I’m currently budget-less and am looking for some free horror to read online. Preferably 60s-80s. I’ve read most of Stephen King’s work and am looking to branch out. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Posted Apr 3, 2020, 11:11 PM UTC
You probably know this, but just in case... you can get free ebooks with a library card.
Many libraries have greatly expanded selections too with their ebooks through various library groups :)
I can't help too much for more modern books, but if you're interested in classic horror (or just literature in general) there's two great resources for classic public domain stuff.
I haven't used Project Gutenberg much myself, but this list is basically a who's who of foundational writers in the genre. https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Horror_(Bookshelf)
Librivox is a site I use quite often. They have free audiobooks of public domain works, and through that site I've listened to a good 50+ books that I've always wanted to read but never had the money/time/patience to actually read. I've listened to a crap ton of Poe, Lovecraft, Blackwood, Machen, etc over the last two years. I also highly recommend Robert E Howard's Conan stories. They're not horror (though there is the Lovecraft connection) but they're really fun. I love a good thought-provoking tale that makes me examine what it means to exist in this crazy world, but sometimes I just want to read a story about a barbarian punching a giant god damn snake in the mouth. librivox.org
If you are a fan of Poe's work being read look into the insane Lou Reed's album The Raven. Half the album is spoken word pieces based on Poe's poems with a celebrity cast with a background of dark ambient music. Here his take on the Raven with Willem Dafoe:
There are a lot of TRUELY classic horror novels on Project Gutenberg for free. Lair of the White Worm, Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Island of Dr Moreau, Faust, The Castle of Otranto, Invisible Man, The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein, the Camarilla, The Turn of the Screw, The House on the Borderland, The Willows, collections of Lovecraft and Poe and a lot more lesser known stuff.
All of these are public domain and free legal reads. More modern stuff you can find for free, but it is not legally free so not cool to share here. I highly suggest that if you do get into an author based on free reads you find a way to support them as most are just getting by book to book.
I believe you can read all of H. P. Lovecraft's work online but that's more 20s/30s
Edit: seems like I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream is online, an absolutely stellar horror story that actually terrified me. Please yake your time if you go read this https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://docs.google.com/viewer%3Fa%3Dv%26pid%3Dsites%26srcid%3DbWlsZm9yZHNjaG9vbHMub3JnfG1yc21pdGhzY2lmaXxneDo3ODRkNDg0YjFjNzdkMDcx&ved=2ahUKEwioi8zQss3oAhVQ4qQKHcxzBLsQFjAUegQIDhAB&usg=AOvVaw2Ne6YAJps3uyE83jE6FDuD
Thanks so much!