Book Review: The Haunted Doorway

There is a thin, blurry line between the unconscious and the unexplained — and The Haunted Doorway lives precisely on that edge. Jay Alani and Neil D’Silva have crafted a collection that makes you question the very architecture of your own mind. What if the nightmare that jolts you awake at 3 a.m. is not just your imagination stretching its legs, but a fragment of past trauma your waking self refuses to acknowledge? That unsettling question pulses quietly beneath every short story in this book.

Jay Alani, a paranormal researcher, brings unmistakable depth to each case. It is the kind of weight that only comes from years of serious fieldwork and documentation. You feel the research through each of the horror stories, with specific details.

The Demonic Doll scared me the most — perhaps because occult practices and the legend of Putulbari near Sovabazar are far too close to home to dismiss as fiction. Kolkata gullies have long dark histories interwoven with occult practices. The Dead Man’s Fingers had me searching the internet images at midnight. I will say no more — except that I was genuinely jaw-dropped, and yes, quietly added the place to my travel list. The Woman with the Stone Eyes was my personal favourite. As a firm believer in Kali Maa and Her unwavering protection of Her devotees, this story carried a quiet optimism that stood apart from the rest. Apt last short story of the book. The namesake story The Haunted Doorway made me giggle in the end whereas the harrowing account of The Woman who was molested by a Demon stayed with me uncomfortably and I had to take a break honestly.

Above everything, this book reminded me how essential mental health, love, and inner preservation truly are! The paranormal researcher, Jay Alani, suggests that fear does not always come from outside and the unknown — sometimes it surfaces from deep within. Grief has a peculiar way of disguising itself as a random nightmare, and trauma has an even quieter habit of dressing up as something supernatural which we would rather blame on the unknown than confront in the mirror. The haunting, more often than not, is ours. Along with that he highlights how often, in the guise of fun and entertainment, youngsters fall prey to chase for fame and stumble upon unfortunate incidents which could have been avoided. The entertainment without accountability is a strict no-no as per the author. That’s one aspect I genuinely liked about the stories.

A deeply researched, genuinely unsettling, and oddly reflective Indian horror read, which you must pick up — but maybe not alone at night.

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Cheers to Reading!