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The Staircase in the Woods

The chilling new horror and Sunday Times bestseller

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The Staircase in the Woods

By: Chuck Wendig
Narrated by: Jay Myers, Amber Benson, Xe Sands
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE BOOK OF ACCIDENTS FROMS THIS NEW MESMERISING HORROR NOVEL

Five high school friends, bonded by an oath to protect each other no matter what.

On a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something extraordinary: a mysterious staircase to nowhere

One friend walks up – but never comes back down.

Now twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared, and the friends return to find the lost boy – and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods…

FROM THE MODERN HORROR SENSATION COMES A NEW BONE-CHILLING MASTERPIECE.

'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

'A searing, propulsive, dread-filled exploration of the horrors of knowing and being known.' KIERSTEN WHITE, NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF HIDE

'Deliciously disorienting and deeply captivating' ALAINA URQUHART, NO. 1 NEW TORK TIMES BETSELLING AUTHOR OF THE BUTCHER GAME

© Chuck Wendig 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Dark Fantasy Fantasy Science Fiction Camping Scary Game

Critic reviews

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.
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).
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
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.
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.
With The Staircase in the Woods, Chuck Wendig has crafted a very sinister take on the familiar urban legend. Highly original and deeply disturbing, this one will stick with you.

The Staircase in the Woods is delicious disorienting and deeply captivating. It will pull at the
threads of your psyche in the best way until you feel like you just emerged from the most
exquisite nightmare.

You'll read this book and be unseated, disoriented, and yes, scared. But if you read it as I read it,
you'll come away with a searching portrait of four friends trying to find the things we all tend to
lose as we grow older: faith, direction, hope, happiness, purpose. That's the heart of Chuck
Wendig's work in these pages, and to read a book that illuminates such profound human truths is
very rare indeed.
All stars
Most relevant
This story felt a bit too padded for me. I like the story and the idea of it, but it could definitely have been shorter. I felt myself at times getting distracted and forgetting what had happened. Wish I could have stayed gripped to this book, but it just didn't happen. So many love this book, so I was disappointed I just didn't click with it.

Could have been a novella

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I can’t see the latest like anything about this book every single one I have read so far is absolutely fantastic. To me it’s my favourite author.

Another stunning story by Chuck

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I really wanted to like this- I like the concept and I was rooting for it but it took so long to actually get into the staircase/house part that I was just trying to get through it at that point. The gore and violence elements seemed quite forced and I felt like it went down that route rather than ever making me feel tense or afraid for the characters. The scenes at the end were so badly voiced- I was actually laughing at their possessed voice performances because it sounded like they were just mocking it. Sadly I wouldn’t recommend!

Kinda dull!

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I usually love Wendig but this just felt like a lesson in lgbtq acceptance, like 'the fierce girl is soo cool, she's pan sexual, fought the system, doesn't fancy you man' cringed all the was through, minimal story. The story that there was was basically Kingfishers (can't recall the name) but this was very very poor performance for chuck. hated every minute and the only saving point was the narration from Xe. God that was awful.

Great cast

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Very good performance, however a strange story line and not what I expected. It could have been shorter

Strange dialogue

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