Clive Barker Returns to Horror With New Anthology Book Series: ‘Library of the Dead’

Clive Barker, the legendary author of The Hellbound Heart, Imajica, Abarat, and other celebrated horror and dark fantasy stories, launches Library of the Dead, a major new horror anthology book series through Kickstarter, bringing readers an unprecedented year-long publishing event.

For decades, Clive Barker has redefined horror with stories that blend terror, beauty, mythology, and imagination like no other writer. Now, one of the genre’s most influential voices returns with Library of the Dead, an ambitious new three-book anthology that marks Barker’s long-awaited return to the short fiction that first established him as a master of modern horror.

The project is highlighted by three books under the Library of the Dead banner:

• Fear Eternal
• Pyres of Bedlam
• Dark Descents

Collectively, they are described as the spiritual successor to the author’s original classic Books of Blood.

Launching exclusively on Kickstarter from Clive Barker Ink and Ensata Press, Library of the Dead is a year-long celebration of Clive Barker’s new work and extraordinary legacy. Across brand new stories and out-of-print gems curated for the first time, Barker revisits the themes that have captivated readers for generations: obsession, mythology, beauty, and unimaginable horror. Each volume is further enriched with haunting black-and-white illustrations and poetry created by Barker himself and wrapped in breathtaking new cover artwork that brings Barker’s newest nightmares vividly to life. 

Edited by Barker’s long-time collaborators, Phil and Sarah Stokes, the trilogy of books represents Barker’s most significant return to original horror in years, with a collection that explores familiar Barker themes.