Beyond the 'Indian burial ground': Indigenous creatives make horror their own

5 days ago 45

With Halloween coming up, a scary movie night might be on the to-do list. If a classic like "The Shining” or “Pet Sematary” is in the queue, you might notice a familiar horror trope— an “Indian burial ground” becomes a source of supernatural danger. The trope has been used in literature and movies for decades, even prompting parody, treating Native people as ghosts.

But Native creators are telling ghost stories of their own.

In the short film “Four Nights and a Fire,” a man grapples with grief in the winter woods.

“It's about a young Ojibwe photographer who stubbornly takes on the responsibility of keeping a sacred fire alive for four consecutive days and nights in mourning of his father,” filmmaker Alex Nystrom said. “And his father's spirit tries to reach him from the other side.”

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for t...

Read Entire Article