The Haunted Bookshop is one of the most atmospheric names in British bookselling. It suggests creaking floorboards, shelves of forgotten titles and the sense that something is still reading in the corner long after the lights go out. The name began in fiction, but today it belongs to real businesses. Two independent bookshops trade under it, one in Bristol and one in Cambridge, and both sit in the shadow of a 1919 novel by the American writer Christopher Morley. Together they show how a phrase dreamed up more than a century ago can still give modern shops their character.
A Bristol Independent for the Spooky and the Strange
At 43 Stokes Croft in Bristol, The Haunted Bookshop has built a devoted following in a short time. The shop, which the BBC described as having opened in the city two years ago for “anyone who has ever felt a little different”, specialises in horror, fantasy and everything that refuses to fit on an ordinary shelf. Its Instagram page, which has attracted more than 14,000 followers, describes the business as “not just a bookshop”, and that description is accurate.
The stock blends the spooky with the scholarly. Shelves move between horror, fantasy, mystery, occult and folklore, with a noticeable fondness for witchcraft titles. Alongside the books sits a carefully curated collection of handmade goods created by independent Bristol makers, which gives local craftspeople a place beside the spirits. The shop also operates as a venue, meaning there is room for more than simple browsing.
Visitors can expect to find:
- Horror, fantasy and mystery novels
- Occult, folklore and witchcraft titles
- Spooky and unusual books and gifts
- Handmade goods by independent Bristol makers
- Tarot and Tea Leaf readings
Tarot and Tea Leaf readings are a signature part of the offer. A customer can arrive looking for a ghost story and leave with a reading that feels just as uncanny. The combination of books, readings, gifts and events gives the Stokes Croft shop the character of an old cabinet of curiosities, a place where the business of selling books meets older traditions of fortune-telling and folk belief. The local guide Visit Stokes Croft lists the shop among the area’s places of interest, describing it as a shop and venue specialising in horror, fantasy, mystery, occult and folklore books and gifts.
The Fight to Keep the Doors Open
Like many small retailers, the Bristol shop has found trading difficult. In August 2026, the BBC reported on the bookshop’s fight to stay open amid rising costs. The report explained that the business had opened only two years earlier and was already facing serious financial pressure despite having found a committed audience. A loyal following, it seems, is not always enough to keep the lights on.
The shop’s response was a community crowdfunding campaign under the name Save The Haunted Bookshop. The appeal is direct: “Help us keep our doors open during this difficult time by supporting our CrowdFunder page.” The campaign page adds a reminder that small businesses need support, and the shop has been urging well-wishers to contribute through its official website, thehauntedbookshop.co.uk, where the business also invites visitors to join its mailing list.
The scale of goodwill is visible on social media. An Instagram following of more than 14,000 people suggests a community that wants to see the shop survive, and the shop has made clear that it is female-owned and independent. The campaign asks readers who value unusual bookshops to put their money behind that sentiment. Whether the fundraiser succeeds will depend on the same people who filled the shop’s first two years and gave it a reputation far beyond Stokes Croft.
The 1919 Novel Behind the Name
The modern shops were not the first to use the title. Christopher Morley’s novel The Haunted Bookshop appeared in 1919, more than a century before the Bristol shop opened, and it has remained a popular representative of warmly bookish fiction. The novel is now in the public domain in the United States, which means the original text can be freely reprinted and shared without the usual barriers of copyright.
That legal status has helped the book stay available to new generations of readers. The novel also gave the name a literary pedigree that no amount of marketing could buy. A shop called The Haunted Bookshop is not simply telling customers that it sells horror stories. It is reaching for an older, more affectionate idea: that a bookshop is a place where voices from other times linger among the shelves and where a quiet afternoon can turn into something stranger.
The Cambridge Shop That Kept the Name Alive
Bristol is not the only city with a Haunted Bookshop. In Cambridge, the name has belonged since 1993 to the premises occupied by Sarah Key Books. Sarah Key Books has specialised in children’s and illustrated books since 1987, which makes it a long-established presence in the trade and an unlikely keeper of such a spectral title.
The Cambridge shop sits in the heart of the city, in a quiet passage in the shadow of the ancient church of St Edward King and Martyr. King’s College Chapel and the Market Square are only seconds away, and the setting gives the shop an almost medieval atmosphere. It is hard to imagine a better location in England for a bookshop with a ghostly reputation.
Sarah Key Books is an active trading business. It operates through ABE Books, is a member of the PBFA and is always interested in buying books. In other words, this is a working bookshop, not a tourist display. The Cambridge student newspaper Varsity has also been drawn to the name, publishing a piece in October 2023 on the mysteries of the city’s Haunted Bookshop. Nothing in either shop’s public material suggests a direct connection between the Bristol and Cambridge businesses. They are separate independents that happen to share one of bookselling’s most evocative names.
Why the Name Still Works
Bookshops and hauntings belong together. A room full of books is already full of voices: authors, characters, previous owners whose names sit on the flyleaf. Add the right lighting, the smell of paper and dust, and a shelf of occult titles, and the imagination does the rest. The name The Haunted Bookshop works because it names something customers can already feel the moment they walk through the door.
For readers of paranormal horror and ghost stories, the appeal is even more direct. The kind of fiction that deals in restless spirits, haunted places and ordinary people confronting impossible forces depends on the willingness to believe that a familiar room might hide a secret. The Stokes Croft shop makes that belief tangible. It sells the books, it offers the readings, and it carries the handmade goods of local artists who clearly share the same fascination.
The name endures because it is honest. It promises a small shiver, a second glance over the shoulder and the possibility that the book you pull from the shelf was waiting for you. If enough supporters answer the crowdfunding appeal, Bristol’s Haunted Bookshop will keep making that promise for years to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions readers most often ask about the two shops and the novel that connects them.
Where is The Haunted Bookshop?
There are two bookshops trading under the name. The Bristol shop is at 43 Stokes Croft and specialises in horror, fantasy, mystery, occult and folklore books and gifts. The Cambridge shop sits in a quiet passage in the city centre, where Sarah Key Books has occupied the premises since 1993. The two businesses are independent of each other and share only the atmospheric name.
What does The Haunted Bookshop in Bristol sell?
The Bristol shop stocks spooky and unusual books across horror, fantasy, mystery, occult and folklore, with a strong streak of witchcraft writing. Alongside the books, it carries handmade goods created by independent Bristol makers. Visitors can also book Tarot or Tea Leaf readings, and the shop doubles as a venue. It describes itself as female-owned and independent.
Was The Haunted Bookshop a book before it was a shop?
Yes. Christopher Morley published a novel called The Haunted Bookshop in 1919, many decades before either modern shop opened. The novel has remained a popular representative of bookish fiction and is now in the public domain in the United States, which means the original text can be freely shared and reprinted by new publishers.
Is the Bristol Haunted Bookshop still open?
In August 2026, the BBC reported that the shop was fighting to stay open amid rising costs. The owners launched a community crowdfunding appeal called Save The Haunted Bookshop and asked supporters to help keep the doors open. Anyone hoping to visit or offer support should check the official website, thehauntedbookshop.co.uk, for the most up-to-date news.