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 Haunted House
First published in 1879, this famous book tells of the haunting of Esther Cox which the author, Walter Hubbell, witnessed himself. Esther was an 18-year-old girl living in the peaceful village of Amherst, Nova Scotia in the late 19th century.
Hubbell went to stay in the family’s home for six weeks, where he bore witness to a number of terrifying and explainable paranormal events, all recounted here in vivid detail.
Rope
After murdering their fellow undergraduate classmate, Wyndham Brandon and Charles Granillo are so proud of their deed and sure they won’t get caught that they invite everyone the victim knew to a dinner party, using a chest containing the corpse as the table.
But their self assurance will soon be undone in this play which premiered in London before moving to Broadway and becoming the basis for the Hitchcock film of the same name.
Carnacki, the Ghost Finder
In this short story collection from the pioneering fantasy author, Thomas Carnacki is a special kind of investigator. He solves cases of supernatural hauntings and helps clients put their torments to rest for good.
Carnacki uses an array of tools including science, technology, ancient rituals, folklore, and even his trademark Electric Pentacle.
Traditions of the North American Indians
James Athearn Jones grew up surrounded by Native American culture during the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Massachusetts. He was always fascinated by the Native folklore he heard.
As an adult, he traveled the continent, recording the stories of different tribes in order to preserve them in a book.
This is the first of three volumes where Jones shares the enchanting tales of folklore he heard.
