Though it's a fine one, this is not my favorite Wendig book.

I think that I really, really, really didn't like our characters and I didn't really care what happened to them.

As for our staircase in the woods, it was fine. It ended up being much what you expect it to be.

I will say that if I ever come across a random staircase in the woods (should I ever be in the woods, which is not likely), I will definitely not climb it. But if I did, I'd expect very much what our characters encounter here.

Not for me, but I'll happily try the next one.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Worlds for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I like to dabble in the horror genre here and there so when I was given the opportunity to read this book, I said sure. The story of four childhood friends who reunite when one of the friends calls on a long ago "covenant" between the group. The friends, who have grown apart meet up thinking that their friends is dying, but what they find is that they have been brought to a mysterious staircase in the forest. The thing is this is not the first staircase that they have encountered. The first one led to their friend, Matty, disappearing. This time, they are all climbing the staircase.

The story goes back and forth between the immediate aftermath of Matty's disappearance and their time in the house that the staircase leads them to. The friends: Nick, Owen, Lore & Hamish have all experienced demons but as children and as adults. And this adventure up the staircase causes them to confront their traumas.

I would say that this is both a horror and a psychological horror book. Chuck Wendig does not disappoint in his writing. The story may have triggers for some people. But I was fully invested. And that ending!

If you like a good horror read, pick this up.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review.

This is hands down the best horror novel I’ve ever read. No surprise, given it was written by Chuck Wendig, but holy hell. This was phenomenal. I went into this with a lot of excitement. I spent a lot of hours traversing Reddit and creepypastas about staircases in the woods as a kid/teen, and an entire book about it seemed right up my alley. Not to mention it being written by one of my favorite authors? i was sat.
Wendig always does a phenomenal job of writing a group of dysfunctional but extremely close people. The Book of Accidents was my introduction to his writing, something I still find myself thinking of often. And this was another phenomenal example of how well he writes relationships.

Each character had very specific and certain circumstances that is slowly revealed through the book. Starting off, we learn of Matty, their Golden-Boy friend who had disappeared after climbing a staircase they had found in the woods one night. Now, years later, they learn one of their friends has cancer, and has requested one thing: to meet again and camp in the woods of the staircase that took their friend, then disappeared. With a lot of reluctancy, they agree.

Every single horrific aspect of this book is a type of horror that I adore. The unknowing of the stairs that no one knows where they lead to, the house in which they find themselves after climbing the stairs and the horror it is filled with. The unending and somehow changing labyrinth of rooms and every terrifying thing they contain. The fact there is no escape from this strange place they've found themselves. I read a couple dozen pages in one sitting and once I got to the point of them climbing the staircase, it was next to impossible to put it down. I found myself writing things down, notes on what they know and what was happening, theories I had. I was absolutely engrossed in this book, gripped by the visceral terrors each room had. That each character carried with them. The humor that Wendig threads into his books is brilliant as well, somehow not letting the reader have a moment of escapism from the horror they're reading, but instead giving something of a moment to breathe and chuckle.

The twists in this book were written beautifully. Not totally out of left field, but not easily guessable either. Some of the imagery the words provided were just insanely cool. I can't stop thinking about them, of how I would create art of it. At times, it reminded me, eerily, of the Severance intro. The weird, trippy animation. I mean this in a wholly positive way, that weird, subliminal feeling is exactly what I had expected and hoped for when starting this.

This was a truly fantastical, horrific journey through the depths of human despair and the feeling of being "lost." Perfect for fans of Monster House, IT, (the creepiness of) Adventure Time.

House of Leave meets Cube in this gripping and heart racing horror!
Look, it took a while to get going. We start by meeting the crew of friends that were once close in high school. Years after their friend went missing, and they grew apart, they come together one final time in the hopes of finding him.
When a staircase to nowhere reappears in a forest, the four friends know they need to go up and try to find Matty. But what else will they find on the other side?

