Kate’s Review: “Never Whistle At Night”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Never Whistle At Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology” by Shane Hawk (Ed.) & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (Ed.)

Publishing Info: Vintage, September 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A bold, clever, and sublimely sinister collection that dares to ask the question: “Are you ready to be un-settled?” Featuring stories by:

Norris Black • Amber Blaeser-Wardzala • Phoenix Boudreau • Cherie Dimaline • Carson Faust • Kelli Jo Ford • Kate Hart • Shane Hawk • Brandon Hobson • Darcie Little Badger • Conley Lyons • Nick Medina • Tiffany Morris • Tommy Orange • Mona Susan Power • Marcie R. Rendon • Waubgeshig Rice • Rebecca Roanhorse • Andrea L. Rogers • Morgan Talty • D.H. Trujillo • Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. • Richard Van Camp • David Heska Wanbli Weiden • Royce Young Wolf • Mathilda Zeller

Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai’po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear—and even follow you home.

These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples’ survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this collection!

Up until quite recently I would always preface my review of short story collections and anthologies with some version of ‘I don’t really like short stories collections, but I wanted to try out _______ because of _____’. But in recent years, I’ve been enjoying a good number of the short story collections and anthologies I’ve picked up, and have therein become far more willing to give them a go. Especially if the collection appeals to me for one reason or another. And it is these reasons that I picked up “Never Whistle At Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology”, edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. Not only have I had greater success with short story anthologies, this one also showcases dark fiction, be it horror, thriller, or dark fantasy, by Indigenous authors. I had read works by some of the authors, but a lot of them were new to me, and I was very eager to hop in and see what the experience was going to be like. And it was intense, but overall positive!

As usual with short stories collections, I will talk about my three favorite stories in the anthology, and then review the work as a whole.

“Kushtuka” by Mathilda Zeller: A young Indigenous woman is pressured to go work for a powerful white man for a dinner party, even though he is manipulative and predatory. But as he and his colleagues feast and put her down, a mysterious creature that looks like her stalks her and the house they are all residing in. This one was one of the stories that was the most straight up horror, with a shape shifting Kushtuka being one threat, but another threat being white people who are more than happy to take advantage of Indigenous people, especially women, when they have power over them. And man, the descriptions of the Kushtuka were TERRIFYING. This was the first story in the collection and it really started it off with a bang.

“Navajos Don’t Wear Elk Teeth” by Conley Lyons: A gay man living in a family summer home for the season meets a mysterious neighbor, with whom he starts an affair. Their relationship becomes intense, and the lover starts to behave in more erratic and violent ways, including showing off a tooth collection with some very strange teeth. This one was just a slow burn of creepiness, with our protagonist finding himself in a frog in a pot of boiling water kind of situation and as unsettling or flat our terrifying things happen and escalate. And there is really just something about a weirdo that collects teeth that really gets under my skin. Throw in some themes about queer identity and the ways that colonialism can appear in unexpected ways, and you have some great symbolism to add to the creep factor.

“Sundays” by David Heska Wanbli Weiden: A recent widower who has been carrying the trauma of sexual abuse at a Catholic boarding school decides that he is going to confront his abuser and take his revenge. While ruminating about his past, his marriage, and the horrific things he experienced at the school, he finds himself face to face with his rapist, and has to make a choice. This one was my favorite of the collection, and it was absolutely one of the hardest ones to read due to the visceral nature and the topics of child sexual abuse and the overall horror stories of the Boarding Schools. Weiden is such a powerhouse of gritty and realistic and DARK thriller stories, and this one was not only very suspenseful, it was also very emotional as it takes on the very real awful realities about the Catholic Boarding Schools that abused and destroyed so many Indigenous families and children. It’s SO upsetting and it’s content warnings all around, but it’s just astounding.

When looking at the collection as a whole, I really liked the variety not only in the types of genres and sub genres that are represented, but also in the writing styles of all the authors and how it reflects their visions and experiences as Indigenous people in the U.S. and Canada in modern society. Some of them were a bit too intense for me, or triggered me for various reasons and that made it so I had a harder time enjoying them, while others sometimes felt a little uneven. BUT, as a whole? It’s pretty good. It has opened my eyes to a number of authors whom I had never heard of and am going to pursue and read more from. For people who like horror, dark fantasy, and/or thrillers, there will almost certainly be something to enjoy in this collection. And I will always promote and showcase stories by Indigenous authors, especially in genres that have been pretty damn white and European in terms of what gets the focus and what gets promoted. What better time than right now to check this out?

“Never Whistle At Night” is another successful anthology experience for me, and it’s a horror and thriller collection that should be sought after by fans of the genres. It has variety and unique perspectives, and I urge people to check it out!

Rating 8: A whole slew of dark tales from so many talented authors, “Never Whistle At Night” is a must read not only for the variety, but the Indigenous voices it showcases.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Never Whistle At Night” is included on the Goodreads list “All Indigenous Peoples 4”.