Wildwood

by John Farris

Far back in the tangled fastnesses of the great Smokey Mountains, estate and house had been abandoned for forty years, ever since the disaster that had destroyed forever a rich man's mad dream. Now the mountain was a haunted place of weird storms, choking undergrowth and strange accidents. Local rumours spoke of half-human, half-mythical creatures that crept and flitted through the hostile, overgrown woods. In spite of the fears of his second-sighted Indian wife, he has taken to prowling the woods, watching, lying in wait. And now, along with an ex-army buddy and his son, he is about to stumble upon the terrible demented dream-made-real that is at the black heart of Wildwood.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Paranormal

445 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.

Reviews

[Jack Tripper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's the cover of the 1986 Tor mass-market I have (445 pages), which is slightly different than the Goodreads image for this edition, in that it's foil-embossed (and actually looks a lot cooler than my photo suggests). ETA: Thanks Scott for updating the Goodreads image.

As much as I enjoy 80s horror, there was a tendency in the post-Stephen King boom for the major publishers to only release books that had hundreds of pages of filler, almost as if this were a requirement. 445 pages may not seem like overkill, but it felt like an epic twice as long, which is disappointing, as I think this could have been a really good 300-page novel. But the whole "sometimes less is more" was a foreign concept in that decade of excess.

One thing that's obvious right away is that Farris is a fine writer, one who established himself before the horror explosion, when you pretty much had to be at least competent to get published by a major imprint. The set-up is great: It's 1958, and New Yorker Whitman Bowers brings his 15 year-old estranged son (who lives in Paris with his mom) along on a trip to a mountainous, forested area in North Carolina so he can judge it's potential for future development as a sort of tourist site. It's a region where various Native American tribes still live, and the two soon become friends with some of them.

But little do they know that the area of Wildwood that surrounds a nearby mountain (known locally as "Tormentor") contains creatures seemingly from faerie myth: winged humanoids, centaur-like beings, half man/half ram, etc. Is Wildwood some kind of portal into another world? Local Arn Rutledge has been trying to find physical evidence for years, to prove to everyone that he's not a nut, and that there are supernatural beasts near the mountain. And now he wants his former military buddy Whitman Bowers to help.

Unfortunately, it takes a long time to get to where there's the least bit of tension. I wouldn't even really call this a horror novel, more of a modern fantasy with occasional forays into horror. The characterization of the main protagonists was fine, but they were hard to identify with in my case, and they had a tendency to get in some extremely awkward situations that were a chore for me to get through. The sexual tension between the 15 year-old and an older Native American woman was almost unbearable, and their open talk of things like masturbation made me regret I'd ever been ripped out of non-existence and placed on this earth.

Maybe it's my Catholic upbringing that, although I'm no longer practicing, I get extremely embarrassed for characters in these type of situations. There was one bit (not really a spoiler) near the middle that started out like this but morphed into a cool moment, where the 15 year-old boy and the Native American woman go to some Christian mass in a shack in the middle of the woods, and soon the congregation are all taking turns handling snakes and speaking in tongues until it becomes pure pandemonium. It was a rather chilling, hallucinatory moment, one of the few in the entire novel for me.

The main problem with Wildwood, however, is that not much happens for chapters at a time. This would be fine if it meant more room for characterization, but when you don't like or identify with the characters, it doesn't matter. There were no stakes for me here, and I couldn't have cared less who lived and who died. I'm sure I would have enjoyed this more if I had that mysterious ability some people have to skim-read, but I have to force myself to slog through every word, or else just give up altogether. I loved the initial 100-150 pages, however, so it wasn't a total loss, but overall it's not something I'd recommend except perhaps to the die-hard John Farris fan, if they're out there.

Read Farris' All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By instead.

2.5 Stars.

[Fatman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts off very strong, but sort of unravels toward the end. Beautifully written, though.

[The Local Spooky Hermit · Rating 2 out of 5]

The synopsis on the back of the book made it sound like a battle between Native American beliefs coming to defend their lands being taken from them. A battle of a god vs the white man. Sounds cool! I'm in! Then as i started reading it realized that wasn't the case. Okay fine, I still liked how this book started it seemed interesting I thought It would be now about how humans are hunting strange creatures just trying to live their own lives out in peace in a mystical forest that protects them. I'm digging it. And then it went into past events "okay so now I learn the back story of the creatures. Then the second half of the book things just kinda go all over the place AND I'M STILL WAITING FOR THE GIANT SNAKE GOD... but It's now a story of a hateful old man with magic that turned people into half animals and I put this book down for a few months loosing interest of the forever changing story AND HOPING IT'LL JUST GET TO THE POINT!!
AND FINALLY THE SNAKE GOD APPEARS AND OH SHIT HERE IT COMES STUFFS GOING DO- oh... oh.. the snake god is gone.. huh? oh.. the bad guys is the old dude... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand he's dead too.. huh.. okay.. uh.. all that build up and thats it.. ok..

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although marketed as horror by Tor, Wildwood is best describe as urban fantasy, albeit of an unusual sort. Wildwood is a tract of land in the Smoky Mountains around Cherokee, NC, next to Smoky Mountain National Park. The lot was purchased in the Gilded age as the site for a 'cottage', that is to say, a cottage of 400 rooms. Edgar Langford was the mogul in charge; the son of a super rich man, Edgar devoted his energies into the ancient middle east as an archeologist, assembling a vast hoard of ancient treasures. The story switches back and forth between the construction of the cottage in the early 20th century and 1958.

Soon after the cottage was completed circa 1916, a horrible thunderstorm coupled with a biblical amount of rain destroyed it and no survivors were ever found. The current owners of the land send our main character, Whit Bowers, in 1958 to survey the land for potential development. Whit drives out there with his son Terry to check it out, hoping to get an old army buddy who lives locally there to help him out. Whit's army buddy Arn is seeming obsessed with Wildwood, and spends most of his free time exploring it. Shortly before WWII, Arn shot and killed a 'hawkman' there, and recently has seen other strange beings there as well.

Wildwood has a fairly sophisticated plot, but without giving too much away, 'Mad Edgar' made some otherworldly discoveries in his archeological endeavors, most notably some ancient Babylonian sorcery. Mad Edgar and Tesla (yes, the inventor) hook up to build something Edgar found in an ancient temple at the cottage...

Overall, a fun, fast read, although the blatant sexism and fairly graphic sex scenes knocked it down to a large degree. This was published in 1986 and it shows badly. 2.5 stars.

[A.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading my first John Farris book, All Heads Turn as the Hunt Goes by, I knew I'd found a great author and I'd devour all his books. I mean, come on, he wrote The Fury! Yet I wondered if they'd all be as great as Hunt. Well, I was pleasantly surprised by Wildwood, the scope of genius that lies in these pages unfathomable. I don't think I've ever read descriptive brilliance like this, and the weird, eerie plot left me spellbound. Do not miss this one!

[Katy M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2020-a book with a great first line (Crouched in concealment in the laurel slick, the quarry heard the hounds approaching, and feared them more than he feared the men with guns).

I had no idea what was going on throughout most of this book, in a good way. You kept getting dribs and drabs of what was happening as the book went on and when it all came together it was amazing.

[Oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a new edition to be published by Centipede, and I was really very impressed. Totally not the kind of book I'd usually read, but I was totally engaged and really into the story.

[tam tam]

Can’t rate a book like this—some disagreeable choices (in characterization) which seem out-of-place, unsavory, and dated—yet there are also many lovely passages and fascinating ideas herein. I love and miss the Smokies & the Blue Ridge, and enjoyed imagining a Biltmore-esque situation for the chateau. This book is surprising to me as far as being such a flight of fancy (double entendre intended) and somewhat of a departure for Farris...but then again, his skill is such that he can veer around subject matter & style to a degree that makes me wonder why it took me so long to hear of him.

Arn sucked. Yuck on Arn. Sometimes the writing would become more cinematic than literary, and while I think it would make a very entertaining film or series, I felt kicked out when I’d notice this tendency. If I weren’t so lazy right now I’d pull some of the passages which were standouts of interesting ideas stated in lovely sentences with clearly lovingly-chosen words. But I am too lazy. Can’t believe I’ve even written this much.

I’ll probably reread this one just for the description of the mountainside. And, who am I kidding, Josie.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read but it wasn't the scary trip into the woods I was hoping for - billed as a "superior horror/fantasy story" it was lacking on the horror side for me. However, the fantasy element is good, the setting of Wildwood is quite atmospheric at times & it's inhabitants, the Walkouts, are fantastic creatures indeed. The Goat-man & Butterfly Girl could be straight out of a Grimm's fairy tale & described in such a convincing way...but the rest remain shadowy figures on the edge of the story. The human characters, however, I can't say I cared for & I particularly didn't like the teenage Terry & the sexual tension between him & Arn's wife.

There were parts of the book where I felt I wasn't sure what was happening. Well that was okay, it sort of enhanced the unreality of the situation but I thought by the end everything would come clear. Well it didn't, not really - not for me anyway! I got the gist of things, but with the like of the snake/raven conflict & the lantern, I can't explain exactly what was going on so don't ask me! A bit of clarity wouldn't have gone a miss for me & would have maybe explained what I felt were loose ends.
A decent read nevertheless.

[Matt Kight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this one. I'd always heard great things about John Farris, especially what seem to be his two most popular books: The Fury & All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By. In this case I found out about Wildwood when I was searching Risingshadow for horror novels published in the mid-to-late 80's and the synopsis for this sounded pretty interesting. Unfortunately I learned it was much more fantasy and hardly any horror. That said, I did enjoy the setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains and I really liked the historical backstory. Extra points for working in Nikola Tesla to mix groundbreaking science of the 1910's with magic and sorcery. I would say my main gripe is the same way I felt about Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes in that it was a little too much fantasy, not enough horror, and Farris's writing could get a little too wordy and overly poetic at times - just not my cup o' tea. Nevertheless, I still plan to read more Farris in the future, I'll just make sure that it's more squarely in the horror genre.

[Jim Lay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those rare novels that made such an impression on me that I have actually dreamed about it on several occasions. It is the story of a parcel of densely wooded land near the Smoky Mountains called Wildwood. It is a place where twisted creatures, part animal and part man, roam; both beautiful and terrifying. And where a rich mogul, Mad Edgar Langford's chateau seems to blink in and out of existence after disappearing during a masquerade ball in the 1900's. Farris' writing style has depth and emotion that goes beyond most modern authors. His ideas are richly realized and wildly original and his characters are as close to real as the printed word allows. This is a horror/fantasy blend that seduces with dark and wondrous magic. Highest recommendation.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is well worth the time and trouble that it might take to track it down. John Farris is one of the few authors in the horror genre who continually tries new things and can be counted on to deliver from one book to the next. In Wildwood, he offers a truly involving mixture of fantasy (at times, this reminded me strongly of Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood) and frightening, cosmic horror. In a relatively short time, Mr. Farris has become one of my favorite authors and I haven't been disappointed yet in any of the books I've read by him, many of which have involved some rather lengthy searching through the musty, dim stacks of used bookstores. Highly recommended.

[Matthew Allred · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more John Farris books I read, the more convinced I am that he is the best kind of insane, the kind of insane that you channel into bizarre, excellent books.

I get so tired of predictable stories, in movies especially but books as well, and after reading Wildwood I see even more clearly how unoriginal most things are these days. Not this; this is a book unlike any you have ever read, even if you are a Farris fan. Yes, it's a ridiculous book, but he has the sheer writing power to make ridiculous wonderful.

[Cathy]

More dark fantasy than horror and overwritten -- but gorgeously so. It was kind of refreshing after having just read a few competent, but totally flavorless pieces of work by Douglas Clegg and Ray Garton to be hit with a wall of baroque purple prose.

[Jilles · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Farris is a great writer. His books are always well plotted with great characters. This one loses a bit of the connection with the characters, but every Farris story is always out to entertain and thrill.

[Missy Cryer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in high school and think about it from time to time. I remember really liking it which is strange because I generally don't like fantasy...my book club is reading Night Circus and again I was reminded of this book. Might have to find it again.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME. I love it when authors manage to root a world in a very tangible, realistic setting...then smoothly tilt everything all a-kilter...

[Cara Bregy · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was ok.

[Gmaharriet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and fantastic! As with all of John Farris' books, this was very different and magical. I think it will stay with me for a long while. Highly recommended.

[A~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of this book had promise and it held me till about the last 100 pages.
From there it started to get weird and just haphazard.
I had trouble following it after that.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put this down. Excellent story and thrilling twists.

[BRANDON · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wildwood had so much potential, the pieces were all there, but it didn't quite meet the mark. Haunted and cursed woods, check. Enormous chateau built by a maniacal sorcerer, check. Tragic disaster that damned an entire party full of guests to a cursed existence, check. Casual and pervasive racism, why? Horny 15-year-old falling in love with every woman available, okay....I guess. I understand that racism is a hallmark of southern gothic literature and that it is historically accurate, but it was jarring to say the least. I also understand that the extra trappings: chimeric monstrosities and pseudoscientific technobabble are part of what made Wildwood a unique and original story but I could have done without them. I crave a good no frills haunted house story, call me basic. Wildwood did kind of remind me of Usher's Passing which is nice.

[Cassandra Glissadevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Maybe the best sexual metaphor disguises in the history of horror literature. Up there with Straub/King's The Talisman. Wonderful novel. Contains coming-of-age elements.

[Arjun Rajkumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Plot not interesting enough !

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, all in all. It displayed to me Farris's intelligence in his crafting of prose, which I'm not sure I particularly notices before. As the endgame was spinning out it was riding on some tenuous threads for me a lot of the time, however.

[Shawn Manning · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the mess that was The Son of the Endless Night, it was nice to see Mr. Farris deliver a solid piece of writing. Well done