**Book Review: *Zegaajimo: Stories from Indigenous Horror and Thriller Fiction***

*Zegaajimo* is a powerful, spine-chilling collection of horror and thriller stories that brings together the voices of eleven exceptional First Nations and Métis authors from across Canada. Edited by Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler and Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, this anthology showcases a diverse range of terrifying tales rooted in Indigenous cultures, histories, and experiences. It is a dark yet deeply compelling journey into the supernatural, blending tradition, folklore, and contemporary anxieties.

From Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler’s own contribution to stories by Waubgeshig Rice, Richard Van Camp, Drew Hayden Taylor, and others, *Zegaajimo* explores themes of trauma, survival, identity, and resistance in uniquely unsettling ways. Each story brings its own flavor of horror, whether it’s rooted in the eerie presence of ancestral spirits, the anxiety of colonial violence, or the deep-seated fears that linger in communities, both physical and spiritual.

What makes *Zegaajimo* particularly remarkable is its cultural depth. While each tale weaves in elements of traditional storytelling, the anthology is also a reflection of the modern Indigenous experience, showing how contemporary fears and nightmares intersect with age-old myths and legends. The characters in these stories are complex, often navigating the challenges of living between two worlds—one where the supernatural is ever-present and another where they must contend with the very real impacts of colonization and the struggle for identity.

The collection offers a wide range of tones, from the subtly disturbing to the outright horrifying. There are moments of stark terror, but also moments of humor and introspection that give the collection emotional depth and texture. Each author’s distinctive voice ensures that there is something for every horror fan—whether you prefer slow-burn tension or heart-pounding suspense.

The inclusion of voices like Dawn Dumont, Daniel Heath Justice, D.A. Lockhart, and others ensures that the collection is not only a celebration of Indigenous storytelling but also an urgent platform for writers who have often been marginalized in the broader genre of horror. *Zegaajimo* is more than just an anthology of horror—it’s a call to recognize the richness of Indigenous narratives and the power of horror as a tool for storytelling and cultural preservation.

Whether you’re a longtime fan of horror or someone new to Indigenous literature, *Zegaajimo* will leave you captivated and unnerved. It is a must-read for anyone looking to experience a fresh, culturally rich take on the horror genre, offering a thrilling yet thought-provoking perspective that lingers long after you’ve turned the final page.

Editor Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler explains in the introduction that Zegaajimo means ‘to tell a scary story’ in Anishinaabemowin – “horror is traditional.” This collection includes 11 stories; short author bios are provided at the end.

Some of the authors in this collection I’ve read before – if you haven’t read Waubgeshig Rice’s novels, go do so now! – while others were completely new to me. Overall, this is a cohesive collection that has a good range of different themes and moods. I think this might be an approachable collection for readers who don’t tend to go for horror – it is not, overall, especially gory or graphically violent (though there are exceptions to this) but many of the stories are disturbing, thought-provoking, eerie. One story really didn’t work for me at all and inevitably I enjoyed some stories more than others, but overall this is a really solid anthology I’d definitely recommend. My standout stories included “Water Torture” by Drew Hayden Taylor, “Black Silk Suit” by Karen McBride, “The Keeper of the Bones” by Daniel Heath Justice,” and “Offerings” by Waubgeshig Rice.

Thank you to Kegedonce Press, Literary Press Group of Canada, and NetGalley for providing an ARC for me to review.

Content warnings: murder, death, blood, gore, body horror, colonization, forcible confinement, animal cruelty, child abuse (not on-page), terminal illness, classism

As with all short story collections, this was a mixed bag. However, it was mostly really enjoyable. Of course some stories are better (my favorite was A Season for Everything) but there weren’t any that I disliked which isn’t always the case in collections. The cover really drew me in and I’m glad I let it catch my eye!

Typically I'm not a super huge fan of short story collections, as I often find that there's one or two that really bog down the overall experience. However, I thought every story in this collection had at least one redeeming quality or aspect that I liked enough to make me overlook whatever menial problem I might have. Overall, this book was a relatively quick and easy read, and generally enjoyable.

