The Twisted Ones

Lures you in with chatty good humor (especially about NPR pledge week) and a lovely dog … then slams the door and bites you in the dark.-Stephen King

Reads so fast and so effortless that you don’t realize how in thrall you are to it. It’s the sensation of being a little kid who stayed out too long past dinner and sure, you were having fun, but now it’s a moonless night and the forest is dark and you are hopelessly lost. This is righteous, folkloric horror, and the devil is waiting in between these pages.– Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of Blackbirds and Wanderers

Innovative, unexpected, and absolutely chilling, T. Kingfisher isn’t just breaking into the horror scene, she’s breaking it down. With a hammer.– Mira Grant, Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of Into the Drowning Deep

A deliciously horrifying read. I adored it. In turns deeply human and uncanny, The Twisted Ones reads like the world’s most terrifying episode of Hoarders. Don’t sleep on it. In fact, be prepared to never sleep again.-Alyssa Wong, Nebula Award-winning author of Psylocke

A refreshing contemporary voice, classic scare-filled weirdness, and a big delightful dog for company: The Twisted Ones is a hugely entertaining read.-Aliya Whiteley, author of The Beauty

Smart, crackling prose, genuine chills, suspense that doesn’t let up - oh, and strange things walking in the woods. This book was so gripping I practically inhaled it. Definitely one not to miss, though you may want to read it with all the lights on!-Alison Littlewood, author of The Hidden People

The Twisted Ones combines with dread of the classic Arthur Machen tale with the poignancy of It Follows. A sweet and shivery tale of things best left unseen by one of the genre’s rising stars.– Helen Marshall, author of The Lady, The Tiger, and the Girl Who Loved Death

With a remarkable assured new voice, Kingfisher strides into the haunted realm of folk horror, and quite simply mic drops.-Stephen Volk, award-winning writer of Ghostwatch and The Dark Masters Trilogy

T. Kingfisher’s take on Machen’s tale is very fine indeed. Clever, gruesome, funny, and downright terrifying. The Twisted Ones is a refreshing twist on folk horror best read in daylight. Don’t go into the woods … no, really, just don’t.-Angela Slatter, author of The Crimson Road

The Twisted Ones is a weird, shimmering story told with sharpness and grace - somehow both wild fairy tale and quiet, personal horror in equal measure. It’s a strange and lovely balance, expertly crafted for daytime laughter or nighttime trembles.-Cherie Priest, author of THE FAMILY PLOT and MAPLECROFT.

Read this one with the lights on.– Kirkus Reviews

Kingfisher neatly combines modern elements into a combined folktale and horror story that is rich in atmosphere and characterization.– Publishers Weekly

Laden with cosmic fright, The Twisted Ones connects the foreboding of ancient folklore with the horrors of modern life. But it does so with a sharp, witty voice and a compelling first-person protagonist who finds herself precariously straddling worlds she never knew existed.– NPR BOOKS

A more than worthy homage to Arthur Machen’s classic ‘The White People’, … a genuinely creepy tale of supernatural horror and cosmic dread in its own right.-James Brogden, author of The Hollow People

T. Kingfisher is the vaguely absurd pen name author Ursula Vernon uses when writing for adults. In another life, she writes children’s books and weird comics. As Kingfisher, she has won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus and Dragon Awards, including the Hugo for Best Novel for her book Nettle & Bone. When she is not writing, she is probably out in the garden, trying to make eye contact with butterflies.