The Staircase in the Woods Audiobook By Chuck Wendig cover art

The Staircase in the Woods

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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

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • 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

ONE OF VULTURE’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)

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. . . .

©2025 Chuck Wendig (P)2025 Random House Audio
Horror Supernatural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting Scary Camping
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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.”—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

“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.”—Kiersten White, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide

“[A] masterclass in character . . . 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

All stars
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I disliked that the story left you hanging at the end, I really hate that.

It was an original idea, at least to me.

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Chuck does such a good job developing his characters. This group of people started off as a bunch of jerks and you just can’t figure out why they were ever friends or why they would honor the “covenant.” But page by page and revelation by revelation, you start to get it. It’s about friendship, time, commitment and forgiveness, all amidst a bunch of scary weird stuff. Good read.

Thoughty, scary good time

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this is that.. idk if the characters are meant to be disliked but I could not stand them. staircases in the woods is an absolutely fabulous concept but I felt it could've done better. book jumps around ALOT.. pay attention. it was ok tho.

MORTAL COIL.. wanna find out how many time it's can be stated in one book?

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great book! good story! and he managed to get all the 90s feeling perfect.. let's call it nostalgia, but we'd never call it that.

there is a lot in here

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The story itself wasn’t jarring, it was the performance. The one character was voiced in a way that totally broke the immersion for me. Otherwise the story itself was okay, kind of like a modern day IT, I dunno, good filler stuff but not the author’s best work.

Jarring!

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Incredible performance from the narrators! They really put me into the world built in this incredibly told story. The author utilizes time skips with purpose and generally not at random. Though the terms "blood" and "ichor" are used various times throughout descriptions and can be repetitive, the gruesome language paints a dark picture for the audience and not just for shock value. The ending may upset some, but I think it leaves a good opening for personal interpretation. Trigger warning for potential readers, but I listened to the very end and very much enjoyed this book.

Dark and Interesting

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I enjoy stories about old childhood friends that reunite. Add in some modern folklore and a pinch of horror and it’s a good read. Kind of like Model Home it has twists and turns but ends up where it should I reckon.

It was good

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I listen to a lot of books! Mostly only horror, and I am rarely spooked... This was so good! The details are layered and creepy, scary. I was there in the book with the characters who were well developed. I wish I could give it 6 stars. In my top 3 for books I have enjoyed this year, make that for last year too. Thank you for giving me nightmares. Finally. 🩷

I was finally actually afraid

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First,
Mr. Wendig you successfully wrote a book that didn't take 40+ hours to read and I am very proud of you.

Second,
The story was good, solid writing and unique a story. I enjoyed the story, but found the characters unlikeable. This made the last part of the anticlimactic as I didn't care who survived. The ending seemed very abrupt and could have been a few pages longer to allow everything that had just happened to sink in.

lastly,
I personally thought the performances of the readers could have been better. There was vastly different emotional levels of each individual reader and that makes it disjointed. One reader typically growls, the other very calm and the 3rd one didn't sound like they gave a woot.

Even though I listed a few Negatives I still enjoyed the story.

First things first

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It usually doesn’t take me this long to finish a book, but I found myself entranced yet uneasy while reading this one. The concept of the staircase in the woods was intriguing, and the author managed to create some genuinely disturbing scenes that had me cringing—kudos to them for crafting such vivid, well-thought-out descriptions that truly brought these so-called nightmares to life. Despite this, I struggled to get through the book for reasons I can’t quite pinpoint. I think I may have built it up in my mind more than warranted, as I recall reading somewhere that it was heralded as a potential book of the year.

While it was definitely entertaining, I wouldn’t place it at the pinnacle of my reading list. It serves well as a background story—offering a fresh perspective on the horror or psychological thriller genre. The tone was undeniably dark and unsettling, which I appreciated. I chose to experience this through Audible, and the overall performance was quite impressive. However, I found the shifts in point of view a bit jarring, particularly the voice acting when transitioning from male to female characters. Otherwise, the audio experience was generally enjoyable.

intriguing but underwhelming

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