Chuck Wendig is a must read horror author for me these days, and THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS is a creepy horror tale about trauma, dimensional terrors, and lost and faded friendship. Wendig not only knows how to write a scary tale with lots of suspense and creepy imagery, he also knows how to kick the reader right in their heart as the explores four friends who lost a fifth in high school after he climbed up a mysterious staircase in the woods. I thought our players of Owen, Lore, Hamish, and Nick, were all pretty well rounded and complex, alternating between easy to cheer for and wanting to strangle. But all of them were so well crafted with easy to understand motivations that all of their choices, good and bad, were believable. And yes, SO many scary beats once they go up the staircase to look for Matty years later. Wendig's horror is well done as well as mysterious and sometimes Lynchian, and it unnerved me as I read.

THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS is another scary horror story from Chuck Wendig. I definitely recommend it.

First of all I was so excited to have gotten the arc for this book because I’ve had a hold on it at my library since I found out about it a couple months ago! This was really different from my usual reads and while there were some things I wasn’t crazy about, like it starting out kind of slow, I had so much fun reading this!

I don’t typically read fantasy horror but this storyline was so cool I had a great time reading it. Descriptions are usually hard for me to follow but with this book I swear I could see it playing all out in my head! However that being said, it didn’t really feel very much like a horror book to me. I was really hoping for more tension and more suspense but I never got that anxiety inducing feeling I love from my thriller books.

Even though the horror elements didn’t hit as hard as I was hoping, I really enjoyed the story and the writing definitely kept me engaged. Theres a lottt of triggers in this book so i’d check those out before picking this up if that concerns you.

Summer 1998, five friends go camping in the woods. The Covenant they all swore to one another is shattered and only four teenagers return, leaving Matty to never be seen again.

The Staircase in the Woods is an amazing, atmospheric psychological horror story. The book is told from 2 POVs and unfolds through alternating dual timelines, the before and the now.

After that il-fated night when Matty walked up those stairs and disappeared, the remaining friends slowly drift apart. Before they know it, 20 years has gone by. They've all lost touch and Matty is still gone. But when one of the friends discovers a new staircase in the woods they have to decide if finally have the courage to put aside their differences and traumas to chase Matty's footsteps up those stairs and continue to search for him.

<i>"THIS HOUSE HATES YOU"</i>

This book did give me slight IT vibes, in a good way. While it does follow the 4 remaining friends, we don't see all of their POVs. The story is mainly told through Owen and Lore's perspectives. Wendig did a great job of transporting the reader into the character's headspace and creating an incredible atmosphere of dread. The setting is creepy, to put it plainly and even the reader doesn't know who to trust or what's real or isn't at times as the characters learn each other's deepest darkest secrets.

I also loved Wendig's writing style. Nothing felt frivolous or unnecessary. At times, parts were a bit repetitive but I do believe most of it to be a plot device, again... this is psychological horror.

Speaking of if being a horror book, yes, there is some gore, body horror and pretty gruesome scenes. It is disturbing and that should be taken into consideration when choosing to read this book or not.

That being said, there is A LOT of talk of video games and video game reference, as a couple of the characters are game developers. It does seem Wendig took inspiration from classic old school horror games and neatly incorporated into this story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. And I definitely will be steering clear of any random staircases I may come upon in the woods.

Not going to lie, I saw this cover and thought of Madame Sherri’s, which is not too far from me as I’m in Vermont, which Wendig notes he went to see before starting this book. I think he would be sad to know those stairs collapsed a few years ago. We do a lot of hiking, and while I’ve never encountered unexplained stairs, I have come across doorways...

When stairs appear in the middle of nowhere, do you climb them? And when is a house more than just a home? There is a doorway to something other. There are possibilities in that doorway and that’s what this book explores, in the creepiest of ways. This book was a blast from beginning to end. I was surprised and delighted by the direction of the story and think other readers will be too.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Worlds for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.

I am a huge fan Horror & Mystery/Thrillers, and have enjoyed of Chuck Wending's work since reading The Book of Accidents. His newest book, The Staircase in the Woods is a work of art and full of nightmare fuel and existential dread. It gets off to a bit of a slow start, but quickly picks up speed until you can't put it down.

The plot revolves around 5 high school friends bonded by a Covenant of friendship -- Nick, Lore, Matty, Owen, and Hamish -- who go camping in the woods and find a mysterious staircase. Teens being teens, they get too curious, and Matty goes up the stairs but never comes back. 20 years later, the four remaining friends have reunited (rather unwillingly, thanks to Nick's scheming) and find another mysterious staircase. Looking to right the wrongs of the past for breaking the Covenant of friendship, they all go up the staircase, and into their worst nightmare -- traversing a mysterious "house" of seemingly infinite rooms full of death, tragedy and murder to find their friend Matty before the house gets them.

This book was SO GOOD. The house part of the book gave me so much anxiety and claustrophobia. The author does a great job of building the suspense, unease, horror, and sense of looming dread and hopelessness within the characters. I seriously could not stop reading until the end! Definitely not for the faint of heart (or stomach).

I highly recommend this book as your next book club read! You won't be disappointed!

I am up and down with Chuck Wendig's books. I DNFd Wanderers, loved The Book of Accidents, and somewhat liked Black River Orchard. That being said, I knewwwww I wanted to read his upcoming novel, THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS, not because it was giving different realm vibes but I am weirdly obsessed with spiral staircases!

Five troubled high school friends find an abandoned staircase in the woods, and when one of them, Matty, disappears, the mystery remains. Twenty years later, Nick brings the others—Hamish, Lore, and Owen—back to search for him, forcing them to choose between friendship and the unknown.

This book wasn't really a horror novel, but more like a fantasy with a YA edge to it. I felt that the story dragged a bit and left a lot of open-ended side stories by the end. It explores themes of friendship, abandonment, and PTSD. The book wasn't really something I would pick up if I knew it leaned more into fantasy than horror. However, the social commentary and political environment within this book was a factor in the storytelling, but it was done in a non-preachy way (I really don't want to hear about it from the MAGA folks). The story is an epic adventure and somewhat fun journey at times, with fun chapter titles to keep you in the groove and want to investigate. I was banking on the ending to push this to 4 stars, but it was a bit abrupt compared to everything else going on (like c'mon, we get it wrapped up way too easily and fast for a 400+ page slowburn). Overall, I really enjoyed the "universe" that THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS provides readers, but I felt that I wanted more from it.

RANKINGS:
1. The Book of Accidents
2. Black River Orchard
3. The Staircase in the Woods
4. Wanderers

The Staircase in the Woods is my first Chuck Wendig novel—and I would definitely have a go at another one. It's a sort of cross between horror and the problem novel that works well and has rather more depth than I'm used to finding in such novels.

The Staircase in the Woods moves between the same group of characters across two timeline.

In timeline one, the five of them are teenagers planning a camp out with plenty of booze and drugs. The characters are, as teenagers tend to be (at least I was) quick to take offense in a somewhat self-aggrandizing way and quick to see any challenges or unkindnesses directed at them as proof of their failure as human beings. When they finish hiking to their remote camping spot, they're startled to find a staircase there, apparently leading nowhere. The night wears on, they get more wasted and more unhappy with one another, then one of them runs to the top of the staircase and... vanishes.

In timeline two, having grown distanced from one another since the disappearance of their friend and having built adult lives—some with obvious successes, others stuck in a sort of loop of lacklusterness (is that a word?), none of them deeply happy with who they are—they reluctantly agree to a meet-up. They find themselves in another wood with another unexplained staircase.... and I shall say no more in order to avoid spoilers.

What I liked about this novel—

• None of the central characters was fully likeable. They're not the kinds of characters that make me wish we could be friends in real life. Nonetheless, I found them interesting enough that I wanted to learn their stories.

• There's some real horror here, but it's not a gore-fest. It's more a series of encounters in which we see all the different kinds of evils humans can enact on one another. Some blood, some death, but also uncomfortable/uncomforting revelations about the self.

• Chuck Wendig can write. The prose never felt stilted or predictable, and I found myself regularly highlighting sentences just because they were such lovely bits of craft all on their own.

If you like horror/thrillers, I think you'll be quite satisfied with The Staircase in the Woods. If you're uneven in you affection for these genres, i can't make any promises, but the title is definitely worth checking out.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher; the opinions are my own.

"A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods in this mesmerizing horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents.

Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what.

Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something extraordinary: a mysterious staircase to nowhere.

One friend walks up - and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.

Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy - and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods...."

Did they have someone watching the woods for twenty years so they'd know when the stairs reappeared!?!

Good story that gets you interested quickly. Turns very dark in the second half of the book. The overwhelmingly miserable backstories of the characters became a bit too much. for my taste. Lots of trigger warnings if you are not a big horror reader - suicide, child abuse. With a little less of that it would have been five stars.

Thankyou to Netgalley, Chuck Wendig and Del Rey Publishing for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolutely astonishing book, I literally couldn't put it down and when I had to I was left thinking about it.

This book hooks it's claws into you and doesn't let you go, with stunning dark writing, vivid imagery that will keep you awake and a character list you wish you knew in real life I can honestly say this was one of the easiest 5 stars I've given.

Do yourself a favour and pick up this book if it's the last thing you do, oh and read it in a dark house 🏠

I am the outlier once again. I loved The Book of Accidents, so I expected to love (or at least like) everything Wendig writes, but I’ve discovered this is not the case. I was lukewarm toward his last sci-fi horror, and I couldn’t even get through this one. I don’t get it. The Book of Accidents was scary and profound. Why can’t I find these qualities in his other stories?

Firstly, this did not pull me in. It felt like I was reading a very basic YA novel, even though the characters were adults.

I also find Wendig’s attempts at edginess feel synthetic. It’s an enormous turn off, and it completely pulls me out of the story.

I apologize to the publisher for not being able to finish the book and provide more elaborate feedback. I just cannot force myself with this one, although I greatly appreciate early access to the story.

I have no idea what just happened to me. I have easily read a least 100 books a year since I started reading chapter books in the first grade. Doing some quick math, I've read well over 3000 books in my literary journey. This book blew my mind. I somehow missed that this was horror and went in blind having never read horror and expecting some domestic suspense.. This story is shocking, chilling, mind bending, layered, complex, I could go on and on.

The story is about 5 teens from the 1990s who not only find a staircase in the woods and subsequently lose their friend but they also have a covenant with each other to always be there for each other when the time comes. Fast forward to adulthood and one of the remaining group summons the others to meet him citing the covenant.

What happens from there simply can't be described to any justice without reading the book. This book is going to haunt me and give me what I am anticipating to be the worst book hangover that I can remember. I read this in one sitting and became so invested in these complex and layered characters that I could not wait to learn their fate.

While I can't recommend this book enough, I can't say that I'd recommend this to the causal reader or someone who isn't prepared to go in and be destroyed in only the way that the best books can do. It is DARK, traumatic and should be full of trigger warnings, but that said if you are still willing to jump in, it will stick with. you for a long, long time.

This was a great book. It is pretty graphic but I loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig was a spine chilling, dread inducing horror story and I loved every last word of it. Five high school friends walk into the woods and find a mysterious staircase to nowhere, but only four of them walk back out of the forest the next day. Their friend Matt has vanished breaking apart the friendship that once united them. Years later one of them summons the others with the news that he is terminally ill and despite the intervening years the friends reunite only to find that the staircase has reappeared. In order to find out what happened to Matt they agree to go up the stairs, some more reluctantly than others but what they find at the top is a literal house of horrors, room after room from their nightmares that seem to flow into one another but never lead back to the staircase.
Wow, this was the definition of a gripping read, I was absolutely hooked from beginning to end, not just because of the disturbing story but also because I grew to really care about the characters, a real testament to the author's skill as at the beginning of the book none of them were particularly sympathetic. Using flashbacks to their teenage years so that we see how they grew such close friendship bonds really helped with that but also made events towards the end of the book even more gut wrenching as we see them face their personal demons and the traumas they endured growing up. This is a dark book that deals with many difficult themes so it may be worth seeking out some trigger warnings if you feel you may need them. While feeling new and fresh this book also felt like some of the best horror I read as a teen, and I think that that is a sentiment that will be echoed by many readers.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

The eerie unknown of liminal spaces haunt this book. Prepare yourself for the tension.
THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS by Chuck Wendig. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Right away I felt at ease with the writing style because it just flows so easily. This is interesting because the story gets down right harsh. For me, it got creepy as all get out and I never got used to it, I always felt unsettled.
I squirmed, I got mad, I was elated, I kept checking my surroundings, I tried to make myself as small as possible, and I absolutely loved it.
Overall this following quote sums up how I felt reading the book and I just can’t thank Chuck Wendig enough for that.
“Owen woke up when a cockroach was trying to get into his ear. It got halfway in, its front legs scrambling against his eardrum.” (You better have squirmed while reading that, if not then you have never seen Star Trek: Wrath of Khan)

Also, I loved the shoutout to Ryan from Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord NH in the acknowledgments. She does a lot to help the horror genre.

I loved this book. There are so many reasons that The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig is a five star read for me, but I'll try not to go too over the top with this review and just hit the highlights for you.

The story of this book follows a group of five teenagers with a deep friendship. The five go camping in the woods together where they discover a mysterious stand alone staircase. When one of them decides to climb it, he disappears, along with the staircase, and the four return to their lives without him. More than twenty years later the estranged friends come together again when one of them finds another Staircase. Can they find their missing friend? If you want to find out you'll have to read the book but it's absolutely worth it.

