[Book Review] The Other Side Of The Closet Offers 8 Queer Frights

This October marked the release of The Other Side of the Closet: A Queer Horror Collection by debut author Patrick J. Kane. The novella is a short horror anthology entirely focused on LGBTQ+ characters and their stories.

Note: I was given a complimentary e-book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

There is a lot to love in these eight stories. How often are queer tales focused entirely on white cis gay men? I don’t have statistics, but it’s too much (and this is coming from a white cis man). The characters in these stories are queer, and all diverse beyond that. There are cis, trans, and non-binary characters with many different sexualities and ethnic backgrounds. These queer characters are heroes, villains, monsters, and victims.

The stories tend to veer into metaphor over plot. It’s a stylish choice that will affect readers differently. For instance, there’s a body horror tale about two lesbians who can’t let go of each other. I would have liked to know these characters better before the horror started. Is that necessary? Would that affect the theme? Maybe, maybe not. It comes down to personal taste.

Besides that story, the narratives offer a diverse sampling of queer horror, such as someone trapped in a closet, a trans youth forced into an uncomfortable family reunion, a Grindr hook-up gone wrong, a closeted woman feeling monstrous, an inexperienced man’s first circuit party, and a sexual fairytale about a boy and a bear. There’s some great material throughout these, but my favorite would probably be “Local Queen,” which follows a non-binary employee at a drag club cleaning up after hours while their love interest tells them a local ghost story. “Local Queen” is also the longest of the stories, and I felt like it had time to breathe and slowly pull me in.

Personally, I’m not a gorehound – I can take it or leave it depending on the story/subject matter – but there’s plenty of rich, horrific imagery described within. As a big fan of Clive Barker’s Books of Blood, I couldn’t help but draw a few comparisons.

I do have to say the editor in me wished for some tighter narrative choices. This does read as a first-time author, and I do not mean that disparagingly at all. I look forward to reading Patrick J. Kane’s future works and seeing him strengthen his craft.

Troy’s takeaway: If you’re sensitive to gore in your fiction, you may want to approach this one with caution. Otherwise, if you’re looking for some quick, diverse horror reads, support a queer author and check out Patrick J. Kane’s The Other Side of the Closet: A Queer Horror Collection, now in paperback and Kindle. You can find out more about the author on his personal website and Instagram.