A haunting blend of mystery and supernatural suspense, The Staircase in the Woods follows five friends bound by an old oath and a shared trauma. When a bizarre staircase appears in the forest and one of them vanishes…it changes their lives forever. Twenty years later, the staircase returns, and so does the past. Atmospheric and emotionally tense, this novel explores friendship, loss, and the eerie unknown. An original and creepy taste that you will think of long after you finished reading!!!

“On Friday, June 5th, 1998, five teenagers went into the woods surrounding Highchair Rocks in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Only four of them came out.” – Chuck Wendig, The Staircase in the Woods

So begins Wendig’s latest novel. That summer night, Owen, Hamish, Nick, Matty, and Lauren went camping. The Covenant, as they called themselves, was bound by solemn promises to protect each other from bullies, to collaborate on homework so none of them fell behind, and so on. That night in the woods, high atop the cliffs, they find something impossible. A staircase, spiraling upward with no remnants of other structure around, no indications of how it had gotten there, or why. When no obvious answers could be found, most of the group decided to leave it be and go back to their campsite. Something about the staircase continues to eat at Matty, though, and so he invokes the Covenant (despite being told that’s not how it works) to get everyone else to go back with him and see what awaits them at the top.

Reluctantly, the other four teens trail along only to watch in shock and horror as, at the final stair, Matty vanishes. There’s no sign of him again.

The days and weeks after are chaos as the four survivors struggle to process what happened and to come up with a cohesive lie to tell to the police about what happened to their missing friend. They face relentless questioning about where they last saw him, who they talked to, and where he could have gone. The only problem is, none of them really know where Matty went, and the staircase is gone too, eliminating the possibility of anyone following after him.

Now, decades have passed, and the four surviving members of The Covenant have done their best to move on with their lives until an email arrives from Nick. He’s dying. Cancer. He wants to get the old gang together one last time before he’s gone, so he offers to fly all of them out to see him. He even invokes The Covenant to ensure that, despite all of the myriad issues they’ve developed as they’ve aged, they’ll come. And so they do.

Upon arrival, they quickly realize that Nick wasn’t being entirely honest with them. Instead of a nice get-together, he leads them off into the woods where, against all sense, they find the staircase again. It’s not the same place, but they know, somehow, that it’s the same staircase. He urges them to climb with him. A chance, he says, to do the right thing. To go find Matty.

To bring him back.

And, in the name of The Covenant, they follow.

The Staircase in the Woods is a brilliant, dark piece of horror from Wendig in the vein of Stephen King’s It (friends coming back together again as adults to face the evil they couldn’t defeat in their youth). The members of The Covenant have fallen away from each other, and they’re going to confront more than just the mysteries that lie at the top of the staircase if they’re going to have any chance of making it out of the woods again. I love Wendig’s horror (see my recent review of Black River Orchard) and I’m certain that most of you will too.

The Staircase in the Woods is out today from Del Rey books. My utmost thanks to them and to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a fair review.

This review originally appeared here: https://swordsoftheancients.com/2025/04/29/the-staircase-in-the-woods-a-review/

I haven't read any of Wendig's books before, though I've of course heard of his work. I thought this was a really engrossing, really dark story that takes some familiar territory and reworks it in an interesting and creepy way. Reminiscent of It for sure, with these characters coming back to investigate and maybe make amends for something horrible that happened when they were younger. But I thought Wendig did a great job of looking at these relationships in a bit of a different way and things get quite strange as they uncover the mystery and grapple with the consequences (don't want to spoil anything here). Wendig has a good rhythm going through most of the narrative, and it makes for a compelling read, wanting to get to the next thing. It's probably a pitfall of this style of storytelling that there are some moments where things lag a bit in the rehashing. But overall, it's a good read and I liked it quite a lot.

I appreciated the haunted house energy of this one! It's told as a time split following a group of friends as teenager and adults. I thought relationships were messy and real, and the book had a good narrative about grieving and letting go.

Wendig is an annoying writer, always has been, and it doesn't look like he'll ever improve. "Nailbiter," Nick calls Owen—and Wendig explains that this is because Owen bites his nails. Aha! Lore speaks like no leftist ever has or ever will, as I know from experience, being of that tribe myself, as are approximately 98% of the people I know and the students I teach. She speaks, in fact, like a MAGA caricature of such folks. I know it's well-meaning, but, like, get out more. The story is entertaining. I just wish someone else had written it.

Staircase in the Woods taps into the unsettling folklore idea of finding strange, isolated staircases in the wilderness, objects that seem to hint at something unnatural leaking into the real world. The author uses this eerie premise not just for visual horror, but to build a story about broken friendships, old anger, and the emotional scars people carry long after life pulls them apart.

