Skip to content
1981
Volume 14, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2040-3275
  • E-ISSN: 2040-3283

Abstract

The following article examines the portrayal of Indigenous peoples and traditions in modern horror fiction written by non-Indigenous Euro-American authors. While the figures of the noble savage, beautiful maiden and victim of white progress are some of the most enduring stereotypes associated with indigeneity, in this article I demonstrate how in modern horror Indigenous characters and traditions serve as the embodiment of evil, which the White protagonists need to defeat to ensure their own survival. If any Indigenous characters appear in these narratives, they do so mostly in the roles of helpers, which contributes to the marginalization of Indigenous characters in the genre. To illustrate these problems, I draw examples from a number of horror stories ranging from classic to pulp fiction in order to expose the genre’s latent colonial rhetoric, which reinforces the simulation of Indigenous presence in contemporary culture – a phenomenon analysed by the Anishinaabe scholar, Gerald Vizenor, whose work will provide a theoretical background for my investigation.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Polish Ministry of Education and Science under the Regional Initiative of Excellence programme for the years 2019–22 (Award 009/RID/2018/19)
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/host_00065_1
2023-05-24
2026-04-10

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Anson, J.. ( 2019), The Amityville Horror, New York:: Gallery Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Atwood, M.. ( 1995), Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature, Oxford:: Clarendon Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Barnett, L. K.. ( 1975), The Ignoble Savage: American Literary Racism, 1790–1890, Westport, CT:: Greenwood Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Bastian, D. E., and Mitchell, J. K.. (eds) ( 2004), Handbook of Native American Mythology, Santa Barbara, CA:: ABC-CLIO;.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Bergland, R. L.. ( 2000), The National Uncanny: Indian Ghosts and American Subjects, Hanover:: The University Press of New England;.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Blackwood, A.. ( [1910] 2018;), ‘ The Wendigo. ’, in The Algernon Blackwood Collection, Ann Arbor, MI:: Charles River Editors;, pp. 2739796.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. DeSanti, B.. ( 2018;), ‘ Classroom cannibal: A guide on how to teach Ojibwe spirituality using the Windigo and film. ’, Journal of Religion & Film, 22:1, https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol22/iss1/36/. Accessed 23 April 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Dickey, C.. ( 2016;), ‘ The suburban horror of the Indian burial ground. ’, The New Republic , 19 October, https://newrepublic.com/article/137856/suburban-horror-indian-burial-ground. Accessed 2 November 2021.
  9. Dunbar-Ortiz, R., and Gilio-Whitaker, D.. ( 2016), ‘All the Real Indians Died Off’: And 20 Other Myths about Native Americans, Boston, MA:: Beacon Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. King, S.. ( 2017), Pet Sematary, New York:: Pocket Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Kuiper, K.. (ed.) ( 2011), Native American Culture, New York:: Britannica Educational Publishing;.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Lutz, H.. ( 1996;), ‘ Robbed graves, whiteshamans, and stolen stories: (Re-?)appropriations of native cultures. ’, in P. Easingwood,, K. Gross, and L. Hunter. (eds), Difference and Community: Canadian and European Cultural Perspectives, Atlanta, GA:: Rodopi;, pp. 13146.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Lynch, P. A.. ( 2004), Native American Mythology A to Z, New York:: Facts on File;.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Macdonald, A.,, Macdonald, G., and Sheridan, M.. ( 2000), Shape-Shifting: Images of Native Americans in Recent Popular Fiction, Westport, CT:: Greenwood Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Masterton, G.. ( [2006] 2007), Edgewise, New York:: Leisure Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Masterton, G.. ( [1976] 2014), The Manitou, New York:: Open Road Media;.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Meikle, W.. ( 2012), Night of the Wendigo, North Webster, IN:: DarkFuse Publications;.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Nazare, J.. ( 2000;), ‘ The horror! The horror? The appropriation, and reclamation, of Native American mythology. ’, Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 11:1(41), pp. 2451.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Nobel, J.. ( 2016;), ‘ Why are Native American cemeteries treated differently?. ’, Funeralwise , 27 July, https://www.funeralwise.com/digital-dying/native-american-cemeteries-treated-differently/. Accessed 2 November 2021.
  20. Owens, L.. ( 2001;), ‘ As if an Indian were really an Indian: Native American voices and postcolonial theory. ’, in G. M. Bataille. (ed.), Native American Representations: First Encounters, Distorted Images, and Literary Appropriations, Lincoln, NE and London:: University of Nebraska Press;, pp. 1125.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Porter, J.. ( 2018;), ‘ The horror genre and aspects of Native American Indian literature. ’, in K. Corstorphine, and L. R. Kremmel. (eds), The Palgrave Handbook to Horror Literature, Cham:: Palgrave Macmillan;, pp. 4560.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Preston, R.. ( 1980;), ‘ The witiko: Algonkian knowledge and Whiteman knowledge. ’, in M. Halpin, and M. M. Ames. (eds), Manlike Monsters on Trial: Early Records and Modern Evidence, Vancouver:: University of British Columbia Press;, pp. 11131.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Rogak, L.. ( 2009), Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King, New York:: Thomas Dunne Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Smallman, S.. ( 2015), Dangerous Spirits: The Wendigo in Myth and History, Victoria:: Heritage House;.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Smith, A.. ( 2014;), ‘ This essay was not built on an ancient Indian burial ground. ’, Off Screen , August, https://offscreen.com/view/horror-indigenous-cinema. Accessed 23 April 2022.
  26. Smith, G. N.. ( [1981] 2011), Manitou Doll, Craven Arms:: Black Hill Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Stedman, R. W.. ( 1982), Shadows of the Indian: Stereotypes in American Culture, Norman, OK:: University of Oklahoma Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Tuck, E., and Yang, K. W.. ( 2012;), ‘ Decolonization is not a metaphor. ’, Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1:1, pp. 140.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Vizenor, G.. ( 1998), Fugitive Poses: Native American Indian Scenes of Absence and Presence, Lincoln, NE and London:: University of Nebraska Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Vizenor, G.. ( 1999a), Manifest Manners: Narratives on Postindian Survivance, Lincoln, NE and London:: University of Nebraska Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Vizenor, G.. ( 1999b), Postindian Conversations: Gerald Vizenor and A. Robert Lee, Lincoln, NE and London:: University of Nebraska Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Vizenor, G.. (ed.) ( 2008), Survivance: Narratives of Native Presence, Lincoln, NE and London:: University of Nebraska Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Yancey, R.. ( 2010), The Curse of the Wendigo, New York:: Simon & Schuster;.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Łaszkiewicz, Weronika. ( 2023;), ‘ For fear of the Other: Simulation of Indigenous presence in horror fiction. ’, Horror Studies, 14:1, pp. 11934, https://doi.org/10.1386/host_00065_1
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/host_00065_1
Loading
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test