If you're plugged into the online literary community, The Westport Library's newest book club may be one you've heard of before. Morbidly Curious (MCBC) is a global nonfiction book club with over 17,000 members and more than 50 local chapters and counting — now including one in Westport!
Despite the book club's name, it's not all doom and gloom. The club's selections are curated to inspire deep dives and deeper conversations. If you, too, are Morbidly Curious about what this macabre book club is all about, find the answers to your burning questions in our exclusive Q&A with Stephanie Klose, founder of Westport's MCBC chapter.
Join us monthly in Room 212 as we explore the darker side of the Library!
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Westport Library: What is the Morbidly Curious Book Club?
Stephanie Klose: The Morbidly Curious Book Club (MCBC) is an online book group with thousands of members in the U.S. and worldwide. It focuses on dark nonfiction—books about cults, medical history, hauntings, true crime, etc. It was started and continues to be run by Patches, a woman in North Carolina who also has a monthly podcast where she interviews the featured author — well worth checking out just for the answers to her regular question, “What got left out of this book?” Morbidly Curious Westport is the local chapter of the MCBC.
Westport Library: What is your background and how did you start this branch of the national group?
Stephanie Klose: My professional background is in publishing with a focus on genre fiction. So while I still love reading horror and crime fiction and romance and SFF, it can sometimes be just the teensiest bit of a busman’s holiday. Quirky nonfiction, on the other hand, is always just pure fun — my shelves are groaning with books about subcultures, polar expeditions, folklore, cabinets of curiosities, natural history…
I’ve followed MCBC online for ages and always wished there was a local chapter I could go to. It took longer than I’d like to admit to realize that the way to get one was just to start one myself. The MCBC has a very straightforward system for adding a chapter, so I filled out the form on their site and familiarized myself with the guidelines and was approved in late 2025.
For Morbidly Curious Westport to be the kind of vibrant community I was hoping for, I knew I needed to involve people outside my immediate circle. I was already planning on holding meetings at the library, so I reached out to the programming department to see if they’d be willing to put Morbidly Curious Westport on their calendar. That way, like-minded readers I didn’t know already would be more likely to hear about it. I was delighted that they agreed.
Westport Library: What types of books will be read and discussed?
Stephanie Klose: All of the chapters read the same books, which are selected by the MCBC (You can see the full list at https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/our-picks). The topics are pretty wide-ranging, but they all explore the darker corners of science, history, and culture.
The 2026 titles so far have included books about the New Age movement in America and the Love Has Won cult, a cultural history of rabies, and a history of axe murder. But regardless of the specific topic, MCBC books are, at their hearts, carefully observed, deeply researched works about human experience, whether it’s interpersonal relationships and the search for meaning (Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the Fever Dream of the American Age by Leah Sottile), our relationships with disease and our bodies and the creatures in our lives (Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy), or our relationships with the tools we create and the ways proximity to weapons shapes violence (Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder by Rachel McCarthy James).
Westport Library: What can I expect from a Morbidly Curious Westport meeting?
Stephanie Klose: I come with at least a few questions to facilitate discussion — both ones MCBC suggests and my own — but the conversation typically starts with everyone sharing what we learned from the book, what surprised us, any questions we were left with, and moves on organically from there. Members with specialist knowledge might weigh in on topics of their expertise, e.g., an attorney could address whether an ankle-monitor-wearing member of the Love Has Won cult would have been able to cross state lines without violating his parole (turns out: possibly yes, if he arranged it in advance).
Westport Library: What draws you to read morbidly interesting books?
Stephanie Klose: When people hear “morbid book club in Westport,” I think they have a tendency to picture something out of What We Do in the Shadows, like we’re all swooping around Trader Joe’s in our black lipstick and velvet cloaks. And I’ll admit to being what you might call goth-adjacent — I generally think shadows are more interesting than light — but there’s a lot of nuance in this space.
As Patches says, “The books we read are not just macabre for shock value. They document real harm, real suffering, and real systems that allowed that harm to happen…. Being ‘morbidly curious’ means wanting to sit with uncomfortable truths. It means wanting to learn, recognizing patterns, naming injustice, and understanding that history is not as distant as we like to pretend.”
Westport Library: Who can join the conversation? Do I have to believe in ghosts?
Stephanie Klose: If this sounds good to you, we want to meet you! It’s a very engaged, empathetic, and thoughtful group who are curious about the world and respectful of each other’s opinions. It’s no small thing to make time away from work and caregiving and other obligations, and everyone takes that privilege seriously. We’re agnostic when it comes to the paranormal — personally I’m a skeptic, but believers will be warmly welcomed.
Westport Library: What else should people know about this new bookclub at The Westport Library?
Stephanie Klose: We meet in Room 212 at 7 pm on the fourth Tuesday of the month. The titles are generally available as both e-books and audiobooks on either Libby or Hoopla. I try to snag the Library’s print copy for myself so I can flag passages to refer to during the meeting, but the Library staff are ready to supply extra print copies through interlibrary loan for anyone who prefers a physical copy.
You can sign up for meeting notices at bookclubs.com/morbidly-curious-westport/meetings and follow the chapter on Instagram at @MorbidlyCuriousWestport.
Also, per MCBC bylaws, the group is 18+. (Sorry spooky teens! Start your own book club!)
