Horror just had its biggest sales boom since the 1980s, and Marion County, FL, doesn't have a single bookstore dedicated to it. I want to fix that.

I'm Walt, and I've watched independent bookstores come back as real community hubs. It's time that Ocala and Marion County had its own horror-exclusive shop!

A full 25% of the shelves will go to small-press and self-published authors (including local writers), because those books deserve the spotlight. We're also looking to grow in stages:

1. Pop-up - We're currently operating as a pop-up shop at local events.

2. Mobile - We're planning to buy a kei truck and add shelving to the bed. We'll hit local events, as well as breweries, festivals, and more!

3. Brick-and-mortar - The ultimate goal is to have a permanent home right here in Ocala, but keep the truck going so we can go to events.

We also intend to partner with local crafters/makers and businesses, from candlemakers and printers to bakeries. This is a unique opportunity to help the community as a whole, while bringing killer books to those who'll love them.

Why horror? Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is a great example of why I love this genre: horror scares us, sure, but its real power is that it gives us a way to talk about the things that scare us for real, like monsters in human skins, environmental collapse, cultural erasure, and the world we're leaving behind.

What do donations go toward?

Every dollar raised here goes straight into getting Strangleroot started. If you can give, thank you. You're putting real shelf space under horror writers who don't usually get any. If you can't give right now, sharing this campaign helps just as much. Either way, I'd love for you to be part of this from the very beginning.