The Benefits of Reading Scary Books

Jason BoogJuly 12, 2023

Every summer, readers of a certain type go searching for great horror novels and ebooks. To help those readers looking for a scary summer read, we collected all the free horror books in our catalog. You can start reading some of the scariest books in history today! Now is the perfect time to start reading classic horror novels with a free book club on Fable. You can join a special club moderated by Count Dracula himself!

Start reading free novels with the Horror Classics Book Club!

A frightening new moderator

Using artificial intelligence technology, we’ve created a digital version of Dracula who can share insights from his centuries of undead life, deliver sophisticated answers to your questions, and bring the shadows of night to our community conversations!As the club reads together, Dracula will post A.I.-generated commentary every week, and you can ask him questions directly by typing @Dracula. Fable’s editorial team will review every post from Dracula to ensure his commentary is appropriate and accurate.

How horror books can help you

Some readers shy away from scary novels, but they actually have therapeutic benefits. Teen librarian Sara Harrington wrote about how the horror genre helped her cope with anxiety disorders in a heartfelt essay at Electric Literature. Instead of being overwhelmed by her obsessions, scary books helped her find "a safe haven" where she didn't have to be controlled by her anxiety.

"The generalized fear of an anxiety disorder creates a fight-or-flight response to an intangible threat, a threat that can’t be fought nor fled from. Reading horror allowed me to take all that adrenaline and pour it into something outside of myself, something that I could see resolved at the end of the story. It gave me the gift of catharsis."

But that's not all! Other readers and researchers have found more evidence that reading scary stories can help you...

Five wellness benefits of horror novels

You can learn that "everything is surmountable and survivable"
You can cope better with frightening aspects of life
You can become more resilient
You can develop long-term anxiety coping skills
You can "build stronger relationships and memories" with shared scary reading experiences

Free Scary Books on Fable

So what are you waiting for? Try a free horror novel and enjoy some of these benefits for yourself!Start with these classics, it's the perfect way to explore our social reading platform and launch a book club with friends!type: embedded-entry-inline id: y3MEkLcFQZMfSmeNapXSW