‘Wolf Worm’ one of the most accomplished horror novels of 2026

Something darker than the devil stalks the North Carolina woods in T. Kingfisher’s latest gothic horror novel, and this reviewer can confirm that the warning is well earned.

“Wolf Worm” is set in 1899 and follows Sonia Wilson, a scientific illustrator left without work or prospects after the death of her father, a renowned scientist. When the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position documenting his vast insect collection at his remote North Carolina manor house, Sonia takes the opportunity without asking too many questions. As it turns out, that is exactly the wrong approach.

T. Kingfisher, the pen name of Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning author Ursula Vernon, has built a devoted following for her ability to deliver horror that is simultaneously funny, warm and deeply unsettling. “Wolf Worm” is arguably her finest work to date.

Kingfisher, who lives in New Mexico but spent years in North Carolina, brings authenticity to the setting that feels lived in and specific. The 1899 rural South is rendered with care and the local folklore carries genuine weight.

What makes “Wolf Worm” exceptional is its protagonist. Sonia is a Darwinist and naturalist whose sharp observational mind and dry wit make her immediately compelling. Kingfisher filters every person, landscape and specimen through the eye of an artist, communicating character entirely through perspective rather than exposition.

Dr. Halder himself is rendered with equal precision, as this early exchange reveals: “Cleanliness is next to godliness, Miss Wilson, or so they say. But foulness provides rather more opportunity for scientific inquiry.”

The horror builds slowly and deliberately. Strange animal behavior. A shed with no business having a basement. Local whispers about blood thieves in the woods. A lantern moving through the dark.

Kingfisher understands that dread accumulated quietly is far more effective than shock, and she deploys humor strategically to lower the reader’s guard before pivoting back to the unsettling. The result is a book that is genuinely difficult to put down even as it makes your skin crawl.

The audiobook edition, narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal, is particularly recommended. Kowal, herself a North Carolina native, brings remarkable authenticity to the material. Her character voices are distinct and her pacing through the horror sequences is exceptional.

Both the print and audiobook editions are available Tuesday, March 24. Readers looking to support independent bookstores can purchase the audiobook through Libro.FM at libro.fm.

Do not skip the author’s note. Kingfisher shares the personal origins of “Wolf Work” with characteristic honesty, and it offers remarkable clarity into the state of mind that brought the novel to life.

“Wolf Worm” is Southern gothic horror at its best. Atmospheric, witty, genuinely terrifying and populated with characters who earn your investment completely. I wouldn’t recommended it for readers sensitive to body horror or insect content, but for everyone else, it is one of the most accomplished horror novels of 2026.

Kara Sandoval is the event coordinator and a bookseller at Books on the Bosque, located at 6261 Riverside Plaza Lane, Suite A-2, or at booksonthebosque.com.