I liked the premise of this book, but it just felt like it went on and on. I found that I never really liked any of the characters. It's a very interesting concept though so I kept reading.

This book I can confidently say is unlike anything I’ve ever read, and unlike anything i read after. The authors mind was so imaginative! Terrifying and I never knew what kind of room was going to happen next!! So good!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of The Staircase in the Woods!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🏠 believe houses absorb energy
🏃‍♀️ always run from your problems
👫🏼 would do anything for a friend
👻 love to read horror stories

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

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. . . .

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

Just wow! What an incredible story with an amazing plot and interesting characters to boot! This had all the elements I love in a story - horror, paranormal, character driven plot development, and mystery! The character development was flawless, and entirely necessary, in my opinion, to further the plot. Each of these characters are broken and flawed in their own way which leads to the house crushing their spirits to further its evil agenda. I loved Lore’s mind and how she was able to figure out so many things about the house and how to bypass it like a computer program. I never knew where the story was going to lead us, which is the hallmark for a great novel! The rooms changing and swirling around was a lot of fun. This would make for a very cool movie. Even being 400 pages, I flew through this book. The ending left on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I would love to see a sequel!

I’m a big Chuck Wendig fan and always enjoy his mix of horror, science fiction, and mystery. Needless to say, I had huge expectations for The Staircase in the Woods.

Reunited after years of being apart, four childhood friends reunite as adults only to discover they’ve been brought back together to relive a shared trauma that torn their friendships apart. While the trope of ‘friends returning to the scene of trauma’ isn’t exactly new, Wendig makes it entirely his own by interweaving plenty of horror-esque elements and fantasy.

I’m a big fan of multiple POVs and love when all our main characters not only have a ‘present’ but also flashbacks, especially as the flashbacks are what give us the story that led to the trauma.

While this was a creepy and entertaining read, I did find that it could have been cut down a bit. The repetitive nature of some parts (even though told through different viewpoints) made it feel longer than it needed to be. I also have a hard time occasionally with such open-ended fantasy aspects, I needed just a few more answers around how ‘this’ could even happen so something to think about. Otherwise, Wendig is always a good choice if you want an atmospheric, descriptive, and creepy read.



The Staircase in the Woods comes out April 29, 2025. Huge thank you to Del Rey Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my:
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This is the 5th book that I've read by this author Sorry to say, this is my least favorite of the ones I read. I found it to be repetitive and there were some sections I enjoyed and some that were less interesting.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It goes in a direction that I really didn't expect, but if you're a fan of Chuck Wendig that really shouldn't surprise you. The first half of the book is so engaging and interesting, and was hard to put down. I will say the second half was a little too drawn out and meandering, and it could have been about 100 pages shorter. But overall, I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it, especially if you have read some of his other novels and liked them - you're going to like this.

I liked the premise of the story but I felt like something was missing. I didn’t quite have time to bond with the characters before we were supposed to be emotionally tied to the events in the house. All of this revolving around their lost friend Matty, who we don’t really get an answer on what happened. I usually don’t mind an open ended conclusion but unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me!

Thank you NetGalley and Del Ray for the arc!

ok, so, I didn't love this book. In fact, I found it hard to finish.

Bad points:
- During one of the earlier chapters (11% of the way through) it suddenly turned from caring about a dying friend to arguing over politics, trans rights, and various spectrums which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was in your face, unexpected, and a little bit OTT.

- I really didn't like the use of the word 'unalived'. Sorry, but it's not a real word - it's a TikTok word, one that people use to try and stop themselves getting reported or banned when talking about certain topics. It's not needed in a horror book.

- The book was very repetitive; sort of the same thing happening over and over, but only slightly different each time...

Good points:
- There was a lot of background information and lore about the characters. We get to learn a bout who they are and why they behave the way they do.

- The beginning of the book draws you in and makes you want to find out more! I found myself sitting here going 'Ooh what? how? when?' and kept reading as I just NEEDED to know!

- The chapters were nice and short, they are easy to read in nice short bursts if your a busy individual who always has something going on, or just need a quick read before bed!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC! #TheStaircaseintheWoods #NetGalley

I will generally read anything by Chuck Wendig. This book was a wonderfully crafted folding of character and concept, with mystery and thrilling elements baked in.

The premise of Staircase in the Woods is fairly simple: five friends encounter a mysterious set of stairs in the woods, only for four to return. It changes their lives, though not as much as you might think given they were already a set of outcasts in dysfunctional families. Several decades later, they come together again and face off with a fresh set of stairs, this time finding out what lies at the top step. The reader is led through a story of their various traumas in a house that feels like a choose your own adventure game.

I actually originally was excited to read this because I was under the false impression that this novel was written by the author of the Reddit stories. However, as I engaged with Staircase and the characters, I found it left much to be desired, in particular Lore. Lore felt like every single trope of a nonbinary individual or a lone woman in a group of outcasts. Lore was the “slut”, Lore stole their friend’s game ideas, Lore used acid unlike the rest of them used good ‘ole pot, Lore refused to just be Lauren—Lore had to be “wacky and unique” and why, oh why can’t Lore just be good girl Lauren again! It was quickly tiring, especially when Lore had to become the trope of an aggressive liberal screaming at their poor friend, the Trump voter, who also coincidentally was written as the most sympathetic and successful character. It causes me to question if the author had further personal motivations he wished to get across in these characters. Given the accusations associated of theft of the writing ideas involved with this novel, is this meant to be a response to individuals who have cried out about how Wendig was not the original source of the staircase appearing in the woods short stories?

Furthermore, regarding the discussions surrounding personal traumas, Wendig’s engagement was clumsy at best, damaging at worst. He would quickly mention topics such as eating disorders and self harm, even suicide or child molestation, but never gave follow up. It was clear his characters were still in the throes of these issues, but once they briefly mentioned the trauma to their friends, apparently they were cured of all that had been previously wrong! They no longer had any trauma and they no longer had to carry it because now the goodness of friendship and ignoring it again could take hold, not meds as one character previously mentioned taking or therapy or any other option would be necessary. For a house formed from trauma and how one succumbed to it, it was strange that their path forward was marked by doing the very same things that actually brought them there.

Overall, I found the chapters easily digestible in size, the plot and timeline jumping easy to follow, but enjoyable due to the stereotyped characters and the lack of nuance in the trauma storyline. I can’t in good conscience recommend this to patrons not only because I feel the stereotypes are damaging, but also because the traumatic elements of child molestation, eating disorders, suicide, and self harm deserve more discussion than what is encountered in Wendig’s writing. Trauma shouldn’t serve as just a plot device and needs to be handled with more than a few sentences before being dismissed, never to affect the character again. I also wish for my patrons to see accurate representations of themselves in all of their identities and there just isn’t a way for that to be accomplished in a reading of Staircase.

Regarding minor editorial details: I read the book as an epub on my phone and found some issues regarding text running from one page onto another, as well as a need from further editor review to correct grammar and spelling. A quick review could correct these issues and make the epub better prepared for its release.

I’m not really sure what I just read, but *The Staircase in the Woods* was definitely not for me. The concept had potential, but the execution left me confused and disconnected. Just didn’t click.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC.

The plot felt familiar and new at the same time, which I liked. Overall I’d say it was above average but it felt like it was up and down a lot, in quality and plot. The writing was good overall but too often used a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word would do. The plot was really intense at times and a bit goofy at times, so I didn’t stay fully engaged but was never tempted to quit either. Worth a read if you like horror and don’t have too many triggers… it covers a lot since it hits on pretty much every childhood trauma possible.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley.

I should preface this by saying the premise of this book was so intriguing, I'm a horror nerd, and I had really high hopes. If half stars were allowed, I'd give it a 2.5/5.

Ultimately, this book presented itself to me as a 'The Haunting of Hill House' (Netflix version) crossed with King's IT (book version). A very intriguing concept -- focusing on how trauma is deeply personalized, can infect everything around you, and imprints itself on your skin (and in your home), and can result in you inflicting that trauma in a sad cycle.

