The cover of ‘Rock A Bye Baby.’ A horror novel from 1984 by prolific horror writer Stephen Gresham.
A huge tip of my hat goes out to the exhaustive blog Too Much Horror Fiction (is there such a thing? I think not) for inspiring this post. Curated by the self-described “neat, clean, shaved & sober” Will Errickson, the site has been cataloging and reviewing vintage horror novels since 2010. As a bonafide horror junkie, I’ll never understand how I didn’t know about this site until today. If you’re a horror nerd like I am and were perhaps not hip to Errickson’s dedication to the books that helped shape our youth, then welcome to your new Internet time-killer. Zing!
I’m sure a few of the books I’ve featured in this post will be familiar to you—such as the cover of the 1976 book The Fury which was the basis for Brian De Palma’s 1978 film of the same name starring Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes and Amy Irving. I’ve also included a few H.P. Lovecraft paperbacks featuring fantastic cover artwork that will bring you right back to those times you spent spinning those revolving metal book racks around hoping to find a cover repulsive enough to freak your parents out with. If this post gets you pining away for this kind of vintage goodness then you’re in luck as many of these books can still be found on auction sites such as eBay and Etsy. Some of the artwork that follows is slightly NSFW.
The 1976 cover of a reprint of the novel by Jack Finney ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ Finney original penned the book, which has been adapted into several notable films, in 1955.
‘Evil Way,’ 1990.
‘Tricycle,’ 1983.
‘Through the Dark Curtain,’ 1968. ‘Peter Saxon’ was a house pseudonym used by various writers in the 1960s and early 70s.
‘The Shuttered Room.’ Based on ‘The Shuttered Room and Other Pieces’ which was originally published in 1959 featuring a collection of short stories, essays and memoirs by H.P. Lovecraft.
‘Nightscape,’ 1992.
‘The Coffin Things,’ 1968.
‘Horrorscope 4 Gemini Smile, Gemini Kill,’ 1975.
‘The Landlady,’ 1976.
‘Scream and Scream Again,’ 1967.
‘The Intruder,’ 1985. ‘Thomas Altman’ was a pseudonym for Glasgow-based author Campbell Armstrong. Armstrong also authored books using the names Campbell Black and Jeffrey Campbell as well as his real name.
‘The Effigies,’ 1980.
Another great ‘Peter Saxon’ novel cover for ‘The Torturer,’ 1967.
One of many covers for the bestselling horror novel by Jeffrey Konvitz ‘The Sentinel.’ This one was put out in 1976.
‘The Parasite,’ 1989. Published in the U. S. (with a different ending) as ‘To Wake the Dead’ by author Ramsey Campbell, who has published countless horror novels and short stories since 1957.
‘The Color Out of Space,’ 1978. Based on a short story from 1927 by H.P. Lovecraft that was also adapted into a film in 2010.
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Comedy of Terrors: Hammer Horror Trading Cards from 1976
Glorious, gory & (sometimes) goofy foreign film posters for horror films of the 1960s and 1970s
When nature attacks! Pulp horror covers from the 1970s & ‘80s