I absolutely loved every story in this anthology. They were nerve-wracking, beautiful, and horrifying. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to take a trip into the world of Indigenous horror.

This anthology of dark stories written by and including Indigenous people is great. The stories are creative and unsettling with unique elements of folklore, culture, and perspectives. I loved working my way through the work of the various authors.

The first two stories Kushtuka, a supernatural revenge type of story and White Hills, a terribly chilling short story, both stood out a lot to me. Other stories, like Quantum, provide insight into reservation culture through a horror tinged view and was both interesting and unsettling in delivery. I loved it.

This book has been one of my most anticipated on my TBR.
I'm eternally grateful for NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I genuinely stayed awake through the night last night to read this - the birds were chirping when I realized I needed to get ready for work.
This series of short-stories FAR EXCEEDED my expectations (and they were quite high to begin with); Each story was enveloping, dynamic, and enthralling. Each one was creepy in its own way, and provided a desperately needed peek into the legends of the indigenous culture that surrounds us.

I'd recommend this to ANYONE who enjoys spooky stories; and I'll be revisiting this collection frequently through the fall and winter months this year!!

This collection of short stories was an excellent reminder to never whistle at night. Every story was deeply unsettling in unique ways.

This book felt like sitting around the campfire with some of the best indigenous writers of our time. Each of the stories offered a new horrific vision of things that go bump in the night, and even some things you didn’t know you needed to be afraid of during the day. A few of these stories have lingered around me and leave a haunting haze. The stand outs for me were: Navajos Don’t Wear Elk Teeth, Quantum, Snakes Are Born in the Dark, The Prepper, Collections and Limbs. This entire collection was expertly curated and featured heavily emotional stories, laced with a history of oppression and violence, as well as stories based on traditions and folklore. You can tell that every writer in this book took everything they had and put it into the stories they wrote. I enjoyed the full range of stories offered in this book so that you could go from a tale of body horror to a story that feels like a modern urban legend. I recommend this book for bite sized doses of spooky season fun.

Never Whistle at Night was FANTASTIC. I don't mean to yell, but I had such high hopes for this anthology and it really lived up to my expectations. As someone with minimal knowledge of indigenous folklore and stories, this captured my attention immediately. This is a stay up late, read until your eyes won't stay open book. I picked this up while I was quite busy, so I didn't get to read it nearly as quickly as I would have liked, but I guess that was to my benefit because I was able to enjoy and reflect on each story individually. I would love to see a second installment in a few years.

Read this and tell your friends about!

Average Overall Rating: ★ 3.5 / 5

If you're looking for the perfect spooky anthology this autumn season, look no further than this spectacular *yet horrific* collection. A TON of these stories sent endless shivers down my spine to the point where I was jumping at every creak or shuffle in my apartment.

✧ Kushtuka by Mathilda Zeller ★ 4 / 5
✧ White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse ★ 4.5 / 5
✧ Navajos Don't Wear Elk Teeth by Conley Lyons ★ 5 / 5
✧ Wingless by Marie R. Rendon ★ 3.5 / 5
✧ Quantum by Nick Medina ★ 4 / 5
✧ Hunger by Phoenix Boudreau ★ 3 / 5
✧ Tick Talk by Cherie Dimaline ★ 4 / 5
✧ The Ones Who Killed Us by Brandon Hobson ★ 2 / 5
✧ Snakes Are Born in the Dark by D. H. Trujillo ★ 3.5 / 5
✧ Before I Go by Norris Black ★ 4.25 / 5
✧ Night in the Chrysalis by Tiffany Morris ★ 3.25 / 5
✧ Behind Colin's Eyes by Shane Hawk ★ 3 / 5
✧ Heart-Shaped Clock by Kelli Jo Ford ★ 2.75 / 5
✧ Scariest. Story. Ever. by Richard Van Camp ★ 4.5 / 5
✧ Human Eaters by Royce K. Young Wolf ★ 3.5 / 5
✧ The Longest Street in the World by Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. ★ 2.5 / 5
✧ Dead Owls by Mona Susan Power ★ 4.25 / 5
✧ The Prepper by Morgan Talty ★ 2 / 5
✧ Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning by Kate Hart ★ 1.5 / 5
✧ Sundays by David Heska Wanbli Weiden ★ 3.5 / 5
✧ Eulogy for a Brother, Resurrected by Carson Faust ★ 4.5 / 5
✧ Night Moves Andrea L. Rogers ★ 3.25 / 5
✧ Capgras by Tommy Orange ★ 3.75 / 5
✧ The Scientist's Horror Story by Darcie Little Badger ★ 3 / 5
✧ Collections by Amber Blaeser-Warzala ★ 4.25 / 5
✧ Limbs by Waubgeshig Rice ★ 3.5 / 5

I rated these stories with a variety of elements: horror, interest, writing style, and overall "enjoyement"—or as much enjoyment as one can have from a horror story. The higher ratings specifically left an impact on me to the point where I could not get them out of my head for hours, days. A lot of times the familial aspects of these stories like in Eulogy for a Brother, Resurrected left a particular ache in my heart, or ones like Navajos Don't Wear Elk Teeth made me physically gag and have to stop reading for the rest of that day. A lot of the three stars were stories where I wanted more from the story; it felt like it should've been a novel rather than a short story because I needed more time with the characters, world building, etc.

