For any students hoping to get into the sinister season with a new story, the perfect spot has just reopened its doors.
Located in Southtown, the recently relocated horror bookstore and publishing company Ghoulish Books offers readers a frightfully good selection.
Max and Lori Michelle Booth own and operate Ghoulish Books. Their experience with the horror fiction magazine “Dark Moon Digest” led the pair to establish the publishing company Perpetual Motion Machine, later rebranded as Ghoulish Books.
“There’s not a bookshop in San Antonio that only focuses on spooky stuff the way we do,” Max Booth said. “We’ve also operated as a small publishing company since 2012, so we have the experience of knowing what’s going on in the indie community.”
The publishing side stocks the store with the novels, novellas and anthologies. Ghoulish Books sell most of its published works in the store, allowing readers to discover underground horror writers.
The store feels like partying at a friend’s apartment on Halloween night. Horror soundtracks faintly play over a speaker. The store is filled with hair-raising decorations and lit with ominous green light. Every person who enters seems excited to see what is in stock and chats with Max Booth at the register.
There are books for all reading levels, including a small children’s section stocked with R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” near the front. There is a large selection of books by LGBTQ+, female and writers of color, including queer anthologies published by Ghoulish Books.
“We have books from both mainstream presses and indie presses, also some self-published authors as well,” Booth said.
The shop also sells magazines, horror-writing advice books, comic books, a small selection of vinyl records and some store merchandise.
However, fans of well-known horror authors may not find some of their favorites, and no classic horror stories are offered here. The comics section mainly has graphic novels rather than the traditional single-issue narratives. This minimalist stock is to be expected of an alternative bookstore, and the lack of more well-known books also means opportunities to discover new writers and stories.
Roadrunners can find some spine-chilling reads at Ghoulish Books. Although their selection may be small, their quality of books and eerie atmosphere make up for it.
Check out the store at 628 S. St Mary’s St, Suite 102, San Antonio, TX 78205.
