Tread Softly

by Richard Laymon

When a group of young campers meet and are forced to kill a dangerous psychopath, his mother, a witch, puts a deadly curse on them

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Splatterpunk, Thriller, Witches, Horror Thriller, Audiobook

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Richard Laymon was born in Chicago and grew up in California. He earned a BA in English Literature from Willamette University, Oregon and an MA from Loyola University, Los Angeles. He worked as a schoolteacher, a librarian, and a report writer for a law firm, and was the author of more than thirty acclaimed novels.

He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.

He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).

Also published under the name Richard Kelly

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the quintessential Richard Laymon novels. We have two couples and their kids, backpacking in the woods, a mysterious witch and her murderous son, some screwing, skinny dipping and staring at breasts jiggling in different positions. The situation changes after the attack on the family and the rape of one of the girls. What about the curse of the witch? Will anybody survive the woods? How does their daily life continue and how will it end? In this novel you'll find a compelling story, full of wit and teenage lust, some horror (the witch), some murder, some bonking, some violence, good dialogues, plausible characters. A very well composed mixture I really enjoyed and the blueprint for so many novels after. The final was also quite furious. One of his very best and I read almost most of them. Highly recommended.

[mark monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love camping, and have loved it since I was kid. everything about it: walking in nature, splashing in water, setting up camp, the conversations around the fire and the cooking and the early mornings waking up to the music of birds and insects, the nights spent in a tent or under the stars. Richard Laymon loves camping too: he spends nearly the first 200 pages describing a camping trip before bothering to get to the horror. the attack on the campers felt almost like an afterthought. I didn't mind the lazy pacing because it was really pleasant reading about this trip. characterization may not be the author's forte in general, but the characters here felt absolutely real. reading the various perspectives of child, teen, and adult took me right back to various camping trips throughout my life. Laymon gets all of the details right. and there's a genuine generosity of spirit displayed in this novel that makes it feel like something he wrote out of love for camping with a big group rather than just to bring in some money.

I was pleased to see Laymon control his sleazier traits. nearly every character is a horny character, but unlike past novels, I didn't get the sense that he was salivating while writing about his characters' sexuality. rape - a Laymon hallmark - unfortunately is present, but he restrains himself there too. although I could have done without it entirely, I did appreciate that he showed an unusual sensitivity this time. and there is a teen romance that is surprisingly tender and charming. Laymon even shows some compassion for the novel's antagonist - an old woman trying to survive in the wilderness despite being saddled with a brutally violent rapist of a son.

so overall this was an atypical novel for this author. sweet-tempered in tone, more concerned with the details of a trip than creating a tight and focused narrative. I liked that a lot. it also involved the supernatural, which is unusual for Laymon. the last quarter is definitely gripping. plus it includes zombies, because why not.

[Amy Noelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rump: 24 times
Nipple: 23 times
Naked: 32 times
Breast: 75 times!!!! (48 plural)
That was basically the book. Plus a witch and a curse. What a time 😂

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Halloween read. Spooky witches done well.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott y Flash, amigos que sirvieron juntos en Vietnam, deciden pasar unos días de excursión por las montañas. A Scott le acompañan su novia Karen, Julie, su hija adolescente, y su hijo pequeño Benny. Con Flash viajan su mujer Alice, su hijo adolescente Nick, y sus hijas gemelas Rose y Heather. Ambas familias inician el viaje con sus mochilas sin contratiempos. Sin embargo, la maldad ronda la zona de las Mezquite, en las personas de Ettie, una bruja, y su hijo Merle, un psicópata violador y asesino.

‘Montaña siniestra’ (Dark Mountain, 1987), del estadounidense Richard Laymon, es una historia de terror al más puro estilo ochentero. Se lee muy fácilmente, gracias a sus abundantes diálogos. Como toda novela de Laymon, el sexo está muy presente, aunque en este caso es más suave que otras veces. Si te gusta el cine de serie B de los ochenta, te gustará, sino, mejor leer otra cosa.

[Evans Light · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much happens in this exceedingly tame, repetitive book stuffed with interchangeable cardboard characters. Uninteresting and unsuspenseful, this is the only Laymon book I've read so far that's left me completely cold. Usually his books have at least one strong storyline, but nothing to see here, folks. Yawn.

[Janie Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read a Laymon book in awhile and I have got to say that this is my favorite thus far. WOW! There was so much going on in this book at the turn of just about every page, the action never seemed to ceased. You could practically feel the insanity oozing out of the pages. I got a little confused at one point because it did a jump, like a '2 weeks later' kind of thing when I least expected it. But Laymon brought it all together in pure Laymon style.

I actually loved everything about this book. I absolutely loved the premise of this story. I mean how creepy is it to go camping out in the middle of nowhere, doing the whole 'scary story' thing only to find yourself being stalked? Laymon literally had me on the edge of my seat with stomach churning intensity. And the fun did not end at the campsite, it followed all of them all the way home and continued until they had to return to the place where it all began.

I loved all the characters of this book. I never really thought that Laymon's characters were ever really too in depth. This time around though they seemed to have a bit more substance, they were a bit more realistic and believable, and I loved that. Even the bad guys were great. The perfect example of the ones you love to hate without being over the top. They oozed psychotic chaos for sure.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to live a little dangerously, and have the thrill of their life just from turning the pages of this book. Mr. Laymon you outdid yourself with this one.

[Adam Light · Rating 4 out of 5]

DARK MOUNTAIN, AKA TREAD SOFTLY is one of those classic psycho in the woods stories that will convince some people never to go camping again.
This is also a rare Laymon work where he throws in a supernatural element into the mix, and the payoff is pretty decent. Not one of his srtongest books, but definitely worth the read.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Layman’s work would be so much better as a so good it’s bad B horror movie. As far as Laymon goes, this would not rank as one of my favorites. It’s fun in a trashy way though! His continuous use of the word ‘rump’ never fails to amuse.

[Daniel Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here we have a classic slice of eighties Laymon (unfortunately for the characters, who would have literally killed for a mobile phone to be honest) but not without its share of problems.

Two families go camping.

Okay...camping. Let's see how many Laymon books involve going camping (or thereabouts):

The Woods Are Dark
No Sanctuary
Darkness Tell Us
The Lake (I think)
Blood Games...any more?

So as you can see, just within Laymon's work alone, there's quite a lot of competition regarding camping horror! I think Richard must have adored hiking and camping. He writes about it more than horror writers write about horror writers in their books. Anyway...

Two families go camping, unaware that the trail is home to a hag and her raping, murdering son. That's about it...or is it?

I went into this book with Laymon expectations. We all know there'll be violence, gore and immature sex, but I was more concerned about the plot. Another people getting butchered at a campsite book? Come on! Did his agent say, "Dick, that last book where a load of people get stalked and killed at a campsite did really well...let's do another!".

I was a bit surprised with this though.

The first of the three parts is solely based on character building, and to be honest, not a lot happens. One of my gripes is that both heads of the family (Scott and Flash) are both ex-Nam pilots and supposedly hard as nails, but this all becomes irrelevant. Sure they have the odd 'moment', a flashback here and there as they remember the horrors of'Nam, but it doesn't add anything to the story. They could be accountants for all the difference it makes. There's also the nagging wife, the hot new girlfriend, the bitchy teenager, the shy yet rough and ready teenage boy, the geeky kid...all the Laymon classics. It's a shame that they've all been done before.

So I get towards the end of the last part (which is about halfway through the book) and then things take a drastic turn in plot. Laymon takes us away from the mountains and back to the everyday lives of these two families.

Whoa. Didn't see that coming. Thought we'd be in the mountains until the bitter end.

The hag had placed a curse on them, and this is where we see it come into effect. In my opinion, this is by far the best part of the novel: gripping, solid and creepy. If you've seen Raimi's Drag Me to Hell and enjoyed it, you'll relish this part of the book, because that evil hag keeps popping out of nowhere to lay down the scares! There's also a bit of Final Destination going on (and remember, this was written in the eighties so way before these movies) with both natural and supernatural accidents happening to these families.

Another Laymon classic touch: the random psychotic weirdo! Remember the clown in Night in the Lonesome October? The guy that keeps the mountain lions in No Sanctuary? Etc etc? I won't spoil it, but Dark Mountain has one such guy. They should go on tour.

Act three. Back to the mountains. No spoilers.

People tend to say in reviews that a book would benefit from being shorter, but I think this one should have been longer. The changes between the parts are jarring, and some details, which would have stood up to a fleshing out, are glossed over. At times, I struggled to follow who was alive or dead for a few pages, as people die in the interim! Shocking.

