Ever since the Jack the Ripper slayings in the 1890's the fascination with murder and crime has been a news phenomenon. The media caught on to this morbid interest and played out these violent acts in newspapers, magazines and later, television, films and (ugh!) games to satiate a slavering public.
Crime was a top-seller during the pulp era, and the topic remained popular into the 1950's when pulp magazines such as STAG and BLUEBOOK were near the top of the food chain. So-called "detective" magazines also elbowed in for space on the racks and even the venerable POLICE GAZETTE was still being published.
This issue of CONFIDENTIAL DETECTIVE CASES (Vol. 10, No. 6, April 1960) is just one example of the types of magazines that were prevalent in the heyday of crime publications.
These kinds of magazines were just about the only thing my Dad would read. I found them to be weirdly alluring for my young mind when I chanced upon them. I wasn't corrupted by them, but they were a window onto a world far removed from my farm boy upbringing.
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