today by aficionados of horror,  fantasy and science fiction. These include H.P. Lovecraft's HERBERT WEST-REANIMATOR, THE CORPSE MASTER by Seabury Quinn, THE DEAD WHO WALK by Ray Cummings, August Derleth and Mark Schorer's THE HOUSE IN THE MAGNOLIAS, THE EMPIRE OF THE NECROMANCERS by Clark Ashton Smith, THE WALKING DEAD by E. Hoffman Price, Henry Kuttner's shocker THE GRAVEYARD RATS, Robert E. Howard's classic PIGEONS FROM HELL, and THE SONG OF THE SLAVES by Manly Wade Wellman. 

These stories by well known, established pulp authors are far and away the best of the bunch. Many of the other stories suffer from a repetition of basic plots and the annoying tendency to have the whole affair ultimately revealed as the work of a human, usually a mad scientist of some sort, who would have gotten away with it if not for those darn kids. 

Yep, they're "Scooby-Dos".

 One should also be aware that these stories were written and published in a decidedly different time and many of the yarns contain extremely non politically correct views on race and sex. Still, the stories do represent a sampling of the first great zombie craze that took place in popular fiction in the 1930s. If you read the whole book, you'll be solidly entertained but if you just want to go for the really good stuff, stick to the stories mentioned above. 

Recommended for pulp horror fans.