In summary, this is a classic Laymon tale, but not one of his true greats. As I've said before, there are ones to buy first (Endless Night, One Rainy Night, Island)and ones to not really bother with (Night Show, Alarums, and dare I say it The Traveling Vampire Show). This is middle of the road. Entertaining, but a little flawed.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adequate, workman-like horror novel. Certainly not Richard Laymon’s best, but not his worst.

I had two major issues with this novel: the “dark mountain” and surrounding woods were not fully utilized—I never felt like I was there. Laymon’s descriptions didn’t grab me. I had a similar issue when reading Darkness, Tell Us. I typically enjoy Laymon’s cut-to-the-bone style, his refusal to get bogged down in excessive detail, but I could’ve done with a bit more here.

I also feel the villain’s weren’t used to their full potential—one is, in fact, taken entirely out of the action fairly early on. Who/what is the “dark one”? Should I know, or care?

Despite these issues there are a few effective scenes of horror here, and the build-up is pulled off fairly well. And I think the characters are rather nicely developed, something I can’t say about many Laymon novels!

Dark Mountain’s biggest sin is it’s competent, but so boring. When I go into a Richard Laymon novel I expect the pedal to get pressed to the metal, and that didn’t really happen here. Laymon is happier to mire in character drama and futile sexual relationships.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solidly tense and entertaining read.

[Pierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

An altogether entertaining and fast paced Laymon novel. His style is cinematic and this would have made a great 1980s movie complete with teens on hormones, parents on the lookout, boys that know better than the adults, a trek in the woods, a witch, fun, suspense, death, and various attached or detached body parts on display! A fun read.

[Horror Bookworm Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Mountain by Richard Laymon

Richard Laymon has always secured a special talent of immediately pulling in the reader with his disturbing "straight to the point" style of writing. Dark Mountain will make the reader think twice about exploring the safe and sound trails of nature anytime soon.

[Cliff's Dark Gems · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but my least favorite laymon so far.
I loved the premise of campers stuck in the wilderness with a witch and her horny, unhinged son. Unfortunately the novel goes in a different direction in the second half, which I really didn't care for. Still, I enjoyed the ending.

[Wayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to be negative towards this book, but it was just not up to Laymon's standard. It was 321 pages. 300 of those were mostly filler. Two families go camping. That is all that happens for the first part of this. Talk of hiking back and forth. A few sexual escapades. A few moments of sexual tension between a kid and an adult. Then some lame curse is put on them. So, they sit around back home talking about curses.

This never got going. I was waiting for the Laymon punch in the gut. The mayhem. The skin crawling references to sex and sadism. They never showed. The ending was odd in a bad way. To be honest, I gave it two stars only because it was written by Laymon, one of my favorite authors. Skip it.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5, rounded down.

One of Laymon's more coherent, straight forward, and yet still bonkers, novels. Laymon seems to care about the characters a little more in this one too, though they're still horny and there's still plenty of rumps, so fear not! The ending is one of his very best, as things go full batshit.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

TW: gore, blood, rape, attempted rape, sexually charged violence

I've read quite a few of Laymon's books and they always tend to be hit or miss for me. I really loved Midnight's Lair and Beware, but none of his work that I've read since have come close to those two for me. It's possible that I've grown out of pulpy horror at last, but I really don't think that's the problem here. Considering what this book is, it's very boring and predictable. The stakes never actually feel really high and even the cheap, fun thrills just didn't work. Maybe I would've given this 3 stars if it weren't for a graphic rape scene immediately being followed by a sex scene? Nothing gets women excited like being assaulted, apparently.
There's also an attempted rape of an underage girl and no one (including herself, her father and her boyfriend) seems to think this is a traumatic experienced for her; it's just played of for shock value and because of this i took a star off.
If you're looking for fun, pulpy horror, I'd recommend other Laymon titles over this one. As I've mentioned, Midnight's Lair and Beware are really good, but from what I remember they take themselves significantly more serious then this book. If you want something that just fully embraces the genre, I'd recommend A Night In Lonesome October.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two families head out on a camping trip together but it was a case of choosing the wrong location at the wrong time. Seems they’ve encroached on the home of a strange lady and her grown son, who also happen to be adept at the art of voodooism/witchcraft. The son’s uncontrollable urges start the horror ball rolling but it takes a while to build.

The novel is broken into two distinct parts. The first half is devoted to the typical horror story set-up wherein we readers get to know the main characters as they go about their camping trip. This is Richard Laymon, however, so expect his standard teenage lust teasers throughout. We are also treated to the first person perspectives of the villains but only briefly. The second half deals with the two families after they return home and must deal with what occurred during the camping trip.

