The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: The Staircase in the Woods, Chuck Wendig

The Staircase in the Woods

Chuck Wendig

Reader Score

77%

77% of readers

recommend this book

A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods in this mesmerizing horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents.

"Chuck Wendig weaves his magic once more, turning a lonely staircase in the woods into a searing, propulsive, dread-filled exploration of the horrors of knowing and being known."--Kiersten White, author of Hide and Lucy Undying

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 extraordinary: 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. . . .

Book Details

  • Publisher: Del Rey Books
  • Publish Date: Apr 29th, 2025
  • Pages: 400
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.34in - 6.50in - 1.32in - 1.22lb
  • EAN: 9780593156568
  • Categories: Thrillers - PsychologicalHistorical - GeneralOccult & Supernatural

About the Author

Chuck Wendig is the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers, The Book of Accidents, Wayward, and more than two dozen other books for adults and young adults. A finalist for the Astounding Award and an alumnus of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, he has also written for comics, games, film, and television. He's known for his popular blog, terribleminds, and books about writing such as Damn Fine Story. He lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with his family.

Praise for this book

"Chuck Wendig weaves his magic once more, turning a lonely staircase in the woods into a searing, propulsive, dread-filled exploration of the horrors of knowing and being known. I'd follow him anywhere (fictionally, not literally, because I'm not setting foot on those stairs)."--Kiersten White, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide

"A highly original twist on the archetypical reuniting of childhood friends, The Staircase in the Woods is more than just a deliciously nostalgic horror story. It's a masterclass in character. As each of the people who inhabit these pages dwell through the labyrinth of guilt and grief and memory, they will also possess your mind, and you will fall in love with them because they are all too human. Unputdownable, with imagery that cuts like a knife--this is Chuck Wendig at the top of his game."--Thomas Olde Heuvelt, author of HEX and Darker Days

"Heart-wrenching and anxiety-inducing. Like if the crew from King's IT were thrown into the chaotic hallways of Danielewski's House of Leaves, The Staircase in the Woods will become lodged in your mind, if you let it in."--Jenny Kiefer, author of This Wretched Valley

"Chuck Wendig is the Frank Lloyd Wright of horror and here's his masterstroke of malaise. The Staircase in the Woods is a true blueprint for terror that stands alongside the likes of such classic habitats as Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, Michael McDowell's The Elementals, and Stephen King's The Shining."--Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

"Chuck Wendig has given us another stunner. The Staircase in the Woods is as mysterious, alluring, heartbreaking, ever-shifting, and unnervingly powerful as the nature of friendship itself."--Nat Cassidy, author of When the Wolf Comes Home and Mary