The Twisted Ones

As the protagonist and first-person narrator of the novel, Melissa, who goes by “Mouse,” provides the pragmatic and often cynical lens through which the supernatural events unfold. She is a dynamic and round character, beginning the story as a freelance editor seeking temporary escape from a bad breakup and ending as the survivor of a confrontation with a hostile, alternate reality. Her profession is central to her characterization and to the novel’s exploration of The Double-Edged Power of Narrative; she is an interpreter of texts, a person who imposes order on chaotic narratives. This role makes her uniquely vulnerable to the primary horror of the novel, which is transmitted through a found manuscript. Her initial analysis of her step-grandfather’s journal is purely editorial: “It’s either she hid the book or she has hidden the book. Pick one and commit” (30).

This analytical detachment gradually erodes as the horrors described in the text manifest in her reality, directly engaging with the theme of The Thin Veil Between Reality and Nightmare. When she discovers the strangely carved stone in the yard, she initially dismisses her dog’s alarm by remarking, “It’s a rock, genius” (45).