Introduction
This list focuses on Indigenous Young Adult titles that center on keeping the reader on the edge of their seat through tension and suspense. For fans of One of Us is Lying or R.L. Stine. Indigenous people in the United States and Canada have ancestors who faced their own apocalyptic times. Their very past is a horror. The five titles below do a great job of showing how that history affects them in the modern days.
Teenagers are often drawn to horror because they exaggerate the difficult emotions teens face in their everyday life and provide easy metaphors for working through them. Being able to feel fear in a safe and controlled environment is important for these teens.
Educators will find these titles excellent additions to any library as they are perfect to help Native students who enjoy exploring their past and present through horror, as well as for non-Native students who enjoy horror and will benefit from seeing a new perspective on Indigenous life.
Man Made Monsters: Andrea Rogers (Cherokee)
Uncover the terrifying intersection of history and horror
Imagine a chilling horror collection that weaves classic monsters like werewolves and vampires with the true horrors of colonialism, domestic violence, and displacement. Man Made Monsters, by acclaimed Cherokee writer Andrea Rogers, delivers.
Follow a Cherokee family across centuries, from their ancestral lands in 1830s Georgia to the battlefields of World War I and Vietnam, and beyond. Each story offers a chilling glimpse into a different era, revealing how history’s monsters intertwine with the supernatural.
Man Made Monsters is a powerful exploration of identity and the enduring legacy of colonization. Rogers masterfully blends Cherokee legends with chilling horror, creating unforgettable characters
and monsters.
Each story is accompanied by haunting illustrations from Cherokee artist Jeff Edwards, incorporating the Cherokee syllabary for a truly immersive experience.
Don’t miss out on this masterpiece! Man Made Monsters will stay with you long after the last page.
Harvest House, Cynthia Lietich Smith (Muscogee)
Halloween is near, and Hughie Wolfe is volunteering at a new rural attraction: Harvest House. He’s excited to take part in the fun, spooky show—until he learns that an actor playing the vengeful spirit of an “Indian maiden,” a ghost inspired by local legend, will headline.
Folklore aside, unusual things have been happening at night at the crossroads near Harvest House. A creepy man is stalking teenage girls and young women, particularly Indigenous women; dogs are fretful and on edge; and wild animals are behaving strangely.
While Hughie weighs how and when to speak up about the bigoted legend, he and his friends begin to investigate the crossroads and whether it might be haunted after all. As Moon rises on All Hallow’s Eve, will they be able to protect themselves and their community?
Gripping and evocative, Harvest House showcases a versatile storyteller at her spooky, unsettling best.
Looking For Smoke, KA Cobell (Blackfeet)
A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK
In her powerful debut novel, Looking for Smoke, author K. A. Cobell (Blackfeet) weaves loss, betrayal, and complex characters into a thriller that will illuminate, surprise, and engage readers until the final word. A must-pick for readers who enjoy books by Angeline Boulley and Karen McManus!
When local girl Loren includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet Giveaway to honor Loren’s missing sister, Mara thinks she’ll finally make some friends on the Blackfeet reservation.
Instead, a girl from the Giveaway, Samantha White Tail, is found murdered.
Because the four members of the Giveaway group were the last to see Samantha alive, each becomes a person of interest in the investigation. And all of them—Mara, Loren, Brody, and Eli—have a complicated history with Samantha.
Despite deep mistrust, the four must now take matters into their own hands and clear their names. Even though one of them may be the murderer.
The Unfinished, Cheryl Isaacs (Mohawk)
In her stunning debut, Cheryl Isaacs (Mohawk) pulls the reader into an unsettling tale of monsters, mystery, and secrets that refuse to stay submerged.
When small-town athlete Avery’s morning run leads her to a strange pond in the middle of the forest, she awakens a horror the townspeople of Crook’s Falls have long forgotten.
The black water has been waiting. Watching. Hungry for the souls it needs to survive.
Avery can smell the water, see it flooding everywhere; she thinks she’s losing her mind. And as the black water haunts Avery—taking a new form each time—people in town begin to go missing.
Though Avery had heard whispers of monsters from her Kanien’kéha:ka (Mohawk) relatives, she has never really connected to her Indigenous culture or understood the stories. But the Elders she has distanced herself from now may have the answers she needs.
When Key, her best friend and longtime crush, is the next to disappear, Avery is faced with a choice: listen to the Kanien’kéha:ka and save the town but lose her friend forever…or listen to her heart and risk everything to get Key back.
An unmissable horror novel for readers who devoured Trang Thanh Tran’s She Is a Haunting or Claire Legrand’s Sawkill Girls!
Where Wolves Don’t Die, Anton Truer (Ojibwe)
Ezra Cloud hates living in Northeast Minneapolis. His father is a professor of their language, Ojibwe, at a local college, so they have to be there. But Ezra hates the dirty, polluted snow around them. He hates being away from the rez at Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation. And he hates the local bully in his neighborhood, Matt Schroeder, who terrorizes Ezra and his friend Nora George.
Ezra gets into a terrible fight with Matt at school defending Nora, and that same night, Matt’s house burns down. Instantly, Ezra becomes a prime suspect. Knowing he won’t get a fair deal, and knowing his innocence, Ezra’s family sends him away to run traplines with his grandfather in a remote part of Canada, while the investigation is ongoing. But the Schroeders are looking for him…
From acclaimed author Anton Treuer comes a novel that’s both taut thriller and a raw, tender coming-of-age story, about one Ojibwe boy learning to love himself through the love of his family around him.
Conclusion
Horror is an increasingly popular genre for teens. These titles will offer an often unheard voice and perspective for non-Native students as well as offer Native students a way to explore fear and discomfort in a safe space.
About the Author
AJ Eversole
AJ Eversole grew up in rural Oklahoma, a place removed from city life and full of opportunities to grow the imagination, which she did through intense games of make believe. She is an author who writes across all age groups, currently living in Fort Worth, TX with her husband and children. As an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation she is incredibly passionate about supporting Native and Indigenous Voices and works as a Native Voices Reporter at Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Cynsations Kidslit News Site.
Visit her on Instagram, Threads and TikTok: @ajeversole
You can also contact her through her email: amandajoyeversole@gmail.com
