Bookstores Carrying Weird Fiction?

[nihilsum]

Large chain stores like Barnes and Noble are likely to carry Lovecraft and Ligotti oddly enough. But does anyone frequently buy weird fiction/horror books from any local independent bookstores? Curious to see if any do even though there is a "weird renaissance".

[Frater_Tsalal]

Well, there's the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council store at the Arcade in Providence. They have a very large selection of Weird Fiction/horror books (among other things).

https://www.facebook.com/lovecraftarts/

[Kevin]

I live in a smallish city that just lost 2 of its 3 bookstores in 6 months. The only remaining bookstore is small and half its space is devoted to kid's toys.

I'd kill for a bookstore carrying Ligotti, Crisp, Machen, etc. etc.

[Gnosticangel]

I was recently in San Francisco and was able to visit Borderland Books, which carries both new and used books relating to Horror, Weird, Fantasy and Science Fiction. I've been there before and they really are an excellent resource.

This time around, they didn't have any of the Ligotti that I've been looking for, but I picked up several Ash Tree Press books. They do mail order.

https://borderlands-books.com/

[Gnosticangel]

This question also made me recall the bookstore that fed my imagination while growing up and I wanted to name it here.

Now long closed, the Tales from the White Hart was located in a very sketchy urban area, at 2412 N Charles St, in Baltimore, Maryland. Operated by Leo Sands and Kathy Sands, it was founded in 1975 and lasted until 1997.

It was a two-floor operation, with new books (mostly small press) located on the first floor and the used books on the 2nd floor, with an enormous selection of classic pulp magazines including a large section of Weird Tales and Amazing Stories.

Almost a caricature of geeky fandom, the place had an extensive collection but was at best sloppily-kept, with piles of books spilling over on the floors to trip over and slices of old pizza, apple cores or the occasional dead mouse moldering on shelves next to the books (I'm not kidding). But it was indeed filled with marvels such as Necronomicon Press chapbooks, new Arkham House or early Thomas Ligotti. For me, it was well worth the hour-plus journey and then navigating the neighborhood's junkies, hookers, muggers and hostile police to feed one's dreams!

Here's a quotation from another reader posting about it shutting down:

White Hart was mess, but in a wonderful way. Navigating the aisles was a tight, perilous affair, and you'd likely encounter a half-eaten sandwich next to a hard-to-find Arkham. Sometimes they had a cat roaming around, and sometimes I saw mice playing around on the shelves. The Elfin music they played on cassette was enough to keep all but the true bibliophiles away, and it sure wasn't in the best neighborhood. Still, they had old and new books, carried issues of Fantasy Newsletter, and during my Ramsey Campbell phase (which hasn't ended yet), they had the only HB copy I could find anywhere of Dark Companions. They had an upstairs area as well, although I can't remember anything about it, save that the floors were very squeaky. I stopped going when they changed over completely to gaming, but I still have fond memories of the place.


In Memoriam

[Kevin]

Sounds like just the kind of bookstore I'd love. Was it on the west side?

[ToALonelyPeace]

I've visited a Barnes and Noble twice, but I didn't see them carrying any weird fiction. Around my area there are only ethnic bookstores and a library book sale area. No weird fiction book to be found.

[Acutely decayed]

Quote Originally Posted by Gnosticangel

This question also made me recall the bookstore that fed my imagination while growing up

I grew up in a very rural (Australian) town in the 70s and occasionally our family would travel 440kms plus to the capital (oz distances) - some how, under ten, I identified a sci-fi/fantasy bookshop that I forced the fam to visit - let's call it "The Black Hole Bookshop" - I work in a Uni at the capital now, but still occasionally walk down the street where it was, to remember it, - I have visited Ainwick's (as i mentioned - it has a train running atop the shelves - I got some early Swinburne there) bookshop and several in London, Murder one 1 was cool, also remember in London where I got the Aickman Tartarus volumes from a cool old guy - the fantasy bookshop (?maybe, memory fails) - but I'd recreate the Black Hole with added features in a heartbeat if I could - weird fiction didn't begin there for me, but it was a definite oasis.

[beakripped]

Before The World's Biggest Bookstore closed in downtown Toronto one could find a lot of weird fiction there, usually in the horror, sci-fi/fantasy and general fiction sections.

There used to be a store on Queen St - was it called JD Frasier's? It's where I got my first Ligotti collection, my first Machen, and others. The main room wasn't large at all but there was an even smaller room where he kept most of the paperbacks. I loved that place.

Bakka Phoenix Books has been around for a while but they seem to focus more on science fiction and fantasy. They've got some Kiernan, Lovecraft, Barron and others but I was shocked that they didn't stock Ligotti when the Penguin collection came out. I'd spoken with one or two of the staff prior to its release and they seemed excited for its release - at least then. Although they don't stock as much weird fiction as I'd like (I'd order through them but they're far from me and I'm seldom in the area) some of the staff are very knowledgeable about it and and will discuss it at length. I love their anthology section.

I sometimes find great books at Book City. It's small, with a tiny horror section but sometimes they've got stuff none of the other stores have.

[Robin Davies]

It beats me how bookshops survive these days. With the cost of their overheads how can they compete with the internet which has a bigger selection for cheaper prices? Are we willing to pay higher prices for our books to keep these places going? I'm sad to see the loss of bookshops (and DVD/Blu-ray shops for that matter) but I'm also guilty of killing them by ordering most of my books on the internet.