Chuck Wendig has produced some absolutely classic horror novels in the past several years, and I was very excited to get my hands on the latest offering. Unfortunately, this one did not resonate as well. The characters are not as likeable and the plot feels derivative at times. Clearly inspired by McMammon's "A Boy's Life" and Stephen King's "IT," this offering from Chuck Wendig doesn't quite reach the heights of either of its influences. There are some poignant moments, but ultimately the characters are at times two-dimensional, and the mystery is not quite as intriguing as it starts coming together.
Fans will find much to like with this one,

This was a completely different beast from the most recent horror I've read. Staircase is terrifying, in places, but it's also super deep. This book explores themes of trauma and grief, survivor's guilt, self destruction, and the absolute healing grace of friendship. I adored it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy!

The Staircase in the Woods is a disturbing-yet-page-turning novel dealing with regret, loss, trauma, and the bonds of friendship. The characters feel very real. They are extremely flawed but their history makes it completely understandable as to why they became the people they did. I especially loved their interactions in their 1990s high school days. Those chapters had such a nostalgic feel with all the ups and downs of being that age. But this is definitely a horror novel. I'm an avid horror fan and there were times that I felt the scenes and descriptions were almost too much. But the mystery of the house and the character interactions kept me coming back for more. One of the only issues I had with the book is that the writing at times sounds too much like Wendig's (former) Twitter feed and that can be immersion breaking. But that is a minor complaint that did little to change my feelings about the book. 4.75 out of 5 stars and my favorite novel of early 2025.

I’m an ardent fan of Wendig’s work—not many horror writers can maintain suspense, dread, and plot, let alone solid characters for 300+ pages—and was delighted to receive an ARC of "The Staircase in the Woods" ahead of its April release date in exchange for an honest review.

The dual timeline and character work—so familiar to Steven King fans and frequently replicated in horror novels almost to the point of becoming its own genre trope—is done exceptionally well (think Ronald Malfi’s excellent “Black Mouth” vs. Craig DiLouie’s rather disappointing “The Children of Red Peak.")

Wendig's quartet of old friends, connected by tragedy and reunited to face the horrific consequences of their shared adolescence, feel real and present. Their hopes and fears are grounded in the reality of now, rather than trite or rote experiences. The gore is glorious. The lore is deliciously dark, well-worth sinking one's teeth into, and nods to the horror genre without feeling derivative or meta in a way that removes one from the story being told. Because this is Wendig, there are mysteries that gradually uncoil like venomous snakes, their poison foreshadowed by clues attentive readers can suss out.

I usually bristle at the pacing in a novel of this length (approx. 400 pages), but all of the plot, description, and dialogue felt necessary. "The Staircase in the Woods" didn’t feel like an overlong novel and when the end came, I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye. In terms of terror, there were some moments that truly got under my skin.

TL;DR: An excellent, labyrinthine haunted house of a novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Staircase in the Woods.

I have a confusing relationship with this author; I love his premises but the execution leaves me wanting sometimes.

Once again, the premise of a mysterious staircase to nowhere caught my eye. Can this be any creepier?

But the potential is bogged down with unlikeable characters.

I understand exposition are necessary to establish the friends' relationships to each other but it dragged the narrative down and the pacing suffered.

The story was reminiscent of IT, except I liked all the characters in IT; I couldn't stand anyone here.

I didn't like their personalities or character; I get they're friends because they all shared mostly traumatic childhoods but without that connection, I couldn't see why they were still friends once they went their separate ways.

The description of the rooms in the house was interesting but the origin of the staircase and the house and how it came to be fell flat for me..

I just wasn't interested; I guess I was hoping for something more supernatural or just something else.

I did enjoy the author's note and how he came up with the idea for this book.

I ended up googling Madame Sherri's castle and THAT was creepy.

Five high school friends camping in the woods find a mysterious staircase leading nowhere. One of the friends climbs the staircase, steps off the top, and disappears, never to return. Years later, one of the friends calls everyone back together and convinces them to go looking for their lost friend. This is a story about loneliness, guilt, shame, and friendship.

The premise of this book sounds sufficiently creepy: teenagers on a camping trip discover a mysterious staircase in the woods, one climbs up and then both he and the staircase disappear. Fast forward 20 years, and the staircase is back and the friends return to try to learn the fate of their missing friend. Reader, I'm happy to report that the story lives up to this premise in its creepiness! This is a book best discovered on your own, so stop reading reviews lest you be spoiled. Just go buy (or borrow) the book and clear your calendar!

This book is perfect for fans of Stephen King's It, dual timelines, and the trope where childhood friends who suffer a shared trauma reunite as adults to face their proverbial demons. The characters are well-developed, the atmosphere was chilling, and Wendig thoroughly immersed me in this book - so much so that my arm hair prickled and stood on end more than once. Awesome!

I was hooked early on and struggled to put this one down, so thank you NetGalley and Random House for the sleepless nights in exchange for my honest review of this novel.

I enjoyed this book a lot. While it wasn't perfect, it held my attention and I felt like it was creative in its approach and execution. 

The group of friends is made up of flawed and at times, insufferable people, but they are well developed with their own distinct voices and ticks. Their dynamic reminded me, at times of The Ritual, in which a group of old friends must learn to get along in order to survive. 
The world building and atmosphere are the strongest elements to this book.

