The following is written by graduate student worker Theo Prineas

Sometimes, when I’m hunched over a desk in the back of the Hevelin pulps’ windowless archive room, the lights – which are set to a motion-sensing timer – go out. As I jump up and wave my arms to reactivate them, I expect a chalky-dry hand with long fingernails to snake out of the Hevelin pulp and pull me into the dark. Below are the covers that I have come across while I’m working on processing the Hevelin pulps that really set me on edge. As the spirits and demons come out to cavort on All Hallow’s Eve, I invite you to join me in fear and fascination with Weird Tales’ spookiest covers.

July 1945. Cover art by Lee Brown Coye.

Now is the time to plan ahead for your thermostat wars with family, roommates, and friends. Personally, I will be channeling these two as I pull a blanket around myself and huddle in my apartment for the next few months. ‘Tis the season to be cold and spooky.

March 1946. Cover art by Lee Brown Coye.

I love the way the billowing heroism of the red cloak and fine suit of armor sag into the desiccated body of the ghoul. The decayed glory of this character is reflected by the sour sun, the hunching vulture, and the barren sprawl of the tree. Big mood.

Jan. 1947. Cover art by A.R. Tilburne.

In landlocked Iowa, we occasionally need a reminder that the ocean is filled with primal horrors. I need convince myself that my life is complete without going to a beach. You’ve seen The Meg—now read this Weird Tales to meet the creatures that lurk below the depths!

Nov. 1949. Cover art by Matt Fox.

He’s just a hungry little guy!

Nov. 1950. Cover art by Frank Kelly Freas.

I find this cover compellingly mysterious. What strange creatures dance in the darkest part of Halloween night? The shadow over the satyr’s face hides its true intentions. You’ll have to read the pulp and enter the weird to uncover the truth.

July 1951. Cover art by Charles A. Kennedy.

Who amongst us hasn’t danced in a moonlit fire ritual? To me, this is a quintessential graduate school rite of passage. How else am I supposed to get an A on finals? Study? No thanks. I shall instead entreat the Flame Birds that emerge with all the demons on All Hallow’s Eve for magical aid.

Sept. 1952. Cover art by Virgil Finlay.

I entered this copy of Weird Tales into the collection guide a few hours before leaving work to meet up with friends at the Iowa City Jazz Fest to watch the fireworks. The impression of this chaotic scene lingered in my mind as I departed from the quiet library into Iowa City’s bacchanalian street celebrations.

Nov. 1952. Cover art by Anthony Di Giannurio.

Reader, it is fall. The skeletons rising from the mud evoke students dragging themselves to 8 a.m. classes as the mornings get darker and colder. Over our heads lurks the specter of a hungry vulture, a manifestation of the menace awaiting us at the end of the semester. Prepare yourselves for the grim scourge: finals.

Jan. 1953. Cover art by Frank Kelly Freas.

The alien at the heart of the spiral is oddly hypnotic. As I write this, I’m getting very sleepy…Why do I have the inexplicable urge to go to the Reading Room and read this pulp? If I catch any library staff building a UFO in their office, I’ll know that they spent too long looking at this issue of Weird Tales.

Winter 1973. Cover art By Bill Edwards.

The expressions on this cover capture the duality of Halloween. The devil’s expression is the depraved wickedness I feel after I buy myself cake even though I haven’t earned it. The terror of the man on the slab is my stomach’s horror at just how much sugar I’ve consumed. This is your invitation to join me in my depravity: Have some cake. Torment your gut biome. It’s the season of tricks and treats!

Want to continue your scary journey through the Hevelin pulp magazines? Come visit us at Special Collections and Archives!