Bookwild

When Folklore Meets Colonial Horror: Mathilda Zeller's It Looks Like You in the Dark

Episode Notes

This week, I chat with Mathilda Zeller about her new horror It Looks Like You in the Dark. 

Listen to hear all about:

• How Inupiat folklore, family history, and a troubling account of cultural appropriation inspired this chilling Arctic horror novel.
• The intersection of supernatural horror, colonialism, capitalism, and environmental destruction—and how the real monsters aren't always supernatural.
• The complicated relationships between mothers, daughters, and sisters, and the ways generational trauma shapes our identities.
• The tension between honoring Indigenous traditions, protecting ancestral land, and finding your own path forward.
• How Zeller's remarkable family history influenced her writing, her pen name, and her approach to storytelling.