Secret Stairs: A Tribute to Urban Legend

by Russell S. Newquist, Declan Finn, Daniel Humphreys

You mustn't talk about the stairs.

There they stand, surrounded by nothing but forest, pristine as the day they were built. No sign remains of any other structure around them, no ruins of long forgotten buildings. They look... wrong. They feel wrong. Bad things happen if you get too close. Horrible things.

You must never, ever ever talk about them.

Thirty-four of today's best up and coming writers provide wonderfully unique interpretations inspired by the urban legends of the Internet age. Tales range from science fiction to fantasy, horror to mystery, and one writer even penned a romance!

But you must never tell anyone about the stairs!

Containing the stories:

* Nothing Ever Happens Here by Richard Paolinelli
* Star Thistle by J. Comer
* Let Him In by Josh Dygert
* A New Trail Off Of Old King?s Highway by Michael Reyes
* The Strange Stairs at the Aldebourne Estate by Kristen Brand
* Exclusive Scoop by J. Trevor Robinson
* The Flash-Back Stairs: A Story of Betrayal by Patrick T. Luce
* The Peacock House by Matthew Pegg
* Where The Wood Thrush Sings by NB Williams
* The Refuge by Dawn Witzke
* Upon The Stair by Daniel Humphreys
* Grand Staircase to the Yellow Court by R.C. Mulhare
* Another Dead Man?s Curve by Chris Ingram
* Game Warden by Russell Newquist
* Stepping Stones by Jarrett Mazza
* Reap Dance by James G. Hancock
* Descending Stairs, 1699 by Meghan Casey
* Where Angels Fear to Tread by Michelle Mellon
* Sobek's Staircase by Jeremy Megargee
* The Curses We Carry by Russell Mahon
* Stranger?s Wood by J.S. Arroyo
* Stairway Back to Jonathan's Farm by Dan Allen
* The Thirteenth Step by MJ Mars
* Cajun Ray by S.D. McPhail
* W/M by Isobel Horsburgh
* The Sentinel by Richard W. Watts
* Sleep, Child by A.G. Lopes
* The Lost Ones by Karen Thrower
* Ready For Seven More by Christopher Lansdown
* Fire and Pine by Bethany C. Gotschall
* Stairway to? Where? by William Lehman
* The Dead Always by Darren Todd
* Missing Persons by Jonathan Bronico
* Cedar Road by Mocha Pennington

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Anthologies

670 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 26, 2018

About the author

Russell graduated from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2000 with a BA in Philosophy. Naturally, he began a career as a computer programmer. Later, he went on to earn a MS in Computer Science. Somewhere along the way he earned a black belt, and then added a few stripes to it and opened his own dojo. Thinking that he didn't have enough hats to wear, he started publishing company Silver Empire and has written some stories and might write some more.

He lives in north Alabama with his wife, three kids and three dogs in a house that still manages to have more computing devices than living beings where he attends a Roman Catholic church, continues to run his dojo, and works for a small software company.

Reviews

[Aly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an exciting anthology! It is creepy and scary and everything in between for me. It is a very long book but well worth it! Great short stories in this book. For me, the editor's note was helpful for me because it gave an insight on how this book got started and the choices put into publishing a book like this. I really enjoyed it very much! *This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.*

[losira13gmail.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found it to be a different set of stories, would have to say that it was something that I wasn't expecting and gave me some authors to follow in the book if I want to read more by them. Some stories were creepy, some were fun, others the stuff of nightmares but all I can say is read the book and you can decide which is which.

[Nigel]

Can 33 short stories about stairs in the woods stay fresh? Well before answering that question full disclosure I received Secret Stairs in advance with the condition I provide a truthful review.

'Secret Stairs' is one of the best short story collections I've ever read. It's amazing the diversity and quality of the stories. We've got the paranormal investigation to fairy tales to urban fantasy, to downright high fantasy, even some Science fiction.

My favorite's from the collection are 'The Strange Stairs At The Aldebourne Estate', 'Stranger's Wood', 'Ready For Seven More', and 'Cedar Road'. These, however, are only my absolute favorites and some of the best short stories I've read. Others like 'Nothing Ever Happens Here', 'The Reap Dance' and much more are fantastic.

It's harder for me to find a story I disliked in the collection but there are a few. I hesitate to call them bad as they felt more just not to my taste. Out of all the stories, I would say 'Star Thristle' was the worst. I had a hard time understanding it and that could just be me. I highly, highly recommend this collection if its concept at all indulges you.

Below I've given each short story a short review and a kind of rating. There are no spoilers.

Nothing Ever Happens Here – a fun adventure that breezes by. Highly Recommended
Star Thristle – A lot of action but never gave me anything to care about. Disliked
Let Him In – Has Horror elements with great emotion and twist. Highly Recommended
A New Trail off Old Kings Highway – Great voice but rather generic otherwise for me. Only had questions at the end. Bland
The Strange Stairs At The Aldebourne Estate – A supernatural investigation with humor, suspense, and horror. One of the Best.
Exclusive Scoop – A fun little romp predictable but entertaining. Highly Recommended
The Flash Back Stairs – A contrived example of amnesia that wasn't needed. Disliked
The Peacock House – Has a creepy atmosphere and kept me in suspense the whole way through. Good
Where The Wood Thrush Sings – More high fantasy than urban legend. A lot of good action but the ending felt contrived to me. Good
The Refuge – An emotional story, a hard read for me. Well written
Upon the Stair – Has a great character and mood but the ending makes the story seem like a beginning to a novel. Good
Grand Staircase to the Yellow Court – A spooky little story. Okay
Another Dead Man's Curve – Slow start and more of a character piece than anything else. Well written
Game Warden – A fantasy adventure with lots of action and fast pace. A few strange character actions that took me out of the story. Okay
Stepping Stones – A dark story. Well written
The Reap Dance – A story full of mysteries that keeps you reading. Highly Recommended
Descending Stairs, 1699 – Starts off slow but builds to a great ending. Good
Where Angels Fear to Tread – Took the idea of the stairs and really messed with it. Highly Recommended
Sobek's Staircase – I liked the twist on the concept of stairs in the woods but needed more. Okay
The Curse We Carry – A story that grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let you. Highly Recommended
Stranger's Wood – A medieval murder mystery full of twist and turns. One of the Best
Stairway Back to Jonathan Farm – Not much of a story. Bland
Cajun Ray – Great atmosphere and compelling story. Highly Recommended
W/M – Had the style of a children's story but by the end, I had a hard time understanding what was happening. Good
The Sentinel – an Interesting concept I wished for a few more answers by the end. Good
Sleep Child – Well paced story. Good
The Lost Ones – A fun story with a great ending. Good
Ready For Seven More – Funny, action-packed and scary with a killer last line. One of the Best
Fire and Pine An emotional story. Good
Stairs to Where – A whimsical journey with a gory slaughter in the middle. Highly Recommended
The Dead Always – A great ghost story with the perfect ending. Highly Recommended
Missing Persons – A fun paranormal adventure. Good
Cedar Road – A psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. One of the best

[Ann Hupe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not into anthologies… I LOVED THIS ANTHOLOGY!!!

The basis of this collection of short stories is all about an urban (rural??) legend about an appearing/disappearing staircase style in the middle of the woods. I appreciated the editor’s note on how this compilation came to be because I now know why he mentioned how hard it was to sift through all the submissions that eventually became this book. I’d probably had published them all had they been well-written.

Most of these stories were easy to get into. The less impressive shorts appeared closer to the beginning, but the more I read, the better they became, the more gripping they were, the more I wanted to continue the next tale. I also kept checking my progression indicator at the bottom of my Kindle reader… “What do you mean I’m only 25% the way through this book!”

Length: This is a hefty ebook. I normally can speed-read through hundreds of pages a day. I don’t know why it took me this long to read this tome.

Credibility issues:
(1) Attention, William Lehman of “Stair to Where?”! What are you trying to do? Piss off the Heathens? Hel, the universe of the dead ruled by Hel, Loki’s daughter, is not the destination of cowards in the afterlife. It is the place of rest for those who were not warriors who died in the field of battle because they have to go somewhere. (Those warriors went to Valhalla instead.) Hel isn’t a bad place because it isn’t the cursed afterlife of sinners against the Judeo-Christian god. That information is all over the place. Where did you do your research? If you’re going to write a short involving a SEAL, keep in mind that some of the best SEALs I’ve met are Heathens. And they do the SEALs proud, kid you not. Of course, you could be someone who despises those who pay respect to Lord Loki (and we’re NOT talking the comic book version. *condescending frown*).
(2) “Cedar Road” by Mocha Pennington: I think there is either missing text or a missing divisional symbol because I was bounced from a psychiatrist’s conversation with a police officer to him being at his home in the next paragraph without any transition. Very odd. This should be had been caught by an editor. Really bothers me. Also, there is a comment about “all the pap smears and ovulation tests…” Uh, pap smears are for cancer detection and have nothing to do with infertility problems. I also don’t know why Dr. Vitt wasn’t put on administrative leave but allowed to continue to work. I’m also surprised that no one reported him to the licensing board as a compromised physician.

Grammar and technical problems: I still need to take to task the editor. This anthology should have had several read-overs because I caught more misspellings and grammatical errors than I feel comfortable publishing in the first place. I do like the short author bios, but the product placement was rather crass. We’re not talking about just a mere mention. We’re talking full-color “full frontal”. I suppose if you’re the publisher of all these books, then yes, you have an argument of doing it this way. I just never did with our publications.

I do highly recommend getting this ebook if you’re intrigued by what amazing stories people can write with just a mention of a very odd urban legend, one I’m not even familiar with.

I received this book as an ARC through Bookspout. I voluntarily reviewed this book. This is my honest, no-punches-pulled review.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories by 34 authors new to me. All were good, some more enjoyable than others.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from the author. I had the opportunity to review or not.

What a group of stories! It was a little strange knowing that each tale was about stairs, mostly leading nowhere. Visible. However, even though they were all about stairs, the diversity of the stories was amazing. I enjoyed them all and found myself guessing what this one would be about. Mostly, I couldn’t. The authors’ imaginations were beyond my poor thinking.

You will have to grab this book in order to see what it was all about. Even if you think you know, you don’t. Grab the book and find out.

[Bonnie Racki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible Stories!

Great tales by several authors inspired by the Urban Legend of secrets stairs that appear suspiciously in the woods. They give you that awful feeling but your curiosity makes you want to climb them. That's when something horrible happens. There is stories of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery, and Horror. I loved every single story and really can't say that only one of them is my favorite.

[Molly priestly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book couldn't put it down. I finished it in one night. Cant wait to read more from this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rick Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A plethora of spine-tingling tales to be found here! A great read....but do so with the lights on and the doors and windows locked!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Seema Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology includes more than 30 short stories rather from fantasy to romance retelling urban lore. Each story rings true due to the cultural diffusion of urban lore--thanks Internet. While the tone of the stories varies considerably, the quality remains consistently high. Some of my favorites include Fire and Pine by Bethany C. Gotchall, the Curses We Carry by Russell Mahon, and Where Angels Fear to Tread by Michelle Mellon.

This is an ideal book for someone who wants to taste a number of genres. While some anthologies are hard to access, this one is incredibly easy to enjoy. Give it a try.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Muriel Carlisle · Rating 3 out of 5]

“she was now her true self, a beautiful creature with poison for blood, a white oleander.” - Cedar Road

Some stories I absolutely wish hadn’t ended while others could have so the 3 star rating is due to that unfortunately (to be honest it’s a 3.5). By far my favorite was the last story - gave me goosebumps; hoping maybe a full novel comes from it.

Word of wise: if you ever find a lone staircase in the middle of the woods - don’t go up them. You don’t know what is on the other side or what can come out when you reach the top. 😉

[Mary Margaret Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Stairs was taken as the subject of each story and each story, while wildly different used stairs to
great effect. Highly entertaining and frankly frightening at times. I couldn't put the book down and read all stories in one sitting.
The one downside of reading this book was the fact that I didn't want to use the stairs in my home.
I feel that this was the point of this anthology of short stories. Loved every story.

[Debbi Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with any anthology, there are stories you like and some not so well. Overall I enjoyed most of them. If you enjoy urban legends I recommend this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Domino · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed half of the stories, but quickly grew tired of the theme.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading

Very good book! Loved all the various perspectives of one urban legend and also discovered some new authors to check out.

[Riann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A varied collection of short stories by various authors which center on the urban legend of a flight of stairs in the woods. Very entertaining and imaginative! I would high recommend this collection!

[Nick Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truth be told, before I settled in to read Secret Stairs I had no idea an urban legend involving mysterious staircases existed. I find it an odd concept, but I suppose that's the point: if it was mundane there wouldn't be much to talk -- or write -- about. But as Russell Newquist found out, the thirty-plus authors who took up his challenge had plenty to say. The result is an amusing if uneven (and what anthology isn't?) collection. For purposes of this review, let me single out two pieces for the quality of the imagination they reflect and the excellence of the writers.

The first is Dawn Witzke's "The Refuge." The story reflects its title perfectly: the staircase is a haven rather than a horror, a place the narrator finds safety, transcendence and love. It's a tale told with passion and skill, and it resolves beautifully.

The same can be said for Chris Ingram's excellent "Another Dead Man's Curve." It begins matter-of-factly enough with the narrator recounting his life in what appears to be a small New England town, perhaps a leafy exurb. Like so many other communities of its type, we are told, this one has its own especially dangerous stretch of road, its "Dead Man's Curve." Not the stuff of Jan and Dean, but with consequences just as sobering. And here is where this tale gets really interesting. In his flashy, mid-life-crisis sports car, our narrator races toward the "Curve" with controlled bravado only to encounter an unexpected obstacle. The result? An accident . . . and entry into a "twilight zone" where things seem to be what they are but, in short order, are revealed to be something quite out of the ordinary. I won't spoil the ending; you should savor it for yourself. "Another Dead Man's Curve" is a deft piece of work, a standout in this collection.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every short in this collection left me interested in reading a continuation.

The premise seems simplistic, but each author created differently.

I specifically liked a few of them, though all enticed me to search for the authors' other works. Daniel Humphreys' piece was my favorite. I won't leave any "spoilers" though that's hard with such short stories, but his drew me in with the first words of a possible suicide.

I'd love to see more collections like this. At first I was a slight-bit disappointed because none of them had actual conclusions, though I knew that going in. I still had to adjust to it, which didn't take long because you just roll from one story to the next. It's not awkward at all, though the different writers have very different styles.

I truly enjoyed the entire work, and love the process of giving a handful of authors something specific yet broad. Do more! Please.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Judy Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the length of this book deter you! This is a wonderful collection of a lot of shorts with all the stories based on stairs in the woods, that for the most part keep you reading way into the night. All the stories grip you somehow, and since this such a huge book, you are sure to find many that please in the Sci Fi, Fantasy and Horror genres. Each story, individual in it's own right, lets you easily move to the next without feeling too much like you're left hanging, although there is room for follow up in some...Each author does an amazing job of telling their story and keeping your interest. My favorite in the book was The Strange Stairs At The Aldebourne Estate, and you really need to read this book to find it. No spoilers here, you won't regret taking a shot on this anthology and these authors! Looking forward to more books like this.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a wonderful and unique anthology! I have never heard of one being centered around Stairs in the woods, so I knew I was in for something different. And I was not disappointed in the least. The amount of stories alone make this book totally worth it. And the variety!! There is a little bit of everything for every kind of genre.

The stories were well-written and I have already found some new favorite authors. I also like the order the books are put in. Each surprises you as to what kind of story will be next. And the story chosen to be the first one was perfect to get the reader into the nature of the book.

I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to read more.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology includes stories of horror, fantasy, mystery and science fiction. After reading the first story I had trouble putting the book down.
Secret Stairs has stories for almost everyone and I recommend this for readers of all genres.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Scarolet Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!!!!!! I could not put this down. I so badly am waiting to read more from Russell Newquist. I highly recommend this book and author to everyone who loves a terrific book. i can't wait to read more loved it. I so want to read more from him.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jessica Traver cashen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Well written, with great plot and characters. This collection of short stories is about a finding a staircase in the woods. Every story is different. I thought this was unique. I really enjoyed this book of shorts. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Booksprout.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of good stories, a few great ones, and a couple I didn’t like. All in all, I recommend this for teen+ readers.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

a flight of stairs with nothing else around except a forest. no one knows where they lead. never ever talk about them. what is up there? dare you go up them? wonderful and creepy

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cleocutie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of stories that show how different stories can be even when they start with the same idea. I received an arc and am voluntarily reviewing it.

[Myreadbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really appreciate this book but i put three stars because there are extract of books in this collection of books. It diserve to have more stories and less extracts of books.

[Barb VanderWel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.

[Jeanine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic anthology of staircase stories.. Each one is unique and intriguing.. I can honestly say there isn't a bad one in the bunch.

[jody scheppmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too bad

When I want a short story...that's what I want..not a mini-book. Some of the story were way too long and too descriptive.