Why Horror?
Breaking Down the Case for a Horror-Exclusive Bookstore
Hey, folks. Walt here again to talk about, what else, Strangleroot Books & Games. This time around, I’d like to answer a question that I’m sure some of you’ve been asking, which is: why the hell do you want to open a horror-exclusive bookstore? Given that until a few years ago, most bookstores didn’t even have a dedicated horror section, that reaction makes sense. So, let me illuminate for you.
Horror’s Big and Getting Bigger
First, let me preface this by saying that, while horror’s big and growing, it’s not the juggernaut that genres like romance (or even romantasy) are. That said, it’s pulling in some pretty damn impressive numbers.
US horror print sales were up 24.2% in 2023, according to BookScan, and then another 13% in 2025.
UK horror sales jumped 54% for the same period, and then another 18% for 2025.
Supernatural horror was the only YA subgenre to post growth in the first half of 2026.
https://www.circana.com/post/another-year-of-romance-with-a-dark-twist-circana-bookscan-reports
https://www.circana.com/post/turning-the-page-on-2026-book-trends
Publishers Are Paying Attention
Horror’s been treated like the redheaded stepchild of the publishing industry for a long time. After some growth in the 80s, most publishers spun off a lot of titles into the “thriller” category that had originally been considered horror. The neglect sucked, but consumers are paying a lot of attention to horror books today, and that’s not gone unnoticed by the Big 5. Cases in point:
Tor started kicked off Nightfire in 2019 (Tor’s horror-only imprint).
Orbit launched Run for It in 2025.
IDW launched Dark in 2025.
Zando Projects will be launching the Evil Twin imprint later in 2026.
Simon and Schuster launched Solstice Books in early 2026 (fantasy, horror, and sci-fi).
Transworld/Penguin Random House launched 3AM Books in 2026 (the first-ever horror imprint for them).
Don’t think that all the attention around horror is from the Big 5, either. Small presses have been leading that particular charge for a long fucking time, and they’re only becoming more prevalent (and more focused on delivering killer books). There are thousands (tens of thousands, depending on your definition) of small presses in the US. The Independent Publishers Caucus joined forces with the American Booksellers Association to launch the Independent Press Top 40, which is a list of the 40 bestselling indie books every week. Small presses also eroded the Big 5’s share of hardcover bestsellers from 86% in 2024 to 83% in 2025.
What does all that mean? Horror’s growing, and the powers that be are paying attention, but also, it means that there’s most likely a slew of new horror books coming. And those books miiiiight not be what you expect if you haven’t been paying attention to the genre.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/99474-ranking-the-bestselling-adult-publishers.html
It’s Not Your Dad’s Genre Anymore
When you think about horror books, chances are good that a couple of names pop up pretty quick: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, maybe Robert McCammon, or Brian Lumley. Sure, they definitely have a spot, but there’s so much more to horror these days. We’re talking both in terms of the changing makeup of horror authors and the growing number of subgenres/categories.
Yes, we still have vampires and werewolves, and cosmic horror’s still pretty damn hot. Yes, slashers are still a staple of the genre, too. However, we’ve seen a ton of new categories crop up, as well as some underrepresented ones grow incredibly fast, like:
Femgore
Eco-Horror
Folk Horror
Indigenous Horror
Religious/Cult Horror
Dystopian/Social Horror
Now, let’s talk about how authors are changing. There are more women writing horror than ever before (half or more of recent horror bestsellers were penned by women). Femgore is the fastest-growing horror subgenre out there, and it’s explicitly female-authored and from a female perspective. 2025’s biggest horror breakout writer? Kylie Lee Baker. Queer writers are another growing segment here (to be clear, queer authors have always been part of horror, but they’re finally gaining some important visibility).
Enter Strangleroot
All of that is why Strangleroot needs to be horror-exclusive, not a general store with a horror endcap. A genre gaining new subgenres every year and pulling in a wave of new voices deserves people behind the counter who actually know the difference between femgore and folk horror, not a spinner rack buried near the sci-fi.
That’s our whole strategy: go deep instead of wide, know what’s what, keep 25% of the shelves dedicated to small press and indie authors, and bring it to customers on wheels so book deserts don’t miss out on the boom either.
None of that happens without you.
Donate to our GoFundMe campaign if you can. Every dollar gets the trailer stocked and on the road faster.
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Thanks for helping us build something worth being scared of,
Walt