This Quirky Lansing, Michigan Bookstore Has Shop Cats, True Crime Books, And Live Spiders
Would you browse true crime while a rescue cat patrols the shelves and a tarantula waits nearby?
One Michigan bookstore makes that wonderfully odd combination part of an ordinary afternoon.
Horror, paranormal stories, dark history, and local mysteries fill the shelves, while live spiders and feline residents give the shop a personality that feels impossible to copy.
Somehow, the spooky theme stays playful instead of gloomy!
A neighboring gift space adds ghost-hunting gear, unusual collectibles, and even more reasons to linger.
You may arrive hunting for a book, but the cat judging your selection could easily become the story you tell later.
From Basement Pop-Up To Main Street
Big stories sometimes start in very small spaces.
Deadtime Stories Books & Gifts began on October 16, 2020, as a pop-up operating from the basement of Thrift Witch in Lansing’s Old Town neighborhood.
The compact setup focused on true crime, paranormal topics, spooky fiction, local history, and books connected to regional stories.
The shop remained there for about six months before its growing inventory required more room.
On March 27, 2021, the business held the grand opening of its dedicated REO Town storefront at 1132 S Washington Ave. The move created more space for books and established the location that remains open today.
Another expansion followed only a few months later when an adjoining storefront became available.
That addition eventually allowed gifts and specialty merchandise to move into their own space, leaving more room for books in the original shop.
The result is a two-part destination that grew gradually from a basement pop-up into one of Lansing’s most distinctive independent bookstores.
Shelves Packed With Spooky Reads
Books remain the main attraction, and the selection stays closely tied to the shop’s unusual specialty.
True crime receives considerable shelf space alongside paranormal subjects, spooky fiction, mysteries, thrillers, cryptid books, unusual history, dark fantasy, and other offbeat categories.
Recent inventory has even extended into themed romance, fantasy, and specialty titles without abandoning the shop’s original focus.
A dedicated Michigan section gives regional writers and local subjects extra visibility.
Books connected to Lansing and other parts of the state sit alongside broader national releases, giving the shelves a strong local angle that a general bookstore might not offer.
The store began with a mix of new and pre-owned books, though current stock changes regularly as new titles arrive.
Displays also make room for independent writers and authors connected to the region. That local emphasis carries into special events, signings, book clubs, and citywide literary programs.
The selection has widened since the original basement days, but the central idea has remained consistent: the shelves focus on subjects that are unusual, mysterious, or slightly outside the ordinary bookstore mix.
Meet The Shop Cats
Two resident cats share the bookstore with the books, displays, and shoppers.
They move freely through the space and have become recognizable fixtures of the Lansing location.
Their presence is established enough that they have appeared in local shop-pet recognition and continue to be associated with the business.
The cats are not staged attractions with a scheduled appearance. They may be visible among the shelves, resting near a display, or keeping to themselves elsewhere in the shop.
That unpredictability fits the independent-store atmosphere well.
A brief sighting can make an ordinary browsing session feel a little more personal. For repeat visitors, the cats have become part of the store’s personality without overshadowing what brought people through the door.
Their presence also adds a softer contrast to a bookstore centered on mystery, paranormal subjects, and unusual fiction. Books remain the focus, but the possibility of spotting a cat between sections gives browsing another small element of surprise.
Visitors should let the animals choose whether they want attention rather than expecting an interaction.
Anyone especially sensitive to cats may also want to keep their presence in mind when planning a visit.
Live Spiders In The Back Room
The attached gift space has another unusual feature: live spiders and other small invertebrates.
By 2025, the Screamatorium included live creatures among its displays, with some available for purchase. The current setup has included jumping spiders, tarantulas, and supplies intended for their care.
The animals are kept in individual enclosures rather than moving freely through the shop.
That makes the area closer to a small specialty pet display than a theatrical attraction. Visitors can look at the animals even if they have no intention of taking one home.
For curious visitors, the display offers a chance to observe species that rarely appear in an ordinary retail setting.
Care supplies are also available for people interested in keeping spiders responsibly.
