Long Dark House, 1510 King St.
While many kids grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons and Disney movies, some of Chanthal Harris’ fondest childhood memories are watching Chucky, Tales from the Crypt and The Twilight Zone with her parents.
“I truly from an early age always really loved horror, and I guess I have my parents to blame for that,” she says.
Harris is combining her love of horror and reading into Long Dark House, an independent bookstore in Alexandria. Stocked with spooky reads and science fiction titles, the shop is slated to open on September 1.
She envisions the store as a “PR campaign” for the horror category. (It may be her “comfort genre,” but Harris is well aware not everyone feels the same.) Look for rotating shelves with niche horror subgenres such as Southern Gothic or botanical horror as well as books dedicated to “the mysterious, the unconventional, and the imaginative.”
In terms of programming, the store will host author talks with a specific emphasis on local authors and independent publishers. You’ll also find book clubs for Coastal Horror and Black Horror. Other events include craft nights and the occasional Dungeons & Dragons game.
“I also want to create a community where, with all this talk about being post-literate and AI and whatever else, we just celebrate the good,” Harris says.
Meshelle Armstrong, owner of local chocolate shop Madame Coco’s Emporium, is also sharing the space. The store is split down the middle: One half is filled with romantic garden imagery in gold frames (the chocolate emporium), and the other is painted black with wallpaper depicting foggy forest scenes (the bookstore). Sometimes the two worlds merge, such as the crystal chandeliers inside metal birdcages.
Beyond books and chocolate, the store will also carry candles from Harris’ fragrance brand Hemlock and Hearth. The bookseller says launching the brand last summer introduced her to local business owners and gave her the confidence to move forward with the shop.
Long Dark House joins the growing trend of genre-specific independent bookstores, including Old Town romance bookstore Friends to Lovers. The shop is set to open September 1, with a grand opening celebration on September 5.
