Elatsoe

“All humans…all of us. […] human ghosts are terrible things.”

In the opening pages of Elatsoe, Ellie plays with her ghost dog without a care in the world. Animal ghosts are friendly and easy to train, while human ghosts are described as terrible and evil, highly destructive, and to be avoided at all costs. Chapter 1 ends with this firm admonishment: Ellie must not wake up any human, not even her cousin.

“Ellie’s elders often cautioned: when somebody dies young, it was dangerous to speak his name, see his face, or risk calling him back another way.”

In Ellie’s culture, certain practices must be maintained to minimize the chance of summoning a human ghost. The fear of human ghosts is so intense that Ellie and her family members stop saying Trevor’s name, remove all of his personal items from his house, and put away pictures of him. There is a level of erasure in these practices that some of his loved ones, especially Lenore, find difficult to accept.

“Abe Allerton killed him. Abe Allerton from a town called Willowbee.”

When Ellie points the finger at Abe Allerton, she has no idea that the man she is accusing is rich and well-connected. She doesn’t know that she will be going up against a man with a nearly-spotless reputation, and despite all of the research indicating that Abe is a model citizen, Ellie is never deterred. She believes Trevor and knows that if her cousin made a point to visit her in her dream before he died, his words must be true.

“If the police failed, Ellie would have a busy summer vacation.”

Ellie’s father encourages her not to jump to conclusions but to allow the police to carry out their investigation. Her father tries to place his faith in the justice system, but Ellie is already preparing for the worst. Ellie wants to be a paranormal investigator, and she knows that if the authorities fail to bring her cousin’s murderer to justice, it will be up to her to uncover the truth about his death.

“It wouldn’t be the first time that Six-Great’s enemies carried grudges across many human generations.”

Ellie remembers when she and Trevor went for a walk and were attacked by the Leech, a monster that Six-Great was supposed to have killed long ago. Ellie’s ancestor was so powerful that she made enemies, and those enemies are still looking for vengeance in the present day. Ellie’s family name and legacy may come with honor, but it also comes with great danger, and because Ellie is also powerful, she can expect to be targeted as well.

“That’s what frightened her the most: danger hiding in plain sight.”

Ellie is a brave girl, and there aren’t many things that frighten her. However, Ellie fears being lulled into a false sense of security. Big, scary monsters or ghosts are obvious dangers, while Abe Allerton appears to be a murderer hiding under the guise of a respectable family man. Ellie hates not knowing who or what to trust.

“That didn’t explain why, when she and Jay went to the local mall, loss prevention agents and security guards only followed Ellie around department stores.”

Ellie has experienced varying degrees of prejudice throughout her life. Not only is she singled out by people like mall security and the cashiers at the gas station in chapter 7, but she also has to live in a country that has tried to erase her people from history. Ellie is proud to be Lipan Apache, but she knows she is treated differently and is tired of being treated like a criminal for merely existing.

“Maybe you can…maybe you can bring him back.”

Lenore once believed that death is a natural end to life, and ghost-raising isn’t natural. However, after Trevor's death, Lenore changes her mind and begs Ellie to bring him back. This shocks Ellie, especially because she has been told her whole life never to wake up human ghosts. Lenore is not Lipan, and amid her grief, she doesn’t understand why Ellie can’t simply bring back the man she loves.

“When I told Dr. Allerton that nobody can see the grave, he looked downright scared. Like he needs the visit more than his kid does.”

Dr. Allerton’s insistence on seeing Trevor’s burial site raises alarm bells for the members of Ellie’s family. No one knows why Trevor’s murderer wants to go to the grave, but everyone knows that Allerton must be kept from the site at all costs. After all, a murderer walking around on his victim's grave will surely incite a ghost to wake up, and destruction would be imminent.

“Dr. Allerton works miracles!”

On the Rate-a-Doc website, Allerton is hailed as a miracle worker and an all-around hero for his dedication and passion for helping sick people. However, as the reader soon learns, Allerton’s gift for healing isn’t a gift at all. His work always requires a victim, and he tends to target those he thinks are lesser or inferior to the person he is treating. Allerton is no angelic presence but a monster hiding in plain sight.

“I suspect that Allerton pressured Chloe to contact Lenore and lie about my cousin’s death. [...] [M]y family isn’t satisfied with the whole ‘accident’ story. We’re causing a fuss.”

When Ellie’s family doesn’t accept that Trevor’s death is an accident, Dr. Allerton starts to panic. He knows that if people keep poking around and asking questions about the night of the accident, the trail will eventually lead back to him. Trevor’s family relentlessly seeks justice for their loved one, and they have Allerton on the run and trying to outmaneuver them.

“Nine-one-one might be a direct line to the murderer’s allies.”

When Ellie learns that Allerton hosts the Policeman’s Ball, she realizes she is up against a bigger challenge than she once thought. Dr. Allerton is known and respected by the police department, so Ellie knows that she and her family can’t trust the local law enforcement to help with the investigation or take it seriously without sweeping anything under the rug. Corrupt law enforcement is worse than no law enforcement, and Ellie becomes determined not to involve them in the investigation.

“This land is still our home, and Euro-vamps can’t occupy a home when they’re unwelcome.”

