Horror business

St. James-Assiniboia

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This article was published 18/03/2024 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a new spot in town for those who have ever sought to borrow surcease of sorrow within the pages of some volume of dark, forgotten lore.

Raven’s End Books is a new horror-based bookstore, which opened its doors at 1859 Portage Ave. in sunny St. James earlier this year. While books that run the macabre gamut from demons, zombies, ghouls, the unspeakable and more are the store’s primary focus, owner and (so far) lone-employee Chelsea McKee-Trenchard envisions the space as a community hub, as well.

“We’re hoping our impact is more than books,” McKee-Trenchard said. “It’s a horror-based bookstore, but with a focus on building community and doing a lot of outreach responding to the niche market that’s not really that niche, in my opinion.”

From craft nights to vendors using the space, book launches and queer book fairs, the night sky is the limit for Raven’s End.

“We’ll see how it goes,” McKee-Trenchard said. “Anything to support the local horror community, which also includes dark sci-fi and dark fantasy. Anything that is a little unnerving. Horror is a wide genre, with really blurry edges. Winnipeg has a lot of weirdos. Lots!”

A lifelong horror fan, McKee-Trenchard was inspired to go all in on the book business after recognizing that there’s a lack of quality titles available locally.

“As a horror fan, I was always frustrated,” McKee-Trenchard said. “I love the library, but some of the more niche books they don’t carry, and going to, like, Chapters or McNally, they don’t have a big horror selection. I really wanted to have a space where someone can come in and say, like, I want zombie teenagers who have to take over a school and fight demons, and me to be able to be like, ‘Oh yeah, here you go.’ I want people to be able to find that weird trope that they’re into and not just mainstream horror, which is still fantastic! I just want to go deeper.”

Drawing inspiration from Toronto’s Little Ghost and the local mystery-based bookstore Whodunit?, and looking for a life-change, McKee-Trenchard decided open the shop late last year.

“Part of it is, as much as I have social anxiety and panic anxiety disorder, I also lack that risk gene where I feel like, ‘Hey, let’s give it a shot! What’s the worst that can happen?’ And that comes from having a really good support system.”

From stocking classic titles from Shirley Jackson to local scribes J.H. Moncrieff and Chadwick Ginther to contemporary spine-tinglers Adam Nevill and Aron Beauregard, Raven’s End aims to make a home for stories that go bump in the night.

“Horror has been a big thing for centuries. From penny-dreadfuls, Frankenstein, Dracula. But there’s always been a stigma around it,” McKee-Trenchard said. “There are so many books I love. One thing I’m really proud to have is I’ve tried to make sure the store is full of splatterpunk and gore, even though that is not my taste at all, but I know they are hard to find. I’m also really pleased to be able to have Indigenous and queer stories available by the boxful. It goes back to helping people find what they’re into.”

Having a physical spot where like-minded readers can gather was key to McKee-Trenchard’s vision for Raven’s End Books.

“It validates people who are into this,” she said. “They don’t have to go to the internet to get their fix. They’re able to connect with someone and talk about their interests. It gives them a space where they can connect with others, discover new things and not just sit at home alone going through the same motions. It allows them to get deeper into their own passions.”

Raven’s End Books is open Tuesday to Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. and closing between 5 and 7 p.m. For full hours and more information, visit ravensendbooks.com