Reviving Famous Fantastic Mysteries in Pulp Form

Between 1939 and 1953, Famous Fantastic Mysteries held a special place in the world of speculative fiction.

Cover of the April 1941 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries, featuring a woman in a flowing dress surrounded by waves and white horses, with bold title and story listings.

Not exactly a magazine of new experiments, it was a magazine more of memory, bringing beloved stories back into print and giving new readers a doorway into the wonders of fantasy and science fiction.

Cover of the September-October 1939 issue of _Famous Fantastic Mysteries_, featuring bold red and yellow colors, listing notable stories and authors inside.

Cover of February 1939 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries featuring a fantasy scene with a woman adorned in a headdress and butterfly wings, surrounded by mythical creatures.

Cover of the November issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries featuring an illustration of a woman and a man, with the title and text highlighting stories including 'The Mouthpiece of Zitu'.

Cover of the magazine _Famous Fantastic Mysteries_ featuring the title prominently, with an illustration of a wizard-like figure holding two glass cylinders containing a man and woman. The cover also includes the title of a featured novel, 'The Elixir of Hate,' and the price of 25 cents.

A Magazine Born from the Past

Launched in September/October 1939 by the Munsey Company, Famous Fantastic Mysteries began as a reprint.

The idea was to extract the best weird, speculative, and fantastical fiction from older magazines and reintroduce them to a fresh audience.

Cover of December issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries featuring bold colors and illustrations of a man with a spear and a woman with a leopard print outfit, along with a snarling black panther.

The editor behind the endeavor was Mary Gnaedinger, who became its permanent guide through all 81 issues.

Under her watch, the magazine became a reliable conduit for fiction readers who might otherwise never see these stories again.

Cover of the December issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries featuring a woman with elaborate jewelry and a fierce expression, surrounded by fantasy elements.

What Lived Inside Its Pages

Famous Fantastic Mysteries mixed reprinted novels, novellas, and occasionally original work.

Before and after its sale to Popular Publications in late 1942, it showcased long-form works by classic authors like H. G. Wells, H. Rider Haggard, and G. K. Chesterton.

Cover of the December issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries featuring a ghostly figure emerging from a cauldron, with two characters gazing intently at it. The title prominently displayed at the top along with the price of 25 cents.

In later years, more original content appeared. For example, Arthur C. Clarke’s “Guardian Angel” was published there and later became part of his famous Childhood’s End.

Cover of _Famous Fantastic Mysteries_ featuring a man carrying a woman, with a distressed figure in the foreground. The title is prominently displayed in bold colors, along with story titles and the magazine's price.

Art also played a starring role. Names like Virgil Finlay, Lawrence Stevens, and Peter Stevens lent their brush to cover and interior illustrations.

Their visuals gave life to the pages and became a key reason readers picked up each issue.

Cover of the December issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries, featuring bold yellow and red colors, an illustration of a large hand pointing and a skull in the background, along with the title and story details.

Rise and Fade

Through its run, the magazine’s publication schedule shifted from monthly to bimonthly to quarterly, influenced by wartime constraints and market trends.

In 1953, as the pulp magazine era was fading, Famous Fantastic Mysteries published its final issue.

The magazine had become part of a fading era, but its influence lived on in how it preserved and celebrated speculative fiction’s heritage.