The feature works surprisingly well beside a bookstore because it follows the same pattern as the rest of the business: something unusual is presented as an ordinary subject worth learning about.
Visitors considering a spider as a pet should research enclosure needs, feeding, lifespan, and species-specific care before making that commitment.
Browsing The Screamatorium Next Door
The second storefront is The Screamatorium, the attached gift shop at 1134 S Washington Ave.
It officially opened on July 10, 2021, only a few months after the bookstore moved into REO Town.
Shifting much of the gift inventory next door created additional shelf space for books while giving the non-book merchandise a room of its own.
The merchandise mixes playful seasonal items with unusual collectibles.
Current and past inventory has included stickers, pins, puzzles, jewelry, plush items, tarot decks, paranormal-investigation supplies, nostalgic goods, art, games, and locally produced merchandise.
The selection changes, so individual products are never guaranteed from one visit to the next. That separate space keeps the bookstore from becoming crowded with non-book merchandise.
It also means visitors can move from shelves of regional history and fiction into a more general gift boutique without leaving the building.
The two rooms have different purposes, but the visual theme connects them closely enough that the expansion feels intentional rather than unrelated.
Always Halloween, Sort Of
The visual style stays consistent throughout the year.
Halloween-inspired decorations, unusual collectibles, playful oddities, themed displays, and seasonal additions give both rooms a recognizable look even outside autumn.
The effect is more lighthearted than severe.
That balance matters because the store covers subjects that could easily make the atmosphere feel overly heavy. Instead, the displays mix books with humor, pets, small gifts, and changing decorations.
Seasonal pieces are refreshed during the year, so repeat visits do not necessarily look identical.
The store has also been used as a backdrop for personal photography, including milestone photo sessions, although ordinary shopping remains its primary purpose.
A 2023 television news feature about the bookstore received an Emmy nomination, giving the unusual little shop recognition well beyond its storefront.
The business had already earned first place in the Lansing area’s 2022 Top of the Town bookstore category. Its appeal comes from having a very specific identity and maintaining it consistently.
A Local Creative Project
The bookstore grew from a larger creative project centered on books, regional history, podcasts, events, and unusual subjects.
Its founder has worked as an author, podcast producer, event organizer, and local-history researcher.
That helps explain why the shop’s inventory leans so heavily toward Lansing-area stories and specialized nonfiction.
The associated podcast returned in February 2026 after a lengthy break and now uses the title Michigan Monsters. Earlier versions of the program operated under different names, so the title in older articles is no longer current.
The same creative operation also produces A Festival of Oddities, an annual event that continued in 2026 with authors, unusual vendors, exhibitions, and themed programming.
Its Living Library component brings regional writers together with readers and remains part of the festival schedule.
That crossover gives people several ways to discover the same mix of local history, folklore, and offbeat research. Someone who first encounters the project through a podcast or festival can find much deeper reading waiting on the shelves.
Books, events, podcasts, and specialty retail all overlap here, which explains why the shop feels broader than a standard neighborhood bookstore.
Planning Your REO Town Visit
Checking the schedule before visiting is useful because the bookstore is closed at the beginning of the week.
Current hours are noon to 6 PM Wednesday through Friday, 11 AM to 6 PM Saturday, and 11 AM to 4 PM Sunday. Monday and Tuesday are closed.
Saturday currently provides the longest standard browsing window.
The store remains at 1132 S Washington Ave in REO Town, with The Screamatorium directly beside it at 1134 S Washington Ave.
A coffee shop across South Washington Avenue provides an easy nearby break, while other independent businesses line the same district.
The neighborhood is still connected to the wider independent-bookstore scene across Michigan’s capital region, although the older claim that four additional bookstores sit within immediate walking distance is no longer accurate.
A 2026 Lansing bookstore crawl included Deadtime Stories alongside several independent shops spread across the city.
One more update matters for trip planning. A second Deadtime Stories location opened inside Charlotte’s Courthouse Square Museum in June 2025, but it closed before 2026 after a short run.
