The Devil in the Woods
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Fifty years ago, a girl walked into the woods with only matches to guide her and then disappeared. Days later, her dead body came out without her heart and upon her skin was written a dare:
"Come into the woods and find my still beating heart."
It's a silly urban legend, or at least, it's supposed to be. Over the years, many have followed the dare and many of the same have disappeared or come out just as dead, prompting the city to declare the woods off-limits.
Not that off-limits ever stops would-be urban legend debunkers...
When high schooler Felix Graves agrees to help his classmates debunk the urban legend of the Devil in the Woods once and for all, he doesn't believe there's anything to it.
Until something finds him in the dark.
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THE DEVIL IN THE WOODS is a contemporary paranormal novella set in October and features:
- Disaster teens making terrible decisions
- Urban legend might actually be real
- Cult that played with fire
- Woods that don't quite feel real
- Multiple POVs feat. Felix, Charlie, Vivian, & fellow classmate, Jaden
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META DATA
| ePage Count | Publication Date | Language |
| 194 | Oct 21th, 2023; Revised May 18, 2025 | English |
Content Warnings
blood and gore, illustrated image of an anatomical heart, brief mention of sexual assault, forest fire, reference to past self-harm, references to underage drinking, and references to drugsIf you have any issues with the files, please e-mail me at: earlronove@gmail.com.
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More by S. Jean
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Development log
- New Cover, Newly Revised, Paperbacks?!13 days ago
- Sale for Spooks!Oct 24, 2023
- In time for spooks!Sep 01, 2023
Comments
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Oh. My. Gosh. This was so good! It absolutely gripped me from start to finish and I love it! My favorite parts are probably Felix and his character development, along with the corresponding development of his relationships with everyone else- his bonding with Charlie was deeply touching, and him and Jaden are adorable! I liked all of the characters and am having a hard time picking a favorite, I love how they all got their POVs and moments to shine.
I was so invested in the cult mystery and- I mean this in the best way possible- I had no idea how it was going to end at any point. The scenes in the creepy church with the doubles and devils and portraits? Chef's kiss.
While I'm just rambling here, I'm gonna say that I'm already a big fan of cryptidcore creepy stuff, so this novella reminded me things like Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall, Don't Let The Forest In by C.G Drews, and the character of The Beast from the series Over the Garden Wall- I read The Devil's lines in the voice of The Beast's voice actor. I mean all these things as compliments.
Great job!
oh my gosh thank you so much!! I'm so glad you loved it and comping it to all of that is so very kind of you! Don't Let the Forest In was such a good book and I am 100% going to need to get a hold of Rules for Vanishing. cryptidcore creepy is my kinda thing so thank you so much!!
A captivating mystery adventure, i really liked this one.
Somehow, reading this reminded me quite a bit of watching a thriller movie :D
But the mandatory romance line is a nice queer story!
I went into this wanting to make a teen horror/thriller movie that I would have wanted to watch as a teen, so I'm glad that came across! I'm really glad you liked it!!
I am not a fan of horror, but since you wrote it... I actually read it. XD
And... I am glad I didn't skip out on it!
It was fun/interesting, spooky and completely didn't end like I thought it would. Kudos!
The twists too. You got me. ^^"
As far as horror goes, it's not like SUPER horror, so I'm glad you gave it a shot and liked it!! Thank you very much :D
WOW. Just... WOW. My heart was racing through most of this. I was genuinely scared for the characters! This novella was soooo good! I truly loved it. Thank you so much for sharing it on Itch! And, a very Happy Halloween!!!
Thank you so much!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
🎃 Happy Halloween to you too!! 🎃
Will you put on steam?
Considering this is a novella (that is, a book), no.