Low-cost chills for a horrifying time

If there’s one thing people around the world can agree on during one of the more tumultuous spans in modern history, it’s that our current situation, when attributed to an art form, is most similar to a horror novel. Whether it be zombies, Stephen King’s The Stand, or an amalgam of dystopic and apocalyptic tales, that would be a near-endless list.

So it makes sense that horror authors feel a certain kinship to the world’s pandemic, and horror readers—and readers in general—have a renewed hunger for distraction during times of great tragedy and personal stress. In a weird way, they’re finding comfort in scenarios that are similar to those they’ve read about, or concocted, many times. And given that the horror writing community is, relatively, a tight-knit group, it’s no surprise to find many authors have taken the initiative to release free content for readers who may be quarantined (self- or otherwise) during the coronavirus crisis.

For those readers, let the following list be a temporary guide to all the free (or greatly price-reduced) horror that’s currently available, brought to you by the charitable goodness of those with dark imaginations and big hearts.

(NOTE: All of these links and prices are active as of the minute of publication.)

Jonathan Janz – Witching Hour Theatre

Jonathan Janz – Old Order

Tim Lebbon – Three Novels and Multiple Novellas

Sarah Pinborough (download link) – The Taken

Sarah Pinborough (download link) – Breeding Ground

Sarah Pinborough (download link) – Feeding Ground

Sarah Pinborough (download link) – Tower Hill

Christopher Golden – Prowlers (4 Novels) – $.99

Michael Bailey / Paul Michael Anderson – Multiple Books

Tananarive Due (story) – Herd Immunity

Tananarive Due (story) – Patient Zero

Michael Patrick Hicks – The Resurrectionists ($.99)

Michael Patrick Hicks – Broken Shells ($.99)

Laird Barron – Free Stories and Essays

Paul Tremblay (story) – Headstone in Your Pocket

Adam Cesare – Multiple Novels ($.99)

Philip Fracassi – Sacculina

Benjamin Percy (story) – A Study in Shadows

And, this just in, a page of short stories from Neil Gaiman!