
Member Reviews

Such a creepy unique read! I was drawn in and could not put this book down after I started. The characters were well developed and the story was so intriguing!!

ALL THE STARS!
Chuck Wendig has once again proven himself a master of atmospheric storytelling with The Staircase in the Woods. Equal parts eerie, heart-wrenching, and transcendent, this novel grips you from the first page and doesn’t let go—drawing readers into a haunting, layered mystery wrapped in folklore, trauma, and the unrelenting pull of the unknown.
At the heart of the novel is Wendig’s trademark ability to balance horror with humanity. The titular staircase—unconnected to any structure, weathered by time and seemingly placed by unseen hands deep within the forest—is more than a surreal image; it’s a symbol of secrets buried beneath the surface of memory and time. As the protagonist confronts the enigma of the staircase, Wendig leads us through a psychological labyrinth that is as emotionally resonant as it is terrifying.
The prose is lyrical without being indulgent, and Wendig’s dialogue crackles with authenticity. The characters are vividly rendered, their arcs poignant and deeply personal. There's a mythic undercurrent running through the story, evoking echoes of ancient fears and primal wonder—yet it's grounded in modern anxieties, making it both timely and timeless.
Wendig's pacing is flawless. He allows tension to simmer, building dread with a slow burn that rewards patient readers with mind-bending twists and a conclusion that is as cathartic as it is chilling.
The Staircase in the Woods is more than a horror novel. It’s a meditation on grief, memory, and the things we carry with us—seen and unseen. Fans of speculative fiction, literary horror, and supernatural thrillers will find themselves spellbound.
A triumph of genre-blending storytelling, Wendig’s latest is a must-read for anyone who dares to climb into the dark—knowing that they may never return the same.

I really enjoyed this horror novel that is about homes, houses, and friendship. Very spooky, definitely gorey, and overall a fun ride.

A scary experience with friends
Chuck Wendig's books always have something of Stephen King about them. A dash of coming of age, deep-rooted friendships and characters who are given plenty of backstory. A story to touch, to empathize with.
The premise of “The Staircase in the Woods” is simply explained: five friends find a staircase in the woods. One of them goes up and disappears. Twenty years later, the remaining friends reunite and a new staircase appears. The initial situation may seem a little strange and unusual at first. As a reader, however, you should bring a little suspension of disbelief with you. After all, this is a horror book, in which something is usually wrong anyway.
Once you get involved in this story, you become part of the group of friends. You worry, suffer and fear. Because there's much more to the story than the eponymous stairs. As in “The Book of Accidents”, the author manages to go a few levels deeper narratively. He doesn't use horror for shock moments, but reveals the traumas, worries and fears of the friends. Wendig is not just a horror writer, just as King has often used the element of horror as a means to an end in order to focus on something completely different. Great fun!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy! Chuck Wendig has yet again proved he's a master of his class. Has created his own sub-genre in horror, and I absolutely love what he does. Staircase is no exception. This did not go in the direction I was expecting it to, and I am so thankful for that. Staircase is a very appropriate title, as this story itself has so many twisting and winding layers to it that I did not see coming. Go in as blind as possible, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. As is customary with Wendig's novels, not only is it absolutely terrifying in places, but it is also filled with lots of heart and will make you feel all the emotions by the end. Chuck has been an auto buy author for the better part of the decade, and that will not be changing anytime soon!

A creepy premise with definite Stranger Things vibes—mysterious staircases, childhood pacts, and long-lost secrets. The story opens strong, and I was immediately hooked by the eerie concept. But while the mystery is intriguing, the pacing falters and some character development feels thin. The nostalgia and tension kept me reading, but the payoff didn’t fully land. Worth a try if you like supernatural thrillers with a touch of '80s/’90s throwback, just don’t expect all your questions to be answered.

n 1998, 5 friends go into the woods.
Only 4 come out.
Years later, they gather as adults, summoned by a promise they made when they were kids.
Both times, they find a staircase in the middle of nowhere…beckoning them. Initially, climbing the stairs was a dare, an act of bravado.
But now, as adults, the staircase offers a chance at redemption; the possibility of answers.
What happened to their friend Matty all those years ago? Maybe by following in his footsteps, they’ll find out.
***
The story focuses on Lore (Lauren) and Owen, with Hamish and Nick as supporting characters.
Wendig’s writing is easy to read and creepy in a Stephen King kind of way. A lot of the elements of this story reminded me of King: childhood friends meeting to honor a promise, the horror of everyday life, the importance of friendships and how they change from childhood to adulthood.
Wendig drew me in with the premise, and I appreciated the short, snappy chapters. But the book still felt too long to me; I started to lose interest in the middle. Honestly, the big reason I didn’t DNF was because I wanted to see how he would resolve the disappearances.
And the ending didn’t disappoint. I just wish we could’ve gotten there a little more quickly.
Thanks to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for the ARC.
Check out this book for a creepy exploration of the horrors that lurk behind closed doors.

I received an advance ebook copy of The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig from netgalley.
The overall plot, storyline, and characters for this book are great. The twists and suspense keep you guessing and reading.
However, it took me a few tries to actually get into this book. The first 10% or so were really hard for me to get through. Once I did, I was able to stick with it.

I've tried twice to get into this book and just can't manage it. The writing is well done and the mind pictures are strong. Not sure what the issue is but it's def a ME problem, not the story.

The premise is interesting but I simply could not handle the characters in either time period. Vapid, annoying, boring. I enjoy “unlikable” characters but they have to be interesting and none of these people were.
I liked the writing though and would try out more of Chuck Wendig’s books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for the digital galley of this book!
In this book, five friends discover a staircase in the woods while camping. When they investigate, one of them goes up the stairs and disappears, along with the staircase.
Twenty years later, one of the survivors is dying, and he summons the rest of them for a reunion. A sort of goodbye and closure opportunity. But the staircase had returned, and they’ll have to climb it to find out what happened to their friend all those years ago.
Staircases in the woodsare one of my favorite weird things, stories of random staircases in the woods. Creepy Reddit has had some good ones over the years, and Wendig has added another solid one to the lore. This one is awash with mystery, horror, and facing childhood trauma. I love horror as an exploration of trauma, and I think this book does a good job. It kept me guessing and took me into a mysterious and creepy world.

**3.5 stars**
This was my first Wendig book. I liked it. Such an original premise of a staircase in the woods and what happens when you walk up that staircase. It’s a haunted house story, a demon story, and a coming of age story too. Some parts kind of were monotonous like Lor’s mom growing up and definitely Owen’s Dad but overall it held my interest with some creepy moments mixed in. I liked the characters well enough especially since we are the same age.
An original haunted house story for sure. The ending is open ended so be warned about that ahead of time.
**Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.**

From the title I understood that this story would be very intriguing and it really did not disappoint me! From the very first pages the suspense and mystery dominate! The chapters are short and always end in a way that you can't stop but immediately start reading the next one..
This is a page turning story of mystery and horror that keeps you in suspense until the end!

This is the second of Wendig's titles that have just not done it for me. Characters feel offensively shallow and we just don't get things moving quickly enough. There are readers for this book, but I am not one.

One of the many things I got from this amazing book: cherish and honor your friendships. Check on your friends. They're the bread and butter to your mental state for most of your life besides your family. Having even one or two friends is a privilege.
I absolutely loved this book. It had that vibe from the movie Cube (one of my faves from 1997) and the visuals from the movie The Cell (another fave). At first I was a bit confused on the characters because I can imagine it can get quite daunting for authors to introduce a few characters all at once and having us be able to distinguish them. But slowly each one grew on me and I was able to categorize and visualize them whenever they spoke. And the way he really punched up their back stories were great. A few repetitive moments, but once you get going with this, it was worth this absolute thrilling ride. Truly, this was incredible.
Not only were their amazing horror elements throughout the book, the curiosity of the staircase in the woods itself set the foundation so wonderfully. There were also deep exploration of friendships, expectations, family, and all the emotional roots among all that listed. Bravo to this work as this was one of my top reads this year.
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Books and the author for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Creepy premise, eerie atmosphere, and some dark twists but overall this didn’t quite land for me. I loved the idea of an ominous staircase in the woods tied to old secrets and grief, and the way the story moves between timelines kept things intriguing.
But I never really connected to the characters; they felt more like vehicles for the plot than real people, which dulled the impact when things turned truly horrific. Still, there are some chilling moments and interesting themes about how the past haunts us. A solid horror concept, just not a standout for me.
2.5

4.5 stars but rounding up!
I’m not a horror person, but this one sounded so good, I had to request it. And sure enough, I ended up being entertained even as I was *this* close to losing my mind. It is scary, gory, creepy in so many places, thought-provoking (yeah, I KNOW!), and will ick you out by ‘elevating’ something that you probably do on a day-to-day basis.
It’s not all gore and creepiness, though. There are beautiful moments of human connection throughout the story, where you are reminded that the world (real and the one in the story) can be scary and cruel, but you will always find points of beauty that will sail you through, that will keep you sane in the midst of all this insanity. You only have to nurture your own willpower to match that beauty.
Given, friction between the characters is ever-present, but that is what’s normal in real life too. Friends that don’t butt heads from time to time don’t exist, even if it’s a gentle process. To watch these 4 try to get through whatever it is they have directly jumped into is equal parts terrifying and emotional.
So if you’re looking for a book that’s exactly that, then The Staircase in the Woods is one you should definitely pick up.
But be careful, because this one will make you hallucinate, especially if you live in a house where fridges and drywalls make sounds. I say this because I have experienced it. Phew.

This was a good one! It is definitely a page turner. The story is well written and you are right there in the woods with them.

I picked this up because it reminded me of a reddit story I read long ago. it was good but I wanted more to do with mysterious stairs and not a house in the void realm, but that's my fault with the expectation I had. I felt the characters were one dimensional but I still enjoyed their trauma and the metaphor for it. *thank you to netgalley and the author for the arc*

Thank you to Random House Worlds and NetGalley for the ARC of The Staircase in the Woods in exchange for an honest review.
The idea behind this book is genius. While I am not one for horror novels in the least, I was able to skim over some of the more descriptive parts as to not totally gross myself out because the story in itself was very good. There were definitely times when the book moved rather slow and it was the same thing over and over, but there were other times when I just couldn’t put it down.
In quick summation, five friends find a staircase leading to nowhere in the middle of the woods back in 1998. Matty, the leader of the group, climbs to the top of the stairs to investigate and disappears into nothing. The remaining four, who were already at the bottom of the social ladder, are immediately cast out by the community as everyone assumes foul play. Police are unable to locate Matty and with no evidence to convict the remaining four, life moves forward as each of the friends go their separate way. Fast forward to present day, Nick calls the group together on one last camping trip, where they stumble upon another staircase. This time, everyone goes up and finds themselves within a house of horrors that is strategically designed to break you mentally and emotionally. Our cast of characters treat the house as a game in order to stay alive and hope to find their way out as they also look for their long lost friend. Let me tell you, shit gets weird…fast.
I did enjoy the gaming element that was woven throughout the book. The overarching themes of the book run much deeper and most certainly push the average readers level of comfortability. In this case, the reader must certainly suspend all forms of disbelief and view the story for what it is to really appreciate it, which can be hard for many. If you are a horror novel fanatic, I would definitely suggest to give this book a go as I was pulled in from the start.