As with most short story collections, Zegaajimo was a mixed experience for me. However, the high points were worth the cost of admission for me, and I will be glad to own them, so I rated higher than my average score.

Certain stories were exceptional, my favorite being A Season For Everything by Francine Cunningham. "When you kill, remember to give thanks, sing your death song. This animal has sacrificed its life for you. Honour it." No spoilers, but this is a favorite Native parable of mine. Bias aside, this has a slow build-up with fantastic characterization and building anxiety for the reader. The descriptive language throughout is beautiful. I genuinely found this to be creepy, even scary at times. I thought it was a fantastic story, and will be looking for more from Cunningham.

The first entry in the collection, Nighthawk by Tyler Pennock, was a lovely tale as well. I didn't find it as perfect as A Season For Everything, but it's a great story. I admit I'm biased; I love gothic horror. But this story made me feel a creeping dread and a lingering unease. "Something about this was different. Off. My eyes knew it: all colour left the forest, and the trees seemed far away, brittle. My mind knew it: burning, asking me to--to go. Now. And my chest knew it: it grew a heaviness. Every time I breathed, it felt like carrying seawater." What Frances experienced was genuinely terrifying. I had become wrapped up in Pennock's descriptions by the time the horror showed itself, and it gave me goose bumps.

The third short story I wanted to call attention to is Black Silk Suit by Karen McBride. It was just as solid as Nighthawk, and had an absolutely gorgeous introduction. "Since time immemorial, It had been there. At first light, It sat in shadow. When the stars first blinked down on the back of the Turtle, It had settled deep in the mud of the riverbed." The author's writing is beautiful, with so much warmth, heart, and reality to it. This is so complete, and almost cozy; I call this type of story a comfortable horror. The suspense was also fantastic. It LASTED and had me on edge. The comparison I had while reading was The September House, which is not at all the same story, but resonated the same way. Both star an older woman narrating a slow, comfy horror, infusing the narrative with her experience and heart, all leading to the penultimate scary event. The narrator ambles through the story, but what she discusses builds her character and makes you like and invest in her. I do feel that the writing could use a little improvement, and I didn't love the ending paragraph. But overall, this was a great story.

I won't dwell too much on the stories I hated, as short stories are especially subjective, and I don't like to tear authors down. I did personally REALLY dislike Wahkohtowin by Dawn Dumont, and Mouthless by Richard van Camp. Neither of those stories worked for me at all, which brought my overall rating down. However, I do very much think this collection is worth picking up. Multiple entries were wonderfully executed, and many creeped me out. Most of the stories are solid reads, and if you enjoy indigenous horror, you will very likely want this on your shelf to support and revisit your favorite tales.

This digital review copy, or eARC, was provided by Literary Press Group of Canada | Kegedonce Press and Netgalley. I have provided an honest and unbiased review to the best of my ability.

Zegaajimo is a collection of short Indigenous horror stories of a wide range of genres, from sci-fi to supernatural to survival horror.

This was a really interesting collection that covered a variety of Indigenous realities, translated into horror. There were a few that I didn't particularly care for, such as "Mouthless" by Richard Van Camp which went from a pandemic story to an alien story (interesting concept but still not my cup of tea) and also had a questionable segment about prisons (making a deal with aliens to feed prisoners to them instead of other people). The ones that stood out the most to me were "Wahkohtowin" by Dawn Dumont, "A Season for Everything" by Francine Cunningham and "Black Silk Suit" by Karen McBride. I particularly enjoyed the prose and the storytelling by these authors, and they managed to keep me on the edge of my seat.

This was an extremely enjoyable read and I am definitely looking forward to picking up more Indigenous horror anthologies!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kegedonce Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this.
Because of ARCs from NetGalley I’m starting to realize how much I really enjoy short horror stories and having an anthology with similar themes is so enjoyable. This is another one I’ll be getting for myself

A horrifying anthology of indigenous voices that captures horror in such a blood curdling way. Definitely worth a read!