There were glimmers of good here, I just think the story could have been shorter/tightened up to prove the same point. The book shone when talking about personal trauma surrounding the five central characters -- including the probably polarizing political elements, because it added to the cultural rancor (and to Lore's background). While elements definitely did not work for me -- at all -- the story was thought-provoking and lends itself well to the horror genre.

*SPOILERS*
Personally, I don't think the book lived up to the premise -- largely because the friendship at its core felt shallow. It was a lot of talking with no showing. As a reader, I didn't really care of the group stayed together or broke apart. The climactic elements -- the journey the characters undertake -- is repetitive and loses a lot of its fear factor simply because it feels like a goofy haunted house with no real point or end, copy paste repeat ad nauseum. Much of the horror elements at here felt hollow and caustic for the sake of being caustic and so lost its effectiveness to really punch you in the guts. There were so many loose threads at play there (you could apparently leave the house? the friendship is meaningless then its everything then its meaningless again? why go up spooky random stairs in the first place let alone again?) This is further hammered home (ha) by the characters still having relatively stunted growth at the end of the story.
*END SPOILERS*

A creepy and terrifying tale that grips you completely and holds onto you. Chuck Wendig is a masterful author who packs eerie elements with intriguing characters that will stay with you

Twenty years ago, five friends entered the woods on a camping trip, however only four friends walked back out. What happened to the fifth friend?

This book is a fast paced read, which was really fun. The concepts and themes were also really fascinating- the mystery of the staircase, the idea of the video game experiences, and the unveiling of secrets of a group of friends who thought they were close. However, something was just missing. Here are just some of my thoughts:

-The dual timeline didn't work for me. I would have rather met the characters when they were younger and had the story progress linearly. Then we would have right away had more context for why they behave the way they do as adults. As it's written, I didn't really like any of the characters, which makes it difficult to feel for them when everything starts falling apart. I honestly thought they were in their twenties, and realizing they were in their thirties really threw me off.

-The anecdotes of their friendship as teenagers were wonderful and sweet, and I liked seeing the jagged way they tried to came back together as adults.

-Like I mentioned earlier, I enjoyed the video game references and analogies, but it was a bit heavy handed at times.

-There were actually a bunch of things that were a bit heavy handed. It seemed like the author really wanted you to understand what he was saying about trauma and how it messes you up, so there was barely any subtext. One character seems to have this perfect life on paper, and instead of giving us clues that things aren't as good as they seem, he just has this one point of view chapter where he exposits everything going wrong in his life.

-I'm not big into gore and blood, so those parts were appropriately disgusting....though the nail biting was a bit much for me. The creepiness and variety of different rooms was great, and the insidious creeping of the evil was well done.

-I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I think I wish it was different? I don't think it was as impactful as the author wanted it to be. Yeah, I think I wanted more sacrifice from the characters, the ending doesn't quite feel earned in some way.

Overall, a nice weekend read and interesting enough that I'll pick up more books from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

A staircase appears in the woods. One friend climbs it and vanishes. Thirty years later, it returns—and the survivors are ready to follow.

This is small town horror meets grief horror meets a reluctant reunion story, with a clever twist of game design thrown in. Dual timelines and multiple POVs build real emotional weight, and the RPG-style structure will delight nerdy readers (I say this lovingly).

There’s a lot of trauma packed in here—sometimes to a fault—and the messaging gets a bit heavy-handed. Still, it’s a smart, character-driven horror story with a twisty haunted house feel.

Final verdict: For fans of Stephen King, Hendrix’s Horrorstor, and Kraus’s The Ghost That Ate Us. Scary and sad, with a good dose of 90s nostalgia for all the elder millennials.

Following a group of friends in alternating timelines, Chuck Wendig’s THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS focuses upon, you guessed it, a staircase in the woods. When the gang were only teenagers, they happened upon the aforementioned staircase with one of them traversing to the top and promptly disappearing. Although a body was never found, public opinion saddled the surviving members with the blame for the death of their friend. Years would pass, and although the group would grow apart, they all remained together haunted by what happened that day.

