Is Blood & Myth based on a true story? Details of Hulu’s latest crime documentary revealed

Blood & Myth is a Hulu true-crime documentary that is based on the infamous case where an Alaskan actor, Teddy Kyle Smith, was convicted of attempted first-degree murder for shooting at two brothers who were hunting in the woods. Directed by Kahlil Hudson, the film will release on Hulu on September 4, 2025.

However, the case is bizarre as Teddy maintains that he did the shooting under the influence of the “Inukuns”, who are mythical and sinister creatures from Alaskan folklore and are dwarf-sized but have psychic powers. Therefore, Blood & Myth is a documentary that is based on a true story, even though the details around the case are strange.

The documentary is an adaptation of the Midnight Son audiobook from 2019, which was created by James Dommek Jr., an Alaskan writer and musician, who becomes interested in the case of Teddy Kyle Smith.

From Teddy being on the run over the suspicious death of his mother to him shooting at two brothers out of nowhere, and his claims of being under possession of the inukuns, here’s a look at the details regarding the case, as presented in Blood & Myth.

Details about the strange Teddy Kyle Smith case in Blood & Myth

Teddy lived in the village of Kiana in Alaska and things changed when his mother was found dead and Teddy decided to run away from the authorities. While Teddy was eventually caught and his mother’s cause of death could not be found, Teddy appeared to be in a trance-like state. While he was on the run, he encountered the brothers, Paul and Chuck Buckel, who were hunting in the woods and suddenly, Teddy shot at them unprovoked.

Even though the brothers had serious injuries, they miraculously survived and were puzzled as to why Teddy shot at them. Things took a strange turn however, when Teddy claimed that he was under the influence of the inukuns, who are a part of the folklore of Alaska and are dwarf-sized beings with psychic power and live away from humans. According to the folklore, the inukuns used to live with humans but due to blood being spilt, they vanished into the woods and stay away from humans, though keeping a watch on them and doing sinister things.

Teddy told his attorney Angela Greene that for a week after his mother’s death, while on the run, he met the inukuns and lived on berries and ice and lived in wilderness. During this period, he began to feel possessed and felt like he was being taken somewhere. Teddy claims that he saw inukuns and they spoke to him. He therefore sought refuge in a cabin and when the Buckel brothers arrived, he was startled and thought they were linked to the inukuns and were there to terrorize him. Therefore, he shot at them.

Interestingly, Teddy never claimed that he was insane and even his sister Lorena, believes him and does not see him being involved in their mother’s death. Further, in Blood & Myth, when an archaeology team is sent near Kobak River to determine if the area is fit for mining, the liaison officer Mary Black saw little settlements that were unlike human and believed that they were of the inukuns. She tells James Dommek Jr. that she took out her team immediately.

What happened to Teddy Kyle Smith and James’ search for truth in Blood & Myth

Ultimately, Teddy was unable to prove his innocence and he was charged guilty of attempted first-degree murder of the Buckel brothers and was given a 99-year life sentence without the possibility of parole. He still lives at the Goose Creek Correctional Facility in Wasilla. In Blood & Myth, Teddy sits down for an interview for the first time since his arrest and tells James Dommek Jr. that he believes that the inukuns wanted to spread the message through him that westernization had ruined culture and tradition and that people did not respect land and its history anymore.

James had always been obsessed with this case as his own great-grandfather used to write stories about the inukuns and James was therefore familiar with the scary stories of the little people. In the documentary, James tries to find out where myth and reality begin to intertwine and is open to the possibilities of something being beyond our understanding.

Trending

Blood & Myth is available on Hulu.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback