Each year, our social media feeds are filled with news of the latest books in horror, true crime, and paranormal.
So many chilling new books come out each year—and our TBRs are often stacked with delectable spooky books by the latest emerging authors. We truly are in a golden age of horror fiction.
But sometimes we're in the mood for something older—books that have stood the test of time.
These are the classics that are the most disturbing. They’re strange and unnerving in uncanny ways—often calling us back to something old and ancient and unsettling.
Every month, we’re bringing you a selection of free ebooks to read that are perfect for lovers of all things spooky, mysterious, gruesome, strange, and macabre.
The House on the Borderland
When two friends stumble upon a decaying manuscript in the wilds of rural Ireland, they unlock the memoirs of "The Recluse," an old man whose home sat on the precipice of the abyss. What begins as a haunting soon fractures into a psychedelic odyssey through time and space. If you want to see where the nightmares of the 20th century were born, step inside the House.
The Necromancers
Grief-stricken and desperate, Laurie Baxter turns to the world of séances and occult rituals to reach his departed fiancée, only to find that the veil between worlds is thinner—and more dangerous—than he imagined.
Written by a Catholic priest as a stark warning against the dark arts, this early horror classic masterfully explores the thin line between love and spiritual peril. It remains a haunting reminder that when you call out to the dead, something far more sinister may answer.
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
In this 1824 masterpiece of psychological dread, a religious fanatic is seduced by a mysterious stranger into believing he is divinely permitted to commit murder without sin. As their "justified" body count rises, the line between supernatural possession and total madness dissolves into a chilling portrait of evil. It is a startling, unexpurgated descent into the heart of fanaticism that remains as relevant—and disturbing—as ever.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
In late 19th-century London, the respected Dr. Jekyll harbors a secret so dark it has taken on a life of its own in the form of the repugnant, purely evil Mr. Hyde. What begins as a scientific experiment into the duality of man quickly spirals into a desperate struggle for the soul as the creator loses control to his monstrous shadow.
This foundational classic remains the definitive exploration of the thin, terrifying line between civility and the darkness within us all.
