Cover Image: Never Whistle at Night

Never Whistle at Night

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Member Reviews

I'm working on a full review for Horror DNA. My time lapsed with my NetGalley copy, so I bought one so I can finish my review from my notes.

I enjoyed it a great deal.

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Incredible dark fiction anthology that highlights indigenous authors. This work gave me 'Cursed Bunny' vibes, which was exactly what I was looking for in a fall read. The stories aren't gory, but they do leave you with a sense of unease.

The short story format of this work makes it easy to pick it up and read one or two at a time.

Overall, I recommend this book to people who like: dark fiction, short stories, and folklore.

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'Never Whistle at Night' is a collection of stories written by indigenous writers. This anthology contains tales of myths, legends, surrealism, and horror - each writer telling stories in various narratives and styles. It is a work of dark fiction with some stories leaving me shocked and horrified whilst others made me disturbed for reasons I cannot explain. There is so much talent in this collection. Almost every story had me on the edge of my seat, intrigued as to what strange and magical thing would happen next! As with all short story collections, I preferred some tales over others but I feel anyone looking for something dark and unique will find something for them in this book!

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Sometimes when you read short story collections there are a few that stand out and many that are subpar. Sometimes the stories blend together and are easy to forget. This is NOT the case with Never Whistle At Night. Every single story has stuck with me since finishing it. So many of them I wanted to stay with and read more of. The stories are creepy and horrific and traumatizing. And they all feature strong condemnations of colonialism. I adored this collection.

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I love love love indigenous horror stories. They rarely miss for me. This book was a great collection of stories that varied quite a bit. I think there is something for every horror enthusiast in this book but not every story is for everyone. There were a few I felt like were pretty shallow, and elementary and then some that blew me away and creeped me out. Overall if you love horror you will most likely find something amazing in this book.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC

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Absolutely loved this book. Can we also discuss the cover art, because it is truly perfect?! 10/10, no notes.

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This anthology was unsettling in the best possible way. The stories covered a broad spectrum of topics but an atmospheric thread carried through each. Morgan Talty's story was a favorite that will stick with me for a long time. I'm not typically a horror reader - I was drawn in by the indigenous connection - but enjoyed this collection.

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This collection started out promising, but the more I read on, the less the stories really stuck with me. It may have just been a matter of personal preference because I didn't think they were poorly written by any means, but I felt like I had to force myself to finish reading some of them.

My favorites were White Hills, Quantum, Snakes Are Born in the Dark, & Behind Colin's Eyes.

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The stories presented in this anthology were nothing short of fantastic with such a variety from traditional indigenous folklore, myths, ghosts, curses, monsters, ancient spirits, magic and cold revenge. A huge bonus was each story ended with a brief autobiography of the author that wrote the story which I felt gave me a connection to the person behind the story. There is even a really cool forward at the beginning by the great horror author Stephen Graham Jones which is also very entertaining. This book is described as a "celebration of indigenous people’s survival and imagination" and I wholeheartedly agree. It’s important to pass down and read stories like these over and over through generations.

Some of my favorites in the book were: White Hills; Navahos Don’t Wear Elk Teeth; Snakes Born in the Dark; Heart Shaped Clock; Scariest. Story. Ever.; Human Eaters; Collections; and Limbs

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I was expecting more and it just wasn't it for me. I thought the stories were kind of interesting but there were moments where I was actually bored. I wanted way more than what I got.

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I was not able to finish this because my NetGalley app malfunctioned, but I really enjoyed what I had read up until that point. It features native authors from many different tribes and weaves folklore with fiction to create something darkly beautiful. As a white reader, it was educational as well as enjoyable to read.

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This collection of tales from some of the best writers is one of my favorites of 2023. Dark, dread inducing, and at times, downright terrifying. An absolutely amazing anthology, you will want to read again and again. Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. along with the amazing writers have created an extraordinary masterpiece. Tales that are both thrilling and timely, and are reminiscent of the folktales we all beg to hear as children.

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My stand out favorites were White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse and Heart Shaped Clock by Kelly Jo Ford.

So many interesting concepts and ideas! I definitely discovered a whole bunch of authors that I am gonna be checking out backlists by.

And yes, I was told by my mom and neighbors to never whistle at night and if i hear a whistle at night to never reply back to it because where I live, skinwalkers are a thing. And we don't fuxk with that thing.

