For a Spooky Good Time, Hit the Twisted Spine

There's nothing scary about the vibe inside New York City's first horror-themed bookstore—unless you're afraid of a homey atmosphere, a roomy backyard, and a dark academia aesthetic. That's by design: "Lauren likes to say, we keep the horror between the pages," co-owner Jason Mellow told me, about his and Lauren Komer's vision for the Twisted Spine, now open on Grand Street in Williamsburg. "We really wanted it to be a place where people feel comfortable exploring, and seeing what their tolerance level is, and not being afraid of walking in."

The Twisted Spine's doors creaked open on September 6, and Komer and Mellow said the response from New Yorkers has been so good that it's almost… scary. "It's been overwhelming in the best way," Komer, who had a spiderweb pattern shaved into her undercut, told me. "We didn't really know what to expect, but we had a 90-minute wait, people around the block, when we opened on Saturday."

The bookstore has a counter offering pastries and coffee, plus a few display cases up front with store merchandise and spooky jewelry for sale, but the bulk of the space is devoted to its literature, on dark wood shelves and tables, plus a reading area in front of an electric fireplace. The only off-theme space was the small backyard with tables and chairs, where a few people were cracking open their new purchases, or just working on their laptops.