Thank you Netgalley for this one. I was really intrigued by the cover and thought it looked good, I went in blind, not reading the synopsis, but I'm so glad I did. I would recommend reading this. I was fun and really interesting. I rated it 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. However, this book didn't really hit for me. I was expecting to enjoy it but it fell a bit flat tbh. Not much more to say, I apologize.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this collection, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a really fun collection of horror stories by indigenous authors. They cover a wide variety of horror from the more suspenseful and psychological to the full on supernatural. There is also body horror and haunted houses. Really, if you like horror, or even if you only like some types of horror (like me) you should be able to find at least one story in this that you can enjoy. I would highly recommend this for fans of Never Whistle at Night and I know that I'm going to be looking into some of these authors and checking out their backlists.

This is a great collection of horror by Indigenous voices, some new, some well-known. These stories run the gamut from the suspenseful kind to body horror to a classic haunted house that only the pregnant wife seems to be worried about. This is a really great jumping off point for finding some more Indigenous writers to read, or to just have a good scare on a cold night.

This anthology of indigenous horror stories is a standout collection, offering atmospheric and evocative tales that are sure to captivate readers. Notably, every story in the collection is well-crafted, with over half being particularly memorable. The anthology is a wild ride, balancing entertainment, horror, and hope.

This was such a unique collection, because these horror short stories are from an indigenous perspective. There was a wide variety, with some being more dark than others. Some of them stuck with me for a long time, because I really felt as though I was there. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

I guess going in expecting Stephen Graham Jones is a little like walking into a library and expecting every fiction book to be Ann Patchett level good. Also, I’m not actually a fan of horror except for SGJ and a few select others. There are quite a few different takes on indigenous horror stories in this collection, so there will certainly be something for everyone. Some of them are a bit more gore and others are the anxiety, quiet psychological fear I enjoy.
Overall, this is a nice collection. I especially liked the intro with background on the curators of the collection. I would have actually enjoyed hearing their voices more and some interpretation of the stories since they were so short. Overall, a very thrilling collection of short stories ideal for someone that enjoys horror already or is looking to sample a variety.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kegedonce Press, and the authors of this anthology for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this title!

"Zegaajimo" (Anishinaabemowin [Ojibwe, Odawa, and Pottawatomi], "to tell a scary story") is a First Nations horror anthology in the spirit of "Never Whistle at Night", collecting 11 stories from indigenous authors that encompass everything from alien invasions, to late-night river trawling, to justice against billionaires. I appreciate that each story featured a different First Nations culture and I am definitely inspired to read more about tribes/groups I was not familiar with to learn more about specific nuance in culture I may be missing that would change the tone of the story (through overall I was spooked by all 11 tales and felt like there was enough context in each to understand the gist of what made the story scary).

I really liked the cover art for this book, which was what initially drew me to pick it up, and also liked that the art was repeated throughout chapter headers and the pages of the book, sneaking and snaking spookily through each tale. Generally, I also like breaking up novel-reading with an anthology now and then, and this definitely scratched an itch and would have been a great October read that I may revisit next spooky season!

Great anthology of indigenous horror. Atmospheric and evocative. High recommend to anyone that enjoys folklore. Thank you to Netgalley and Kegedonce press fir the ARC.

Short story collections are not my go-to, however, with the horror genre I find that it can be more effective that way. Consider this another great anthology of indigenous horror stories. If you enjoyed Never Whistle at Night, you should definitely also give this one a shot as this may even exceed your expectations!

I love a short horror story.
So this was exactly what I was looking for. Some of the stories were gruesome, some were slow burn and some were super thought provoking.

One of the most interesting parts of an anthology is the way the different authors incorpore whatever the theme is and this being a theme of indigenous author really lent for the stories to do whatever and it slapped.

Overall an enjoyable collection.

Thanks to Netgalley and Literary Press of Canada for an eARC.

This was a refreshingly eclectic mix of genres and styles, from deep-sea cosmic horror to a doomed bingo night. I rarely enjoy every single story in an anthology but that was the case for this one! Plus, I discovered some new queer horror authors to follow, which is always a plus.