A Good Story Will Haunt You: An Interview With the Owners of Canada’s First Indie Horror Bookstore

I'll be the first to admit two things: that I always visit local bookstores on vacation, and that my to-be-read list will likely outlive me. Little Ghosts Books, Canada's first indie horror bookstore, absolutely contributed to both habits, boasting an array of horror fiction and nonfiction. If you're looking for a good horror read and don't know where to start, business owners Chris and Jason have something more personal to recommend—something guaranteed to keep you up at night. And an anthology of menopause horror is just the tip of the iceberg.

Chris and Jason are established community builders in Toronto's nerd scene. Chris already owned a comic book store when they proposed the idea for Little Ghosts. Having had trouble finding books they wanted to read, Chris opened the bookstore in April of this year to provide a great selection of indie horror, delicious drinks, and a chill place to hang out. (Not to mention the recent addition of the 12-foot-tall Home Depot skeleton who now resides on the patio, lovingly dubbed R.L. Spine.) Though you might expect the bookstore to be as dark as the subject matter it carries, it isn't—a huge front window lets in a wealth of natural light to offset dark bookcases and other decor. Between the selection of books, the cozy back patio, and the friendliness and knowledge of the staff, Little Ghosts is the place to be to celebrate Halloween, horror, and the darkness in our hearts. 

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Chris and Jason about their own love of horror, their focus on indie horror, and what they recommend for new and veteran readers.

Little Ghosts Books, Toronto, ON.

What initially drew you both to horror?

Chris: I’ve always been into horror. The world is scary. My parents passed away when I was young, leaving me destabilized, and I felt extremely weird in my own body without any language for that. Horror gave those feelings faces, made creatures out of pain and fear and loss and shame. 

You got to see characters struggle and fight and emerge from those experiences dirty and bloody and triumphant. I found horror so validating and so… fun!

Jason: I can't say there was a eureka moment; I just gravitated to it naturally when I was a kid. I loved Predator and Terminator growing up, and those definitely had horror elements within them. Same with Wizard of Oz and Disney movies. 

I couldn't care less about Dorothy or Ariel, but I locked in on the Wicked Witch of the West and Ursula along with their Gothic lairs. After that, I explored whatever I could get my hands on, like Friday the 13th, Twilight Zone, and Night of the Living Dead. Literally whatever was on at my grandparents' house because they had the Sci-Fi Channel.

What initially drove you both to open a horror bookstore in Toronto? What have been some of the unique rewards and challenges?

Chris: Little Ghosts Books is my second genre bookstore/cafe. I also own The Sidekick, a comic book store x cafe on the other side of Toronto. It’s very rewarding to create safe community spaces for folks with niche interests. You get to meet a lot of folks who are into the same weird shit that you like, and host them for their party, or host your favourite creator’s book launch. 

You get to really touch people’s lives in a meaningful way and curate a good experience. It allows the shops to be more than shops. It’s powerful to see them become just as important and empowering to others as creating and operating them has been to me.

The one thing I tell other small business hopefuls I mentor is that it will certainly eat your whole life. If I didn’t love what I do as much as I do, that might be a bad thing. However, luckily, there is no place I would rather be. Even though sometimes I really need a nap, haha.

Jason: Chris is an unquenchable reader. They can read a book faster than I can read a pamphlet. So, when they pitched the idea of a horror-themed book store, I wasn't that surprised. I think we just wanted to open a store that we wanted to shop at. The Borders and Indigos and whatnots' horror sections is just a smorgasbord of Stephen King and Dean Koontz with not that much else, which is a shame. 

A lot of budding talents start with horror so they can confront their insecurities and find their voice. Catering a hub of new and under-promoted work is really lovely. It's all uncompromised visions, and having an inclusive store devoted to that means the world to us. 

One of the things that immediately stands out about Little Ghosts is your focus on indie horror and emphasizing the importance of diversity in your selection. What inspired you to go with this focus? 

Chris: I’m glad this stands out! I take it as a huge compliment.

I was having such trouble finding the stories that I wanted to read, the books by authors I love, the really weird shit. The stuff that hits different. It seems that bigger bookstores aren’t taking a chance on horror, and when they do it is only the big names. You know the ones. And I am not saying that they aren’t talented! Truly they have earned their place. But I am talking about new authors really pushing the boundaries of storytelling, and making horror that turns a mirror to the world and cuts you to the core. The stuff that haunts you. 

Image via Little Ghosts Books Instagram

I really believe there is a story out there for everyone, that can ruin them or validate them or change their perspective. A commitment to that idea is a commitment to carrying a stock that has wide representation so that everyone has the opportunity to see themselves, and to get haunted.

Jason: Horror's a way to distill empathy, and having as many voices and backgrounds as possible helps engage the reader. Horror's kind of like music these days. Whatever you're into, there's a tome for you.  

The indie horror book scene is certainly booming! Amazing stories, covers, and genre-bending authors, indie presses taking risks that big publishers won't. What are some of your favorite books that have been published in the last three years?

Chris: Oh geez, how can I pick! So difficult!!! 

Your Mind is a Terrible Thing by Hailey Piper is a sci-fi horror following a non-binary character who wakes up alone on a corpse transport ship now overrun by feral brains that can manifest your worst fears in front of you. Visceral and psychological, Your Mind mixes the action seamlessly with some vast world building to create a very intense space terror.

Ghost Eaters by Clay Chapman is one of the most grief-riddled stories about dealing with the death of someone who was a charismatic, terrible influence; about not being able to let go; and a terrifying picture of drug addiction and dependence. It would also be enough that this is the most haunting depiction of ghosts feeding on human beings in order to cling to the world that I have ever read. The fact that it is both means I will spend my days as a bookseller shoving this into the hands of anyone who asks for anything vaguely like it. It was awful and I loved it.

I have to pull a strange one and recommend a YA book. Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White is the bravest, slickest, and most monstrous piece of trans horror fiction for teens I have ever read. Grotesque transformations, nauseating body horror, romance, and resistance against anti-LGBTQ+ religious fundamentalism all rolled into a vast survival horror. It’s a triumph of a novel and deserves every bit the praise it is getting.

Jason: Oh man. Hailey Piper's stuff has been stellar. The Hangman Feeds the Jackal by Cory Hall is a slick Gothic western, and C.M. Foster's Infested has really knocked my socks off as of late. I usually don't read new "new" books because it takes me a while, but my stack of "to-read" has been piling up. 

Which indie horror books do you recommend for readers new to horror?

Chris: In general for those new to horror, I try to recommend a good anthology or collection according to the taste of the person asking. We have a great stock of indie horror anthologies with focus on up-and-coming new authors. We JUST received our copies of Shredded, which is a body horror anthology all to do with fitness! 

We’re about to receive our copies of Bodies Full of Burning, a collection all about menopause horror. Both The Book of Queer Saints and Your Body is Not Your Body are best sellers—queer and trans anthologies that have short stories from some of my fave authors. 

So if you find a short story in one of those that hits just right, we can give you a novel or novella from that same author and get you in that way. 

Jason: Probably House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski for a twist on the haunted house, The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle for a Lovecraftian tale through an African-American lens, and The King and His Worms by Hailey Piper for an engrossing monster investigation yarn. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

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Article written by Laura Kemmerer

Laura tuned into horror with an interest in what these movies and books can tell us about ourselves and what societies fear. She is most interested in horror focused around the supernatural, folklore, the occult, Gothic themes, haunted media, landscape as a character, and hauntology (focusing on lost or broken futures).