"Scariest. Story. Ever," by Richard Van Camp, in Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, edited by Shane Hawk, and Theodore C. Van Alst, Jr., Random House, 2023.
The first four paragraphs of what I wrote last week apply again to this one.
So: What's a mystery? Most of the world goes by Otto Penzler's definition: A mystery is a story in which crime or the threat of crime is a major element. It's useful, although a little broad. (It includes Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, and The Brothers Karamazov, for example.)
When I first read Van Camp's piece I thought: This is a really fine tale. Too bad it isn't a crime story, because if it was, it would be my choice for the week.
But then I thought about it some more (and this is definitely a story you are likely to think about) and concluded, heck yes, it is a crime story. Just not one that fits into any of the familiar subgenres. So here we are.
The narrator has just made it to the finals of the Scariest. Story. Ever contest using a story he learned from a village elder. Tomorrow he will be flown to Yellowknife for the finals. But he needs to find an even better story to tell, so he goes to another elder, his Uncle Mike. and tries to convince him to tell him a properly horrifying tale.
And Mike obliges. Sort of.
How does crime get involved? And why is there so much to think about? You'll probably want to read the story twice to sort it all out. It's worth it.
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