The Staircase in the Woods

$30.00 US
Random House Worlds | Del Rey
12 per carton
On sale Apr 29, 2025 | 9780593156568
Sales rights: US, Canada, Open Mkt
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.

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. . . .
“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

“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

About

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.

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. . . .

Praise

“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

“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