The first thing I will say is that I have not read a proper horror that actually made me feel things until I read this book. Chuck is incredible at using description and dialogue that is perfectly timed to create both a sense of tension and horror. There was also a sense of mystery and thoughts of “what is happening here?” (in a good way).
What I didn't like was how long it took to actually get up the staircase. I wanted the horror to start far sooner that 30-35%. The backstory of what happened to Matty got muddled up with the interactions of the friends. The dual timeline placed at that point didn’t work for me. It could have been better placed as we found out more about what was at the top of the staircase (so to speak). I also got confused a fair bit when all four characters were having a dialogue at points in the story. I loved it when they split up into groups of two, because then I knew who was talking.

This was a unique horror story, playing on accounts of real ‘staircases in the woods’. The inspiration of that, mixed with the House of Leaves/Cube vibes made for an ultimately enjoyable and unique read.

I would recommend this to any horror fans, whether they are new to the genre, or are veterans. Anyone who has read or seen the above book and movie will appreciate why I have said these as they go through the book.

This was a great time, and I look forward to reading more from this author. 4⭐
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House | Del Rey for the Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) of this book. All opinions are my own.

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book. I greatly enjoyed the myths such as the staircase in the woods which was a big thing on Internet forums, and the mention of creepypasta as it brought me this nostalgic feeling since I was a big reader of them, but I just found myself not interested in the characters at all. There were also some elements of the friend group that I just didn’t like and couldn’t connect to. Overall I did really enjoy the plot but the characters kind of ruined it for me.

I absolutely love chuck wendigo and his books. I met him during his last book tour and he is hilarious. It doesn't hurt that he is also local to where I live in Pennsylvania.

This book is gruesome, in the best way possible. There are so many times I read something an shivered because it was grotesque, but written in a way that felt real.

This story is about a group of 5 high school friends who find a staircase in the woods. One goes up, and never returns. Almost 30 years later one of them is dying and he asks them to meet. Instead of a hotel, he takes them into the woods, where another staircase waits for them.
The 4 remaining friends decide it's time to find Their missing friend. They climb the stairs only to find chaos, murder, blood and horror behind every door.

They must figure out how to escape the house and save themselves and their missing friend.

I would have given this book a 5 out of 5, but the ending left me wanting a definitive clear and concise ending. I hate cliff hangers!

Regardless, Chuck's writing style draws me in every time. He is to Bucks County, what Stephen King is to Maine.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I accidentally found myself reading two books with a very similar setting....a group of people find themselves in a building that continually changes, different rooms speaking directly to individual members of the group, wondering if they will ever find a way or will die searching. But the two books are also so very different. While the other was definitely sci-fi, this was more horror, more paranormal, and more....human? Definitely dark and sometimes difficult to read. How much of us is what we share with friends, and how much is what we hide away, even from ourselves? Definitely recommend this.

The Staircase in the Woods uses a lot of classic horror elements with a fresh, modern feel. It hit all the right emotional notes, and the horror aspects were scary and fun as hell. Definitely recommend this one.

“The Staircase in The Woods” by Chuck Wendig - 5 stars - Out 4/29

Like all of Wendig’s books this particular one left me stunned as I finished it. Then I spent some time, ruminating on all the underlying storylines and complexities and ended up brain on fire and ready for him to release a new book immediately.

In true Chuck Wendig fashion this book has a slow build, amazing characters and a setting in a definitive and very fucked up version of reality. The characters in the story were particularly endearing to me because they reminded me of my own young adulthood. This being my third or fourth book by this author, I’m really beginning to enjoy the feeling of place that all of his stories inhabit, especially given the fact that they are all the same “universe“, very similar to Stephen King’s “Derry“. Plenty of Black River Orchard and Book of Accidents Easter Eggs.

The story dragged a little in the middle, but I am uncertain if that was the authors pacing or my own mental fog brought on by crumbling democracy, so I am only deducting a half a star. The somewhat ambiguous ending also always gets a slight deduction, but I do appreciate the fact that he made it a little less ambiguous than it could’ve been. He is an author that helps you to remember that writing is actually art and he is an expert artist.

Personally, I have been struggling to read at all, first last fall during the election cycle and now —since inauguration, I’ve struggled even more. The current state of our country, the crumbling of what I believe to be my future and the future of my children coupled with feelings of rage and helplessness as it all seems to fall apart, have made it hard for me to focus on stories as an escape. I’m so glad that authors keep writing even as things burn around us.

