Stranger Than Science

While Chas Fort produced volumes of unusualness & spiritualist books by R. DeWitt Miller, Nandor Fodor & others were out there, they were low profile on the general reader’s radar at the end of the 50s, beginning of the 60s. SF & horror were & westerns & private eyes, but True Weird was but a blip. Then came Stranger Than Science. Its hardcover appearance made ripples. When it came out as an Ace paperback it was like Boulder Dam breaking. Copies flew off racks. Why? Kids discovered it in an affordable format. The timing was right. Postwar baby boomers were hitting 12-14 & their interests were focussed on UFOs, monster movies, Ray Harryhausen stop-motions, Famous Monsters of Filmland & numerous other late-night Shock Theatre hosts–anything to make a shiver. Readers Digest was publishing stories about “The Mysterious Abominable Snowman” & “The Elusive Loch Ness Monster”. Youngsters lapped it up. Stranger Than Science hit the mass market at just the right time & with just the right material to grab a ready-made readership. Edward’s book became an Ace bestseller. They knew a good thing & started cranking out strange but true books as fast as they could set type while other publishers joined the bandwagon.