Now in their forties, they’re brought together once again as one of the group has received a terminal cancer diagnosis; or so they’re led to believe. When they arrive in New Hampshire to meet their supposedly doomed friend, they’re once again greeted by an unwelcome sight: another staircase in the woods.

If you think the above takes a lot from the plot of King’s IT, you’re not alone. I’ve seen folks draw that comparison across many of the early reviews posted online. However, I think that’s about as fair as saying that an author who wrote a story about a detective finding a dead body had ripped off Dashiell Hammett.

Wendig spends a good amount of time building up these characters as complicated individuals with complex relationships that when the stakes are raised and the true horror of the novel begins to take shape, it becomes an increasingly difficult book to put down. I hope I’m not spoiling too much by saying that the characters ultimately decide to follow this second staircase to its destination. When that happens, it’s easy to see just how much fun Wendig had playing with the terror and dread of it all.

The psychological horror at work here is exceptional. The story pounces on the trauma experienced by each individual character therefore making the novel go in some more than dark directions. I found myself rooting for them to make their way back to our world, even in the face of what often felt like unbeatable odds. Wendig seems to play with the fact that none of us is perfect, even those of us who have made some egregious errors in our lives deserve the ability to atone, or at the very least learn, from our actions.

This book is classic “bad thing happens to a group of teenagers, and years later they get back together to have a reckoning”. The vibe of this felt like Stephen King’s Stand by Me mixed with Kiersten White, Joe Hill, and a smidge of Simone St. James with some Stranger Things thrown in for good measure. That is to say it is weird, messed up, clever, mind-bending, and more than a little disturbing. Whether this is a positive or a negative thing depends completely on what kind of reader you are.

The concept is fascinating – a staircase appears in the woods. A boy ascends it and disappears. Decades later, another staircase appears in a new location. As Chuck Wendig wrote in his author’s note, random staircases in nature are a real thing. He said to Google it, and I did. It is kind of cool. Also creepy. Definitely a great concept for a book. At times this book was too much for me – the language, the visceral body horror, the difficult family situations. At times I was completely engrossed in the rawness of the friendship and all its nuances. I was not a 90s teen – I was an 80s – but the gritty emotional messy friendship felt very familiar, as did the freedom of running wild, hanging out, and living life without the complexities and uncertainties that social media brought to later generations.

The five friends in this book are the misfits, the misanthropes, who found each other in middle school. They initiated “The Covenant” – a code of honor to always be there for each other. Then Matty disappears on the mysterious staircase in the woods the summer before their Senior year, a tragedy with far reaching emotional impact that shapes all of their lives, and forever changes the dynamic of their relationships. When Nick finds another staircase decades later, the question becomes how far reaching is The Covenant and what is their obligation towards Matty. Although this book is wrapped heavily in horror, this is ultimately about friendship, family, loss, loyalty, and a late coming of age. Chuck Wendig has a voicy, authentic, unpolished writing style that made it feel like he, personally, was telling me this tale which enhanced both the emotional and horror tones of the story.

I had a very difficult time with this book. The characters are hyperbolic and have little substance. They are tropey caricatures matched with shallow dialogue that felt loud and intentionally obnoxious.

Any of the excitement or interest I had in the plot was quickly lost everytime we had an expositional or character backstory scene.

Thankful to have been given the opportunity to check it out but sad to say it didn't work.

Imagine going on a camping trip with your besties… one of them walks up a random staircase in the forest and NEVER comes back. Now it’s twenty years later—and the stairs are back. Like... nope.

Here are Reasons to Read the Horror Book


📚 Reasons to Read Staircase in the Woods
A creepy, can't-look-away mystery. One friend vanished without a trace—and now the group is facing what they left behind.


Supernatural horror. It’s eerie and emotional, with deep ties between the friends that make it hit harder.


“Stranger Things” meets folk horror. If you like weird woods, missing people, and secrets that won’t stay buried, you’re in for a ride.


If you are a fan of the book House of Leaves, this one might be for you. It is quite gory and the things this group sees in this house are definitely horrifying. Also if you are not a fan of endings that explain things, this might not be the book for you. This author is definitely an immersive story teller, but this book is kind of unsettling.