Economic narratives are pervasive in the public discourse and can shape individual behavior. But so far we know very little about whether house- holds actually demand and value narratives as information. We combine a large-scale expert survey with a nationally representative household sample in the U.S. to examine the demand for economic narratives in a high-stakes environment of an unprecedentedly high recession probability. We document a substantial willingness to pay for economic narratives of more than 4 USD, which is even higher than for numerical forecast information. The WTP systematically varies across demographics, being higher for women, younger, high-income, and high-education respondents. The dominant motives for ac- quiring narratives are intrinsic, but a smaller share also lists instrumental motives. Economic narratives shape respondents’ expectations about future economic conditions, their understanding of recession drivers, and their spend- ing beliefs. Our findings underscore the potential of narratives as a tool to im- prove economic understanding and to foster more informed decision-making.