This was a rather tame Richard Laymon novel. The horror elements were mostly saved for the end and they seemed mild compared to the suspenseful and often bloody nature of other Laymon novels I’ve read. This was still an enjoyable read although I wish the villains were fleshed out more and gave us better insight into their history and motivation, rather than just cardboard cutouts.

[Wesley Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was as good as expected, great storyline, characterizations, flow, and as usual, graphic description. You begin in the woods with two families on a camping trip and mayhem ensues when they discover an old woman, who is a witch and her psychotic, rapist son. After plenty of drama, the two families speed off back home now realizing they have been cursed.
Then when they arrive home its coincidence after coincidence and the parents of the families start to believe the young boy in his theory that they have all been cursed and head back to the mountain to try and kill the witch and remove the curse, but as expected for a Laymon novel, it does not all go to plan.
Highly recommend a read if you like the family camping trip/ supernatual horror book.

[Stephen McQuiggan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two families go camping - unfortunately, unbeknownst to them, they share the wilderness with a witch and her hornball son. There's a curse and...well, let's be honest, it's all really just an excuse for some pervy sex scenes. When Laymon is on top form he's a hoot. When he's not (this novel being a fine example) he's a bore. I know this isn't supposed to be high art, but I'm sick of his beautiful ballsy women and salt of the earth guys. The guy could write - just lacked ambition sometimes.

[Trudi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even when Laymon isn't at his best, I still find myself turning the pages and unable to put the book down. This is dreadful, compelling stuff -- trashy but satisfying, everything a pulp-riff-page-turner should be. For me, Laymon is the equivalent of a greasy cheeseburger and fries -- consume in moderation and enjoy!

[John Durgin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synopsis sounded great but this book just wasn’t for me. It was my first attempt at Laymon, a legend of the genre, and I did listened on audio over 6 months because it never drew me in.

[Austin Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5 / 5*

...After trying a couple of other Laymon books and not really liking them, I decided to give this one a try. It started out good and I thought maybe I had finally found one that I like... but nope, not quite...

This book has a generic concept, a couple of families go camping in the woods and instead of a peaceful getaway they encounter an old witch living in the mountains with her son that has "violent tendencies".

It starts off fairly strong, albeit somewhat confusing as Laymon drops NINE characters from the two families right off the bat... but each one has a unique voice and I really dug how Laymon utilized the dialogue very well to give each of these characters a personality. None of them are very layered by any means, but they are far more believable than the characters in the other novels I've read of his, and I enjoyed their bantering and joking around with one another. Very entertaining and realistic dialogue, I think. However, it starts to drag a little as we get 100 pages into the story and the families are still exploring the wilderness, camping, and various other outdoor related activities. Also, the only thing on the minds of one of the adult couples is to have sex. Constantly. There were like 3 detailed scenes of them doing the dirty in their camping tent. *Sigh*
Only Laymon...


Once we finally get to the action, (the violence, not the naughty action) it is quite explosive but very brief. After they fight off the Witch's son, the witch places a curse on all of them, and they all leave and go home. From there, the story drags even more as we see the characters operating in their normal, day to day lives while they start to receive some close calls and bad luck due to the witch's curse.
This is not what I signed up for.

I loved the first part of the book. I thought the characters were pretty good, I loved the woods and mountain setting, it was just detailed enough and I almost felt like I was right there. Albeit it was a bit slow with some tedious trekking through the forest and the horny adults fondling one another when alone and planning their next sex-capade. But I was mostly enjoying it and even got creeped out a couple of times... I really thought there was going to be some good, brutal violence as the families tried to fight/survive in the wilderness...
But the story just completely loses its steam in the second half after they abandoned their camping trip and return home. The go back to the woods at the end for the "final showdown"... but at that point I just didn't care anymore.

In Summary:
This book had a ton of potential. I liked the premise, I liked some aspects of the book, and Laymon is a fantastic writer.... but he always lets me down, with this one being the biggest disappointment yet... (because I was enjoying this one more from the get-go than I was his other 2 books I've read)
This one just dragged on too long and it did NOT deliver in the suspense or gore department. This book took a completelt different direction than I was expecting, and I wasn't pleased with it.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is sectioned off in three parts. The first bit is the two families off on their vacation, and it starts the story off really well, with engaging characters of surprising depth. I honestly cared about what happened to these people and was desperately afraid something horrible would happen to them. I mean, it's a horror novel, bad things are gonna happen, and I was keeping my fingers crossed this wouldn't be something with a high body count because I liked these people. It wasn't perfect (every chick over the age of 16 is super ridiculously hot, and the reader is constantly reminded of their "taut thighs" and "flat, tanned stomachs," regardless of whose perspective the narration is coming from), but I was honestly enjoying it up until the attack that leads to the second section. Or, well, the immediate aftermath, which essentially consisted of "well, guys, Karen's been raped, beaten, and knocked unconscious by some crazy dude, but Nick killed him with the hatchet so I think we're all ok here. No worries, everyone just go back to sleep." I... what? Are you serious? Get that woman some medical help!

Part two features everyone at home, and jumps to various people as they suffer through strange accidents, each one adding fuel to the fire until pretty well everyone is too afraid to do anything. It's the twelve-year-old boy (ok, twelve-ish; I'm a little fuzzy on his exact age) who reads up on curses and comes to the conclusion the best and only way to stop it is to go directly to the source.

Part three is where we really start to fall apart. I spent most of the time going "...wait, what? What just happened?" and re-reading to see what I had missed. And 99% of the time, I hadn't missed anything, it simply wasn't there. It's like Laymon had all these ideas and ran out of paper, so he had to squish 75 pages of action into 35 actual pages. It was rushed, and choppy, and scenes would cut off abruptly, never to return. I'd have to content myself with a throwaway line explaining what had happened several pages later, once the danger was already over. Backstories and events that had been brought up as significant, as foreshadowing, were dropped and never mentioned again. Basically, the bottom piece of bread in the sandwich was flimsy, full of holes, and I think there might have been a few moldy spots on it. Which sucks, because the rest of the thing had potential to be really tasty, but it only takes one bite of fuzzy green to ruin the whole thing.

[Ricardo Moreno Mauro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Laymon nos entrega otra historia donde la sangre, brazos cortados, brujería (y hasta algunos zombies) se mezclan con erotismo y sexo.
La historia comienza con dos familias que se unen para ir de excursión a un parque forestal Encontramos los tipicos problemas adolescentes de incomprensión e incomunicación entre hermanos y padres con hijos. Más aún cuando tenemos a Karen, la novia de Scott, quien a perdido a su esposa y tiene que lidiar con sus hijos adolescentes. El libro es muy interesante en la complejidad en que se desarrollan las historias entre los distintos personajes. Como siempre, las mujeres de Laymon, aunque adolecentes en este caso, son delgadas, con senos turgentes, pezones erectos, glúteos duros y ansiosas de sexo. Lo que más me gustó es que la historia comienza con un par se psicópatas (madre e hijo) que viven en las montañas y atacan a los campitas, para luego saber que la mujer es una bruja y les pone un hechizo a esta familia. Al final de la historia, en la tercera parte del libro, nos encontramos que además de una histria de brujería hay una parte en que unas especies de zombies atacan a nuetros héroes.

En fín, es una historia muy entrenida, recomendable 100% para los que les gusta mezclar el terror, gore y sexo. Yo me la leí en dos días.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ah, 80s horror; you never know what you are going to get. This is a character driven novel that has a YA feel to it. Two families headed by their Vietnam vet buddies/fathers set of on a hike in California. From the cover blurb, you know they are going to meet something bad in the form of a rapey hillbilly and his mom, who is also a witch. Laymon has a few twists in store, however.

(mild spoilers below)

The families encounter the rapey son and witch, and in a struggle, kill the son. The witch vows vengeance and places a curse on the survivors. Bad things start to happen to the survivors, who are convinced they must return and kill the witch.

All in all, not a bad novel, just not a very good one. I can see why Laymon wrote this under a pen name.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first book I've read by Richard Laymon. It was okay- not great or terrifying, but not horrible either. It kind of reminded me of Dean Koontz's work. Some of the dialogue didn't ring true to me, especially from the younger children in the story. But all in all it was pretty good, and makes me want to read some more of his books to see if I like them better.

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 3 out of 5]

El primer título de este autor que leo y me ha dejado buen sabor. La historia no es para tirar cohetes, es bastante simple: familia al monte. Conflictos familiares. Maldición sobre ellos porque sí. Tras esto comenzaran a tener sucesos malajes y como son muy espabilados lo relacionaran con aquella bruja en el monte que los gafo. ¡Y a por ella que vamos!

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I love everything I can get my hands on by Laymon. Definitely not for those who do not like gore!!