The Twisted Ones

by T. Kingfisher · 2017

The Twisted Ones is a 2019 horror novel by Ursula Vernon writing as T. Kingfisher. When Mouse, a 30‑something book editor, is sent to rural North Carolina to clear out her abusive grandmother’s hoarded house, she discovers a strange journal left by her step‑grandfather. The diary details an obsession with a mysterious "Green Book" and hints at a hidden realm of the White People, ancient beings who created eerie effigies called the Twisted Ones. As Mouse explores the woods, she encounters distorted deer, night‑time tap‑pings on windows, and a terrifying forest populated by these effigies. With the help of her neighbor Foxy, she ventures into the otherworldly realm to rescue a trapped woman named Anna and confront the malevolent creatures that have been breeding a new generation of White People. The novel blends folk‑horror atmosphere with dark humor, earning the RUSA Award for Best Horror and drawing comparisons to The Blair Witch Project and The Andy Griffith Show.