I mention pacing in most of my reviews because to me that's something that's pivotal to a good novel. This book was immaculately paced. The timeline of the story isn't linear but there was never a moment where I found myself wanting to rush through a part of the book to get back to the other timeline because they were all equally as engaging and entertaining. I read a good portion of this book (about 70% of it) in one sitting. I never found myself looking at how far I was or how much I had left, I was just so deeply in the story that hours flew by without my notice.

Another thing that will keep me sucked into a book is a good character and this book has not one but five very compelling characters. You could tell from reading that the author put a lot of serious thought and consideration into these characters. Not only did they all have rich and intricate backstories but as the story progressed and you learned more about their histories and their trauma it made the progression of the characters from teenagers to adults understandable. You could connect the dots from who they were as teenagers to how they became who they were as adults in a way that made them feel so real.

The last point I want to touch on, because I'd be remiss not to, is the story itself. It's just a damn good story. One that I know I'll want to revisit in the future. This is definitely going to be a re-read for me at some point down the road.

All that to say this was a 5 star read for me and a book that I had a really hard time putting down.

Thank you to Chuck Wendig for writing this, to Del Rey and Penguin Random House Worlds for publishing it and providing me with an ARC, and to NetGalley for being the vehicle with which I received it.

Triggers:
•childhood sexual abuse
•self harm
•violence
•death
•murder
•gore
•drug use
•recovering from trauma

A HUGE thank you to #NetGalley and #DelRey for the chance to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

It’s been so long since I’ve read a good haunted house-style story that hasn’t been predictable or cheesy. This one was FANTASTIC and broke the mold!

I remember watching the “Thirteen Ghosts” movie, wayyy back in the day, and thinking how creepy and terrifying it was, but also how unique it felt. I had never seen anything like it and yet, it was also a little difficult to explain.

“The Staircase in the Woods” gave me all of these same feelings, but were much more vivid because I was immersed in the reading experience. This experience will live in my head for days to come.

Some highlights for me were the following:
- ghosts and ghouls
- haunted houses
- childhood friends coming back together as adults to go on a spooky journey
- messed up childhood trauma
- haunted history
- video game lore

I will definitely be recommending this one to other spooky book lovers!

This is quite the interesting tale. I believe that it was a bit graphic for my taste, but the idea and story were great.

In the late 1990s a group of teens came across a strange staircase while camping in local woods. One of the group went up the stairs but never came back down.  The rest of the group go their separate ways until almost a quarter of a century later when they reunite and try to find out what happened to their lost friend.  This is a very dark and twisted story about pain and trauma of all kinds but it is also a story about the strength of friendship.  A difficult book to read at times but one that really made me think and it will stay with me for a long time.

Title/Author: Chuck Wendig

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Del Rey

Format: I read the NetGalley arc

Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: Miriam Black series, The Book of Accidents, Black River Orchard, etc

Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978059315...

Release Date: April 29th, 2025

General Genre: Horror

Sub-Genre/Themes: urban legend, camping trip, creepy woods, friendship, childhood friends into adulthood, relationships, small town, haunted house, trapped!, ghosts, self-harm, suicidal ideation, murder, death, violence, domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, child abuse (pretty much everything-this is the darkest Wendig yet)

Writing Style: Those short, buzzy, binge-worthy chapters we have come to love

What You Need to Know: "A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods in this mesmerizing horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents."

My Reading Experience: Wowsers, Chuck Wendig! He delivers a fresh and deeply unsettling twist on the haunted house genre in The Staircase in the Woods. Just when I thought nothing new could be done with this classic horror trope, Wendig proved me wrong.
The novel is pitch-black dark. And I do mean that. The horror level is at a ten with genuinely terrifying scenes unfolding with wicked and gruesome details. I strongly advise against reading this one at night unless you enjoy disturbing images in your mind before drifting into nightmare territory. The short, buzzy chapters make it impossible to put down. The tension is so high most of the time that when there is a bit of a lull, it drags a little. I felt like there were a few times where the story cycled through some repeated subject matter.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its layered backstory, which adds depth. The relationships between the group of friends are complex, shaped by trauma that is slowly revealed through dialogue and flashbacks. In that way, it reminded me of The Ritual by Adam Nevill—another novel where personal history is mixed in with real-time supernatural drama.

Final Recommendation: If you’re looking for a horror novel that doesn’t just rely on jump scares but instead gets under your skin with psychological depth and seriously terrifying scenes, The Staircase in the Woods is a must-read. Wendig has crafted a story that lingers long after the final page. Pretty disturbing. Please note my CWs in the sub-genre section

Comps: The Ritual by Adam Nevill, IT by Stephen King, The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste