Pulp Fiction Society

'Pulp Fiction' existed long before the Quentin Tarantino movie of the same name came out in 1994, though the idea is basically the same.
Pulp fiction is dirty and seedy literature, often violent and full of mystery, without being downright filthy. Now, some authors do, indeed, tend over to the darker side of the spectrum.
If you're thinking of Humphrey Bogart in a black-and-white flick, giving greaseballs and dames snappy one-liners, you're a little bit closer. But I would caution you that such an image is a cliched one.
Pulp fiction ranges the gambit of literature, from HP Lovecraft to Mickey Spillane to Robert E. Howard and dozens of other authors. And it continues on today, with authors like Charlie Huston and even Carl Hiaasen, to a smaller extent.
Who most influenced authors like Stephen King? Pulp authors, like the ones I've just described.
Now, a lot of salacious-ness of the early stuff has died out, as the graphic element has sort of petered out. But the literature can definitely be enjoyed, with or without our help!