In this clever twist on vampiric folklore, Little Badger addresses the ugly reality of colonization. Vampires are not allowed to enter homes without a welcome, and when Vivian announces that the vampire is not welcome on her land as a Lipan Apache woman, he begins to smoke and die. He protests by exclaiming that he pays taxes, but this does nothing to stop the pain. The curse recognizes the land as belonging to the Lipan people, and the European-American vampire has no right to be there any more than his ancestors did hundreds of years ago.

“As a child, Six-Great saved hundreds of people from an invading army. [...] Six-Great was an undisputed hero, while Nathaniel Grace seemingly founded hospitals with blood money.”

As Ellie reads Brett Allerton’s report about Nathaniel Grace, she grows annoyed and thinks about the differences between the Puritan and her ancestor. She is reminded that no history textbooks ever talk about people like Six-Great, whereas men like Nathaniel fill the pages of history. Nathaniel built his empire on greed and death, while Six-Great fought to protect her people from genocide.

“I might have stumbled into the land of the dead.”

Ellie’s first journey to the underworld is purely accidental. Born out of a momentary fondness for the trilobite ghost, Ellie finds herself submerged in an ancient ocean that teems with life. Although the experience frightens her, she is also enchanted. Her elders tell her not to do it again, but later in the story, Ellie takes a risk to protect others by venturing back into the underworld on purpose.

“Willowbee. They’ve taken all the water. They’ll take everything, eventually. That’s what leeches do.”

In Ellie’s dream, the ghost of Trevor insists that the people of Willowbee are parasitic and must be stopped. Although the ghost thirsts for vengeance and wants to push Ellie to free him, he makes several astute observations about Willowbee and the evil performed there. He points out their selfish overwatering during a widespread drought. He calls them “leeches” to summon forth the image of Willowbee gorging itself on water while the rest of the area around them withers away.

“You aren’t the only Elatsoe to visit the underworld, Ellie [...]. You’re just the only one to return alive.”

Ellie has spent her entire life hearing stories about Six-Great and has developed a deep admiration for her ancestor. However, the story of how Six-Great willingly went into the underworld to see her husband shocks Ellie. The story brought so much shame to the family that Vivian says it will only be told once, and Ellie may only tell it once. Six-Great did not respect the line between the living and the dead; if Ellie isn’t careful, she may meet a similar fate.

“Think of them like pests. [...] Termites in your house. Locusts in your field. It doesn’t make any difference if you crush just one insect. The swarm will devour your home.”

Trevor’s ghost talks about the people of WIllowbee as if they are invasive insects that must be dealt with. The sinister nature of this proclamation summons forth images of genocide, and the irony of this statement lies in the history of colonialism in the Americas. European colonists may have used similar statements when referring to the Indigenous people of the Americas. This statement from Trevor’s ghost strongly hints that he isn't just talking about the people of Willowbee. His wrath may extend well beyond this small town in South Texas if he is given a chance.

“My cousin is awake [...] and he’s haunting the Allerton mansion.”

Despite Ellie and her parents’ best efforts, no one could have prepared for this. It was not Lenore, Ellie, or Abe who managed to rouse Trevor’s ghost but his infant son, Gregory. Early on, Ellie says that Gregory is very sensitive and perceptive of ghosts, and she theorizes that he will be an excellent ghost trainer someday. However, in this case, Gregory didn’t know what he was doing. He sensed his father and knew he missed him, so he woke him up without understanding the consequences.

“They found a hole in the ground. His body was missing. Stolen, no doubt, by the man who first stole his life.”

Stealing a body is obscene in most cultures, and in this case, Allertons’ willingness to exhume the body of his murder victim shows the lengths that he will go to cover up his crime. To move Trevor’s body after his infant son wakes him up guarantees that the emissary will appear at Allerton’s party. The story takes a macabre turn with the disappearance of Trevor’s body, and in the final chapters, dead bodies are depicted and discussed with increasingly graphic descriptions.

“Six-Great lived in a more violent era, one that transformed pacifists into warriors. Six-Great didn’t fight because she enjoyed it; she had to protect her family and friends from genocide.”

Ellie sometimes believes she isn’t living up to her name or Six-Great’s reputation. As she and Jay face off against Glorian the vampire in Chapter 28, Ellie wishes that Kirby was more ferocious like Six-Great’s loyal hounds. Still, she reminds herself that Six-Great lived in a time in history when being ferocious was necessary to stay alive and to protect her people. Ellie has been shaped by living in a land of relative peace, but she now focuses on the people who need her help and tries to draw from Six-Great’s strength and confidence.

“Vengeance? Didn’t you say ‘justice’ a moment ago?”

The emissary’s slip of the tongue in this scene is no accident. He states that justice and vengeance are the same in the case of Trevor’s murder, but Ellie isn’t entirely convinced. Justice has a more noble ring, while vengeance sounds vindictive and destructive. To the emissary, they are the same, but Ellie knows that the real Trevor would never wish vengeance upon anyone, especially if it means that his friends, family, and former students could get caught in the crossfire.

“If I die, Willowbee rots with me. [...] The people in this room understand why your death was necessary.”

To Ellie’s surprise, Allerton reveals that several people in Willowbee know what he does to heal his patients. Allerton is never remorseful, but he insists that he did the right thing by passing the injuries from his car accident on to Trevor. Allerton also never acknowledges that the car accident was his fault. Instead, he deflects attention away from this detail and argues that he has to stay alive to hold Willowbee together. He believes that his life is more important than anyone else and that throwing money at a problem will make it disappear.