This story provided an excellent conversation between me and my husband. We were trying to determine why a loved one that we both know prefers to read “real “violent/crime stories“ rather than true horror like what Wendig and King create. My husband suggested that the story of being dissolved in a bathtub, while rooted in reality and being something that has factually been done to someone, is less unsettling because it has a definable defense. If you don’t wanna be kidnapped and murdered then lock your doors, don’t talk to strangers and follow the rules. This logic allows you to purposefully ignore the reality that crime can be committed against you at any time, similar to how we all push aside the fact that we could die at any minute and that we all will eventually. Acknowledge and move on…easy peasy. Books like ‘staircase’ are more scary because there are no rules. There is nothing that “you“ can do when it just goes bat shit bonkers in a totally fucked up irrational way. This definition of why things are so scary when you read a horror story rooted in magic, fantasy, and sci-fi helped me not only think more about the authors that I love and why I love them but also about why my husband does not like horror. He says his imagination without rules is bad enough.

Thank you, Mr. Wendig for helping me to remember that when all else fails, stories and the artists that create them still provide.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Worlds | Del Rey for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. #chuckwendig #thestaircaseinthewoods #horror #netgalley #netgalleyreview

This was my first time reading Chuck Wendig and it certainly won’t be my last- I had so much fun reading this title!

The premise of the book is a group of adult friends from childhood reunite when one of them invokes “The Covenant” as a dying wish. (Yes, it’s giving “The Losers Club” from “It” and, yes, I love the nod and nostalgic feeling it gives me.)

However, when the crew reach their meeting destination, it turns out they are right back at the staircase in the woods where one of the friends went missing when they were teens. (Creepy pasta vibes FTW)

Overall, as a person who has been deeply entrenched in horror books and movies for going on 30 years now, I can’t say I was surprised by much in this book- but what I can say is that I had so much fun I didn’t really care that I found it pretty predictable.

Wendig put a bunch of stuff that I love in a blender and turned it into something with a contemporary twist and told the story with a solid individual voice and it made me happy as a horror fan. AND honestly, what more can one ask for?

Many thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Staircase in the Woods is creepy, scary, and tense story about five friends on a camping trip . They take a walk in the woods together, and only four of them return. Life goes on, the friends lose touch with each other, but then twenty years later, the four friends return to the woods hoping to find their missing friend. Wendig knows how to build tension, and this book is a page-turner. The writing is superb, vivid, and elegant. Highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Chuck Wendig is an author that doesn’t flinch in the face of the weird. His previous novel, Black River Orchard, managed to create a whole new, nefarious spin on a common fruit, leaving no produce aisle ever looking quite the same. It seems that when Wendig grasps an idea, no matter how mundane or malicious, creativity is bound to bloom. The Staircase in the Woods fortifies this idea, exploring every poignant, mesmerizing, and complex angle of friendships and the bond we forge in the strangest of ways.

A group of high school friends wander into the woods one night, only to stumble upon the strangest of sights, a staircase smack in the middle of the woods. While five friends enter the forest, only four emerge with the mystery of the vanishing staircase looming large. Flash forward twenty-ish years, and things don’t quite look the same for these friends as each has drifted into their own corners of life. Yet, one thing remains, the loss of their dear friend and the haunting reality of the staircase in the woods.

Anyone who has logged onto the internet in the last few years and spent any amount of time of Reddit is probably well aware of the infamous staircase-in-the-woods, creepy-pasta stories. While these make for fun, one-off ventures of terror, something much more sinister bubbles below the surface of these stories, something that Chuck Wendig has recognized and fleshed out in full force. A certain “wrongness” thrives within the mental image of a staircase, a manmade structure, existing in the vastness of the unruly wilderness. This sentiment carries The Staircase in the Woods into unthinkable territory as the foundation of friendships are tested in rather frightening ways.

