The famous Spicy pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s are among the rarest and most sought-after publications by collectors. The Spicy magazines — which included Spicy Mystery, Spicy Adventure, Spicy Detective and others — published a titilating mix of fantasy, horror, mystery, action-adventure and suspense, punctuated by episodes of torture, sadism, sex and other risque elements. Although tame by current standards, and sometimes of dubious literary merit, these publications presented tales which thrilled a sensation-hungry audience. Despite the themes and constraints of the market, writers who would later become famous — including Hugh B. Cave, E. Hoffman Price, Robert Leslie Bellem and many more — were frequent contributors. The December 1939 issue of Spicy Adventure Stories includes works from Robert Leslie Bellem, Lew Merrill (Victor Rousseau), Hugh Speer, Ken Cooper, Clayton Maxwell, Clark Nelson and Harley L. Court.