Vigilante Crime and Pulp

Alfred Hitchcock didn’t merely have an eye for what worked on camera, he was one of the greatest curators of commercial crime and suspense fiction of the twentieth century. In this episode, we discuss the writers behind the director. From icons like Patricia Highsmith, Daphne Du Maurier, and Cornell Woolrich, to hidden figures like Robert Bloch, Charles Bennett, and John Michael Hayes, Alfred Hitc...

We review and analyze Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite of his own films. Starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten , and co-written by Our Town playwright Thornton Wilder , Shadow of a Doubt (1943) is a domestic noir of family secrets and violent urges. It’s a tale of two Charlies — one a sadistic uncle, the other a spunky niece who rises to the violence of the occasion. Also, we announce our forthcomin...

Paperback crime author Jim Thompson , nicknamed the “Dimestore Dostoevsky,” is best known as mid-century American crime fiction’s darkest prince of noir thanks to classics like The Killer Inside Me , Pop. 1280 , and The Grifters . In this episode, we dive deep into A Hell of A Woman , Jim Thompson’s 1954 novel of money, murder, and madness. New from Vigilante Crime… EVERYTHING ON BLACK by F.T. Gra...

Robert Bloch was best known for his novel Psycho , on which Alfred Hitchcock’s cinema masterpiece was based. However, he began as a teenage literary prodigy under the intense tutelage of weird fiction master H.P. Lovecraft . In this episode, we discuss those early stories, especially the debut collection The Opener of the Way . Don’t miss the first two books from the Vigilante imprint of Gutter Bo...

In honor of the launch of the hotly anticipated Vigilante Crime Pulp Fiction Anthology , we discuss the niche of short fiction, limited readership, value of the form, and one of its masters (Joe R. Lansdale). Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigilantemag.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, we begin with a discussion of whether reading is dead in the 21st century. Spoiler alert: it’s not! Next, we discuss horror master Stephen King’s 1980s body horror short story titled “Survivor Type.” I read this as a young teen and have been haunted ever since. You can read the story, and many other bangers, in King’s sophomore short story collection Skeleton Crew . Why miss a sin...

A review (no spoilers) of the novel Ubik by Philip K. Dick . Was the legendary speculative fiction forefather suffering insane delusions or did his fiction capture the future of technology and its impact on our modern sense of reality? Plus: one star reviews are back! Pre-Order the first ever Vigilante Crime Pulp Fiction Anthology ! It’s free to subscribe. What are you waiting for? Invite your fri...

A deeper dive into American weird fiction master Thomas Ligotti: his bleak philosophy, mental health, and the extreme despair of his frightening tales of cosmic horror and uncanny nightmare realities. This is the second installment of our special October 2025 Halloween series. Buy some books mentioned: THOMAS LIGOTTI The Conspiracy against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror Songs of a Dead Dr...

From short pulp fiction to Hollywood screenplay machine, we discuss the career of Richard Matheson. He wrote 10% of the total episodes of Twilight Zone , invented the zombie genre, and got Steven Spielberg his start. Not bad for a working class typewriter jockey. Listen and learn how Matheson influenced Stephen King and even surpasses King as a top notch horror, speculative fiction, and weird fict...

An exploration of the late great king of Philadelphia, David Goodis, and his even better contemporary, Jim Thompson. Parallel themes and parallel careers. A deep dive into these two bleak writers and their impact and influence today. LINKS to buy books mentioned in this episode: David Goodis , Jim Thompson , Frank Kidd . Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigilantemag.substack.com/subscr...

David Lynch’s 1997 masterpiece Lost Highway deserves to be considered a neo-noir classic despite its unconventional elements of story, character, and audio-visual misdirection. Here we analyze and discuss how Lost Highway tells both a classic crime of passion murder story and a femme fatale narrative while exploring seemingly endless poignant themes, including lust, demonic influence, and the natu...

A discussion of masterful yet obscure literary noir author Scott Wolven , and his excellent short story collections, Controlled Burn and Hundred Proof . Why should every men's fiction and noir fan read Wolven? Listen to learn. Also discussed: the rise and fall of Barnes & Noble, new books from Vigilante, and Horror and Weird Fiction themed episodes coming this October! Get full access to Vigilante...

Using B.R. Myers’s A Reader’s Manifesto (2002) as a starting point, we break down why the intractable purple prose of post-modern literary fiction is inferior to both classic literary fiction and commercial/pulp fiction. Why writing is meant for readers and not writers. In short, a lot of fun smack talk against snobs. Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigilantemag.substack.com/subscribe

A review and discussion of Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025) starring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey. The latest in the iconic series, inspired by Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel Jurassic Park , is a masterclass in using traditional pulp adventure sensibilities and updating them for contemporary times. Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigilantemag.substack.com/subscribe

We discuss the life and writing style of the great James M. Cain, especially his 1934 masterpiece The Postman Always Rings Twice . We cover Cain’s minimalist prose, flirting with censorship boundaries, and how to say more with less. Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigilantemag.substack.com/subscribe

We explore the broad and uncanny world of weird fiction, cosmic horror, and its progeny. A discussion of H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Robert W. Chambers and his King in Yellow mythos, Lord Dunsany, Algernon Blackwood, William Hope Hodgson, Stephen King ( The Mist ), Thomas Ligotti, True Detective, and so much more. Shoutouts to podcasts: The Lovecraft E-Zine Podcast, Elder Sign Podcast, and W...

This episode details my personal winding trail to discovering the excellence of pulp western fiction, from stumbling on to spaghetti western films to reading Louis L’Amour. The western will never die! Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigilantemag.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode we review She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper. It’s a modern noir take on True Grit , featuring a memorable young lady with balls of steel and her convict father against a world a bad guys set on killing them and making it hurt. Stay tuned till the end for our popular One Star Reviews segment. Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigilantemag.substack.com/subscribe

Alfred Hitchcock, one of the greatest and most influential film directors of the 20th century, brought noir and hardboiled pulp crime stories to a TV audience via his classic NBC series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (later The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ). Hitchcock championed the work of short fiction greats like Robert Bloch (also the author of Psycho ), Cornell Woolrich, and Patricia Highsmith. This ep...

This episode is an author spotlight on International Thriller Writers Award-winner James Scott Bell . We discuss Bell’s distinguished career as both a writing craft instructor to a generation of authors and entertainer of the literate masses, with a special focus on his high-action men’s adventure and modern pulp fiction series, Mike Romeo Thrillers . Oh yeah, and before he became a bestselling au...

On the strength of his early screenplays, Taylor Sheridan created Yellowstone for Paramount and the rest, as they say, is history. Beyond being simple one hit TV show, Yellowstone opened an intellectual property universe with prequels 1883 and 1923 , as well as the forthcoming spinoff 6666 or The Four Sixes . We discuss what makes Sheridan’s neo westerns and historical westerns so captivating. Tul...

Before Taylor Sheridan became a household name for creating and writing blockbuster TV series Yellowstone and its prequels 1883 and 1923 , he wrote two of the greatest neo western/neo noir movies of the 21st century, Sicario and Hell or High Water . In this first of two episodes on Taylor Sheridan, we take a deep dive into the two early classics. Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigila...

A review, analysis, and discussion of the blockbuster crime novel Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Listen to the end so you won’t miss hilarious one-star reviews of the legendary feminist thriller. Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigilantemag.substack.com/subscribe

There are no themed mocktails or baked goods at this book club meeting! Now that you took our advice from last episode and read The Bitch by Les Edgerton , dig into this spoiler-laden bonus episode for further discussion. Participate in the comments with your own takes. Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigilantemag.substack.com/subscribe

We review, recommend, and analyze a modern, 21st century noir crime novel: The B***h by Les Edgerton. Keep listening to the end for our reading of the book’s one-star reviews and an announcement of bonus podcast content. Get full access to Vigilante Crime & Pulp at vigilantemag.substack.com/subscribe