The Staircase in the Woods by C. Wendig, published by Random House World, is a dark read.
Confusing, complex, I was nearly giving up when I got into the story.
An ok read.
Blurb: Five high school friends are bonded 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.

Oh so we just ending books like that?! There is was swiping on my kindle like nope, that can't be it.
A great spooky season read. Very unsettling. I have questions but the supernatural can't be explained. I just...I didn't want to put it down because I had to know what the heck was going on. And when I knew, I was still puzzled. I kind of wish we had some chapters from before with Matty's POV. But this was super creepy and just, why! See this is why I just mind my business and don't touch things that look out of place when I'm out hiking. You're not going to see me disappear like this. Nope no thanks.
The chapters were short so even when I felt like I was blowing through, jokes on me I had 50 chapters still. Well written, well thought out.

4.5 🌟 As a die hard horror fan I was completely enthralled by The Staircase in the Woods.

We follow four friends Owen, Lore, Nick and Hamish years after a camping trip that ended in disaster. In 1998 five of them went into the woods for a night of booze and debauchery but only four returned. Golden boy Matty vanished without a trace that night and the four friends have been dealing with that loss in their separate ways since.

Then Nick invokes an old pact they made (the Covenant) which brings them all back together in a sinister unexpected way.

I have to leave it there to avoid spoilers but trust that it because a wild rollercoaster thrill from here. Some genuinely scary scenes juxtaposed with real heart at its core.

The character development was excellently drip fed throughout making for truly heart wrenching moments. The tension and atmosphere palpable. The conclusion so satisfying.

Also the Interlude chapter is perfection 🤩

I will only say that the first 30% of the book could be slightly better paced to really hook the reader before all hell breaks loose as I felt some of it was a bit tedious before it kicked off. Also, I found some of the similes and metaphors a bit overwritten but they didn’t spoil my enjoyment too much.

Overall a very solid 4.5 stars. Would definitely recommend this to any horror fan and I imagine it would also be better on a re-read too. Look forward to reading more from Chuck Wendig in the future!

Remember: home is where the heat is 😉

Thanks to NetGalley for arc of this book

4.5 stars

I keep seeing other reviewer use the word unsettling, and I 100% have to agree with that. Wendig always comes through with a completely engrossing story, that leaves you both satisfied and wanting more of that’s possible. I have already placed my preorder on this one as I feel I may have missed some thing and it is certainly worthy of more read throughs regardless.

I have now ordered for this book.
Unique plot and characters.
Unsettling and so good.
Highly recommend.

The Staircase in the Woods is an unsettling and eerie read, perfect for spooky season. There are no jump scares or slasher-movie moments - the tension builds in a more subtle, psychological way. It makes you jumpy, has you glancing over your shoulder, and reading with the lights on—everything you want from a good horror novel. The story taps into the human condition, exploring how our relationships and inner struggles can both break and save us. It delves deep into the emotional lives of the characters, showing how the traumas and issues they dealt with as teenagers have followed them into adulthood.

The narrative jumps between past and present, which helps fill in the blanks, giving you a fuller understanding of the characters and their bond. This also adds a layer of unpredictability to the book. What initially seems like a supernatural mystery about a staircase in the woods evolves into a chilling exploration of friendship, trauma, and the passage of time.

The ending felt unresolved, and that might leave some readers craving more closure. It seems deliberate, though—perhaps to let readers interpret the conclusion on their own or to leave room for a continuation. Either way, The Staircase in the Woods is a chilling, atmospheric read that lingers long after you finish, making it a perfect pick for fans of psychological horror.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC!

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Suicidal ideation, Suicide, Murder, Child death, Sexual abuse (parent/child), Graphic violence and gore, Animal consumption of a human body, Self-harm and extreme bodily injury

Wow—this book left me seriously unsettled! The Staircase in the Woods had me hooked right from the start. The story of five friends finding a creepy staircase in the forest on a camping trip—where one of them just disappears—gave me chills. And then, boom, twenty years later, the staircase shows up again. The way Wendig pulls you into the mystery and the tension between these friends is so intense; you feel like you’re right there with them, unraveling dark secrets. It's eerie, emotional, and totally unforgettable.

