Written by Mario Coelho
Reviewed by Sonali Shirodkar
The Twisted Child is a collection of twelve dark stories set in Goa that explore the unsettling boundaries between everyday life and the supernatural. The pace of the writing is slower than most ‘dark’ stories, and readers may not plough through to the end.
| Publishing Date: 2025
ISBN: 978-93-95795-75-3 Page Count: 164 Publisher: Goa 1556 Review Posted Online: June 2026 QBR Reviews Issue: Q2 2026 Categories: Horror | Mystery |
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In The Twisted Child, Mario Coelho delivers a collection of twelve unsettling tales that move beyond the playful charm of his early children’s short stories — titles such as Daksh, the Dancing Dragon, The Cats Who Loved to Dance, and Who is the Writer and the gritty crime noir of his first adult collection, Moonlight and Shadow, into the darker, more complex terrain of Young Adult supernatural fiction. This collection is crafted with a sharper edge, designed for readers who enjoy mystery and the eerie tension of a chiller and a thriller.
Coelho, who hails from Ponda, Goa, layers his stories with an inland sensibility, describing creepy old trees, hidden villages, and deep valleys. This thick, localised atmosphere is precisely what makes the stories work as dark supernatural fiction. They are set in crumbling, once-stately homes and isolated villages where old superstitions remain very much alive. The writing draws attention to the state of home life in Goa, marked by migration for work that is steadily breaking up the traditional family structure. Parents are left on their own in vast, empty ancestral homes. Coelho uses this to strip away the glossy tourist image of the state and reveal what is actually happening to its culture. Reading this as an insider is affecting. It makes you realise that the scariest thing about these creaking old houses is not a ghost, but the very real dread of growing old alone and being forgotten.
An outside reader from a different culture may struggle to fully grasp the text without familiarity with Goan life and customs. Though written in English, the book conceals layers beneath plain language. The author uses ordinary words to carry Goan secrets and old Konkani folk beliefs. A reader who did not grow up here may take the stories at face value, missing hidden cultural meanings. This approach connects local village lore to literary tradition but also makes the cultural texture harder to access for the uninitiated.
One such moment occurs on page 29, in the story The Banyan Tree. In Goa, people believe that large, old banyan trees are sacred and home to spirits called Rakhandars, guardians of the village. Locals understand that breaking a branch or disturbing the roots will anger the Rakhandar and invite misfortune.
On page 69, This is MY House draws on beliefs around ancestral land and the Rakhandars who are said to watch over old family properties. An outsider might see only a crumbling building ripe for renovation, entirely missing the spiritual guardianship, family history, and local pride attached to the land. On page 79, The Coconut Plucker is rooted in the figure of the coconut plucker, a highly essential worker in traditional Goan village life, understood to move through nature with an awareness of local spirits and the Rakhandars who inhabit the coconut groves.
The book also uses several Goan terms, susegad (a relaxed way of living), which sets the mood in The Banyan Tree. mundkar (a traditional estate tenant), which underpins the property dispute in This is MY House, feni (local cashew or coconut spirit), which the characters drink in The Coconut Plucker, and tiatr (musical theatre).
The language is simple and easy to follow, giving the book the feel of natural, spoken tales that are accessible to most readers. The cover features a close-up of a child’s face that immediately sets a spooky, unsettling mood wide, staring eyes and deep shadows suggest something supernatural lurking behind an innocent exterior. This haunting design prepares the reader for stories that are dark and full of eerie twists.
The book uses rainy, dim village settings to build atmosphere. However, the stories lean more toward folklore than outright horror. Readers seeking intense scares, gore, or sustained dread will find the collection too mild.
The prose is plain and accessible, which aids readability, but the sentences lack descriptive flair or poetic depth. This straightforward style can make dramatic or supernatural moments feel somewhat flat. Many stories also spend considerable time on village life and setting before anything happens in short fiction, this slow build risks losing the reader before the action arrives.
The format also limits character development. With twelve stories across 164 pages, each tale runs only a few pages, leaving little room for the reader to invest in the characters or care about their fates. Additionally, every story ends with a twist. While some are clever, experienced mystery readers will likely anticipate the endings early, diminishing the final surprise. As with most collections, quality varies. Standout stories include “I Don’t Believe in Ghosts, “The Twisted Child,The Banyan Tree, and The Coconut Plucker. These strike the best balance between suspense and local lore. Others feel rushed or end too abruptly. A shared narrator across the collection, similar to the cat in the opening story, might have given the book greater cohesion
Because the hook the moment an ordinary scene turns unsettling often arrives late, many readers may lose interest before the twist. In one story featuring a village drunkard, for instance, extended descriptions of his daily habits delay the supernatural reveal to the point where its impact is lost. By the time the paranormal element appears, the reader’s attention has already wandered.
The Twisted Child works better as a window into Goan culture and its quiet anxieties than as a horror collection in the conventional sense. For readers who can accommodate the slow pacing and plain prose, it offers a quietly mournful look at ageing families and fading traditions, a reminder that ordinary life can be far scarier than any ghost.
Further Recommendations
- Afterlife: Ghost Stories from Goa by Jessica Faleiro, Rupa Publications, 2012
- Whisper in the Wind by Venita Coelho, Tranquerbar Press, an imprint of Westland, 2019
- The Washer of the Dead: A Collection of Ghost Stories by Venita Coelho, Zubaan Books, 2010