A new bookstore in Alexandria, Long Dark House, focuses on horror and sci-fi, and in addition to classics and new titles, it carries a bunch of scary books by writers who live in our area. We asked owner Chanthal Harris for some local-author recommendations.
A Dead Man Speaks by Lisa Jones Gentry
$21
A paranormal mystery set in the world of 1980s Wall Street, the book “masterfully blends supernatural suspense, mystery, and emotional storytelling,” says Harris.
After: An Anatomy of Fracture by Drew Starling
$13
The latest from the DC author of horror and dark fiction follows a motorcycle messenger delivering missives to humanity’s last survivors in a postapocalyptic America.
Scavenger by Christopher Chambers
$15
The thriller follows an unhoused man living near the National Museum of Natural History, as he tries his hand as a detective in “a gritty, noir-inspired journey through DC’s hidden corners,” Harris says.
Rootwork by Tracy A. Cross
$15
Set in 19th-century Louisiana, this Southern Gothic novella traces three sisters’ journey into the supernatural, “blending horror with Black folklore and ancestral memory.”
