(Reviewed by JD Jung)
These sordid tales of horror are weird. Not in a Trump/Vance creepy way, but in an eclectic, frightening, and entertaining way. The kind of weird I like.
There are stories encompassing sci-fi and lots of horror: a haunted wooden coffee table, a strange boba shop, wicked wigs, killer vines, and retaliating trees. A once tolerant community that all of a sudden becomes violently homophobic. Let’s not forget perhaps the most unsettling for me, the seven-year-old girl who becomes a serial killer. After finishing one story, I couldn’t wait to read the next.
Why is author Dalton Primeaux so successful in capturing the shock and tone of the horror genre? He explains in the “Author’s Note” chapter, “I felt the pain of the villains because I lived my whole life being villainized. I was always the bad guy in other people’s stories.” As a gay teenager, this was how his peers, family and church treated him.
He further writes,
“I became comfortable and familiar with the devil and the monsters that I was supposed to live out eternity with. They didn’t scare me like everyone else because they were me.” Readers will also learn his motivation for creating some of these stories.
This chapter is near the middle of the book, instead of the end. Make sure you read it to further discover his motivations for writing some of the stories, before embarking on the following two must-read pieces.
Primeaux weaves in some social commentary is these tales, from accepting your true self, to acknowledging the kindness of strangers versus the intolerance of one’s own family.
Most of these well-written disturbing tales feature those from the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, he dedicates the book to these youths, though I wouldn’t recommend this book to children.
Tales from Beyond the Closet is a collection that will be difficult for readers to put down. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.