When I first saw this anthology available on Netgalley I JUMPED on it. Not only because I’m always down to read Indigenous stories, but because I grew up with my mother always telling me never to whistle at night because it would “invite the snakes” into the house. I’d scoffed at these silly South Asian superstitions as a kid but have learned to value them as an adult, and I was thrilled to learn that other Indigenous cultures also hold the same superstitions! As with all storytelling, sharing values and themes forge a deep sense of kinship between people and I felt the same with the stories in this anthology. The horror elements are both shocking and gruesome, and I loved how each region-specific story encompassed the local folklore. The stories are “unsettling” in both fright and might by centering colonial violence as the impetus for evil.

I’d recommend Never Whistle at Night for folks who value Indigenous perspectives, are comfortable with critical thinking, and would investigate things that go bump in the night.

NEVER WHISTLE AT NIGHT ANTHOLOGY
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

Foreword by Stephen Graham Jones

Stories:

Kushtuka- Mathilda Zeller

White Hills- Rebecca Roanhorse

Navajos Don't Wear Elk Teeth- Conley Lyons

Wingless- Marcie R. Rendon

Quantum- Nick Medina

Hunger- Phoenix Boudreau

Tick Talk- Cherie Dimaline

The Ones Who Killed Us- Brandon Hobson

Snakes Are Born in the Dark- D. H. Trujillo

Before I Go- Norris Black

Night in the Chrysalis- Tiffany Morris

Behind Colin's Eyes- Shane Hawk

Heart-Shaped Clock- Kelli Jo Ford

Scariest. Story. Ever.- Richard Van Camp

Human Eaters- Royce K. Young Wolf

The Longest Street in the World- Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

Dead Owls- Mona Susan Power

The Prepper- Morgan Talty

Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning- Kate Hart

Sundays- David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Eulogy for a Brother, Resurrected- Carson Faust

Night Moves- Andrea L. Rogers

Capgras- Tommy Orange

The Scientist's Horror Story- Darcie Little Badger

Collections- Amber Blaeser-Wardzala

Limbs- Waubgeshig Rice

Of course, Stephen Graham Jones kicks things off by telling us a story, but it’s not his story. It’s the framework of a tale told by Joeseph M. Marshall III with a Dr. Jones horror spin on it. Jones tells us,

“Generally speaking, Indians are pretty nervous about possession narratives, since those are more or less stories about a body being colonized, which we know a thing or two about…”

I never thought about demon possession from that perspective. Now that I know how Jones sees it–why possession horror is so terrifying for him and Indigenous peoples, it will stay with me for the rest of my life. That viewpoint. That context. Which is why anthologies like this one are so important. Horror is told collectively from voices different than my own. And at the end of his foreword is an invitation that I took seriously,

“So for these next pages, let these writers take you by the hand, lead you into the darkness at the heart of–let me put some quotation marks around it– “America”.”

And then a warning,

“Just don’t look back at your footprints,

Best to not look back at all, really.”

26 wildly varied tales from Indigenous North American authors dealing with a wide range of horror tropes and sociological themes. Colonization, gender roles, harmful stereotypes, and evolving generational perspectives are woven into modern stories of legend and lore, supernatural or paranormal activity, and plenty of creature features. There are triggers galore here so if you have a specific CW you want, just ask me.

I enjoyed that the TOC features storytellers I have read before, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Morgan Talty, Shane Hawk, Rebecca Roanhorse, and Nick Medina as well as new names–their stories serve as an introduction to their work. I found so many authors to add to my “to buy” list.

I’m not sure if the editors curated the order of the stories but my reading experience was affected by some of the more jarring transitions. The fluidity of tone was a bit of an issue. I developed reader fatigue jumping in and out of moods for each story. This can happen when the theme is very broad as opposed to a more specific theme, topic, or sub-genre.

At one point, there were three, heavy, emotionally taxing stories in a row and then a gory body horror tale. I remember thinking that was a rough transition. Emotionally, I wasn’t ready for that, so I did take a lot of breaks and picked up other books while reading one or two stories at a time. That’s my recommendation, just a few here and there.

