Northwestern grad student releases horror novel set in Kobuk River Valley

In the remote Kobuk River Valley of Alaska, a young woman named Tapeesa searches for her missing sister Esther. The setting is the backdrop for 'It Looks Like You in the Dark,' the debut novel by Mathilda Zeller, a graduate student in the Litowitz MFA program in creative writing at Northwestern University. Zeller, who is of Inupiaq descent, published the book as part of a two-book deal secured after her short story 'Kushtuka' appeared in the anthology 'Never Whistle at Night.'

The narrative centers on Tapeesa, who chooses to remain in her community rather than leave like her older sister. When a rare earths mining project advances near their village, Esther disappears. Tapeesa ventures into the Arctic night to find her, confronting a shape-shifting creature known as the kushtuka from Inupiaq mythology. The story spans from the 1890s to the 1990s, a period Zeller identifies as pivotal because it marked the start of a perpetual year-round presence of outside people in the region.

Zeller drew inspiration for the protagonist from a personal encounter with published literature. While researching the kushtuka, she read an article by a Euro-American author who gave a ride to an Inupiaq girl in Kotzebue. The author described extracting the girl’s story despite her reluctance to share it. Zeller said she was disturbed by how casually the author framed the interaction. She decided to retell the story from the girl’s point of view, transforming that reluctant narrator into the novel’s main character, Tapeesa.

The book addresses the misconception that the Arctic is uninhabited. Zeller notes that several governments and large corporations benefit from the public believing the region is empty so they can exploit it. She states that the Arctic has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years. To ensure cultural accuracy, Zeller relied on feedback from her family and an authenticity reader, Sharon Westlake, who grew up with Zeller’s mother in Kotzebue. Zeller’s grandfather, who lived with her during her childhood, also provided direct cultural influence through the stories he told her.

Zeller explores the parallel between the exploitation of land and the devaluation of women. She observes that society often associates the natural world with women as life givers, yet their contributions are frequently taken for granted. Zeller contrasts the romanticized image of male explorers claiming discovery of the North Pole with the historical reality that people have camped on the ice there for thousands of years. She emphasizes that generations of women have given birth and raised children in the Arctic, a fact often overlooked in historical narratives.

The novel originated from Zeller’s short story 'Kushtuka,' which was the opening piece in the Indigenous horror anthology 'Never Whistle at Night.' That anthology spent 100 weeks on the American Bookseller Association’s Indie Bestseller list. An Indigenous film actress interested in adapting the short story for the screen prompted Zeller to seek an agent. The resulting bidding auction led to her current publishing deal. Zeller advises aspiring novelists that tenacity is more important than talent, noting that successful careers are built by those who persist despite disappointments.