The manuscript series of the Cinefantastique magazine records span the years 1951-2004 (bulk 1979-2000) and encompass 63 linear feet. The collection primarily consists of material related to the publication of Cinefantastique, including correspondence between editor Frederick S. Clarke and his staff, article manuscripts, scripts, and research for articles in the form of presskits and other publicity. Included is 1.5 linear feet of material related to one of Frederick S. Clarke’s other periodicals, "Femme Fatales," a men's magazine focused on film and television actresses. This subseries includes correspondence, drafts of articles on actresses, and publicity materials.

Cinefantastique was a magazine dedicated to horror, fantasy, and science fiction film and television. Founded by Frederick S. Clarke while a student at University of Illinois, Chicago, the magazine began as a mimeographed fanzine and was later relaunched in 1970 as a critical review magazine. In its early years, Cinefantastique gained acclaim for its retrospectives on older films and filmmakers along with coverage of both high and low budget genre films. As the years progressed, the magazine shifted its focus to current films, publishing in-depth set reports by correspondents all over the world along with interviews with both cast and crew, often giving special focus to effects technicians. The technical nature and thoroughness of Cinefantastique's articles separated it from fan magazines such as Famous Monsters of Filmland and Starlog. However, Clarke's dedication to revealing details of the production process sometimes got the magazine in trouble with studios and filmmakers.

In addition to serving as editor-in-chief of Cinefantastique, Clarke launched the magazines Imagi-Movies, Visions, AnimeFantastique, and Femme Fatales. All were short-lived except Femme Fatales, a men's magazine featuring pinups and interviews with actresses. The disillusion of Imagi-movies in 1995 allowed Clarke to dedicate more funds to Cinefantastique and the magazine shifted from bi-monthly publication to monthly publication. After Clarke's death in 2000, staff writer Dan Persons took over as editor-in-chief. However, in 2003 the magazine was sold to former Cinefantastique writer Mark Altman, who changed the name to CFQ. The magazine ceased print publication in 2006. In 2007, former Cinefantastique writer Steve Biodrowski started Cinefantastique Online, which is still in operation today.