Jessica Johns’ novelBad Creedelivers a chilling, emotionally resonant story grounded in Indigenous identity, grief, family ties, and the supernatural. Blending literary fiction with horror elements, Johns crafts a narrative that not only unsettles but also deeply engages readers with its themes of loss, memory, and reclamation. As an author of Cree heritage, Johns brings authenticity and cultural depth to her storytelling, allowingBad Creeto stand out both as a horror novel and a significant contribution to contemporary Indigenous literature.
The Premise of Bad Cree
Dreams and Waking Nightmares
Bad Creefollows Mackenzie, a young Cree woman living in Vancouver who is haunted by disturbing dreams that begin to bleed into her waking life. She dreams of being in a swamp, digging up a crow’s head, or witnessing moments with her deceased sister. When the items and experiences from these dreams begin appearing in her real life, she realizes that something supernatural is unfolding.
The novel begins with an eerie tone that intensifies as Mackenzie tries to understand the connection between her dreams, her grief over her sister Sabrina’s death, and the mysterious events that start unraveling around her. This unsettling blurring of dream and reality gives the book its psychological horror edge, pulling readers into a narrative that is as emotional as it is suspenseful.
A Return to Roots
Compelled by the haunting experiences, Mackenzie returns to her family and community in northeastern Alberta. Here, she must confront not only her family’s trauma but also a deeper cultural and spiritual disturbance. The return home is not just geographical; it is also spiritual and emotional. In coming back to her Cree roots, Mackenzie begins to understand what is required of her to face the darkness both within and around her.
Exploring Indigenous Identity and Storytelling
Cree Worldview and Spiritual Connection
Jessica Johns integrates Cree cultural perspectives into every layer ofBad Cree. From the importance of dreams to the presence of animal spirits, Johns invites readers to see the world through a Cree lens, where the boundaries between the physical and spiritual realms are permeable. This cultural grounding is not exoticized but normalized, affirming the legitimacy of Cree knowledge systems and traditions.
Dreams in Cree culture are often understood as more than imagination they are connections to ancestors, messages from the spirit world, and sometimes warnings. InBad Cree, this worldview becomes central to Mackenzie’s journey as she learns to interpret the signs around her and embrace her intuitive knowledge.
Intergenerational Trauma and Resilience
The novel touches on themes of intergenerational trauma and the resilience of Indigenous families. Mackenzie’s personal grief mirrors the larger cultural grief experienced by many Indigenous communities due to colonization, forced displacement, and cultural loss. However, rather than focusing solely on pain, Johns emphasizes the strength of familial love, community support, and the healing power of returning to one’s roots.
Women, Family, and the Power of Connection
Female-Centered Storytelling
Bad Creeis, at its heart, a story about women. It is filled with powerful depictions of female relationships between sisters, mothers and daughters, aunties, and grandmothers. These relationships provide the emotional foundation of the novel and guide Mackenzie as she seeks healing and understanding.
The women in Mackenzie’s family are sources of strength and wisdom. Their conversations, humor, shared meals, and memories weave together a portrait of a family bound not just by blood but by shared experiences and cultural values. Through these women, Johns illustrates how love and storytelling are vital tools for survival.
The Role of Grief and Healing
Grief is not just an emotion inBad Cree; it’s an active presence. Mackenzie’s dreams, her fears, and her supernatural encounters all stem from unresolved grief. But grief is also a pathway to healing. By facing her pain and reconnecting with her cultural roots, Mackenzie begins a journey toward wholeness. Johns portrays grief not as something to escape, but as something that, when acknowledged, can become transformative.
Blending Horror with Literary Depth
Supernatural Elements
WhileBad Creefits within the horror genre, it doesn’t rely on jump scares or gore. Instead, its horror emerges from psychological unease, cultural dislocation, and spiritual imbalance. The tension builds gradually, with the reader experiencing Mackenzie’s confusion and fear firsthand as reality and dreams intertwine in disturbing ways.
Supernatural entities in the book are rooted in Cree traditions and are never explained away or dismissed. They serve as metaphors for ancestral warnings, cultural memory, and spiritual imbalance. The horror, therefore, is not just external but internal, tied to personal and cultural reckonings.
Lyrical Prose and Emotional Honesty
Johns’ writing is lyrical and evocative, rich with sensory detail and emotional nuance. Her prose captures the contradictions of grief: its heaviness, its unpredictability, and its deep connection to love. The imagery in dream sequences is particularly powerful, offering readers a vivid window into Mackenzie’s subconscious fears and memories.
This literary depth setsBad Creeapart from conventional horror novels. While it contains supernatural suspense, it also offers profound reflections on memory, family, and cultural identity.
Critical Reception and Cultural Significance
Acclaimed Debut
Bad Creereceived widespread praise upon its release. Critics and readers alike have lauded it for its originality, emotional depth, and culturally rooted storytelling. It has been shortlisted for literary prizes and featured in reading lists focused on Indigenous literature and horror fiction alike.
Many see it as an important work that contributes to the broader visibility of Indigenous authors in mainstream publishing, especially in genres where their voices have historically been underrepresented.
A New Voice in Indigenous Horror
Jessica Johns is part of a growing wave of Indigenous writers using horror to explore cultural trauma and resilience. Alongside authors like Stephen Graham Jones and Cherie Dimaline, Johns is reshaping the genre to include Indigenous perspectives and spiritual realities.
Through works likeBad Cree, these authors are showing how horror can be a powerful medium for telling stories about colonization, memory, and survival stories that have long been part of Indigenous oral traditions.
Bad Creeby Jessica Johns is a haunting and deeply moving exploration of grief, cultural identity, and spiritual reckoning. It stands at the crossroads of horror and literary fiction, offering readers a unique and unforgettable narrative experience. With its grounded Cree worldview, powerful female characters, and emotional honesty, the novel not only entertains but enlightens. For readers looking for a story that blends suspense with substance, and tradition with innovation,Bad Creeis a compelling and essential read.