Read Old Stories

A wizard's tower with a captured extra-terrestrial. A murder-by-arson with a shocking twist. A robotic policeman. A mountain from which no-one has returned. An eerie painting that menaces its owner. A swashbuckling stagecoach robber. An underground boxing match in an exotic port.

What do all these elements have in common? They're all from classic stories from a bunch of different genres that I've recently read thanks to the Pulp Classics Reading Club. Brainchild of author David Eyk, this free weekly email delivers stories from some of the best authors of the early 20th century - the likes of Robert E. Howard, Dashiell Hammett, Harry Harrison, Manly Wade Wellman, Max Brand, and Lord Dunsany. What inspired Eyk to such a project? In his own words:

In the erudite and cultured Wisdom of the Current Year, it is an accepted posture to scoff at “escapist literature”: it’s alright to read it if you’re twelve.

But the Wisdom of the Ages tells us something different: a certain form of story nourishes and nurtures our psyches. Especially in hard times, we fall back on the stories closest to our hearts for encouragement and, yes, escape.

If this sounds like something you'd like to get in on, I encourage you to sign up for the Pulp Classics Reading Club here. And if you want to read the stories I alluded to above? Check below the jump.