The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones Summary

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a historical horror novel following Good Stab, a Blackfeet man who becomes a vampire in early Montana and seeks revenge against those who destroyed his people. Written in epistolary format, the story unfolds through a 1912 diary discovered in 2012, containing Pastor Arthur Beaucarne's transcribed confessions from Good Stab. The novel connects to the real historical massacre of 217 Blackfeet people, blending supernatural horror with America's genocidal history.

Stephen Graham Jones is a New York Times bestselling Blackfeet author who has written over thirty-five novels, collections, novellas, and comic books. Born January 22, 1972, Jones is a Professor of Distinction at the University of Colorado Boulder and has won numerous awards including four Bram Stoker Awards, three Shirley Jackson Awards, and the Los Angeles Times Ray Bradbury Prize. He's known for blending horror with Native American experiences and perspectives.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is ideal for readers who enjoy literary horror with historical depth, fans of Stephen Graham Jones's previous works like The Only Good Indians, and those interested in Native American narratives addressing historical trauma. This book suits readers comfortable with graphic violence and supernatural elements, particularly vampire fiction reimagined through Indigenous perspectives. It's perfect for those seeking horror that confronts America's genocidal past while delivering compelling storytelling.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is absolutely worth reading for its masterful blend of horror and historical reckoning. Stephen Graham Jones delivers a unique vampire narrative that serves as both revenge story and excavation of forgotten genocide. The epistolary format creates an intimate, confessional atmosphere, while the multiple narrative layers showcase Jones's storytelling prowess. However, readers should prepare for graphic content and challenging subject matter rooted in real historical atrocities against the Blackfeet Nation.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter uses an epistolary structure with three nested narrative perspectives. The outermost layer follows Etsy Beaucarne in 2012, who discovers her great-great-grandfather Arthur's diary from 1912. Arthur's journal contains two sections: "The Absolution of Three Persons" about his encounters with Good Stab, and "The Nachzehrer's Dark Gospel," which transcribes Good Stab's confessions about his vampire existence and quest for vengeance across Montana's Backbone mountain range.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is rooted in real genocidal history against the Blackfeet Nation, specifically referencing 217 Blackfeet people dead in the snow. Stephen Graham Jones weaves these actual historical atrocities into the supernatural narrative, using Good Stab's vampire existence to explore systemic violence against Native Americans. The novel confronts how such massacres have been "swept under the rug" in American history, making the horror both supernatural and devastatingly real.

Good Stab becomes a vampire after a violent encounter with a monstrous humanoid creature in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. Unlike traditional vampires, his transformation connects directly to historical trauma and Indigenous revenge. He survives by drinking blood while stalking the Backbone mountain range, forced to witness white settlers systematically destroying buffalo herds and Native lands. His vampirism serves as both curse and weapon, enabling an unnaturally long life dedicated to seeking justice for his people.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter contains significant trigger warnings including graphic violence, gore, blood, genocide, historical trauma, and visceral horror elements. Stephen Graham Jones doesn't shy away from depicting the brutal realities of Native American persecution, massacre, and systemic violence. The supernatural vampire horror is plentiful and explicit, while the historical content addresses real atrocities. Readers should prepare for challenging subject matter that confronts uncomfortable truths about American history through horror storytelling.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter shares thematic DNA with Stephen Graham Jones's The Only Good Indians, both exploring Native American trauma through horror. While The Only Good Indians focuses on contemporary consequences of past actions, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter reaches deeper into historical violence through 1912 Montana. Both showcase Jones's signature style of blending Indigenous experiences with genre fiction. Unlike his Indian Lake trilogy's slasher focus, this novel employs vampire horror as its supernatural framework for examining genocide and revenge.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter revolutionizes vampire fiction by centering Indigenous revenge and historical genocide rather than European folklore. Stephen Graham Jones transforms the vampire into a vehicle for exploring real atrocities against the Blackfeet Nation. The epistolary format through a Lutheran pastor's diary creates voyeuristic intimacy, while Good Stab's confessional narrative subverts traditional vampire tropes. This isn't romanticized immortality—it's weaponized survival born from genocidal violence, making it distinctly American horror.

The title The Buffalo Hunter Hunter refers to Good Stab's mission: hunting those who hunt buffalo. As white settlers systematically destroyed buffalo herds essential to Blackfeet survival, Good Stab uses his vampire abilities to stalk and kill these "buffalo hunters." The title emphasizes his role as predator targeting those who prey on his people's resources and way of life, reversing the traditional hunter-prey dynamic while connecting environmental destruction to cultural genocide.

Pastor Arthur Beaucarne serves as the narrative conduit in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, transcribing Good Stab's confessions without fully understanding their supernatural nature. His Lutheran perspective creates tension between Christian doctrine and Indigenous spirituality, while his documentation preserves Good Stab's story for future discovery. Arthur's growing unease about his mysterious visitor adds psychological suspense, and his journals—hidden in walls for a century—become the only record of this slow massacre and supernatural revenge.