The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig is a coming-of-age trauma nightmare. Friendship is the core of the novel. How far are you willing to go for friendship? Five friends go into the woods, where they find a staircase. One goes up it and doesn’t come down as the staircase disappears. The friends spend the next 20 years in regret, forever changed by the event. The staircase is back, and they are ready to get their friend.

The premise for this book is wild, and it goes places that I was not expecting. Some of it works, and some of it doesn’t, but it is a truly unique idea from Wendig. The reader spends a good deal of time figuring out what exactly is going on. The ending answers most of my questions, but I’m mixed on being satisfied with the answers. I appreciate the originality, but what is behind the staircase in the woods is where I had problems with it. I saw what Wendig was going for, but it did not click into place for me, and it felt like a stretch.

What the novel does well is imagery. Wendig has some images that will be forever locked in my brain. Wendig’s imagery is cinematic, and that can be frightening. The hungry cat that is out of food but still eating something is the one that will live in my brain for too long.

Wendig has one character who has severe anxiety. I have suffered from an anxiety disorder over the years, and I felt this aspect was very real. I don’t even have flight anxiety, and that portion of the book had me squirming as I was catching a flight the morning I started reading it.

The pace of the book is pretty steady. The chapters are, for the most part, short, which helps. The novel does feel long in the middle as the characters are all confused about what is going on and the point of it all.

I read The Staircase in the Woods thanks to NetGalley and Random House / Del Rey for giving me a copy. The Staircase in the Woods was first published on April 29, 2025, by Random House Worlds / Del Rey.

Why Did I Read The Staircase In the Woods by Chuck Wendig?

Chuck Wendig is one of my favorite authors. Wanderers is in my top 25 books of all time. I have rated the majority of his novels five stars. The Book of Accidents, Wanderers, and Black River Orchard have made my top ten list every year they were published. I got to meet Chuck Wendig and told him how much I enjoyed Wanderers and that I could see the Robert McCammon influence in the writing. I plan to go through Wendig’s backlog this year since I’ve only read his new releases.

Plot Summary:

A group of five friends went into the woods just before they graduated high school. When they go to the campsite, they find a creepy old staircase that leads to nowhere. Matty, who wants to climb the staircase, invokes “The Covenant.” The Covenant is a saying among friends that compels them to go along with whatever is happening together as a group. This time, the friends don’t go as a unit. Matty goes up the staircase alone and disappears. Then the staircase disappears. The friends freak out and wait in the woods, but he does not return. They come up with a story. Twenty years later, the staircase has returned.

What I Liked:

The imagery is so good and will stick with me for a while. I don’t think anybody is prepared for where this book goes. I have listened to podcasts and interviews, and I was still not prepared for what happens at the Staircase in the Woods. The anxiety scenes were written very well. The book deals with trauma in a unique way. I wasn’t prepared for how trauma heavy the book was. The horror is more psychological than I was expecting. Margerie was a terrifying character. I actually wanted her to follow the group. Margerie did have the best scare.

What I Disliked:

I liked the psychological horror aspect, but I wanted the horror to manifest more. The horror felt too safe. I wanted more Margerie moments where it felt like anything could happen. What was behind the staircase in the woods was a good idea. I just felt like the connection was a reach. Wendig is usually so good at connecting the threads so they all add up, and this one didn’t. I felt the book took too long to show the characters as children. I had a really hard time connecting to the characters. The adults were broken and jaded, whereas the kids still had life. I enjoyed the flashbacks and felt a little more connected then.

Recommendation:

The Staircase in the Woods is a unique read. It takes an element that is a horror trope and spins it on its head. Man F*ck This House by Brian Asman is a book I can sort of compare it to, as it also takes a trope and spins it on its head. I cannot recommend The Staircase in the Woods, but I can recommend the author Chuck Wendig. Wanderers is exceptionally great, Black River Orchard is exceptionally underrated, and The Book of Accidents is scary good.

Rating:

The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig. I rated it 3 out of 5 stars.

Ranking of Chuck Wendig Books I Have Read:

1. Wanderers
2. Black River Orchard
3. The Book of Accidents
4. The Staircase in the Woods