Few authors capture horror in the sinew and marrow of history as deftly as Stephen Graham Jones. Known for his visceral, unrelenting narratives (The Only Good Indians, My Heart is a Chainsaw), Jones returns with The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, a chilling historical horror novel that seeps into the mind like a slow-moving plague. This novel is not merely a tale of the supernatural but an excavation of trauma, guilt, and vengeance—woven into the snow-packed fields of the Blackfeet reservation in 1912.
A haunting blend of found-footage narrative and fragmented testimony, the novel presents a Lutheran priest’s discovery of an ancient horror through the diary of a Blackfeet man named Good Stab. What follows is a descent into madness, memory, and the insatiable hunger of something more than human. Jones delivers yet another masterpiece of literary horror, though not without its challenges.
Plot Summary: A Tale of Blood and Vengeance
The novel opens in 2012 with the discovery of a century-old diary hidden within the walls of a church under renovation. This journal, written by a Lutheran pastor, unravels the story of Good Stab, a Blackfeet man who, over the course of multiple confessional visits, recounts his life—and his unnatural existence. Good Stab is no mere storyteller. He is something more, something with a thirst for retribution, something hunted even as he hunts.
The narrative flickers between the pastor’s transcriptions and firsthand accounts of a slow massacre—217 Blackfeet dead in the snow—and the horrors that followed. Good Stab does not merely recount history; he embodies it, driven by a purpose that even death cannot contain. Through these confessions, we glimpse a world where the sins of the past refuse to stay buried. The priest himself, initially an observer, becomes entangled in the darkness, his faith unraveling as he learns the cost of bearing witness.
Jones structures the novel in a way that is both gripping and unsettling. Shifting between timelines, unreliable narrators, and layers of textual history, the book reads like a gothic puzzle where truth is as elusive as the thing that haunts the fields.
Main Character Analysis: The Damned and the Damning
Good Stab: The Hunter and the Hunted
Good Stab is at the novel’s dark heart. A man shaped by loss and violence, he is both tragic and terrifying. As he recounts his tale, it becomes clear that he is not simply a victim but a force of reckoning. Jones crafts him with the complexity of a revenant—haunted by the past but refusing to be consumed by it.
He is a fascinating protagonist, existing in the liminal space between human and something other. His voice is sharp, relentless, and poetic, making him one of Jones’s most memorable characters.
The Pastor: A Man Unmade
The Lutheran priest, whose diary frames much of the novel, begins as a figure of order and rationality. His initial skepticism crumbles as he is drawn deeper into Good Stab’s confessions, and his faith becomes an open wound. Through him, Jones explores the fragility of belief in the face of incomprehensible horror.
By the novel’s end, the pastor is not merely a chronicler but a participant in the unfolding nightmare. His transformation is both chilling and deeply tragic.
Writing Style: A Haunting Elegy
Jones’s prose in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is nothing short of mesmerizing. He writes with a brutal lyricism, blending stark, unflinching descriptions with moments of eerie beauty. His sentences often read like incantations, drawing readers deeper into the novel’s fever-dream atmosphere.
The fragmented structure, shifting perspectives, and found-document format create a sense of authenticity that makes the horror all the more visceral. This is storytelling as haunting as the subject matter itself—evocative, unpredictable, and unrelenting.
However, this complexity can also be a barrier. The novel demands patience and careful reading. Those expecting a straightforward horror narrative may find themselves lost in its labyrinthine storytelling.
Themes: Horror as History, History as Horror
The Unfinished Business of the Past
At its core, the novel is about reckoning—with history, with injustice, and with the things we try to forget. The massacre of the Blackfeet people is not just a backdrop but the novel’s beating heart. The past is not static; it lingers, it festers, and it demands acknowledgment.
Faith vs. Despair
The novel explores the fragility of belief when confronted with the monstrous. The Lutheran priest clings to faith, but as the confessions continue, that faith becomes indistinguishable from fear.
The Vampire Myth Reimagined
Jones’s take on the vampire myth is unlike anything else in horror fiction. This is not the European aristocratic vampire of Bram Stoker. Instead, the novel presents a being tied to indigenous folklore, one that hungers not just for blood but for retribution.
Critique: Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths:
Unforgettable Atmosphere: Jones conjures a setting so vivid it lingers long after the final page.
Complex Characters: Good Stab and the pastor are fully realized, morally ambiguous, and deeply compelling.
Innovative Storytelling: The found-footage-style structure adds depth, making the horror feel disturbingly real.
Cultural and Historical Depth: The novel is as much about colonial violence as it is about the supernatural.
Weaknesses:
Pacing Issues: Some sections feel intentionally disorienting, which may frustrate readers looking for a more conventional plot progression.
Narrative Complexity: The layered storytelling requires close attention, which may not appeal to casual horror readers.
Abstract Horror: The horror is more psychological and historical than traditional jump-scare terror, which might not satisfy those seeking more immediate frights.
Comparisons and Context
Stephen Graham Jones has built a career redefining horror through the lens of indigenous history and trauma. Readers who enjoyed The Only Good Indians will find similar themes of vengeance and cultural memory in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.
For those looking for similar works:
Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Certain Dark Things (for an alternative vampire mythos steeped in history)
Alma Katsu’s The Hunger (for historical horror with supernatural elements)
Victor LaValle’s The Changeling (for a literary horror novel that weaves folklore with modern fears)
Final Verdict: A Masterpiece of Historical Horror
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is not just a horror novel—it is a reckoning. It is a book that lingers in the bones, a ghost of a story that refuses to be buried. Stephen Graham Jones has crafted something unsettling and unforgettable, a novel that demands to be read, digested, and, perhaps, feared.
This is horror as it should be: not just about the things that lurk in the dark, but about the darkness within us all.