Some of my favorite stories, Kushtuka- Mathilda Zeller, White Hills- Rebecca RoanhorseNavajos Don't Wear Elk Teeth- Conley Lyons, Wingless- Marcie R. Rendon, Quantum- Nick Medina, Hunger- Phoenix Boudreau, Tick Talk- Cherie Dimaline, Dead Owls- Mona Susan Power, Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning- Kate Hart, Sundays- David Heska Wanbli Weiden and Limbs- Waubgeshig Rice

Tough to review a collection so varied, though I love how another reviewer notes that while some of these stories were brief and most had open endings, they all feel intentional and full. For a dark fiction collection I did expect to be scared a little more often than I actually was while reading, but this anthology definitely delivers on the uncomfortable scale. Often told with mostly deft social commentary, <b>this collection runs the complete gamut of trigger / content warnings</b> and should be begun with that knowledge, imo. Overall so interesting and enlightening into many different beliefs of so many indigenous cultures, recommended for anyone who is interested in reading about the darker side of life, hard truths, and self examination.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Books / Penguin Random House for an eARC of this book. 🙏🏼</i>

I love a good anthology, and this one did not dissapoint! All of the stories were entertaining and kept me reading page after page. Multiple styles of writing and themes, which worked really well together. I was dissapointed when these stories were over because they were all so good. Perfect for the spooky time of year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of Never Whistle at Night.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!


Never Whistle At Night is truly dark as implied, but offers a lot of interesting sentiment in the depth of most of these stories. With this being an Indigenous anthology there is of course Indigeneity embedded into every page, and the stories not only entertain but make you think. From the discussion of blood quantum to residential schools to generational trauma, there was no holding back on calling these to attention and diving right in. And there were stories centered in more universal understanding, like losing a sibling (with a creepy twist) or just wanting to hear a scary story (don’t we all)? I found this anthology to be dynamic and immersive.

The stories also seemed to ebb and flow for me, which I found a bit refreshing. Not every story in this felt entirely dark, some bordering on a deeper message or just a bit creepy. That’s not to say they were any less invigorating in their own ways, but definitely on the easier to take aspect. They really help you recoup with their individual intrigue while recovering from some truly dark and gruesome stories, which for me were ‘Quantum’ by Nick Medina and ‘Sundays’ by David Heska Wanbli Weiden. Probably for their inclusion of children in the darkness of their stories. It made sense to have that up and down in intensity, and it really allows for all sorts of readers to find a variety of stories with different intensity for them to enjoy.

My one complaint, which is probably purely subjective, is the length. I’m really glad that there was so much inclusion of different Indigenous authors because I got to dive into stories from authors I already love and discover some more I want to read from. That part was great and wonderful. The more I continued to read, I felt a completeness at some point, like the anthology had accomplished what it set out to do. Do I mean I wish the authors in the last quarter should have been cut? Not at all. I was eager for their stories as much as anyone elses. It just felt too drawn out by that point. Which, again. Is probably subjective because I’m sure a lot of other readers will have wanted it to be longer. I personally just didn’t want to forget any of the stories and the further I went the more they blended together or slipped from my memory. The good thing is I get to read it again and again! I just wanted them all to stick when I was done but it was simply too much for my brain to retain all of it.

Overall I really enjoyed this anthology. I’m not a big dark fiction reader, not for a lack of interest, it just isn’t typically my go-to. But this made me eager for more in the future and I want to read more from all of the authors!

Starting from the beautiful cover, on account of which I requested an ARC of this wonderful book, ‘Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology’ delivers exactly what it promises: memorable, striking, impressive horror by Native/indigenous writers, absolute masters of their craft, with 26 stories landing punches on so many different levels that no horror fan will be left unsatisfied! As a matter of fact, the diversity of themes, characters, and settings is quite stunning; still, as other reviewers have mentioned, having Stephen Graham Jones provide the foreword with no story of his included (arghhh!) did leave me with a bitter taste. That said, discovering new authors is always a treat and ‘Never Whistle at Night’ was a revelation! I recommend checking out the following stories: “White Hills” by Rebecca Roanhorse, “Navajos Don’t Wear Elk Teeth” by Conley Lyons, “The Ones Who Killed Us” by Brandon Hobson, “Night in the Chrysalis” by Tiffany Morris, and “Dead Owls” by Mona Susan Power. They are all very powerful stories, involving significant themes, treated honestly and fairly, without losing sight of the horror elements at all.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to review!

“Never Whistle at Night” is a fantastic ownvoices anthology put together by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr and with a foreword from Blackfeet Indian horror writer Stephen Graham Jones. With stories from Shane himself and other amazing Indigenous voices including Rebecca Roanhorse, Cherie Dimaline, Tiffany Morris, Darcie Little Badger and countless others, it is a project that is necessary in science fiction, fantasy, and horror shelves. The stories are all engaging, vivid, and present viewpoints as well as perspectives that we need a lot more of in genre fiction from the writers of these backgrounds themselves. It is a welcome change in a genre riddle with the problematic history of white men and women exoticising, fetishising, and promulgating harmful stereotypes involving Native American and First Nations peoples and their mythologies as well as religious beliefs.