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When I got the notification of approval for this book, I'm beyond excitement! Like I'm all sold with the book title and the cover. Growing up in SEA and heard so many things about local folklore "Never Whistle at Night" really stole my curiosity. This book is a collection of several indigenous horror/thriller stories. With several authors working on this book, there are variety of narration styles. Some left me goosebumps and speechless and some left me angry.
Reading folklore/horror stories from different culture is always intriguing me. In the end I always end up researching the things I don't know, and it was so much fun learning about them. Definitely recommended if you want to read short horror stories.

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This is probably the best anthology I've read to date. There are 26 stories written by Indigenous authors that range from hauntings, human monsters, the supernatural, etc. Some of these stories are more disturbing than others. I'd advise checking trigger warnings just in case.

I've been introduced to so many new to me authors. I'm definitely looking forward to reading their other work.

Some of my favorite stories were: Kushtuka, White Hills, Navajo Don't Wear Elk Teeth, Quantum, Hunger, Before I Go, Snakes Are Born in the Dark, The Prepper, Sundays, Collections, and Limbs.

The stories in this collection give food for thought. They're heartbreaking and disturbing (Sundays especially). There are stories in here that I'll think about for a long time.

None of the stories in the collection were terrible. Most received 4 stars and above from me. This is truly a great collection that I'd recommend to anyone. Especially those that enjoy dark fiction, horror, thrillers, Stephen Graham Jones (and want to be introduced to more Indigenous authors).

SGJ gave the perfect introduction for these stories. He gives you a taste of what you can expect. "There's scary stuff in stories, sure, there's stuff that keeps you up at night, there's stuff that makes you watch the darkness you're driving through that much closer. But there's hope, too. Just- some nights you have to wade through a lot of blood to get there. So, for these next few pages, let these writers take you by the hand, lead you into the darkness...".

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

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Twenty-six authors deliver unique dark fiction tales in this anthology by and about Indigenous Americans. The stories vary in tone and content. Overtly horrific stories share a collection with sober meditations on the issues faced by Indigenous communities. Horror is subjective, and this anthology provides an opportunity for those outside of these cultures to experience existential terrors: the loss of culture and identity and the ability to live their lives according to the treasured beliefs and values intrinsic to their community. Fear is anything from the man-eating demon of nightmare legends stalking in the night, the avenger of your people who strikes fear in your abusers, an abusive lover or family member, the lack of hope that drives a person to drink or abuse drugs, the devastation wrote by forced assimilation and separation from one’s culture, the illogical and vicious hatred projected at you every day and the way that it destroys your life and soul, and being forced by the invading colonizers to erase everything that makes you who you are—your essential heritage and being.


The writing was extremely high caliber with all the stories While the stories are united by addressing the viewpoint of indigenous people, they are diverse in subject matter as each person is unique in what their experiences are. While Never Whisper at Night is not in any way an easy read, it is an important and valuable anthology using dark fiction and horror themes and tones to tell important stories about real people and real issues. I strongly recommend it to horror, dark fiction, and speculative fiction fans and readers interested in horror stories from the viewpoint of writers from marginalized cultures.

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This collection is fantastic. I loved the variety of voices that the authors used, and was drawn in from the first story. I particularly liked the story about the foster kids and how they refused to be cogs in the machine of their foster parents' bullshit,

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A great collection of stories. I recommend this one highly. Some hit harder than others, but not a single miss in the batch. A great set of American Native writers.

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Never Whistle at Night is my favourite short story anthology of the year so far.

Each story is gorgeously written in a variety of styles, themes, and genres. Many stories address difficult and necessary topics such as colonization, residential school, abuse, and genocide.

But while the anthology challenges the reader, it’s also incredibly entertaining, visceral, and haunting. 

My personal favourite stories were:
- White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse
- The Ones Who Killed Us by Brandon Hobson
- Scariest. Story. Ever. by Richard Van Camp 
- The Scientist’s Horror Story by Darcie Little Badger
- Collections by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala

I recommend this for anyone who enjoys dark literature, horror, and works by Indigenous authors.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for my review copy of this book.

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This book captured my heart! A compelling narrative and rich characters made it an absolute joy. I wholeheartedly recommend it to fellow readers!

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