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Free Horror Games on Steam: The Best Ones That Cost Nothing

Some of the most loved horror games on Steam cost nothing at all. These are free to download and keep, rated Very Positive or better by players, and range from a full eight-hour survival horror game to half-hour stories you can finish in one sitting.

The games

  1. Cry of Fear screenshot: a young man in a white hoodie stands under a street lamp on a dark town street with a police car behind him PsychologicalCry of FearA full psychological survival horror game, over eight hours, through a deserted Scandinavian town at night with scarce weapons.
  2. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus art: Sayori waving, Yuri with a book, Natsuki with folded arms and Monika with a sheet of paper on a pink background PsychologicalDoki Doki Literature Club!A cheerful school dating sim that turns into psychological horror; it deals with self-harm and suicide.
  3. Paper Lily key art: Lacie, a blonde girl in a red scarf and white coat, holding a golden letter tangled in red threads PsychologicalPaper Lily - Chapter 1A story-driven horror RPG of demons and puzzles with several ways through, about four hours long.
  4. Indigo Park key art: Rambley the cartoon raccoon in a red scarf waving beside the dark, blue-lit entrance of the park Puzzle horrorIndigo Park: Chapter 1An hour of mascot horror in an abandoned amusement park, guided by a cartoon raccoon on the screens.
  5. Psychopomp key art: a pale woman with a heavy dark helmet bowing her head against a red mass, on a black field of drifting red specks PsychologicalPsychopompA short dungeon crawl through catacombs under every building, full of grotesque creatures to talk to, touch or smash.
  6. SCP – Containment Breach screenshot: two Class D prisoners in orange jumpsuits walk toward a chamber holding the statue SCP-173, a guard watching from above SurvivalSCP – Containment BreachEscape a secret facility from a statue that moves when you blink, in a layout that changes every run.
  7. Fears to Fathom - Home Alone screenshot: a dark bedroom with a curtained window looking out at a house across the street PsychologicalFears to Fathom - Home AloneThe free first episode of the Fears to Fathom series: a 14-year-old home alone for one night that turns threatening.
  8. No More Room in Hell: a first-person view gripping a bloodied fire axe as zombies shamble toward you down a dark alley SurvivalNo More Room in HellCo-op zombie survival for up to eight players, with scarce ammo, no crosshair and bites that infect.
  9. Saihate Station key art: Haru asleep on Shion's shoulder on a red train seat PsychologicalSaihate StationTwo coworkers wake at a station that should not exist after falling asleep on the last train.
  10. Yume Nikki key art: pixel-art Madotsuki sitting in her bedroom beside a television, a bookshelf and a desk lamp PsychologicalYume NikkiThe 2004 cult classic: wander a withdrawn girl's strange and dark dreams with no words and no fights.
  11. Higurashi Ch.1 screenshot: Satoko, Rena and Rika standing at a village festival stall PsychologicalHigurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.1 OnikakushiThe first chapter of a long horror mystery: a 1983 village where someone dies every June.
  12. Dagon screenshot: dark tentacles rise from a black, fish-strewn mud flat beside a half-sunken ship hull PsychologicalDagon: by H. P. LovecraftA half-hour, fully voiced walk through Lovecraft's short story, from a lamp-lit room to an island risen from the deep.
  13. Unsorted Horror screenshot: a control desk with three green monitor screens and a joystick in a rusted, blood-stained room PsychologicalUnsorted HorrorFive short stories of running strange, dangerous machines in rusted bunkers, from the maker of Buckshot Roulette.
  14. The Supper: Ms. Appleton in a bloodied apron stands by a large pot of red liquid in her dark tavern kitchen, pixel art PsychologicalThe SupperA short point-and-click about a tavern keeper whose inner voice wants a very special meal served.
  15. Clap Clap art: a two-storey suburban house at night with a lit porch, a red-lit upstairs window and a street lamp Short[Nightmare Files] Clap ClapA short house-sitting job in a home whose lights only come on when you clap, and something uses the dark.
  16. The Children of Clay screenshot: a pale clay figure with a carved face stands lit on a dark desk beside old books and a compass Puzzle horrorThe Children of ClayA half-hour stop-motion puzzle about an ancient clay figure that hides a dark secret.
  17. Lily's Well key art: a pink outlined stone well with a wooden roof and crank against a black background Multiple endingsLily's WellA pixel-art night: a cry for help from the well outside, and a rope to make from what you find in the house.
  18. PUMPKIN PANIC: the pumpkin-headed farmer in a hooded coat stands by a stone well on a brick circle in the farmyard at dusk HalloweenPUMPKIN PANICA cosy pumpkin farm in the forest that turns into horror as creatures with their own rules come out of the dark.
  19. SCP: Secret Laboratory key art: two soldiers in gas masks, one with green night-vision goggles and one holding a revolver, in an orange-lit shaft with huge pipes Co-opSCP: Secret LaboratoryOnline rounds of a containment breach where you might be a prisoner, a soldier or the creature hunting everyone.
  20. Ultimate Custom Night art: a grid of dozens of animatronic portraits from across the Five Nights at Freddy's series, each with a difficulty number FNAFUltimate Custom NightPick from 50 Five Nights at Freddy's animatronics, set each one's difficulty and survive the night.

If you want one long, free horror game, start with Cry of Fear. It began as a Half-Life mod and plays like a full survival horror game: a young man crosses a deserted Scandinavian town at night with scarce weapons while his mind comes apart, over more than eight hours. Doki Doki Literature Club is the other big name, a cheerful school dating sim that turns into psychological horror; it handles self-harm and suicide, so it is not for younger players.

For a longer story without combat, Paper Lily - Chapter 1 is a horror RPG of demons and puzzles that can each be solved in several ways, and Saihate Station follows two coworkers who wake at a station that should not exist. Higurashi When They Cry's first chapter is free too, the start of a long horror mystery in a village where someone dies every June, and Yume Nikki, from 2004, lets you wander a withdrawn girl's dreams with no words at all.

If you only have an evening, there is a deep pool of short free games. Indigo Park's first chapter is an hour of mascot horror in an empty amusement park. Fears to Fathom - Home Alone is the free first episode of that series. Psychopomp is a one-to-two-hour dungeon crawl among grotesque creatures, and Dagon, The Children of Clay, The Supper, Clap Clap and Lily's Well can each be finished in an hour or less. Unsorted Horror gathers five short stories about dangerous machines from the maker of Buckshot Roulette.

For friends, No More Room in Hell is co-op zombie survival for up to eight players with scarce ammo and infectious bites, and SCP: Secret Laboratory deals each player a role in a containment breach, from prisoner to monster. SCP - Containment Breach is the single-player original of that idea, with a statue that moves when you blink. FNAF fans can try Ultimate Custom Night, which gathers fifty animatronics from the series.

Start with Cry of Fear if you want a full game, Paper Lily if you prefer a story, or Psychopomp and The Supper for something short and memorable.

Questions

What is the best free horror game on Steam?

Cry of Fear is the best-known full-length one, rated Very Positive by 89% of nearly 88,000 Steam reviewers; Doki Doki Literature Club and Paper Lily - Chapter 1 are the most praised story games.

Are there free horror games I can finish in one evening?

Yes: Dagon, The Children of Clay, The Supper, Clap Clap, Fears to Fathom - Home Alone and Indigo Park's first chapter take about an hour or less.

Are there free horror games to play with friends?

No More Room in Hell is free co-op zombie survival for up to eight, and SCP: Secret Laboratory is a free online game of a containment breach.

Are these free games safe for kids?

Not necessarily. Several deal with dark themes such as self-harm and suicide; check each game's content notes first.

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