Anoka: A Collection of Indigenous Horror by Shane Hawk

Black Hills Press, 2020

ISBN-13: 9798674225195

Available: Paperback, Kindle, Audible ( Amazon.com )

The titular Anoka, Minnesota is a small town outside of the Twin Cities with the title of “The Halloween Capital of the World”, a title held since 1937. Cheyenne and Arapaho author Shane Hawk presents his debut horror collection of six short stories exploring themes of family, grief, loneliness, and identity in indigenous life.

In “Soilborne”, a couple’s fussy child Roland is not what the tiny thing seems.

“Wounded” addresses missing and murdered indigenous women. Philip Wounded’s sister 12-year old sister, Pippa, was kidnapped and murdered after he shirked his responsibility in picking her up from school. After that, he took up the bottle, pills, and anything else that could bury his guilt. When he finds an old book in his grandfather’s shed, his problems get worse.

“Orange”, a powerful piece of flash fiction, tells the story of a man who is haunted by the death of his wife and unborn child after a drunk driving accident.

In “Imitate”, a father believes his young son is not who he claims to be. I love creepy kid stories, so this one was right up my alley. Hawk’s descriptions of the son, Tate, are spooky, and a scene where the father comes face to face with…something… in a small enclosed space, was intense.

It would be hard to follow “Imitate” with more scares, but Hawk manages to do just that with “Dead America”. An award-winning author struggling with severe writers block begins to have nightmares about a giant spider and her babies, who accuses him of stealing tales from his people and claiming them as his own. This one has a good dose of body horror for those of us who appreciate it.

In “Transfigured”, Hawk weaves a tale of a werewolf who just wants to belong, to be a part of something that they never could as a child: Halloween.

At the end of each story, Hawk provides story notes that gives the reader some history or inspiration behind these tales of horror. It is a nice touch, especially for people unfamiliar with the legends Hawk refers to. I recommend this collection to horror readers who are interested in genre literature by indigenous authors. The first story I read from Hawk was in Howls From Hell, which I also reviewed for Monster Librarian. I will be keeping this author on my radar. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker