Whose Woods These Are: A Horror Short Story

by Darcy Coates

There’s something in the woods…

It’s been ten years since Anna’s parents last took her camping in Morrow Woods. This trip is a final pilgrimage for her, a chance to visit her father’s much-loved forest on the anniversary of his death.

At least, that’s what Anna planned. A lot has changed in the last decade.

A fence has been constructed around the wood’s perimeter and the campers’ parking lot has been closed. Inside the forest, Anna finds trees that have been scarred with deep gashes, almost as though they’d been attacked. As she pushes deeper into the woods and daylight fades, she starts to hear strange and horrific animal calls… and the creature that calls the woods home begins to stalk its prey.

Whose Woods These Are is a half-hour story, perfect for a chilling read late at night.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Paranormal

20 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 29, 2014

About the author

Darcy Coates is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen horror and suspense novels.

She lives in the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cat, and a collection of chickens. Her home is surrounded by rolling wilderness on all sides, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

You can hear about her next book by joining her newsletter: www.darcycoates.com/updates

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of stories about what the monster is and where it came from, but it usually involves witchcraft. People reckon it's either a girl who's been cursed or a witch whose spell backfired. They say it appears as a child wearing a black dress during the day, but after midnight, it transforms into an unspeakable monster and tears apart anyone it finds in its woods.

This short story was inspired by the authors love of the woods and its ominous nature. It's super creepy and a brilliant short horror story. 😳

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs · Rating 5 out of 5]

REVIEW: WHOSE WOODS THESE ARE by Darcy Coates

Okay: Australian author Darcy Coates is officially one of my "go to" authors when I'm in the mood for chills with an imaginative twist. Prior to reading this short story, I had only read GHOST CAMERA. [I've now added THE HAUNTING OF GILLESPIE HOUSE and CRAWLSPACE]. WHOSE WOODS THESE ARE packs a powerful impact for a short story (as does CRAWLSPACE [shiver!]) and still manages to build character and scenic backdrop while raising the Supernatural tension level--and high, that ending!!

[☠Kayla☠ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good short story, not as good as Dead Lake, but if you want something fast-paced, creepy, and short considering it's only 26 pages long, this would be a good one. I held my interest more than Dead Lake, but the outcome wasn't as good.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another home run by Darcy Coates. This story sticks to your brain a lot more than Dead Lake does. It sticks there and gives you that icky feeling for a while. This sounds bad, but since it was a horror novella it foes its job. This story is about a 20 page tale of Anna who is going into the woods to honor her father on the anniversary of his death as his favorite thing to do was camp. Things get bat s*** from there. I have a few more short stories from Darcy Coats to finish. If they keep on the track we are on she might become one of my new favorite horror authors.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying Coates' short stories. Not surprised she lists creepypastas as influences because the stories I've read have bits in common with those and things I've read on r/nosleep.

Very satisfying and definitely recommended if you like creepy woods!

[Cristy Upshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly Creepy

I must say for a short story this is fairly creepy and chalked full of don't go into the woods. You want a short scare, I recommend this tale to all, especially those who like endings with a cliff hanger.

[Brenda Seaberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun, creepy ready by Darcy Coates. I have done a lot of camping, so I could just envision all of this. It was a really good read!

[alice reuss]

Whose woods these are : A horror short story.

Now this was scarry up until the end and then it got a little silly. When the girl was in the backseat.what was the fence for?

[Susan Fenlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darcy Coates is the best at scaring the pants off you and bringing a story to life. You definitely feel like your there!

[Joselyn Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great short from this author, I think she has a gift with this ones.

it will creep under your skin and take over your mind pretty quick and the end will make you gasp.

[Barbara L. Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining quick read

This very short but suspense filled story left me with many unanswered questions. Did get my heart pounding though. Needed a bit more to be complete.

[Jewell Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick short story. Good monster story......read this out loud with a group of friends when you're tent camping in the wilderness. Bet you'll all pack up an go home....LOL.

[Cierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darcy Coates does a fantastic job packing a whole lot of story into few pages.

[julie dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping

I love reading Darcy Coates books and this short story is a great quick read only short but well worth a read

[Darcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

overall, I enjoyed it, I thought the ending was well done. unfortunately, as much as I want to like this author because her twists on things are wonderful, I don't often feel the building suspense.

[Stevie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my subjective review, well as everyone's is when art is involved. It included all the elements that freak the hell out of me.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good horror short story with a ferocious punch.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short horror story with a lot of panicking to read the rest of the story and find out what happened. Such a fun story!

[amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

i got this book from barnes and noble and it’s five short horror stories and this is the second one i read. SO MF SPOOKYYYYY the writing was really well done 5/5stars hehe

[Hannah Cluff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yikes this one is spook-tacular! I loved this short story so creepy and made my camping fears come alive! Define recommend if your looking for a quick spooky read!

[Brianna Hanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

26 pages. Lost-in-the-woods-with-a-monster story. Scary ending!

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is short story is a part of the bind up edition of short stories in Darcy Coates Quarter to midnight fifteen tales of horror and suspense book. This was a very entertaining short horror story about a young woman named Anna who after the death of her father decides to visit their old camping ground but the woods aren’t the same there’s a strange fence surrounding the woods and rumours of a young girl in a white dress with claws. A camping trip that starts out normal quickly descends into a terrifying experience for Anna. This was a well written short horror story with a surprising unexpected twist ending. I love Darcy Coates books because she instills a gothic creepy vibe in all her stories which I absolutely love reading this is perfect for a late night read. I definitely recommend reading Darcy Coates she is a talented storyteller.

[Elizabeth Lanaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review: Whose Woods These Are by Darcy Coates

Rating: 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Genre: Horror/Short Story

Review: This was the first short story that was at the end of Dead Lake. For such a quick read, it really had your heart pumping. And I did not see the end of the story coming! What a great story to read if you are looking for a creepy ghost story!

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[Nikki Pena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was screaming at Anna the entire time to get out of the woods!

But when she finally got out I was disappointed it was going to have a happy ending. Darcy threw that last minute curve ball and gave us the ending we deserved.

Moral of the story? Stay out of fenced in areas and always check your back seat.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good descriptive writing. I could clearly visualize the story.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy ending

[Colleen Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy. Short. Wonderful.

[Rebecca Rossi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devilish! Loved the ending!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a creepy monster story!

[Ayden Ginder · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending left me with questions.