Where this staircase leads is part of the mystery surrounding this novel, and thus one I will not spoil. But, what I can say, is that the vivid, imaginative, and sometimes torturous places (literal and metaphorical) these characters find themselves speak so loudly regarding the immense vulnerabilities of love and humanity. Wendig manages to shatter your heart and stitch it back together with this unique group of folks each complete with their own idiosyncrasies, flaws, and merits that feel so real. We all know the past comes back to haunt us, a truth that is all too real for these characters. Yet, we get a fresh spin on this narrative with a unique setting that lends itself to the feelings, thoughts, and emotions that fall through the proverbial cracks as we grow older. With every door opened, every room explored, and every struggle faced, Wendig brings us closer to the truth of love in all its forms. To say this is a haunting novel is a vast understatement with every choice existing as a ghost that lingers much longer than the turn of the page.

In what feels like an autopsy of the idea friendship itself, The Staircase in the Woods leaves a resonant notion that speaks to each reader individually, a truly haunting narrative. This is a novel that revels in the darkest corners of any room, transcending the strange to deliver an emotionally tumultuous journey of complex friendship. While there is plenty to love on the surface of this story, the underlying tones, reckonings, and reflections of each character echo with a resounding force, compounding to form one remarkable narrative. Harrowing for all the right reasons, The Staircase in the Woods gives depth to the topics we would rather leave shallow.

Truly one of those novels that is hard to explain without giving it away. It's creepy, horror that is all the more scary because you have either heard a story like this or experienced something that's a shadow of it. This is a school playground story at it's finest as a sinister staircase, a disappearing friend, and all the uncertainty and dread of the unknown are showcased masterfully.

The Staircase in the Woods is excellent horror that is all the more dread-inducing by it's grounding in the real world.

Twenty years ago, a group of friends discovered a mysterious staircase in the middle of the woods. After one of them decided to go up and through the door at the top, the staircase disappeared, along with their friend, never to be seen again. Present day, the remaining friends are back together and journeying to a newly discovered staircase, setting off a nightmare of events.

This is the perfect example of classic storytelling. Each setting was meticulously crafted, giving the reader an easy visual to the nightmare surrounding the characters in every scene. This author created such an eerie atmosphere with an insidious undercurrent felt throughout from beginning to end. Not only did this delve deep into its horror elements portraying true terror, but it also explored friendship and self reflection as well. This one hit the mark on everything it took on and exceeded my expectations by far. Five perfect stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House Worlds, for this ARC.

Staircase in the Woods was a surprisingly excellent read. After enjoying the internet urban legend of the staircases for a long time it was fantastic to see an author having a go at bringing the story to life. The novel does have a bit of a pacing issue, it spends far too long getting to the point of the story and the flashbacks felt like a obstacle to the main story. However, overall the story was a creative one with an interesting, if not wholly satisfying ending.

Is this what I’ve been missing all this time not reading Chuck Wendig’s horror all these years?! Because I’m so upset about it!

Twenty years ago, five friends go camping in the woods and find a weird, random staircase standing sentinel. After some drinking and sitting around the fire, one member of the group decides to go up the staircase and jump off. But he never comes down. In the present day, the friends are back together, and another staircase has appeared, and they gave you decide what they want to do.

This book is told from the POVs of each of the four “left behind” friends.

This was probably one of the best horror novels I’ve read in a long time. It just really had so many elements that just worked together: a compelling mystery, interesting characters, a dark and suspenseful storyline that makes you question whether or not the characters will make it out alive, and truly scary elements and moments. I was definitely freaked out at certain points.

I won’t say too much more about the full premise - it’s best when it’s a surprise unfolding before you, like it was when I read it, but trust me, it is something original and twisted in the best way for a horror novel.

And like any good suspense novel, there are some great twists that will make you gasp and question everything you thought you had figured out about the story.

So, so good!

So, yeah, excuse me while I go check out Chuck Wendig’d bibliography.

From the eerie allure of an impossible staircase to the haunting bonds of a fractured friendship, Chuck Wendig delivers a story that is both terrifying and profoundly human. The Staircase in the Woods is an electrifying fusion of horror, mystery, and emotional drama that lingers long after the final page. With masterful prose, a tautly wound plot, and characters so real they feel like old friends, Wendig will have your heart racing and your stomach clenching between deep emotional scenes and moments of genuine horror. Buckle up — this isn’t a story for the faint hearted; it’s an unforgettable journey into the unknown.

