With Borders announcing its closing, it seemed there was only dark horizons ahead for brick and mortar book stores. However, Andrew Tanielian has a wonderful article about "Eerie Books & Collectables" -- a bookstore focused on selling horror. Pretty cool? You bet! The store opened in 2008 and is home to all things horror. Of course, wimps are welcome, and believe it or not, you're kids are welcome!
Owner Randy Ray says that he has had people all the way from Oklahoma travel to visit the Wylie, Texas store.
Ray's love for horror was inspired by Stephen King. The article quotes Ray:
“I went to a flea market when I was 15 years old and bought a copy of the Dead Zone by Stephen King. At the time I was really interested in science fiction and fantasy. I didn’t have any interest in Stephen King or horror. The cover looked cool and it was 75 cents. And the Dead Zone turned out to be one of the best novels I ever read and I loved it and that got me interested in Stephen King which in turn got me interested in horror."Like Stephen King, Ray was an English teacher for a short time. But he didn't like it, and has found that owning a bookstore allows him to make a bigger contribution to literacy.
Here are a few cool things about the bookstore:
- A Stephen King book club that meets on the last Thursday of each month. Ray explains, "we’re reading the Stephen King books in chronological order. So, we’re starting with Carrie and working our way up."
- A general horror book club meets on the first Thursday of each month.
- Around 6,000 books.
- a wide range of children’s books. Yep, you read that right. Watcha wanna bet they have a copy of Goosebumps, eh.
Eerie Books & Collectables
205 North Ballard Avenue
Wylie, TX
(972) 442-9393
http://www.eeriebooks.com/
Andrew Tanielian's full article is here:
http://www.nbcdfw.com/the-scene/shopping/Spooky-Book-Store-Home-to-Horror-125572213.html
I have been looking for a store like this, a store dedicated to horror fiction. Not many bookstores have this kind of section, so it's just fantastic to see one that does.
ReplyDeleteI too became a horror fiction enthusiast through Stephen King's work and I have a lot to thank him for. Given that I also enjoy writing horror fiction, King is one of my writing role models.
It's too bad the store is a distance from me, but I will surely have to stop by if I'm ever in Texas. It's great to see such a store!