The novel blends personal horror and possession horror well, but the real dread comes not just from the stairs or the haunted house, but from how damaged people confront the past. There's an effective darkness running through the book, and the fast pace keeps the tension alive without lingering too long in any one scene.

However, the story does start to feel repetitive in places, circling the same emotional and horror beats a little too often without escalation. Some of the character work also feels overwritten, the personalities are "edgy" to the point where it occasionally feels like the author is trying too hard to make the characters wounded, gritty, or cool. A lighter touch would have made their flaws more natural and relatable.

Stylistically, the book reads like a screenplay at times. It's highly visual, cinematic, and clearly structured for strong on-screen moments. This makes it accessible and visceral, but occasionally flattens the emotional depth that would have made the horror even more resonant.

Fans of atmospheric, folklore-tinged horror will likely find a lot to enjoy here.

I received a free copy from Netgalley of this book for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. I thought that the dual timelines were both well-done, and the way that the friend dynamics changed was really well done. The contrast was just so stark. This was a complex story, too. Figuring out what happened to their childhood friend, the complexities of friendship and their own childhoods fears, etc. made this story very layered but in a believable and compelling way. This was creepy and weird and made me go WTF out loud at least twice. I think that this is definitely a new favorite Wendig of mine and everyone should read it!

Review: The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig
Out today!

Cover depicts a spiral staircase sitting in the midst of a forest.

New favorite Wendig?! I think it might be! I’ve been a huge fan of since The Book of Accidents and truly think he’s only getting better as he gors. The Staircase in the Woods continues this pattern. I went in completely blind and straight up, this is my vibe. Our protagonists encounter their own traumas and also horrific imagery which reminded me of As Above, So Below (the movie, sans catacombs) at times. Aptly, there is a chapter named As Above, So Below. I’ve heard some murmurings about the politics of the book. Wendig and I seem to mesh politically, but the way he makes politics even more horrifying was extremely well done. I’ve heard comparisons to SK’s Holly, but those references were just kind of thrown in there (love ya SK but really do not need to know what brand of vaccine everyone gets) whereas Wendig uses it to increase the intensity.

In The Staircase in the Woods we follow five high school friends. During a late night excursion into the woods they encounter a freestanding staircase. One character climbs it and disappears entirely. Decades later the friends come together and this time all four of them investigate. Their new existence is an incredibly twisted version of reality. This one hits some seriously heavy themes (CSA, CA, murder of just about every variety) so please check tw if sensitive to heavier content. The imagery is so vivid and Wendig assaults you on all fronts. His ability to describe a sound is so terrifyingly accurate that I fear his research process. But I looooved this one. The vibes are there, late 90s nostalgia heavy and as usual, Wendig’s character and world building are god tier.

If shifting reality with heavily flawed, relatable characters is your vibe please check this one out. I loved every page and it only grew my appreciation for Wendig. Highly recommend.

This story hooked me from the very first page. Mysterious staircase in the woods + a dysfunctional friend group that decides to climb it? Um, where do I swipe my card because I’m buying!

I love a story about friendship, especially in horror. I’m fascinated by how shared trauma affects people. Does it bring them closer together? Does it tear them apart? Wendig does a fantastic job exploring friendships within this story, and examining which elements make them function and which elements make them crumble like the ruins of a neglected childhood home.

The characters in this story are messy complex people. I wouldn’t say I particularly liked any of them, but they were fascinating in the same way that tornadoes and reality TV dramas are fascinating. I couldn’t look away from the disaster unspooling before me. As the story progressed and dug deeper into each character, I found myself not only fascinated but actually rooting for them…and maybe even relating to them a little? I don’t know how Wendig did it, but this story is definitely a masterclass in character development.

A good portion of this book reads like you’re walking through a haunted house attraction, filled with jumps and gore and creepy things lurking in the shadows. While I absolutely love that kind of stuff, this did start to feel a little repetitive. The repetitiveness was definitely intentional and kind of the point, but I still started to get a bit impatient with it. It’s a minor complaint, but I feel it’s worth mentioning because it made me lose a bit of my original enthusiasm for where the plot was going. Despite this small lull, I really loved this book! Definitely check it out!

🏚️🏚️🏚️🏚️.5 /5
✔️ Recommend

Five teenagers go camping together in the woods in Pennsylvania one night. A staircase appears out of nowhere, taking one of them with them just as fast as it appeared. Only four kids come home, how do you explain that?

As always with Wendig’s work, this was so good! Dual timelines, a warm, tight-knit friendship turned distant and luke-warm, an unexpected search to find out what happened to their childhood friend all those years ago, and facing their haunted past and current fears all made this story so complex but gave it so much depth. It felt a little bit like IT, but also all its very own. I loved it and that plot twist at the end… what the actual fuck?! I loved their journey through the creepy, demented and down right terrifying house and was anxious to find out IF and how they get out. The Staircase in the Woods is another 5⭐️s for Wendig in my personal opinion. Thanks to Del Rey for my ARC! 🖤

The Staircase is a harrowing descent into memory, trauma, and the fragile architecture of friendship. Wendig crafts a tale that is as terrifying as it is intimate—each page steeped in dread, every moment pulsing with the weight of grief and guilt. If you crave horror that unsettles not just your nerves but your sense of self, this book is for you.

