Dark Twilight is a 1991 horror novel by author Joseph Citro

Joseph A. Citro

Joseph A. Citro is a Vermont author and folklorist. Occasionally referred as the "Bard of the Bizarre" or "the Ghost-Master General", he has extensively researched and documented the folklore, hauntings, ghost stories, paranormal activity and occult happenings of New England.Interested in horror...

. Dark Twilight tells the story of a writer-turned-paranormal investigator who has set out to examine the legendary lake monster

Champ (legend)

Champ, or Champie, or Champy, is the name given to a reputed lake monster living in Lake Champlain, a natural freshwater lake in North America, partially situated across the U.S.-Canada border in the Canadian province of Quebec and partially situated across the Vermont-New York border...

 of Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...

.

This was the first novel Citro wrote, but was not published until his later novels proved to be successful. In the afterward section of the Harscrabble re-release, Citro describes the book as being less refined and cruder than his subsequent works, but sees it as the genesis of his other novels. Like all of his works, Dark Twilight is heavily influenced by Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

 folklore, and also by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The main character is at partially modeled after Citro himself.