Horror author Mathilda Zeller joins The Dark Mind Podcast to talk about her novel It Looks Like You in the Dark, out October 13, 2026, from Tor Nightfire.
The book expands "Kushtuka," the story that opened the anthology Never Whistle at Night, into a full novel set in the Inupiat village of Chukchi in Alaska's Kobuk River Valley.
Mathilda shares the frightening stories her grandfather told her while she lived with him during some of the hardest years of her life.
She explains how a 1970s account by an outsider who pressured locals into telling him their stories pushed her to reclaim the kushtuka legend.
We talk about why a monster that looks like someone you love is more horrifying than any stranger.
She describes working on a cultural preservation project in Kotzebue and how the Cold War cut her people off from their relatives in Siberia.
Mathilda explains why she left the Inupiaq language untranslated and how her mother and uncles helped her find Tapeesa's voice.
She also talks about choosing her editor after meeting with seven during the auction, the fairy belief behind the Bridget Cleary murder case, and the terrifying Arctic mermaid folklore behind her next novel.
Finally, she tells the story of the two resilient great-grandmothers who inspired her pen name.

Official Website
https://mathildazeller.wordpress.com/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/mathildazellerauthor/

TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@mathildazellerauthor

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/MathildaZeller

X
https://x.com/MathildaZeller

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22669904.Mathilda_Zeller

It Looks Like You in the Dark at Tor Publishing Group
https://torpublishinggroup.com/it-looks-like-you-in-the-dark/?isbn=9781250402035&format=hardback

Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250402034

Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/9781250402035

Bookshop.org
https://bookshop.org/a/0/9781250402035

Audible Audiobook
https://www.audible.com/pd/It-Looks-Like-You-in-the-Dark-Audiobook/B0GGC4S8L6

Kobo eBook
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/it-looks-like-you-in-the-dark

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