The story unfolds like a dark memory half-forgotten, where childhood nostalgia twists into nightmare. The tension is relentless—I was on edge from the first chapter to the last, haunted by both the horrors lurking in the shadows and those buried deep within the characters themselves.

Wendig’s characters are masterfully drawn, their bonds laced with pain, loyalty, and unspoken regret. The defensive edges they wear feel heartbreakingly real, forged by shared trauma and fraying over time. Their interactions echo with authenticity, each line of dialogue revealing more of the ghosts they carry.

What truly elevates The Staircase is its atmosphere: eerie, immersive, and claustrophobic. Wendig’s prose conjures chilling imagery and unsettling settings that seem to breathe with their own quiet malice. The conflict isn’t just external—it digs into identity, into the question of who we become when we're haunted by our past.

This isn’t a book to read at night—unless you're prepared to bring its shadows to bed with you. It’s intense, emotional, and deeply disturbing in all the best ways.

3.5 stars. This was quite a dark, bleak, trauma-filled ride. At first, I wasn't sure what to think about this because the story felt a bit disjointed due to the way it jumps back and forth between the present and past timelines. The background could've been established without the time jumps, IMO.

But once the characters go up the staircase in the woods in their adulthood and the time jumps stop, the story feels much more focused and engaging. Check trigger warnings for this because there's a lot of talk about different kinds of trauma, including child sexual abuse, neglectful and hateful parents, gruesome crimes, and more.

Things get strange, gross, a little gorey, and very sad, so keep that in mind as well. For what the story is, which is an exploration of trauma and getting through it, I think that all works well, but the story overall just didn't 100% work for me personally.

First of all, I hate it when authors insert their political views in a heavy-handed way that feels performative because it's meant to lecture the audience, not to drive an actual meaningful point across or provoke thought. Plus, it always feels so unnatural, like it's not coming from the characters, cause it's not. This isn't to say I disagree with the points made, I simply hate when political views are presented that way, so I'll dislike it whether I agree with them or not.

Second of all, all the trauma and pain get old after a while, and it makes the reading experience quite heavy. That's a big part of the point of the story, so I get it, but even if it's the point, there is such a thing as overdoing it, and it was definitely a little overdone. Not a deal-breaker, but some of it could've been trimmed, and it wouldn't have made the overall arc less impactful.

Bottom line: it's a good horror book, and it was a surprising take on the staircase in the woods. I expected it to be more supernatural-leaning, but I like that it was more of an exploration of trauma and that the horror came from the traumatic experiences of the characters, which were used by the staircase (and what's beyond) to make them lose themselves. I also liked the theme of friendship, how the characters all had flaws but you could still empathize with most of them, and how even if they didn't always like everything about each other, they had each other's backs.

Oh wow. This was my first Wendig and it was so unsettling. I now know to for sure never climb random staircases in the woods. Also I think more authors should have short chapters because the just has me clicking on my kindle to find out what was going to happen next.

The Staircase in the Woods
by Chuck Wendig
Pub Date: Apr 29 2025

WOW! This is a very, very creepy story! If you're into terrifying, nostalgic, and creepy, this books for you! The book was full of tension, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time reading it! This story is a captivating, dark fantasy thriller with well-developed characters and a chilling atmosphere. You won't want to read it at night!

Synopsis: A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods in this mesmerizing horror novel. 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 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. . .

Many thanks to #TheStaircaseintheWoods #NetGalley and #RandomHouseWorlds for providing me with an E-ARC of this awesome horror novel.

I think the premise of Chuck Wendig’s latest novel is catchy: four teenage friends find a staircase to nowhere in the woods, one climbs it and disappears, and the rest walk out of the woods and get on with their lives. Years later, they reunite and find the staircase again, and this time they all climb it, determined to find out what happened to their friend.

This story has a lot going for it, and I’m going to say that what’s on the other side of the staircase is a fun take on the haunted house theme. Though there are four friends, the chapters are told in alternating points of view from two: Lore and Owen. They’re both gamers, and Lore has carved out a career in designing video games, so the part that I liked most about the novel was how Wendig started to introduce gaming elements and puzzle solving to the plot. Each time the characters thought this way, I was totally on board.

Also, at the beginning of the horrible house adventure, I was totally taken by the different “rooms” that the friends were exploring and some of the backstories.

However, I personally can’t give the book full marks, because there was a bit too much description for me, too much internal monologue that went over the same issues, so that it became a touch monotonous occasionally. Also, though I appreciate that author's choice to write with short, one line sentences for dramatic intent, it is one style of writing that I don’t love, and it happened enough times that it got on my nerves.

There were some cool plot points in this book, but I would have liked more of the clever puzzle solving and less description of internal character angst to make this truly stellar for me. There’s a good message in these pages: we are stronger together than alone, and cooperation and loyalty are important qualities (especially if you want to get out of a haunted house alive!). I’d still recommend this book for horror/haunted house lovers, even if my response to it was lukewarm.

Thanks to NetGalley and DelRey Books for a gifted copy.

Update: Posted to TikTok April 27, GoodReads April 29
This was my first book from Chuck Wendig. It good things about him and the cover and description grabbed me. I love the staircase and the exploration, inner and outer that the characters go through because of it.
It's an intense, dark book.
I found the characters and their dynamics engaging. The hard, defensive edges rang true.
The imagery, characterizing details, settings, conflicts, and loyalties worked beautifully.
For me, there was too much explanation and exposition in the final 40%. I was intrigued enough to keep reading but it lost the wonderful immersive magic of the earlier chapters.
The novel has strong echoes of Stephen King. I was glad to read the note at the end for insights on the author's inspiration. I took a look at his blog, too.
Although there's a lot of horror imagery, to me the book reads as speculative fiction. I liked the ending. The story powered through and overcame the excessive explanations by about 94% and went where it needed to go. I'm okay with resting in that open space and the journey the characters took to make their choices. It was worthwhile and satisfying.
I'll post a full review on GoodReads and TikTok closer to the release date.
Thank you for the eARC for consideration. I recommend The Staircase in the Woods highly for readers who appreciate speculative fiction and unusual horror.

The Staircase in the Woods was an absolutely terrifying and tense, but amazing read. From the first page to the last, this book had my full attention. Lauren, Owen, Hamish, Nick, and Matty, had an extremly strong friendship. Twenty years ago they were camping, but when they left they had one less member of their friend group.

"And beyond him, she could feel it as much as she could see it—
The staircase. Black and made of night’s own bones."

A group of childhood best friends call themselves The Covenant. Nick, the wildcard. Lauren, the fearless creative. Owen, the quiet introvert. Hamish, the hippie. And Matty, the golden boy. In so many ways they are an unlikely group, but they stick together through thick and thin. Until the night they find a staircase in the woods. They swear they've never seen it there before, and somehow, it feels like it's calling out to them. After a disagreement, Matty climbs the stairs... and vanishes.

The Convenant grows apart under the pressure of Matty's disappearance. But when some unexpected news pulls them back together again, they are forced to reckon with their past. Not just the way they abandoned Matty, but the ways they all abandoned one another. And themselves.
This time, they all climb the stairs.

I was stoked to get approved for the ARC of The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig. I have long been obsessed with the creepypasta stories (when they were vague... the eventual interdimensional stuff lost me) of random, unexplained staircases appearing places. And of the strange disappearances and spooky occurances that accompany their sightings. As Wendig points out though, staircases sans buildings are actually more common than you might think. But I digress...

I found the first half or so of the book a little hard to get through. The story was setting up something interesting, but I found almost all of the characters SO unlikable. I'm glad I pressed on though because they started to grow on me. But more than that even... I loved the concept of where this phantom staircase leads The Convenant. It's a strange, horrific place. Think Abbattoir (2016) meets Cabin in the Woods (2011). The imagery was truly haunting and the journey through the house of horrors kept me glued to the page. I had to know where it would lead.

Thanks @netgalley and @delreybooks for the ARC!

#thestaircaseinthewoods #netgalley #bookstagram #bookreview #bookstagramreview #arcreview #chuckwendig #delreybooks

This is the first book I have read from this author even though I own a few others. I was immediately drawn into the story. I loved the plot and the characters each with their own unique idiosyncrasies. About halfway through, I felt that there was more repetition in the story than I would have liked. I really enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading more from this author soon.

This is a horror story about friendship, guilt, grief, and the effects of trauma on who we are and who we become.

The basic synopsis is that a group of five teenage friends go on a camping trip in the middle of the woods, where they encounter a strange staircase that leads to seemingly nowhere. One friend walks up and the staircase disappears. The remaining four friends reunite to face the reappearing staircase twenty years later as adults. The story alternates between the two timelines, as we slowly learn what happened.

This is a hard one to talk about without spoilers. There is a sense of mystery and foreboding throughout the book and there are some pretty scary moments as the characters encounter this kind of haunted house built of their own childhood memories and traumas.

I overall enjoyed this story, however, there were a few sections of the book that seemed to lag and were a push to get through. The chapters are short, which does help with the pacing. Ultimately this is an emotional and sad story that will leave you unnerved and at times genuinely spooked.