At the heart of the novel are the five members of 'The Covenant', whose lives are forever altered by one terrifying moment when their friend disappears up the titular staircase in the woods. Twenty years on they have each dealt with the fall out of this event in different, often self destructive, ways and grown apart. Now with the return of the staircase its time to try to find and save their friend - little do they know the horrors they will experience. Wendig skillfully alternates between the past and the present, showing how their relationships have evolved and fractured over the years. Each character feels layered and authentic, with personal struggles that enhance the stakes beyond the search for their friend to their very survival. Whether it’s the guilt of leaving someone behind, the longing for closure, or the terror of confronting the unknown, the emotional beats hit just as hard as the horror is unsettling.

And the horror is both unsettling and disturbing. The central mystery of the staircase is the kind of premise that gets under your skin but this is not just a mystery romp through the woods. Wendig shines a distorted mirror on each character’s deepest fears, regrets, or memories, blending psychological terror with body horror and surreal, otherworldly menace. While each horror is deeply personal to the characters vulnerabilities they're also things that speak to the shared human experience, if you've ever been a nail biter, afraid of something under the bed or struggled to silence that voice in your head, you may find them hitting close to home yourself.

While the novel delivers its fair share of chills and unsettling moments, it’s the themes of friendship, loyalty, and redemption that really take it somewhere special. The Staircase in the Woods is just as much about the bonds between people as it is about the otherworldly terror they face. And its how relatable and realistic these themes are that make the moments of horror all the more gut wrenching. At some point in our lives we've all had that group of friends that just grew apart, met up with an old friend only to realise they weren't the same person anymore, or held that grudge long after others have moved on. Wendig asks big questions: How far would you go for someone you love? What happens when grief, guilt, and fear collide? How well do we ever really know the people in our lives, even our best friends?

More than just a creepy staircase, this is a story about the ghosts of the past, fractured friendships, and the lengths we'll go to set things right. The Staircase in the Woods is a haunting reminder that the scariest journeys are often the ones we take within ourselves and that sometimes, the hardest thing to face is the past. For those who love their supernatural horror with soul, Chuck Wendig is here to hit you where it hurts with this unforgettable journey.

Thank you to Del Rey for providing a DRC in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

[Snack-Size Review] The Staircase in the Woods, by Chuck Wendig

Quick Bite: Chuck Wendig is becoming one of my favorite authors.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

What It’s About: When Lore, Owen, Nick, Hamish & Matty go camping as high-schoolers, they discover a staircase - just standing there, with no house attached, in the middle of the woods. After an argument, Matty climbs to the top, jumps off, and disappears, as does the staircase. Twenty years later, Nick has found a new staircase, and persuades the others to climb it with him…

A Word From The Nerd: Duckies, if you’ve read a Chuck Wendig book before, I don’t need to tell you about his masterful way of blending horror and heartache, the touches of humor and the real, relatable characters. And if you haven’t, as we say around here: welp, you’d best get on that.

The Nerd’s Rating: FIVE HAPPY NEURONS (and some store brand Cap’n Crunch.)

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
I have been several days thinking about what to say in this review and I am still doubting myself, which I feel is very appropriate taking into account that I am still not sure whether I liked this book or not.
At first glance, this novel offers several characteristics that I love in a book, such as a kind of original haunted house I did not even know I was going to get inside of or the depiction of mental health. Unfortunately, there are some other several things that I did not enjoy at all, the biggest one being (trigger warning in capital letters here): the very graphic descriptions of different criminal scenes or the way someone is thinking of unaliving themselves. Or even acting upon it. I do understand how this works for the house and the characters, but do they need to be so vivid? I don’t really think so, it sometimes felt like the scene was trying to hide the fact that there was nothing more really going on.
I also need to talk about the characters, and especially about how some of them felt like predetermined NPCs, just repeating the same idea (even the same phrase) again and again, as if there was no other way of portraying them.
So… I think I did not really like it? Maybe I will come back to this review in the near future and have a clearer image.

Ok. For real this time...I am done with Chuck. I said after I slogged through Black Rivee Orchard, I said it after Book Of Accidents, but now I MEAN it!
I think the synopsis of his book are always 90% better than the said book.