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.

The book out of 5 stars I'd give a 2. Some reveals were way too long with the chapter and could have been shortened a lot. Very wordy at times when it didn't need to be. I liked the damage of all the characters and helped for me to care for them a bit more as we began to find out how fucked up they really were. The ending left a bit to be desired, would have liked more concreate closure. I enjoyed it enough that I'll probably check out other works by the author.

Yes, this will remind you of Stephen King’s classic “It” — now a horror/thriller trope where a group of friends reunites and revisits an unsolved mystery from when they were teenagers. This time it was during a camping trip when the mysterious object in the title appears, only to go “poof” when Matty climbs to the top. Twenty plus years later, Owen, Lore, Hamish, and Nick remember their “covenant” to always protect each other and go to find the staircase again to solve the mystery of Matty.

Based on the trigger warnings alone (suicide, sexual abuse, racism, drugs, collective madness, and mental health issues), you’ll know you’re in the middle of a horror novel even without the supernatural elements. Wendig’s characters are well-developed but sad, confused people, and I realized this just wasn’t for me. The ending wasn’t satisfying (it felt forced). However, the acknowledgments were highlights — the author’s own visit to a staircase in the woods is epic. 3 stars — although I suspect other horror fans will like it more than I did.

Thank you to Del Ray Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

'The Staircase in the Woods' by Chuck Wendig. Thanks to Netgalley for an early copy to review. This was my first Wendig book, and I really, really loved this. Folklore, internet legends, and psychological horror intermingle in this novel about old friends who reunite to face a shared trauma. The complex characters and their personal journeys really surprised me. I loved the aspects of the horror that reminded me of movies like 'Cube'. A really imaginative story inspired by the very real-world phenomenon of staircases appearing in the woods.

Creepy staircase just randomly appears in the woods? I’m here for it!! 🙌

A little slow to start as we got to know the characters, but then it took off and I was hooked!!! Highly recommend, my book peeps! 👏

Thank you to NetGalley, Del Rey Books, and Chuck Wendig for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

“I brought you here because we [f*ed] up. We broke the Covenant. And now we have the chance to fix it.”

“The house was torturing them with the torment of others. And sometimes, with our own torment, too.”

The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig is unlike anything I have ever read! When five friends in high school find a random staircase in the woods one weekend, but only four return home to their families, the investigation ensues. They are (were) more than friends, more than a clique, bound together by the bond of The Covenant. Now, years later, after they have drifted apart, Nick brings the remaining four together – with the underlying and unknown reason, of finally trying to figure out what happened to their friend – they find the staircase and get lost in another dimension.

Can we start with – if you see a staircase in the woods (or anywhere!) that actually leads nowhere, let’s be smart and not climb it. While I understand that doesn’t make a good story – I would already be creeped out and go in the opposite direction!

This was my first novel by Wendig and I admit I went in blind, not knowing what to expect. This was equal parts terrifying and nostalgic. There was a moment in the beginning (the after-airport car ride) that I almost DNF’ed this book, and I am so glad I didn’t. Once the descriptive, crazy, mind-play begins, I was absolutely hooked.

The way Wendig plays on your emotions of fear, loyalty, disappointment and guilt, coupled with the underlying basis of friendship, was extremely well done. This ever-shifting mismatched nightmare house” will pull you in and change you. I will be reading more by Wendig! Creative premise, well executed, and a little messed up. This is not my typical genre, but I was here for the ride!

3.9 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for this thrilling (horrifying!) ARC! All opinions are my own.

“The staircase was the trap, the bait; once we went in, it was too late.”

A creepy story worth reading. The short chapters can easily be devoured and the never ending twists make this story un-put-downable. A unique take on the haunted house, this story will have you guessing until the very end.

I don't know about you, but I am an absolute sucker for that nostalgic, spooky trope where a group of friends faces something terrifying in their youth, only to be forced to revisit it in adulthood -all traumatized, broken, and barely holding it together. That's what this book is, and in a way it gives "Stephen King's IT" vibes mixed with "Stranger Things".

The setup is solid. Back in 1998, five high school friends - Owen, Hamish, Nick, Lauren, and Matty - are hanging out in the woods when they stumble upon the titular staircase. Matty - after a disagreement with Lauren - climbs it and then vanishes. The staircase disappears right after, leaving the remaining four to carry that trauma into adulthood. Fast-forward twenty years, and guess what's back? Yep. The staircase. And now the group, very reluctantly, must return to confront what really happened - and what still might be waiting for them.

Wendig did a great job at crafting a ragtag group of characters. They felt familiar in a way, but they all worked. Owen is the anxiety-ridden, sensitive one who never really moved past the trauma of what went down in the woods. Hamish, once the bullied fat kid, is now a physically transformed conservative gym bro with a few skeletons in his closet. Nick is the chaotic jester of the group - the kind of guy who cracks a joke at a funeral and somehow gets away with it. Lauren is now a gender-fluid game designer who brings a grounded, emotionally intelligent energy to the mix. And then there's Matty - the golden boy with a bright future who walked up the stairs and never came back. We only get to know him through haunting, bittersweet flashbacks, which adds this beautiful layer of mystery with a side of melancholy to the story.

First off, let me just say that Wendig is really good at creeping you out without throwing gore at your face for the sake of it. The prose is tight, vivid, and super atmospheric. The horror elements are also really spot on. There are scenes that seriously had me squirming, particularly when the veil between reality and… whatever's up those stairs… starts to thin. Wendig knows how to ratchet up the tension and then hit you with something grotesque or unsettling. There were definitely a few moments where my imagination got the best of me, and I had to set the book aside for a bit.

That said, this book is long. Like, pack-a-snack, wear-comfy-pants kind of long. There were definitely chunks - especially in the middle - where I felt like we were circling the same emotional drain without really moving forward. Some of the trauma-processing scenes got a little repetitive, and I did find myself drifting now and then. Not enough to put the book down, but enough to notice that my attention was waning.

BUT - the final chapter? Absolutely killer. I kind of wish the pacing had been flipped: tighten the middle and stretch out the ending. The final scene was so captivating and opened up a new door so to speak. I would've loved to spend more time with what was finally revealed. It felt like things got fresh right when the book was wrapping up. A little frustrating, but also kind of impressive how Wendig left me wanting more.

Still, this book is undeniably inventive. It's eerie, nostalgic, and emotionally resonant in a way that sticks with you - even if it tends to drag and repeat itself a bit in the middle. If you love stories where childhood trauma meets supernatural horror, and you're down to follow a group of flawed, deeply human characters into the belly of something otherworldly, this one is absolutely worth the trip. Just maybe don't go climbing any random staircases in the forest afterward. You know, just in case.

I know Architectural Digest would be frothing at the mouth if they knew about Chuck's eye for interior design.

----
Though I wasn't left feeling scared, I did end up a little distraught (poor Nick). At its core, it's a story about outcasts, bonded by trauma, who eventually found their way back to each other. Well, mostly. Great for fans of character-driven stories--though they do feel a bit superficial, there's enough of them to sink your teeth into.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC! All opinions are my own.)

✧ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʀᴇᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ, @Netgalley @ChuckWendig @DelRey

➤ 𝚂𝚈𝙽𝙾𝙿𝚂𝙸𝚂

A group of high school friends discovers a mysterious staircase in the woods during a camping trip, one of them climbs it and vanishes. The staircase disappears too. Twenty years later, it returns, and so do the friends, determined to uncover what happened and face what waits beyond.

➤ 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂

Chuck Wendig’s The Staircase in the Woods takes a bizarre premise, a staircase in the middle of nowhere that makes people vanish, and turns it into one of the darkest horror novels I’ve read in a while. The scares here are no joke: graphic, psychological, and relentless. Wendig knows how to crank the tension, especially with the short, rapid-fire chapters that make it hard to put down. The story digs deep into trauma and friendship, with a layered backstory that unfolds through sharp flashbacks and dialogue. It drags a bit in the middle with some repeated beats, but the atmosphere and intensity more than make up for it.

Character-wise, the group is well-written, you can tell them apart and follow their personalities, but I didn’t feel much for most of them. Owen stood out as the most entertaining, but the rest didn’t land for me. Wendig clearly cares about building complex people, but the emotional connection just wasn’t there. On top of that, the book slips into some forced identity politics that felt like an unnecessary detour from the horror. If it had stayed focused on the terror and mystery, this would’ve been a five-star read. As it stands, it’s still worth picking up if you like your horror brutal, weird, and unshakable.