"Yer damn right I'm rating it 5 stars. I'm soooo excited for you all to read this one. If MARY was my homage to unreliable narrators / J-horror / gialli / serial killers, and NESTLINGS was my homage to 70s paranoia / vampires / potboiler thrillers, then THIS book is my homage to 80s action horror paperbacks, the kind you might pick up in an airport or a grocery store. It's a chase novel, but full of convention subversions and surprises to keep you on your toes. It's also about fathers, and about how the nature of fear changes as we age. It's a little bit Twilight Zone, a little bit Dean Koontz, a little bit FIRESTARTER, a little bit IT, a little bit Ursula K. Le Guin, a little bit TERMINATOR 2, and a lotta bit gonna melt your face off. But, y'know ... in a good way. 🐺🏠"

"Title/Author: Chuck Wendig

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Del Rey

Format: I read the NetGalley arc

Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: Miriam Black series, The Book of Accidents, Black River Orchard, etc

Affiliate Link:

Release Date: April 29th, 2025

General Genre: Horror

Sub-Genre/Themes: urban legend, camping trip, creepy woods, friendship, childhood friends into adulthood, relationships, small town, haunted house, trapped!, ghosts, self-harm, suicidal ideation, murder, death, violence, domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, child abuse (pretty much everything-this is the darkest Wendig yet)

Writing Style: Those short, buzzy, binge-worthy chapters we have come to love

What You Need to Know: "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."

My Reading Experience: Wowsers, Chuck Wendig! He delivers a fresh and deeply unsettling twist on the haunted house genre in The Staircase in the Woods. Just when I thought nothing new could be done with this classic horror trope, Wendig proved me wrong.
The novel is pitch-black dark. And I do mean that. The horror level is at a ten with genuinely terrifying scenes unfolding with wicked and gruesome details. I strongly advise against reading this one at night unless you enjoy disturbing images in your mind before drifting into nightmare territory. The short, buzzy chapters make it impossible to put down. The tension is so high most of the time that when there is a bit of a lull, it drags a little. I felt like there were a few times where the story cycled through some repeated subject matter.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its layered backstory, which adds depth. The relationships between the group of friends are complex, shaped by trauma that is slowly revealed through dialogue and flashbacks. In that way, it reminded me of The Ritual by Adam Nevill—another novel where personal history is mixed in with real-time supernatural drama.

Final Recommendation: If you’re looking for a horror novel that doesn’t just rely on jump scares but instead gets under your skin with psychological depth and seriously terrifying scenes, The Staircase in the Woods is a must-read. Wendig has crafted a story that lingers long after the final page. Pretty disturbing. Please note my CWs in the sub-genre section

Comps: The Ritual by Adam Nevill, IT by Stephen King, The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste"