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 Bold Saboteurs
Hailed by the Boston Post as “the most fascinating book of the season,” The Bold Saboteurs is “propelling, attractive, [...] brutal, fantastic, and factual.” Among the misfits on the outskirts of Washington, DC, he is known as Yogi—a thief who steals from wherever and whomever he can.
At home, he has a different name: George Brown. George and his older brother, Roland, have learned to cope with their father’s violent outbursts in different ways: the former takes to the streets, while the latter becomes a security guard.
One night, George’s sleuthing catches up to him, and he’s locked up in jail amid a psychotic break. Will he be able to distinguish between what’s real and mere delusion, long enough to make it out alive?
Billy Budd
It’s 1797, and Billy Budd, a young sailor, is aboard a Merchant Ship in England. Suddenly, he is sent to work on a Royal Navy warship, where, naive and sweet with a stutter, Billy is welcomed with open arms among the crew.
But, unknown to Billy, he has made an enemy in the ship’s moody master-at-arms, John Claggart. When John accuses the innocent Billy of rebellion, he must flee, setting him off on a tragic adventure.
The Idol House of Astarte
The first meeting of the Tuesday Night Club at Miss Marple’s home has been called into session. Perched in her chair, Marple calls on her guests to present real, unsolved mysteries, and the clergyman, Dr. Pender, has taken the stand.
Years have passed since Pender attended a costume party at his college friend, Sir Richard Haydon’s estate. Haydon is sure that once, his grounds were the site of secret rituals to goddesses.
In jest, socialite Diana Ashley dresses up as a priestess, only to send Haydon tumbling backward. Somehow, he has been stabbed in the heart, although no guest was near enough to him to perform the act, and the weapon cannot be located.
Despite decades since the murder, Miss Marple and her guests are intent on solving the mystery, once and for all.
Inspector French and the Starvel Hollow Tragedy
A house fire in Starvel Hollow claimed an old man and his two servants, along with his fortune—and Scotland Yard Inspector Joseph French is not so quick to dismiss foul play. Especially when he discovers the supposedly burned cash has been in circulation.
Inspector French turns towards his primary suspect, Ruth Averill, the elderly man’s niece. Luckily—or perhaps, more accurately, strategically—Ruth was out with friends the night of the fire. Does she have the gall for arson? Or is there a darker force at play?
