A review by manlytea
The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I love a good haunting, particularly an interesting one, and this is a really fun take on a haunted house. The characters felt a little one note but the note was interesting enough that the relationships between them combined with the incredible setting made for a damn good horror. Not super scary so possibly a bit disappointing if that's what you look for in horror but a great dive into the nature of trauma and friendship.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Transphobia, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism