Today’s fall horror book comes from Erika T. Wurth, and it is called White Horse.
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I’ve been sitting on this book for a little while now, because I’ve been mulling it over. That is actually how I know the book is really good…if I am still thinking about it long after I read it.
For me, what I am mulling over is Bigfoot. Weird, right? Kind of reminds me of Big’s obsession with Bigfoot on Reservation Dogs. If you are like most, Bigfoot is just some urban legend that no one really believes is out there. Never once did I contemplate just where the story of Bigfoot came from.
Imagine my surprise that Bigfoot’s roots come from Indigenous cultures.
As I dive more and more into Native American stories and their culture, I am learning how protective they are of their stories. One book (I’ll be sharing soon) lists most of their horror stories as the white man being the monster. And truthfully, it is rather eye opening to see the story through the eyes of a Native American. I usually just nod my head and go, “Wow, you are so right.”
With White Horse, you can see the monster through different eyes and it is equally as terrifying. Watching history and folklore cross paths to explain the monsters around us, really made my heart sad. I think I didn’t want to talk about this horror story so soon, because my heart wept. To have that sort of emotional feeling during a horror story, that means you need to read it.
All I can say is that I don’t think the horror story ever really ends. There are so many levels of horror that stick with you long after you turn the last page. That is what makes this debut novel an incredible horror story.
Synopsis
Some people are haunted in more ways than one…
Kari James, Urban Native, is a fan of heavy metal, ripped jeans, Stephen King novels, and dive bars. She spends most of her time at her favorite spot in Denver, a bar called White Horse. There, she tries her best to ignore her past and the questions surrounding her mother who abandoned her when she was just two years old.
But soon after her cousin Debby brings her a traditional bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s mother, Kari starts seeing disturbing visions of her mother and a mysterious creature. When the visions refuse to go away, Kari must uncover what really happened to her mother all those years ago. Her father, permanently disabled from a car crash, can’t help her. Her Auntie Squeaker seems to know something but isn’t eager to give it all up at once. Debby’s anxious to help, but her controlling husband keeps getting in the way.
Kari’s journey toward a truth long denied by both her family and law enforcement forces her to confront her dysfunctional relationships, thoughts about a friend she lost in childhood, and her desire for the one thing she’s always wanted but could never have…