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Book: “Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II: An Indigenous Horror Anthology” by Shane Hawk (Ed.) & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (Ed.)
Publishing Info: Vintage, August 2026
Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher at ALAAC26
Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound
Book Description: They’re baaaaaaaaaack!
As any savvy horror fan the monster never truly dies. The team that brought you the bestselling dark fiction anthology Never Whistle at Night has risen, hungry, from the grave to summon more dark delicacies for your delectation. In these twenty-one brand-new, groundbreaking, gruesome stories—authored by both established and newly unearthed Indigenous talent—the contributors are fully embracing both supernatural horrors and the everyday horror of living under colonialist rule.
Featuring stories of unspeakable yet satisfying terror, from twisted psychological tales to gore-filled monster hunts, this new selection of sinister stories will sate your darkest appetites and leave you slavering for more. Never Whistle at Night, Part Back for Blood is a further celebration of Indigenous survival and the enduring tradition of transforming adversity into art.
Review: Thank you to Vintage for providing me with an ARC of this novel at ALAAC26!
Before I go to ALAAC every year I make a list of books that I hope to find there. I never get my hopes up for any of them, because I know that access is limited (and I’m never upset with the selection of ARCs that the publishers provide), but I do have a few I really cross my fingers for. One of those sought after titles this past year was “Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night II: An Indigenous Horror Anthology”, edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore Van Alst Jr., because I so enjoyed the first collection and wanted to see which Indigenous voices were going to provide tales of terror this time around. And the hooting and hollering I did when I did see it and did get it was pretty substantial. I had such high hopes for this new collection, and I’m thrilled to report that it was just as grand as I had hoped it would be!!
As I always do for short story collections, I will review my three favorite stories and then the entire series as a whole.
“Party at the Alvarez Ranch” by Mat RudeWalker: It is probably no shock that one of my favorite stories in this collection involved the folklore of a ravenous monster that could be an urban legend, but could also be a true threat in the woods. Two teenagers are attending a party when they stumble upon a lofa, a large beast that eats the flesh of those who are unfortunate enough to encounter it. This one is a pulse pounding down and dirty monster tale, and I really enjoyed the build up, the lore, and then the way it all settles out, as creepy and nasty it was.
“We Don’t Talk About It” by Alina Pete: I think this was my favorite story in the collection, as while it definitely has some scary as hell monster stuff it also has a heartbreaking examination of addiction and denial/familial rejection after being burnt out by a loved one being an addict. A woman returns home one night to find her brother, having left rehab early and asking for help even though she and the rest of the family have tried to create distance after years of anguish. But it becomes clear that her ‘brother’ is actually something else, a being that feeds and feeds on despair and has come to take her as well. I found this one incredibly emotional as well as scary, as Pete brings in mythology about “That One” and creates a devastating tale about how addiction can tear families apart.
“The Corpse Room” by Debra Magpie Earling: This is probably one of the darkest, if not THE darkest, stories in the collection, but that’s no shocker given that it is set in a Catholic boarding school where Indigenous children are abused, tortured, and killed. Teenage girls at a boarding school endure horrific abuses at the hands of the nuns and a new priest, and all fear being sent to the ‘corpse room’ where girls enter but never come out. After one girl goes in, the others are desperate to find out what happened to her. This one made my heart ache on a whole other level, and Earling doesn’t mince words when describing the atrocities perpetrated against children (and babies too) by the Church. It also makes it one of the more cathartic stories in the collection, but it’s just brutal and devastating.
But honestly, it was SO HARD to narrow it down to three, because there were so many FANTASTIC stories in this anthology. I think with the exception of one or two I genuinely enjoyed pretty much all of them (and even the ones that didn’t work for me were more about genre or stylistic choices than anything else). The genres have a large range, and many of the stories not only had some serious scares, but also a poignancy and a reflection of societal issues facing Indigenous people (as well as larger crises, like climate change, that are coming for us all as much as we don’t want to think about it). I also appreciated the large swath of different groups that the authors are members of, showing that there are distinct beliefs, mythologies, and practices between the groups. It’s really just a great collection of horror and dark fantasy stories, and it will surely stick with the reader long after the last page is turned.
“Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II” is another banger of a horror anthology. If you are a horror fan, definitely pick this one up.
Rating 9: Another solid collection of Indigenous horror and dark fiction, “Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II” has some unique tales of terror as well as poignant reflections on being Indigenous in North America.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II” is included on the Goodreads list “Indigenous Books 2026”.
The Library Ladies 