Currently on view in the glass lobby cases at the Huntington Public Library’s main branch through Oct. 31 is an exhibit titled Paperbacks from Hell: Exploring the Wild, Weird World of the 70s and 80s Horror Pulp Fiction.

Inspired by Grady Hendrix’s 2017 bestseller Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of ’70s and ’80s Horror Fiction, this spinetingling exhibit at Huntington Public Library highlights the wild and wacky retro cover artwork of that era’s beloved and highly collectible pulpy paperbacks. As Tor.com’s Theresa DeLucci said of Hendrix’s compendium, “It’s a gorgeous, lurid deep-dive into horror’s heyday and a must-read for any self-respecting horror fan.”

Sparked by the unexpected mania for William Peter Blatty’s iconic The Exorcist in 1971, followed in 1974 by the rise to fame of Stephen King with Carrie and the massive success of Peter Benchley’s Jaws, horror paperbacks in those two decades infested every mall bookstore as well as the spinner racks of candy stores, supermarkets and airports, touching on every and any possible nightmarish theme or creepy category. These “paperbacks from hell” sold in the millions, whether they were efforts by more mainstream authors like King, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker, or works from more obscure cult-classic writers like James Herbert (The Rats), Graham Masterton (The Manitou), Guy N. Smith (Night of the Crabs), Gregory A. Douglas (The Nest), Ken Greenhall (Hell Hound), Shaun Hutson (Slugs), John Lutz (Bonegrinder), Nick Sharman (The Cats) and Eric C. Higgs (The Happy Man).

The display was curated by local horror lit fan Greg Fasolino, who has been a collector of these sinister softcovers for almost 50 years. All of the eerie items on display date from the 1970s through the end of the 1980s, and all but two are original copies purchased when they were new.

For more information, call 631-427-5165.