Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop: What’s its story?

There are two things I wondered as I watched the trailer for Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop: one, is it based on a real haunted bookshop, and two, is the movie based on a series of books?

Let’s see if we can answer both questions —after first quickly examining what the movie is about.

Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop Synopsis

Here’s the description from the movie’s trailer on YouTube:

Move over Miss Marple, there’s a smart, stylish new detective in town—meet Miss Willoughby! Orphaned as a child, raised by a family friend, and skilled in strategy, literature, and martial arts, there’s no case she can’t solve. But even she is baffled when a longtime friend tells her that a ghost is haunting the bookstore she runs. Is someone playing a trick on the poor woman? Is it a hallucination? Or is something more sinister going on? Make some tea and settle in to watch this thrilling whodunit-adventure and find out!

It stars Nathalie Cox as Miss Willoughby and Kelsey Grammar as family friend Robert Thompson.

The Haunted Bookshop

I didn’t find a lot of info on what the movie is based on or if it drew inspiration from a real bookshop. So the question of whether a real haunted one inspired the one in the movie or not remains unanswered.

For now. Of course, I’ll post an update if I learn anything new.

However, I did find a real bookshop in the U.K. that sort of has a similar feel to the one portrayed in the movie. It’s called Sarah Key Books – The Haunted Bookshop.

Cambridgeshire Live reported that the Haunted Bookshop dates back to the 18th century. However, beyond that it doesn’t say why it’s called that. Only that before the current proprietors bought it, the previous owner ran it for 15 years and requested the name not be changed. The new buyers obliged the request.

Sarah Keys Books explains on its About page that it has occupied the Haunted Bookshop since 1993. It specializes in children’s and illustrated books.

What is the movie based on?

Like I mentioned in the section above, I didn’t find a lot of info about the movie so I’m not sure what inspired it.

I also didn’t find a Miss Willoughby mystery book series. But if I missed something, please speak up and leave a comment. She seems like an interesting character.

However, I did discover that in 1919, Christopher Morley published a sequel to his book Parnassus on Wheels that was called The Haunted Bookshop.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

However, while Morley’s book is considered a beloved mystery, it doesn’t share much in common with the Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop movie. The book is set in Brooklyn for one thing, while the movie is set in England. It’s also not a whodunnit, like the movie is.

Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop Release Date

This haunted whodunnit will release on DVD, digital, and on demand on February 8, 2022.

Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop Trailer

For More Info

Visit https://msrmedia.co.uk/miss-willoughby.

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Is Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop a movie you’d be interested in seeing?