I’m not sure I’ve read any fiction by Native American writers before.Owl Goingback has established a reputation among horror writers for his blending of Indian concepts and the horror genre.Coyote Rage is a novel that blends worlds.Coyote is, of course, a trickster figure.Upset with human abuse of the world and our indiscriminate killing of animals, he decides to wipe out the human race.Since all animals, including humans, plead their causes in the council in Galun’lati, the original world, he decides to take humans out by killing their last representative on the council, an elderly Native American in a nursing home.The fact that his victim has a daughter unaware of her heritage, means that Coyote has two people to hunt.As a shapeshifter able to travel between worlds, Coyote is a formidable enemy.
I don’t want to put any spoilers here, but it is worth considering the spiritual aspects of the story and how they blend so well into horror.I’ve commented before on how religion plays into the genre.Here is yet another example.Galun’lati is presented as reality.Not only do the animals talk there, it is a place that has its own dangers.It’s a forest world, appropriate to Native American experience and context.It’s very much a natural, supernatural world.The novel splits its time between Galun’lati and the New World—this world—as humans try to prevent their own extinction while most people have no idea there’s even any threat.Oblivious, we carry on. Religion can play into horror that way.While there are plenty of examples of purely secular horror, in my experience tales that have supernatural sources of threat are the scariest.
It may come back to the issue of ultimate concern.When our spiritual wellbeing is taken into account, we often approach it with some trepidation.The physical world feels so real and occupies much of our time.If, however, we need to add spiritual concerns on top of everything else, it can become overwhelming.What if physical threats, such as the coronavirus, and any other of a myriad of dangers, are only part of the picture?What if there is another entire world in which we also have a stake?If that world is beyond normal perception, we must rely on those who understand it.Much effective horror knows to tap into this area of natural uncertainty.Owl Goingback uses it remarkably well in crafting a horror tale that makes you think.
