Lists
by Kelsey Ford, November 15, 2022 9:43 AM
Personally, I think October gets too much credit during spooky season. November is (in my opinion) just as spooky, and since November is also Native American Heritage Month, I wanted to pull together a (by-no-means-exhaustive) list of horror titles from Native American authors. On this list, you’ll find entities and shapeshifters, cosmology and mythology, social commentary and superstition, doomsday preppers and imposters. We know the days are getting shorter, but that just means you’ll have more hours to read these spooky books by candlelight.
The Only Good Indians
by Stephen Graham Jones
Not for the squeamish — this story starts with a rush and rarely lets up. Along with the horror, though, comes a heartbreaking, eye-opening look at the consequences of the tectonic stresses building and releasing at the borders between the Indigenous and white cultures. — Warren B.
I managed to avoid any reviews that betrayed the plot of this one, and was rewarded with such a fierce, propulsive, unsettling read that I’m not about to spoil it for you. Just know this: Stephen Graham Jones’s latest novel is definitively not for the squeamish, and every bit of buzz swirling around it is warranted. — Tove H.
This book is so, so good, but so are all of Stephen Graham Jones's! I also highly recommend Mapping the Interior and My Heart is a Chainsaw. — Kelsey F.
The Hatak Witches
by Devon A. Mihesuah
A truly thrilling and terrifying read! What starts as a murder investigation turns into an unnerving exploration into a supernatural world. The Hatak Witches weaves together Choctaw history, cosmology, mythology, folklore, and superstition in a book that’s part police procedural, part supernatural thriller. Eerie; educational; captivating. And I have some great news for you, once you’ve read and loved this book: the second book in the series, Dance of the Returned, was published in September. — Kelsey F.
Man Made Monsters
by Andrea Rogers
Man Made Monsters is such an exciting collection, with stories that follow the same Cherokee family over two centuries, starting in 1839 and ending in 2039. The stories are linked both genetically and thematically. The family faces true-to-life horrors (including but not limited to the ongoing and ever-changing way the family faces persecution), as well as supernatural horrors (including vampires, werewolves, and zombies, to only name a few). The book also features beautiful line-art illustrations from Cherokee artist Jeff Edwards, which serves to enrich the already deeply rich experience of reading this collection. — Kelsey F.
White Horse
by Erika T. Wurth
I read this book in maybe two sittings (truly a record for me). When Kari Jones, a self-described urban Native, finds a haunted bracelet that once belonged to her mother, she’s forced to start asking the questions about her mother’s death that she’s been avoiding for years, all while a mysterious, vicious monster chases after her. This one was truly a wild ride — I had no clue where it was taking me from one moment to the next, but was consistently thrilled and often moved by Kari’s emotional and psychological journey. — Kelsey F.
Moon of the Crusted Snow
by Waubgeshig Rice
A post-apocalyptic thriller set in a small northern Anishinaabe reserve. As the power in the community goes out — first the TV, then the cell phones, then the landlines — the community is increasingly isolated from the rest of the world, a situation made even more bleak by the promise of a difficult and cold winter. And then: a visitor arrives, a white man who is a doomsday prepper, and in the visitor’s wake comes conflict, violence, and panic. As I was reading, I kept being reminded of Station Eleven, which is probably the best compliment I can give a book. The atmosphere in this book is so, so good and so spooky. I was completely enthralled throughout. — Kelsey F.
Empire of Wild
by Cherie Dimaline
Cherie Dimaline’s Empire of Wild follows Joan, who has been searching for her missing husband for a year. When he suddenly reappears as a preacher with a new name and no recognition of Joan or their shared past, Joan must lean on her family and the Métis stories she never believed to be true to extricate her husband from forces both evil and supernatural. Described by Tommy Orange as “tough, funny, beautiful, honest and propulsive — all the while telling a story that needs to be told by a person who needs to be telling it,” Empire of Wild is a startling, dynamic novel about the bonds we create, and the truth in our shared mythology. — Michelle C.
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For more recommendations, original essays, and bookseller displays, check out our Native American Heritage Month resource page.
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