I haven't heard much from Chuck Wendig lately, so I was super stoked to receive an ARC review from Netgalley!!

The story is definitely top notch, so this review will just be a paragraph per great thing, in no particular order...

One of the challenges of the Horror Genre is it can be hard to balance tone and tension across a whole novel length piece of writing - i.e. its pretty difficult to enjoy 80,000 pages of jump scares. But what Wendig does with this book is a solid 3 act structure of horror 'tone.' Act 1 is very ominous and uncertain, sinister even. There is a sort of IT vibe without an overt clown (more on this later). Act 2 is more straight up horror, and to be honest some perhaps a little cliche moments, but it isn't overdone and we quickly shift into Act 3 which draws together existential and character driven terrors.

To go back to my comment about IT - the plot revolves around 4 of a previously 5 person group returning to the 'staircase' where their 5th went missing. I am probably very very biased in this element but the characters were so deeply millennial and flawed I couldn't get enough of them. The few flashbacks to the 90s and back to the modern time captured extremely well the strange blend of a 90s kid's life starting basically with TV to being balls deep in memes and video games.

In terms of the characters there was something quite deft in the writing of their development. I won't say that the group were the deepest character studies in literature, but it was refreshing that they weren't just crafted fictional units either. The story didn't solve their problems, not by a long shot, but it was dramatic in the changes and challenges they overcame. It's also a little myopic - fitting with the theme of the story it felt like a micro-scope on the main characters, other than the flashbacks there are barely any minor characters, we are very much deep diving into Owen, Lore, Hamish, and Nick's lives.

My final favourite thing about this book was the pacing. Alluded to in my discussion about the changes in tone, there were the odd moments in this book that I worried I was going to get bored with X situation, for example when in the first act we flashed back I though 'oh boy we're doing this now? yawn.' but my worries were misplaced. Despite these worries this book is very well penciled to keep the story moving, it felt like Goldilocks was editing because each scene and sequence seemed to have the just right amount of page time.

I wish I could deep dive a bit into spoiler territory, because there are interesting things to say about this plot, unfortunately (for me anyway) that's terrible form for an advance review, so I'll just have to be patient for the release date and hopefully dive back in later.

I fully loved this book, there were legitimately scary moments, and more than just a haunted house story. What is the definition of home, is it a place, a person, or a literal house. Also playing with the ideas of fear, what is scarier, the "ghost" in front of you or the fears you create in your own head? There is a lot to be mined here, but I will let the reader decide what they enjoy the most. I'm a big fan of this author, as he has a way of making the crazy seem really down to earth. On a personal note I don't think I have ever related more to a character in a book before. Awesome stuff here, and Wendig has a way with words.

The novel is primarily through 2 main characters, so we get to know them the most, so I will say that when something happens to one of the other characters it doesn't have as much impact on the reader.

A few other nitpicky stuff, that's easy to look past, good stuff here, and who knows where those stairs will lead.

While camping in the forest, a group of friends found a staircase in the woods. When one friend decided to climb the stairs, they disappeared at the top of the staircase and was never seen again. Twenty years later, the friends meet up again to find that the staircase has reappeared. What mysteries are at the top of the staircase, and what happened to their friend when the first staircase appeared.

Although I do not usually read horror, the synopsis of this book captivated me. I decided to give this book a chance and The Staircase in the Woods did not disappoint. I was completely invested in the mystery from page one. The dual timeline of the friends explains the traumas that each friend had faced in the past and the difficulties they faced today. The chilling atmosphere and dark mystery of this book was exactly what I wanted before Halloween.

The Staircase in the Woods is out April 29th, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Worlds for the opportunity to review The Staircase in the Woods. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Great set-up and beyond fascinating concept. I literally fell down the deepest reddit rabbit hole reading about staircases in the woods. I’m used to a slow burn from Wendig, but this definitely felt longer than its 400 pages. I found myself expecting a bit more. Very creative haunted house story, though. An emotional read with flawed, broken characters. The dynamics of friendship was my favorite part. There is one character I wish we got a POV from because I don’t feel I ever got a clear understanding of his motives.

