Campbell had completed work on the stories for it by 1968, and it was scheduled for publication in 1971; however, due to the 1971 death of editor and Arkham House co-founder August Derleth, the collection was delayed a further two years; it finally saw print in 1973.

It was published in an edition totaling 3,472 copies and with dust jacket art by Eddie Jones, commissioned by Campbell.

Campbell has acknowledged that the stories in the book were written primarily under the stylistic influence of Vladimir Nabokov.

Lovecraft, and the style of these stories is radically different from the Cthulhu Mythos tales found in his first collection.

The book's first appearance induced T. E. D. Klein to write an extensive and highly positive review, "Ramsey Campbell: An Appreciation" in Nyctalops magazine and critic S. T. Joshi has stated[1] that: its ... allusiveness of narration; careful, at times even obsessive focusing on the fleeting sensations and psychological processes of characters; an aggressively modern setting that allows commentary on social, cultural and political issues - all conjoin to make Demons by Daylight perhaps the most important book of horror fiction since Lovecraft's The Outsider and Others.Demons by Daylight contains the following stories, grouped into three sections: