Never Whistle at Night, published by Vintage Books on September 19, 2023, is a short story collection edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. Its 26 short narratives, penned by authors from a wide array of Indigenous nations, focus on horror themes. Contributors include Tommy Orange (There There), Rebecca Roanhorse (Black Sun), Cherie Dimaline (Empire of Wild), Morgan Talty (Night of the Living Rez), Waubgeshig Rice (Moon of the Crusted Snow), and Darcie Little Badger (A Snake Falls to Earth). The anthology is a Shirley Jackson Award Nominee for Best Edited Anthology, a Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Superior Achievement in an Anthology, and a Locus Award Finalist. The stories span both time and space, unfolding in contemporary and historical settings as well as in both rural and urban areas. The anthology features themes such as The Intersection of Tradition and Modernity, Intergenerational Trauma as the Legacy of Colonization, and Resistance Through the Preservation of Cultural Identity. 

This study guide references the 2023 Vintage Books paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of sexual violence, rape, mental illness, child abuse, child sexual abuse, pregnancy loss or termination, child death, death by suicide, suicidal ideation, animal cruelty or death, graphic violence, sexual content, cursing, illness or death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and anti-Indigenous racism.

Plot Summary

In “Kushtuka,” Tapeesa must evade the unwanted advances of Hank Ferryman as well as the murderous intentions of a murderous spirit, or kushtuka. Confronted with the violence of Hank’s son, Tapeesa is surprised to find herself in the kushtuka’s place, her own rage against Hank reflected in the spirit’s actions.

“White Hills” follows Marissa after she reveals both her pregnancy and Indigenous identity to her husband. Her mother-in-law, Elayne, does not want an Indigenous grandchild and tricks Marissa into terminating the pregnancy. She then offers Marissa a violent deal to keep her life with her husband in their gated community.

In “Navajos Don’t Wear Elk Teeth,” Joe finds himself in a strange romantic relationship with a white man named Cam, who obsesses over his tooth collection. When Joe discovers human teeth in the collection, he and Cam fight. Joe wins but discovers that Cam wanted his teeth as well.

The unnamed protagonist of “Wingless” and Punk live with a violent foster mother. When the abuse reaches new depths, the protagonist chops off their foster mother’s hand in an act of rebellion, earning respect from Punk.

In “Quantum,” Amber struggles with the notion that her two young sons will have different lives because of their parentage. She neglects one son, who will not qualify for the tribal rolls, as his father was not Indigenous. After contemplating stealing blood from a dead man, she reevaluates her perception of identity and accepts her son.

“Hunger” follows the Wehtigo, a hungry spirit, as it hunts an Indigenous woman named Summer after a frat party. It believes the hunt will be easy, but Summer surprises it by possessing the knowledge to banish it, turning the Wehtigo into prey for the first time.

Over the course of “Tick Talk,” Son processes the loss of his father while hunting at his father’s old cabin. When he wakes from a nap with a tick of supernatural proportions on his stomach, Son struggles to remove it. He flees the cabin, wishing he had his father’s help.

“The Ones Who Killed Us” features the voices of murdered Cherokee men as they search for their missing women. While doing so, the men encounter their killers. When the missing women appear, the ghosts drive the killers into the river to drown.

On a hike in “Snakes Are Born in the Dark,” Peter uses magic to teach his cousin Maddie and her boyfriend Adam a lesson after Adam disrespects and destroys Indigenous petroglyphs. As they walk back to their cars in the dark, Maddie becomes covered in sores while Adam hallucinates and gives birth to a snake.

In “Before I Go,” Keira visits the site of her fiancé’s death. At night she dreams that he returns to her, broken, and is visited by the Night Mother, who promises to reunite them. She brings Keira to the gorge where Davey died, but when Davey returns and scares her, Keira falls and dies as well.

“Night in the Chrysalis” documents Cece’s first night in her new home. After finding a doll, Cece encounters the spirits of a hostile woman and girl. She is haunted, the house comes alive, and the girl turns Cece into a doll. Cece breaks free from the haunting, defeating the spirits.

“Behind Colin’s Eyes” follows Colin as he hunts with his father. When Colin hears a whistle, he whistles back, and a malignant spirit pursues him. After an encounter with the spirit in elk form, Colin is possessed by the spirit, which promises Colin that no one can help him.

In “Heart-Shaped Clock,” Joseph returns home to Tennessee and works at his mother’s convenience store. After receiving a concussion during a robbery she accuses him of committing, he struggles with his emotions. When his brother confronts him, Joseph accidentally kills him.

“Scariest. Story. Ever.” follows the protagonist as he seeks to obtain a scary story to use in a contest from his uncle, Mike. Uncle Mike admonishes him, however, saying he must share the stories he records. Uncle Mike forces the protagonist to drop out of the contest and instead become his apprentice, learning the stories and traditions to pass on.

In “Human Eaters,” a grandmother sits with her grandsons, whom she calls No Filter and String Bean, and prepares them for a fast. She warns them of the human eaters, who will take them if they do not observe their traditions.

In “The Longest Street in the World,” Junior receives a visit from Louis, a spirit who helps his community. Louis brings the heads of teenagers who attacked Junior and, when a robber breaks into Junior’s store, kills the robber.

“Dead Owls” follows Amy while she visits her aunt, Phyllis. Aunt Phyllis lives on a campus that was once a concentration camp for Japanese Americans, including a man she loved, Hiro. When Amy is attacked by Libby, the wife of General Custer, in a dream, Hiro saves her.

“The Prepper” details how Nelly disconnects from the world and becomes obsessed with the possibility of a zombie apocalypse. His grandfather is dying, and Nelly believes he will turn into a zombie. He kills his grandfather and then multiple police officers who try to arrest him.

In “Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning,” Robert and his nephew, Greg, move to Texas. After a party, Robert is found dead, and Greg never recovers. When Greg dies, he searches for Robert in the afterlife. He never finds him, as Robert is bouncing from bar to bar trying to find his murderer.

“Sundays” follows Thomas as he heals old trauma from being sexually abused by a priest in a residential school. He tracks Father R down, but just as he is about to take his revenge, he remembers how his wife asked him to find peace. He forgives himself and leaves Father R unharmed.

In “Eulogy for a Brother, Resurrected,” Della decides to resurrect her murdered brother, Callum. She convinces her aunt Ina, a medicine woman, to show her how and creates a mud version of Callum. With Auntie Ina’s help, Della resurrects him.

In “Night Moves,” Walt and his fellow soldiers walk home from a bar in Germany. Despite many warnings from locals about a wolf, the group walks through the woods to their base. They are attacked by a giant wolf that Walt kills in self-defense. When the wolf transforms into a dead man, Walt is horrified.

“Capgras” follows Tom on a book tour in Paris. He has a lump on his back that keeps growing and feels as though the person who translated his book into French changed his work. The pressure causes a crisis, and he finds himself lost, unsure of his identity.

Bets, the protagonist of “The Scientist’s Horror Story,” tells a story in which she compares the denial of a research grant meant to help an Indigenous community to watching a bad horror film. She expresses uncertainty about the future and the horror of not being able to make a change.

In “Collections,” Megis Cloud attends a party at her professor’s home. The walls are adorned with the heads of Professor Smith’s former mentees. She has a head of every religion, orientation, and race, except for an Indigenous one. She offers Megis her help in starting a writing career in exchange for her head.

In “Limbs,” Makwa shows Carter, a surveyor, land for a possible mining operation. Carter is unhappy, believing Makwa is misleading him, and ties him up. He beats him and removes his toes before being lured outside, where roots attack, kill, and drag him into the earth.