My absolute favourite of the stories was “Night in the Chrysalis” by Tiffany Morris, a Mi'kmaw writer of speculative fiction and poetry from Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Nova Scotia, Canada. Tiffany also writes poetry so her short stories have a poetic quality to them, as well. It’s a visceral horror story about family, and houses, but so much more.

Some of my favourites in particular were “Wingless” by Marcie R. Rendon, “Hunger” by Phoenix Boudreau, as well as “Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning” by Kate Hart.

“The Ones Who Killed Us” by Brandon Hobson takes a seering look at missing and murdered Indigenous peoples and how so many of their murders go unsolved both in the United States and Canada, and women in particular.

Another story that’s definitely memorable is “Limbs” by Weaubgeshig Rice.

A beautiful anthology of Native/indigenous writers with a beautiful cover. However don't let the cover fool you, there are some dark story's in there. Some stories sit with you even after reading it and some are having less impact yet the entire book consumes you. Having also a foreword by Stephen Graham Jones in it, I mean by this time if you dont know him what are you even doing?! Heads up for sensitive content , definitely check out the trigger warnings, there are some stories that might be disturbing for some people. Personally I did skip one about miscarriage, it's just a no for me. Still crazy obsessed with the entire existence of this book. I'm definitely grabbing a hard copy on its release date Sep. 19th 2023.

Thank you for Penguin Random House and Netgalley for providing me an Arc in exchange for an honest review!

I love a good horror story and have been trying to seek out Native/Indigenous voices in this and other genres. As with any multi-author short story collection , there were winners and losers. Many , of course , dealt with the enduring legacy of the Europeans decimation of indigenous culture. Horror provides a fitting setting for tales of revenge and reveal. Loosely , the tales got more “realistic” in general as the book progressed and I found these stories to be the most successful. I enjoyed the supernatural focus of the earlier ones but the true horror of the treatment of Native Americans really comes through in some of the least supernatural stories. No suspension of disbelief needed to feel the horror
Thank you to Net Galley for the copy

I was so excited for this book because I love short stories, I love dark and horror, and I was so excited to see this was a collection of indigenous authors. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed!

As an anthology, obviously there were many different writing styles and perspectives but they still all feel like a cohesive collection. There’s a blend of scary real world problems and history as well as plenty of paranormal elements drawn from traditional indigenous lore and stories. There so much commentary to unpack but on top of that these were just rich, creative, and interesting stories.

I am someone who is drawn to chilling horror, and many of these stories went heavy on it. A few of the stories had my gut absolutely twisting in anxiety. There is not a lack of body horror as well to make you squirm. Some just got weird but in a really good and interesting way, and others just made me really sad.

I could honestly dig into each of these, they all have strengths. Of course there were standouts that fit more of my personal tastes, but honestly there wasn’t a story I didn’t enjoy. This was a page turner for me and I was really excited to dig into each new story, and I definitely recommend this for anybody who can handle really dark and twisted stories.

Indigenous short stories of hauntings, curses, acts of revenge, and much more. This multifaceted collection will cause shivers to run down your spine and have you running to turn the lights on and make sure all the windows and doors are locked.

I have absolutely fallen in love with short stories lately. Not only are they a quick read, but they pack a punch. Every story in this collection was unique and chilling. I gobbled each one up quickly, and I had to go back and reread some of my favorites to better absorb the story.

I don’t have a particular favorite story, but I will say the first one was the perfect introduction to the book as a whole and was a good predictor as to how the rest of the stories were going to resonate with me.

Excellent stories with the perfect element of spookiness. A superb choice for a Halloween read or a scary campfire tale.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I appreciated the variety of horror, there wasn't just one set genre or theme. Horror spans a lot of the human experience and it really drilled down into specific horrors that are not always supernatural but very very real. Some stories were definitely harder reads than others, but many of them made me put down the book and stare into space for a while.

Each story was slim but jampacked with feeling and deep meanings. The authors were able to drill down the story but kept all the uneasiness.

Thankfully we are warned in the prologue that sometimes there isn't more to a story. Some stories just end and then what happens next is up to the reader. If I didn't know that going in I may have had a tougher time reading the stories.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy!

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology was ridiculously addictive. Most of the stories in here are wild and horrific. There are so many triggers, but the best books usually have trigger warnings. These short stories have you feeling all of the feelings, some are creepy, most are sad, and not every story will have a clear ending. Each story had so much heart and soul put into it. This is a book that I want to get a physical copy of to keep on my shelves for years to come. You need to get your hands on this one! It's out 9/19/23.

Thank you NetGalley and Vintage for the ARC and giving me the chance to read and review it honestly.

Happy reading!