Book Review: Horror Library, Volume 9 edited by Eric J. Guignard

 

Horror Library, Volume 9 edited by Eric J. Guignard

340 pages, Paperback
Published February 3, 2026 by Dark Moon Books

special guest-artist's gallery of Michael A. Livolsi!

Eric and Dark Moon books are consistent. Like Death, Taxes, and quality short horror fiction. Eric didn’t start this series, and I not even sure with which volume he took over, but I know he has been the editor for the last couple of editions.  

One thing you can bank on is that the stories will be excellent, dark, and from diverse sources. Guignard has experience doing international anthologies, and as an active member of HWA, he is able to pull authors from around the world. One thing I noticed right away was a couple of very exciting names in this line-up.

Brian Evenson (who I think is the best living short story author), Poppy Z. Brite, Bentley Little, and Delilah S. Dawson. It was also nice to see So-Cal locals in Jo Kaplan and KC Grifant.  For long-time horror-heads, the appearance of Brite and Little is “no way” inducing.

30 stories and about 300 pages, will tell you many of the stories are short, but they all provide a serious punch.

Highlights for me include Eyes without Lids by Jo Kaplan, which got me even more excited for her Clash Books title Midnight Muse. This story is a creepy story about a who wakes up a captive. The mood and setting of this short but powerful story completely hooked me. Found You by Poppy Z. Brite was a quick, evocative tale that reminds fans of this classic author why they are so beloved.

Bentley Little’s Before His Time is a fun little Hollywood tale, and Evenson’s tale is about Opera and it was great, although I felt I might have been missing knowledge that might have helped it. Delilah S. Dawson’s story does the most with the shortest word-count in that sense; it reminded me of RC Matheson (his story Red Shortest most effective horror story ever). Grifant’s Mask-off had a traditional Tales of the Crypt feel to me.

Some stories didn’t hook me as strongly, but I only skipped a couple of stories whose tone didn’t catch me. +Horror Library+ is a series that continues to be the mark of high quality. Those of you who want more markets for short horror fiction…if you want a place to find new authors, and you want a market, you gotta support it, buy short horror.