10 Free Horror Books and Ghost Stories for Halloween (2026)
Posted by George Hartley
The most downloaded scary book on Obooko lives on the teen shelf. It's a short story about a voodoo doll called Diary of the Dead, and 41,200 people have downloaded it.
So when I went looking for Halloween reads this week, I didn't stop at our horror and supernatural shelf (111 books and counting). I went through the teen, fantasy and classics sections too, and pulled the ten I'd hand to anyone after something to read with the lights off.
Ghosts first, then vampires, then demons, witches and worse. Download counts are from each book's page as of today, and every one is free to download and keep.
1. And Next, Darkness by David Dwan
An old reel-to-reel tape recorder picks up voices that shouldn't be there: the dead, lost in limbo, reaching out for someone to hear them. Two women follow those voices into the world of a reluctant serial killer, trying to find out where his victims are. It's one of our newest staff picks, and David's author page has more, including two volumes of short horror called Bottled Nightmares.
3,200 downloads. PDF, ePub and Kindle. Download And Next, Darkness.
2. The Haunted Way by Neil Wesson
Three friends meet at the pub to plan this year's charity walk. At every village on the route Maddie tells its local ghost story, and by the end of the first day all three of them have had a strange encounter of their own. Proper fireside stuff, and one of the oldest books on the horror shelf.
If you finish it wanting more, Neil's A Collection of Ghost Stories Vol. 1 opens on a freezing railway platform and claims to be a true story.
22,100 downloads. PDF. Download The Haunted Way.
3. Scary Mary by S. A. Hunter
Mary sees ghosts, which makes her the school freak, and the cheerleaders, the jocks and the ghosts all refuse to leave her alone. Then new kid Cyrus tries to be her friend, and she has to tell him his house is haunted (and not by anything friendly). Good for teens, and for anyone who likes a laugh with their ghost story.
9,400 downloads. PDF, ePub and Kindle. Download Scary Mary.
4. Forever Fifteen by Kimberly Steele
Lucy is a vampire stuck at fifteen forever, which is how a girl from the 1300s ends up in a 1980s detention hall. The flashbacks go back to 14th-century Italy and the Black Death, which is where her story really starts. 106 readers have rated it, more than any other book on this list.
26,200 downloads. PDF. Download Forever Fifteen.
5. The Blood That Bonds by Christopher Buecheler
Two has hit the bottom: an addiction, a life she didn't choose, and no way out she can see. Then Theroen pulls up in a Ferrari, handsome and confident and offering to help. The catch is that Theroen is a vampire, and his help comes with teeth. The first book of a trilogy, and the darkest vampire story here.
19,900 downloads. PDF. Download The Blood That Bonds.
6. Dracula by Bram Stoker
The one they all owe something to. It opens with Jonathan Harker noting in his journal that his train was an hour late (some things never change), and gets a lot less relatable once he reaches Transylvania. Public domain, so it's free in every format we offer.
2,600 downloads. PDF, ePub and Kindle. Download Dracula.
7. The Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher
Rae Wilder finds out she's a demon, and it goes downhill from there. Dropped into a world of dark magic, fierce creatures and ritual sacrifice, she's handed a magical amulet to guard and a choice: live and die human, or use magic that could turn her into something wicked. Urban fantasy with a bite, a staff pick, and 103 reader ratings behind it.
12,300 downloads. PDF. Download The Demon Girl.
8. Happy Halloween, Mrs. Macabre by Austin Ray Bouse
The only book here that's actually set on Halloween. Bram Vasquez has always felt like a supporting character next to the witch Mrs. Macabre and the Gracey twins, until he meets the Hallowbreed, the first trick-or-treaters, and their charismatic leader. They have something dark planned for him. It's book four of the series but reads fine on its own, and it's my pick for younger readers. The series starts with Mrs. Macabre.
1,700 downloads. PDF. Download Happy Halloween, Mrs. Macabre.
9. Diary of the Dead by Matthew Watts
The 41,200-download one from the top. It's told in diary entries: the narrator wakes up with stabbing pains in the chest and cuts nobody can explain, then a classmate turns up at school with a voodoo doll wearing the narrator's face. short enough for one sitting, which is about as long as you'll want to spend with it.
41,200 downloads. PDF. Download Diary of the Dead.
10. The Zombie Chronicles by Chrissy Peebles
Val has been bitten and is booked for a lethal injection before she can turn. Dean, eighteen, steals an experimental serum that can only be tested once she's a zombie, breaks her out, then crashes their helicopter into the middle of Zombie Land. Fast, bloody and a lot of fun.
5,900 downloads. PDF, ePub and Kindle. Download The Zombie Chronicles.
The classics, also free
If you'd rather go back to the source, the classics shelf has Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray and H.P. Lovecraft's Complete Works, all free and all legal.
How to download them
Open the book page, choose PDF, ePub or Kindle (where the author has supplied it) and the book is yours to keep. After your first download we ask you to create a free account, which over 800,000 readers already have.
The full horror and supernatural shelf grows most weeks, because authors keep uploading and I keep approving the good ones. Happy Halloween, and if one of these keeps you up at night, tell me which.