Week Four: Cabal by Clive Barker (6 pts)

Clive Barker’s Cabal deals with the archetype of the outcast and the nature of what people consider taboo. Aaron Boone, Dr. Decker, and Lori all dwell within societal expectations, but wear individual masks to cope with their feelings of isolation and abandonment. Boone tries to hide his mental illness. Dr. Decker hides his sadistic alter ego. Lori hides her dependency on others. The Nightbreed, on the other hand, choose to live within a community where they don’t have to hide themselves. Granted, they had to form the community to escape persecution from the outside world, but Midian is its own society based on the acceptance of each individual’s unique form. The only things the Nightbreed have to worry about are outsiders and getting caught in the sun. 

Barker revels in the strange throughout the novella. Whether it’s Narcisse shedding his skin, Midian as a whole, or Lori sleeping with a reformed Boone, Barker takes the reader on a journey exploring the human side of the taboo. There’s the metaphorical taboo with the Nightbreed - strange humanoids who change forms constantly and live off of human flesh - and the literal taboo shown in both Decker and Father Ashberry. Decker uses his power as Boone’s psychologist to frame him for the murders committed by Mr. Mask - Decker’s alter ego. Decker and Mr. Mask revel in the atrocities they commit, equating the thrill of killing someone with sexual pleasure and demonizing others in order to cover his tracks. It’s heavily implied that Boone was not his first victim and wouldn’t have been his last. Decker is the taboo thing that goes bump in the night. He’s both the prime candidate to thrive in a conservative society (well educated, masculine, and versed in societal cues) and also the boogeyman everyone within it fears. Father Ashberry, on the other hand, is heavily queer coded and instantly demonized by Sheriff Eigerman. Ashberry has power as a priest, but risks total excommunication from his niche in Shere Neck because of who he is. The same can be said for Narcisse and Boone. While they’re not so heavily coded as queer, they definetley represent the mentally ill and neurodivergent. Decker is able to mask/code switch in order to retain power and demonize others like him. Father Ashberry and the Nightbreed will never be able to. That’s where the low key horror of Cabal dwells. There are tons of Deckers out there that get away with the terrible things they’ve done because they blend so well within a set of societal rules. There are also tons of Nightbreed being persecuted because of what they are. It’s not fair, but it keeps happening and all you have to do is look closely enough to see it.  

Cabal was a horror novella that had enough depth to be engaging but also sense not to stay around for too long. I wanted more of the Nightbreed and I wanted more out of Lori as a character, but I understand that Barker was more or less trying to say something in an interesting way without being ‘held back’ by the conventions of literature. Cabal isn’t a classic any public school will be picking up for their curriculum, but it’s a fun novella that has an engaging point and lots of fun moments of horror.