The liminal space horror keeps you on your toes, and I enjoyed the metaphor the house and each of the rooms represented. This book reminds us that sometimes, we look back on the past with rose colored glasses.

I could see why others might like this book but it was not for me. Very long and drawn out. I love the concept of the story but the characters were difficult for me to get into.

This was my first read by this author, and I really enjoyed it! This one was really creepy, and I enjoyed it! I am a scaredy cat and found myself thinking, I'm glad I'm not a character in this book because it would have been a really short story. But the premise and storyline was great, and I enjoyed this one!

After several chapters I ended up DNFing this title. I did not like the characters at all. Sometimes characters are intentionally unlikeable and it’s ok, but I just could not.

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, suicidal ideation, cutting, drug use, overdose, child abuse, child sexual abuse, cancer, parent death, child death, racism, homophobia, neglect, trauma and violence in general.

Dear Mr. Wendig, WTAF did I just read?!
This book was a whirlwind of creeping terror with characters I both loved and hated. Owen is seemingly a loser with no self esteem or direction in life, dealing with body focused repetitive behaviors. Lore is an Autistic, ADHD, non-binary video game designer who seems cold and blunt, living in her own world. Hamish is a former pot smoking hippie who is now a God fearing, conservative, workout junkie. And Nick?

When they get an email from their old friend Nick, saying he has pancreatic cancer and they need to come see him, they begrudgingly embark on the trip. Begrudgingly because they all have something to hide. The night the first staircase appeared brought tragedy that they all tried to run away from.

A constant sense of dread follows you through this book. It is told in third person narrative which switches between several characters’ perspectives, but in a way that is easy to keep up with. I appreciated the diverse representation among the characters, even if some of the Autism traits were stereotypical, so Chuck gets an A for effort here. The characters all feel like real people, with real problems, that the general population often overlook or ignore, or ostracize as “weird.” To see so much of myself in several characters was a breath of fresh air, even if they were being tormented by unspeakable horrors. Also, growing up in the NJ/PA area made this book deeply personal to me, as the characters (and the author) are from Bucks County, PA.

Overall, this book is a must-read and I will definitely check out more of Chuck’s work. This was my first book of his, and I think I’ll go back and read Black Apple Orchard (because I’m pretty sure there were some Easter eggs in Staircase for the hardcore Wendig fans).

Heartfelt thanks to Del Rey Publishing and NetGalley for this early review copy.

I found the beginning of this to be very creepy and tense, but unfortunately, for me it was the best part of the story. I thought the book was overly long to develop characters that still felt one dimensional. And I feel like the whole, "Adults reuniting after they experienced trauma as kids" topic has been too overdone in so many books and do therefore didn't make for a very original story imo.

This is of course my opinion but I think this book felt like a practice in listing a haunted house that had all the worst things you could think of and that was mostly it.

I know the point is power in love and relationships but I found the characters didn't have much personality outside of their trauma.

I didn't hate it for sure but I'd say if the idea of an eerie never ending maze is the element you like House of Leaves does that better and if the relationships of adults with trauma coming back together after years apart in an unsettling setting is what you enjoyed Mister Magic does THAT better.

Anyway just fine but if you love a series of nightmare haunted house rooms being described at you on a loop you'll love it.

Well that was a wild ride! Horror is not my go to choice of read but this book had me intrigued from the get go.
A group of friends find a random staircase in the woods and the friend who decides to climb the stairs goes missing. The friends reunite years later to try and find the it missing friend and after climbing the staircase themselves enter a house of horrors type maze. Weird things follow.
I got a bit lost and still don’t completely understand what I just read but it wasn’t bad and if this is a theme you like then go for it!

OMG. The horror! The Staircase in the Woods took me on a journey I didn't expect. I felt part of each character as their fears were revealed, as their sanity lay in question. For anyone who loves horror, this book is for you. Read it now!

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. I loved the cover of this book and it made me interested in reading it. Just by the cover, I knew it would be a thriller I would highly enjoy and it was just that. I rated this book a 4.5 stars.

Ooo this book will stick with me for a while I ate it up, had me wondering if I was gonna have nightmares when I finally went to sleep. Whatever you do read this book.

While this book has moments of horror, I would consider it more as leaning much more towards phycological thriller with a whole lot of unresolved childhood trauma. You should also be aware of the many graphic descriptions and possible trigger warnings throughout. Detail is not spared when describing the rooms.

The house at the top of the stairs was the best part of the book, but the pacing was all over the place with jumps from present to flash backs and long chapters of personal histories thrown randomly throughout. It was like the author didn't want to get too involved in the house itself, which is a shame because it was the most interesting part.

And although I do appreciate a Hitchcock style ending, the whole book built up to a certain moment, then ended with no resolution.

Chuck Wendig’s THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS continues his streak of really good novels. While not as meaty as a few of his previous novels, STAIRCASE is as complex. The titular STAIRCASE is present and used as a cool device to get the characters (and the reader) into the novel and then again toward the climax. Make no mistakes, though, this is a haunted house story. And a damn intense one.

A mark of a good writer is that they can take familiar stories and sub-genres and make them their own. With this is mind, Wendig once again proves that he’s a master storyteller of the modern horror story. He takes the ideas that are ingrained in the genre and shifts them like a Rubik’s Cube into his own thing, and it works.

At points scary, heartbreaking, inspiring, and, yes, funny, THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS once again cements Wendig’s place as a new master of the horror genre, and of terrific storytelling.