Five friends enter the woods but only four return. The four remaining friends grow up and try to move on with their lives, ignoring the trauma of the loss of their friend. Until one day, Nick calls them all back together, back to The Staircase in The Woods.
This story is very similar to Stephen King's It but instead of a murderous clown, it's an urban legend that they are facing down. The urban legend in this case is The Staircase in The Woods. This story is horror but mostly it's an allegory on grief and trauma. It deals with the 4 characters struggle to overcome their horrible childhoods and the loss of their dear friend. It also deals with jealousy in friendship and with disappointment in life. All of these issues are all wrapped up in a horrific event that they must overcome and told with a creepy atmosphere that will make you stay out of the woods.
Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Worlds, and Del Rey for the advanced copy. The opinions are my own.

Five friends finding a staircase in the woods that leads to nowhere and one of them goes up the staircase and doesn't return. Twenty years later the staircase reappears, and the friends return to see if they can find their long-lost friend. Such an amazing novel! Chuck Wendig does it again! I love this trope of a supernatural horror book with friends returning as adults to right some wrong. I love Wendig's writing, and this book had me feeling all of the emotions! If you are a fan of supernatural horror, the woods, and old friends reuniting, this is perfect for you.

I really wanted to love this and I was SO excited to get an advanced copy, but this is SO MUCH like It that I really couldn't appreciate that it's its own story. I'm sure this was supposed to be like, a riff off of Stephen King, but it just wasn't different enough for me to separate them.

HOLY CANNOLI WHAT DID I READ?!?!?!
Okay I loved this one so much I had to message the author on IG and be like umm excuse me can you please tell me more?! Needless to say, he hasn’t responded.

So. This book is either really just amazing on the surface, a horror book that moonlights as an allegory on life and death, or just a novel written from someone going through a period of grief.

Basically — these teenagers go into the woods to get high and party, but while they are there they find a staircase in the woods. One friend goes up the stairs and promptly disappears. What is to come is the battle to find their friend in these moments of dark and death and decay, spanning over 20 years. Guys. This book is something. And if you like horror and the library at mount char and other weird novels, this one is right up your alley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Conceptually, this was a brilliant novel. Staircases in the woods are a common piece of lore that have snuck their way into the zeitgeist, particularly on the internet, and they are well overdue for a spooky novel. This book definitely delivers on that brief, although I will admit that I did struggle with the characters.

The concept was definitely a beautiful haunted house idea, and there was a lot of moments that carried a certain heaviness. The characters, however, are almost chronically immature, in the same way that adults in slasher films are. This may have been an intentional choice, but it made the reading of them a little difficult and frustrating in places.

I did have quite a few questions left at the end of this book as well, but I did enjoy it conceptually very much. I just felt like the execution could have been slightly better than what it was. I am keen to read more of Wendig’s work, and I am hoping to find that I like others more than this one.

I requested this because I remember reading a story online about people who work in forestry and such would sometimes see staircases randomly in the woods. I have no idea if it was a bigger legend or just something on that one random internet post but I thought it was a great concept and maybe would enjoy it when I saw the synopsis for the book. It didn't end up hooking me but that may have more to do with my own taste in reading.

This book isn’t out till April the 29th 2025 and it’s already one of my favourites.
I’m pretty shocked this is my first Chuck Wendig book! I’ve clearly been living under a rock.

This book broke me and scared the living hell out of me. I had a hard time putting this down and after every chapter i wanted to know more and why and how. I’m always so curious about these stories of stairs cases in the woods. I loved the past and present storytelling and the nostalgia.

Over 20 years pass after your friend goes missing up a stair case and never comes back down.

This story is packed with emotions, grief, loss, guilt, love, abandonment and most of all friendship. ( The Covenant)

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Del Rey for my ARC.

Five high school friends head into the woods to go camping. By the next day, only four of them will return, shellshocked, and unable to process what has happened. One of them climbs a staircase they found in the woods and disappears.
20 years pass when they are called back together. One of that original group is deathly ill and wants to see his old friends before he dies. But he has an agenda. Another trip into the woods and another staircase in a different location might solve the mystery of what happened to their friend.
The cost is high though, as they wind up in a house that seems to feed off their fears. Each of them have hidden pain and secrets, but this time, none of them will leave without exposing their traumas. Such a creepy house and I honestly didn’t think that all or any of them would find a way out. No spoilers. You will have to read this page-turner to find out.
Oh, and that ending. I screamed, No, at my Kindle.

Nice concept, but I've read better from Chuck.
This felt rushed in a few places.
Overall not bad.
If you are a fan of Wendig, you will still like it.

A new @chuck_wendig novel is always a treat, and THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS is no exception.

Chuck’s new page-turner centres around a group of friends who, long ago, lost someone close to him when he climbed a mysterious staircase in the middle of the woods and instantly vanished. Now, after years of being apart, they find a similar staircase hidden away in the trees. Will they climb the impossible stairs to find their long-lost friend? The answer is yes, and the result is a wonderfully unsettling twist on a haunted house which, like the Overlook hotel, is the true antagonist of the novel.

Regrets abound, and even though none of the characters are particularly likeable, you still find yourself compelled to read on, if only to find out if they’ll survive or not. That's the mark of a master, right there.

I think Chuck has another winner on his hands here. It doesn’t quite top BLACK RIVER ORCHARD, in my opinion, but as that was one of my favourite novels of the last 10 years, it would have been a tall order!

Definitely worth picking up when it’s published in April next year by Del Rey in the States and Penguin in the UK.

Chuck Wendig's The Staircase in the Woods follows five former high school friends bound by a protective pact they refer to as The Covenant. During a high school camping trip, they encounter a mysterious staircase rising through the forest - and when one of them climbs it, he vanishes without a trace. Twenty years later, the staircase reappears, drawing the remaining four back together. Owen, now working in a bookstore, Lor, a successful game designer, Hamish, living a polished suburban life, and Nick, who never stopped searching for answers, must confront what happened that night - each carrying their own sharp edges and deep flaws. Wendig weaves between past and present as the group ascends the stairs once more, venturing into increasingly strange and disturbing territory where memory, guilt, and supernatural horror intertwine. The novel explores themes of fractured friendship and unresolved trauma through the lens of this inexplicable woodland phenomenon.

I absolutely loved this book! A group of teenage friends on a camping trip inexplicably stumble upon a staircase in the woods. One of them climbs it and isn’t seen again. The repercussions affect not only their friendships, but their lives. Twenty years later, the friends reunite and the staircase reappears. This time they too climb it. What follows is a totally mesmerizing story that blends cosmic horror, haunted house horror, and true crime with themes of loss, love and ultimately forgiveness and redemption. Highly recommended.

2.75 I've been trying to find the right words for this review, as I didn't picture this read going the way it did! I loved the eerie background of the plot, the history and diverse characters.
There is mention of SA in here, as well as representations of mental illness such as anxiety, depression & OCD. I feel like the setting is definitely around this timeframe & relevant to today's society. The twists and turns???! So good! There are parts that reminded me "IT".
I do have to add, a few chapters had language was pretty vulgar & quite a bit of drug-like mentions. It read like a YA so maybe adding this in trying to make it adult? I feel like the horror aspect of it was there for sure, but it wasn't something I've read before in other horror/thriller reads. The characters' backstories were also mentioned a lot, but to the point it made it quite repetitive. If you like spooky/creepy/gory horror I feel like this would be more for you. This book does a great job at making it creepy & uncomfortable kind of like "what the!?" really into it. I however wanted more of the thriller/ mystery feel of it!

The Staircase In The Woods is a story unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s original, well written and dark (in the best way). The phrase “Home is where the heart is” has a whole new meaning for me. If I ever come across a staircase in the woods I’ll be running in the opposite direction. It’s about the power of friendship but also about the power of fear and trauma, about getting lost (don’t we all get lost sometimes, or most of the time). It’s a powerful message packed in a terrifying story and not to spoil anything but I need more, this story has now haunted me and I need more.

I love stories that begin with a group of school age friends vowing eternal friendship and loyalty. And that's how we begin this journey. Five high school friends bound by deep friendship find a staircase in the woods. Why is it there? Where does it go? One boy decides to find out and a mystery begins. Twenty years later the high school friends reunite and the staircase appears again. And that's as far as I'll take you.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. Some readers may consider it dull in parts, but that is part of the slow build, getting you acquainted with the boys and their backgrounds, setting the stage for what happens, raising your heart rate little by little.

A staircase in the woods. What a strange and interesting thing.

This one was eerie and sad and weird. I mean why would you even climb a staircase that is just sitting in the middle of a forest... It does not even make any sense. A horror and supernatural thriller, two things I generally never pick up and it was good but just did not really work for me. The story was fine but the characters were irritating and childish, felt like reading a young adult novel with a lot of drug use and swearing... and nobody really grew up.

3 ☆
So why would you climb some random stairs in the woods? Oh, these characters thought it was a good idea. The premise is what caught my attention: "Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what. A mysterious staircase to nowhere appears. 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." Doesn't that just pull you in? Yes! Well, I really wanted to love this story, but I felt like I was confused for maybe 50% of the book. But I was just too invested and interested to know what happened. I think that's what the author wanted. Well, I hope so.
-
Thank you, Netgellay, and Random House Worlds for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve always been fascinated with the stairs in the woods phenomenon, so I was very excited to read this book! While slow at times, it still did a great job of capturing the eerie atmosphere!

This book starts out slow while the author sets the scene and you get to know the characters, however it really picks up about half way through. I am glad I stuck with it because it got really fun and interesting. The book covers tough topics so go into it expecting that and check warnings. The ending left me wanting more resolution, but I think that it what the author was going for.

overall, I enjoyed this book. It started off really strong but got a lil wonky in the middle. I think some of the phrasing felt random and unnecessarily graphic, but I loved the premise.