Something in the Woods: 20 Horror Short Stories of Forest Creatures

Book Description

The forest is not empty. It never has been. Something in the Woods is a collection of twenty chilling horror short stories set deep in the wilderness of North America's oldest and most remote forests. From the fog-soaked rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula to the ancient bottomlands of the Congaree, from the roadless wilderness of the Flathead to the silent old growth of the Klamath, each story follows ordinary, capable people — hikers, hunters, rangers, researchers, families — into landscapes that have been watching long before they arrived. A group of friends hike deep into the Klamath National Forest and make the mistake of answering the knock between the trees. A solo photographer tracks a moss-covered shape that moves only when he looks away — and discovers it has been beside him all day. A lost traveller follows a deer with glowing antlers through fog and bones. Loggers breach a hollow beneath ancient roots and find that what lives below does not appreciate the disturbance. A wildlife researcher deploys twenty-four cameras across twelve square miles of Montana wilderness and retrieves footage of the same impossible stag at every single one, always at 11:47, always looking directly at the lens. These are not stories about reckless people making foolish choices. These are stories about careful, experienced people encountering things that preparation cannot protect against — things older than the forests themselves, patient beyond comprehension, and utterly indifferent to whether you find their presence comfortable. Written with the slow-burn dread and immersive prose of the finest literary horror, Something in the Woods is designed to be read aloud and listened to in the dark. Each of the twenty stories is a complete, standalone experience — atmospheric, precisely crafted, and built to stay with you long after the final page. The forest has been paying attention to you for a very long time. Now you know. Perfect for fans of Stephen Graham Jones, Paul Tremblay, Josh Malerman, and Nathan Ballingrud. For readers who know that the most frightening things are not the ones that chase you — they are the ones that have been watching you all along and have simply decided, tonight, to let you know.