Welcome to Nightmare Nook Books – a UK-based, female-owned online independent bookstore specialising in Horror, Crime, and Thriller.
Whether you love supernatural scares, psychological thrillers, cosy crime or anything dark lurking in-between, the Nightmare Nook serves as a place you can browse to find your new favourite book.
Our Story
Nightmare Nook Books began after growing frustrated with having to dig through endless Sci-Fi and Fantasy books sections in your local bookstore just to find decent dark fiction.
After years of working in corporate roles, our Chief Book Ghoul Cat decided to create the kind of bookshop that she would love to browse herself. One where every title has earned its place, and it was easy to browse based on genre and interest.
How We Choose Our Books
Every book and bookish gift we stock is chosen for a reason.
We don’t, and won’t ever, aim to stock as many different titles as possible. Instead, we carefully curate the shelves of the Nightmare Nook with horror, crime and thriller titles that range from modern bestsellers to hidden gems and indie authors.
We stock both new and secondhand books so the selection is always varied and regularly growing. You can spend less time searching, and more time discovering books worth reading.
Just some of the kinds of books we stock:
- Horror: Gothic Horror, Folk Horror, Extreme Horror & Splatterpunk, Queer Horror
- Crime: Cosy Crime, Detective & Procedural, Mystery
- Thriller: Psychological Thrillers, Domestic Thrillers, Survival Thrillers
We also have a Curated Collections section where we choose titles around particular themes or inspired by your favourite movies and TV shows.
Why Shop With Us?
Buying your books from a small independent business makes a real difference. You are supporting someone that’s passionate about books rather than profits alone.
When you shop with Nightmare Nook Books, you’re helping us to:
- Invest in new stock and exciting dark releases
- Create a welcoming community for horror, crime and thriller readers (find us on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram!)
- Champion independent authors (look out for our Indie Author selections coming soon)
- Support publishers both big and small – including self-published authors
- Help support our ‘nightmare’ of one day having a physical destination bookstore.
We believe every customer deserves a personal experience when ordering from us.
Not only do we carefully curate the books and gifts that are stocked here (including items handmade by our founder!), but we also take great care and pride in packing your orders, providing great customer service and honest recommendations.
About our Chief Book Ghoul: Cat
Hello! 👋
I’m Cat and after years working in corporate roles while quietly dreaming of running a bookshop, I finally decided to take the leap and launched Nightmare Nook Books in April 2026.
As an avid horror, crime and thriller fan, the darker side of fiction has always had a grip on me.
From reading Goosebumps as a child, graduating to Point Horror and Point Crime in my early teens and then eventually diving into the wide spectrum of dark fiction as an adult – the twisted and macabre has always been a constant source of escapism.
With Nightmare Nook Books, I want to channel this lifelong passion into something more than just a shop – I want to build a community. A place for those just beginning their darker fiction journey to discover new favourites, as well as for more seasoned readers to find their next unforgettable read.
This is still a very new and scary journey for me, but I’m thrilled to have you along for the ride!
If you want to keep up with the goings on of setting up and running a bookstore, then follow along on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook or sign up to the Substack mailing list for updates from me.