Overall, solid horror read but not my favorite Wendig book.

This book is difficult for me to review. The premise is genius. The characters are well rounded and the house as a character is diabolically clever.
I think the biggest issue for me was the length. The middle felt very repetitive, and the ending felt rushed. I loved the ending, but the middle could have been chapters shorter.

I had no idea what to expect coming in to this, but I am forever changed by the premise of this book. Four friends experience the loss of another after they encounter a staircase hidden in the woods (a very real phenomenon- look it up!) In the style of It, they reunite years later under false pretenses to rediscover a different staircase. What's down there? Did their friend they never find become victim to the staircase? Once the friends are in the process of exploring, they find tons of terrifying tales come to life. There are ghouls and gory scenes, but above all- I found the metaphors and relatability to be so astounding. We are placed into the POV of two of the friends, and learn about the history of certain elements of the story within those. The nuance and formation there blew me away. Despite some of the buddies being grating and unlikable, it was just so genuinely written. I couldn't help but believe these were real people, maybe even ones I know. The horror within was so memorable- I won't spoil it, but there is more than one occurrence in the staircase that will stick in my brain walls forever. As an avid horror lover, I especially cherish being blessed with atrocities I've never heard of before. My only complaint- it didn't come across as super genuine for Matty to be involved with this particular friend group. It is but a small whine, so I'm waving my five star rating around proudly. Honorable mention that even the acknowledgments at the end made me truly GET Wendig as an author.
Thanks so much to the author and the publisher for the eARC!

What a fantastic plot this has! The Staircase is open to many interpretations of what is really means. I thought it was very well put together and I was able to visualise the rooms well.
Highly recommended.

This book had modern Stand By Me.IT vibes. You could feel the bonds of friendship and how it was tugged and pulled until the edges frayed and the bonds got smaller and smaller, ready to snap at any moment. The story held my attention, which isn't easy to do these days, and I enjoyed it a great deal.

This book focuses on a group of friends after their other friend mysteriously disappears. I did not expect this book to go where it did and I haven’t read anything like this. I felt like I was in a video game the entire time. The characters were complex, well written and adequately shows how delicate their friendships were after dealing with a trauma.

The author’s writing was fantastic and incredibly descriptive and gruesome. That being said, I don’t think this book was for me. I was grossed out throughout the book and had some lingering questions at the end. I would recommend checking out the trigger warnings before reading.


Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Worlds for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Worlds | Del Rey for this ARC! The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig is a captivating blend of horror and dark fantasy that delves into the complexities of fear and memory. The narrative follows a protagonist grappling with personal trauma as they navigate a mysterious forest and its eerie staircase, each step revealing deeper psychological truths. Wendig’s vivid prose and masterful world-building create an immersive atmosphere that both intrigues and unsettles readers. With its exploration of grief and the haunting nature of the past, this novel stands out as a thought-provoking and chilling read.

This was absolutely amazing! I was totally enthralled with this story from beginning to end, I could barely put it down, and when I finally read the last page, the house was dark, I was hungry, thirsty, needed to pee and my neck was stiff. But damn, it was worth it!

₊‧ ୨୧ 2.25 stars ◞♡

uh uh. nope.

lemme give u a quote and pls tell me if this makes u feel anything:
“stepping on puppies until they pop”

i mean eXcUsE Me 😭😭 yuck.

so ye…. this book was weird and it defs delivered on the “spooky” side of things… except it was leaning more towards disturbing than anything else.

firstly, the pacing was so confusing. at one moment they were here and the next it was half a year later and they still have phone battery left??
ye that don’t make sense.

and the characters were all unique, but i kinda hated them sometimes… but their friendship was super cute 🧸🎧

other than that, i think the writing was ok overall…

tbh i thought this was gonna be a thriller and not a horror… uhm i was wrong. like, at times i thought i would puke bc of how disgusting some things were 😀↕️

i defs recommend reading this ( when it comes out ) if u want a nice horror book with some SUPPPERRRRRRRRR slow slow-burn ( if it can even be called that 🌝 )

It started a little on the slow side for me, however, by 3/4ths I was hooked. I practically highlighted every word of that last bit. It was such a touching and profound prose.