Here's Our List of 10 Best Free Horror Games To Play in 2015

Is spending money a horror game in itself? Do you find yourself just a little too well rested at night? Does screaming alone in your room and throwing your keyboard at your screen sound like a good time? If this sounds like you, read on for for a Top 10 list of free horror games!

10) Eyes – The Horror Game

If you don't have the time to run around mansion for hours collecting keys, puzzle pieces, or other shiny objects, here's a game that gives you the whole experience in a few minutes! In Eyes - The Horror Game, you, the player, are tasked with finding 20 bags of loot scattered throughout a labyrinthine mansion armed with only a flashlight and your child-like screams of terror (IRL).

The kicker here is that you are being hunted by demon during your poorly planned treasure hunt. However, much like another horror game, PS2's Siren, players are able to see through the eyes of the demon. The genius here is that while you are screaming at your screen because you KNOW that it's right around the corner, you still lose your mind all the same when the demon gets you.

Main site for the game is here. It's also available on Android and iOS appstore if you feel like being scared on the toilet.

9) Slender: The Eight Pages

This is the one that kicked off the whole scare craze in the last few years. This game is based on the Slenderman from a viral "documentary" on the fictional movie Marble Hornets on Youtube. He is, as the name implies, a tall, lanky man, often presented as wearing a black suit with a black tie. Don't let this game being the grandad of the free horror game indie titles fool you.

There's a reason why it's launched so many imitators and inspired so many homages. This game has you searching through a moonlit forest in search of eight pages that fill you in on the story. All the while, Slenderman may or may not be stalking you from just out of your sight. Just as much as you keep looking back over your shoulder in the game, you also feel that tingle on the back of your neck in the hopefully Slenderman-less real world.

Official site is here.

8) Black Rose

Nothing says "good idea" better than exploring a house where people have mysteriously disappeared just out of curiosity. Linda, the hero of the game, hears stories that hint at possible murders at a house in her neighborhood. Wanting to figure out the truth, she grabs her trusty flashlight (indie horror game staple now) to roam the darkened halls of the house.

As one could assume, you find bits and pieces that give clues to the bigger picture, but there's also an other-worldly creature that wants to murder you. Case solved, right? Escaping isn't as easy as getting in because that would make for a boring game. The developer is currently working on an expansion to provide more background.

It can be played here.

7) Antumbra

Antumbra is a... well... strange game. Its creator, Drone_Locker, draws atmospheric inspiration from a handful of horror games and movies. The UI is reminiscent of old text-based adventures, but rather than type out commands, players can click on objects in the environment and select commands from a small menu. The player wakes up in a dungeon, but they are not alone. The player hears a sound coming toward them, and the first objective is to get away.

From there, the player must survive and find their way out of the dungeon. There's quite a few cheap deaths if you don't pay attention to the sounds and other context clues, but at least it is much more puzzle driven than finding random notes laying around. Despite its static images, the audio and text descriptions develop a tense atmosphere.

It can be found here.

6) ARMA II: DayZ Mod

While taking part of an Alpha release of a game can be a horror game of its own, you can still pick up the mod for free if you have ARMA II knocking around on your PC. There's still a community, if you can call it that, of this popular online shooter. When you first start off, you spawn into the world as a peppy individual with nothing but the clothes on your back, a flashlight, and a thirst and hunger that will eventually kill you.

While the zombies clip through walls and may sometimes be a rare occurrence, just like many classic horror movies, the lesson here is that humanity is the real monster. All the canned beans and rotten pieces of fruit won't save you from roving bands of players who've lived long enough to become villains. Fear is finally finding that can opener you need as you hear the footsteps approaching you from behind.

Official site is here. You can get the mod from Steam.

5) The Static Speaks My Name

Fear and horror can hit at a few different levels. The Static Speaks my Name from Jesse Barksdale is unsettling. Explaining too much about the game can ruin some of the surprise and fun of playing it yourself. The guy behind the game pitches it as "[a] dark, sad, funny, weird 1st person exploration game in which you play as a man obsessed with the meaning behind a painting".

The player navigates an apartment in the 1st person, and a prompt gives you simple tasks to complete that slowly build up to the climax. This definitely favors story over game play, but it's those kinds of horror games that stick with you.

Official site is here. The game is name your own price, so you can throw the developer a few bucks if you choose.

4) The Cursed Forest

Hey, a forest! Looks cursed! Why not take a peek? The Cursed Forest is a free horror game made by KPy30 using the CryEngine. The goal of the game is to collect relics to perform a ritual. The atmosphere is fantastic as a result. Even though the player is out in the open, when a thick fog sets in, it becomes stifling. KPy30 also makes good use of lighting, and even when the player enters cabins lit by warm candle fire, it only builds the tension that something is waiting just outside. The music builds, and the gentle ambiance of the forest suddenly becomes menacing. Giving you a brief moment of safety then tearing it away brings it all together.

It can be picked up here. A remake has also been greenlit for Steam.

3) Deeper Sleep

Deeper Sleep is the sequel to 2012's Deep Sleep (Game #2 on this list). It is a classic point-and-click adventure game set in the player's lucid dream.

The sequel builds off of the story of the original Deep Sleep, in that the hero now attempts to decipher the reality of his lucid dream and wants to find out whether or not others have had the same experience. This has the player take a brief journey through reality before succumbing once again to a twisted lucid dream to find answers.

The original holds a little more intrigue, as it sets the premise and players have no idea what to expect. With the sequel, the players have some idea of what the concept is, but that does not diminish the gameplay or the horror.

It can be played here.

2) Deep Sleep

Deep Sleep, a take on classic point-and-click adventure games, was developed by scriptwelder for the 10th Casual Gameplay Design Competition.

He won first place.

What makes a horror game successful and memorable isn't just about jump scares. It's about building an atmosphere that keeps you uneasy and waiting for things to go wrong. It's not just a sharp spike of adrenaline when something pops out. It's about pulling an emotion out of you, slowly, with you barely noticing that you're now at the edge of your seat.

Deep Sleep lives on atmosphere. The player starts off in an empty room, believing they have woken up from a dream. However, the player soon learns they are still asleep, and just like any nightmare, they struggle to wake up as the world in their dreams is swallowed by darkness.

It can be played here.

1) No More Room in Hell

They're coming to get you, Barbara! No More Room in Hell is a free horror game that is now a stand-alone client. It started off as a Source Engine Mod (still is, technically) back in 2011. Up to eight players play online as survivors, and must complete the given tasks that each maps give them. They can be levels where survivors must move from Point A to Point B with a randomized honey-do list of things like getting gas for a generator to blowing up walls outside a church.

Oh, and there's zombies.

Other maps have survivors fighting off waves of zombies while defending areas from infestation. If they get overrun, it's game over. There's a robust set of melee weapons and ranged weapons, but as it is in most zombie flicks, ammo is very scarce. This sits at the top as #1 due in part to its replay potential and meta-levels of horror. Nothing gets you screaming in terror more than hearing a teammate fire off 12 rifle rounds into a zombies stomach right at the beginning of a match.

Official site is here.

So, folks, what other free horror games have you played? Have any good suggestions we should add to the list? Tell us everything in the comments!