The Man on the Roof at Midnight

by Eric Woods

Fall asleep before you hear the footsteps ...
Dr. Owen Drake recently suffered a tragedy so painful that he picked up his entire life and ran away from the memories. Now, Owen is in a new city with a new job as a psychology professor at a reputable university.

He also has a new home that sits on a lake, but the area is eerily quiet. The lake is calm. The neighbors are mysterious.

But then there are the nights … and the thundering noises above … that wake him every night at the same time …

86 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2022

About the author

Eric Woods reluctantly resides in Springfield, Illinois and has been writing since grade school. He has published seven novels, two novellas, one book of stage plays, and several short stories.

He mostly writes scary stories, although his debut novel (Pummeled) and it’s 2021 sequel (Pummeled: Submission) are more action/drama. His middle three novels Dragon’s Blood (2019), Welcome to Oblivion (2020), and Clippings (2021) are all in the horror genre. In 2022 he published the novella, “The Man on the Roof at Midnight,” and in 2023, he published This Is How He Collects Them.His most recent work includes the first two books in the STOKEBRIDGE trilogy (2024), and HELL'S DINER: 13 Devilish Delectables in June 2025 along with debut author Kerri Jane.

Eric has been a local freelance writer since 2005, writing for such outlets as Springfield Business Journal Illinois and SO Magazine. He served as a tour guide for the Lincoln Ghost Walk in Springfield and was a collegiate speech and debate coach for seven years. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in English and a Master's Degree in Communication from the University of Illinois Springfield.

Reviews

[H. Everend · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, but thrilling read! Eric knows how to build the suspense and fear to his readers. It starts off with a simple enough premise: guy moves to a new place, new job to clear his mind of his deceased wife...then strange things start happening in the house. There's a new woman who becomes interested in him (as if that's not sus) and his "friend" isn't all that great, considering all the things that happen. I enjoy how simple, yet entertaining Eric's stories are and can't wait to read more of his books!

[Gillian Dowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only was this a delightfully quick read, but in its short span it managed to keep me puzzled until the very end. Unable to predict its explanations and conclusions right until they were given, The Man on the Roof kept me locked-in and entertained through its entirety.

A read you can manage to fit into an hour or two, this one takes the cake in bite-sized horror I've read this season.

[Kelsey]

I liked this story! Creepy, but not uncomfortably so (I don’t normally read this genre), and had enough twists that I couldn’t guess exactly where it was going. I liked that this was a quick read; it was fast moving and got to the point. Another reviewer said this would be a good cozy cabin read, and I agree!

[J. Griff · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a protagonist (Owen) in a short story the character deveolpment was concise & heartfelt creating instant sympathic connection for what the character had been thru to get where he was at. I had almost no idea where this story was going. The suspense was solid as Owen tried to figure things out. I would recommend this to anyone interested in suspenseful/occult style stories.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good read. And it even gave me nightmares. Brilliant book for Halloween and a bit of a twist which was also handy. I love a paranormal book and this one just scratched the itch

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read that is a steady pace, spooky with a little bit of mystery.
3.5 stars

[Emmie Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read that's thrilling and keeps the reader guessing on what's going on the whole time. I love how fast paced this is with just enough information about the characters to keep you interested. Owen, our main character, is navigating through his grief while trying to acclimate to a new home with strange neighbors. Unexplained noises wake him each night when a mysterious man makes his appearance. I listened to the audiobook in just over an hour. The narration was excellent and the story overall was a very welcome palate cleanser between nonstop fantasy novels I've been listening to. Highly recommend.

[David Washburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my time checking out Woods’ work and I thought this was good. The concept was interesting and had all of the right things to tell a suspenseful tale. The plot was pretty direct, as much as the title and there is a nice twist to it.

If you’re looking for something short and suspenseful then this is worth checking out.

[E. Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Man on the Roof at Midnight is a thrilling, suspenseful, and creepy read by author Eric Woods. I kept wanting to know more and more as I read the story, and it kept me engaged, wanting to know the climax. The story is well-written and flows easily.

[Alex Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written novella. Almost perfectly designed as a spooky Summer read, perhaps for someone looking for a quick read while on a cottage getaway. Overall, a very easy read and flows without hitch, however I found none of the characters overly interesting or unique. Although the middle portion of the book was really enthralling, if not very creepy, I didn't find myself loving the climax. It's hard to explain, but I felt like it lacked... risk. I love how clean Eric's writing is though, and I'll definitely be checking out his other novels to see what other interesting plots he's conjured up.

[D.H. Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and Spooky

I connected with the author on TikTok and the Instagram, so I decided to read one of his books (which was easy for me since I’m a Kindle Unlimited subscriber). I read this one in an afternoon/evening and thought it was nice and creepy.

[Sara Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spooky and suspenseful

This was a spooky and suspenseful quick read! I read this within 2 days. If you like reading novellas with horror, unexplained noises & a bit of grief, definitely read this book!

[Willie Heredia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first read from Woods, and I enjoyed the story! It’s a short read so Woods does a great job in delivering an eerie story without missing a step!

[M.J. Marino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Owen Drake makes the drastic change to leave the comfort of his home and his position as chairperson of the psychology department at CU to teach at Western Minnesota University, far away from his home in Denver and the painful memories of his wife’s passing. He needs a change, something new to bring him out of his depression. But why does it seem like the closer he gets to his destination and the rental house he’ll be staying in that a sense of dread consumes him?

With a few short weeks before the semester starts, Owen takes the time to get settled into his rental home—a quiet colonial with a serene lake in the backyard—and become acquainted with the neighbors, especially one lovely, shy neighbor named Patricia. All seems well until the clock strikes 12:01 each evening and the footsteps on the roof start acting up. He tries to dismiss the shadows in the corners of his vision as his imagination going wild and just needing more sleep. However, it’s getting harder to ignore them and not question his own sanity the longer they linger.

Everything changes the night he can’t take it anymore and grabs a ladder to find out what on the roof at midnight. Suddenly, Owen is not sure who he can trust, asking his friend who rented him the home and his neighbor Patricia what happened to the previous tenants, and still feeling like he’s not being told the whole truth. Something dark happened in this house and he needs to find out what before he goes mad from the footsteps on his roof.

This is a fun, fast paced, paranormal, scary mystery where you’ll develop a fear of body bags, ladders, and question what secrets your neighbors might have about the very place you call home.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Jinx Moreland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quick and spooky read. It got me through a slump. I highly recommend it!

[Jen Self · Rating 4 out of 5]

This quick read is a fun one! It's creepy and the mystery had me guessing all the way to the end. I'll be on the lookout for more from this author!

[Greta Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

A man mourning the passing of his wife. He senses her. Hears her voice. Finding himself in a new town, with a new position, in a new home, he notices other things...there are sights, sounds, visions.

Sleep interrupted. Disturbances unaccounted for. Every night at the midnight hour, there are footsteps, sightings of shadows. Are the midnight visits merely the delusions of a grieving husband or is it something else? Who or what is haunting Owen's home?

Check out this thoughtfully crafted tale by Eric Woods. A perfect read if you don't mind the feeling of chills running down your spine.

Do you believe in ghosts?

[Joy (Joys.of.reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of this book I felt completely baffled! I did not expect the ending! This book did great at keeping me engaged and wanting to know what was going to happen next. It was written in a way that didn't give the plot away to early but still allowed me to come up with my own ideas. I felt completely engulfed in this book and at the edge of my seat the whole book. I don't know if I would recommend this book so that's why I gave it a 4 instead of a 5.