Something lurks just beyond.Centuries ago a heinous act created a ripple that still haunts the residents to this very day.Now the kids who reside near McConnell’s Forest live forever in fear.Jason lost his brother when he was young. He left with his friends to ‘debunk’ the urban legend and never came back.Now Jason and his group of friends are fed up and want to discover what is happening, what … discover what is happening, what is the real cause of the terror holding their small town hostage.
But something is waiting for them. She may look sweet and innocent, but the friends are about to find out that pure evil can exist in the smallest of packages.
She’s out there. And while you may not know her name or what she looks like, the local kids will tell you if you ask, that you should fear for your life from the girl who hid in the trees.
From the dark mind of Steve Stred, the author of Wagon Buddy, YURI and Invisible comes this fast-paced, seat of your pants coming-of-age tale. A quick, violent, bleak read, The Girl Who Hid in the Trees will make you think twice about those sounds you hear far off in the woods.
“Dark, gritty coming of age that grabs you near the end and doesn’t let you go.” – Justin M. Woodward, Author of Tamer Animals, Goodreads pre-release review, 5 stars!
“Steve’s best book yet, reminiscent of King’s IT!” – David Sodergren, Author of The Forgotten Island, Goodreads pre-release review, 5 stars!
“Plenty of blood, guts, and tension, but also sadness.” – MJ, Goodreads pre-release review, 4 stars!
“The story immediately pulled me in!” – Cassie, Goodreads pre-release review, 4 stars!
“I just needed to know what was going to happen next!” – Luke, Goodreads pre-release review, 4.5 stars!
“Steve Stred has created one hell of a story that hooked me and didn’t let go after ending.” – Michelle, Goodreads pre-release review, 5 stars!
“Draws you in right from the first line!” – Valerie, Goodreads pre-release review, 4.5 stars!
“Full of fast-paced action and gore!” – Clota, Goodreads pre-release review, 4 stars!
“I felt so many emotions throughout,” – Lauren, Goodreads pre-release review, 4 stars!
“Nice grossness and gore!” – Shane, Goodreads pre-release review, 4 stars!
“Pure nightmare fuel imagery!” – Diamond, Goodreads pre-release review, 4 stars!
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On the far side of town lies McConnell’s Forest. Jason stays behind, watching his brother Mikey and his friends enter the forest to find the girl that hides in the trees. Hikers reported seeing a young girl far ahead of them on the path, only to never catch up to her, never to see her again. Some heard a child crying in the night or a girl calling for her mom. His brother never comes back.
The forest was the site of the original town when the first group of European settlers arrived. Over the 300 years that the town existed, at least a dozen people went missing in the forest. On Jason’s birthday, six years later, his friends take him zip lining in McConnell’s Forest, where Jason glimpses the impossible: his brother Mikey.
I enjoyed this urban legend, coming-of-age tale. I tried not to say too much, I think it’s best to go into this story blind. Highly recommended!
In the trees in the woods a little girl becomes the stuff of urban legends. But what’s a lonely girl to do? Adopt some new friends, of course, to join a macabre little musical group to march together, looking for more interlopers. Steve Stred’s active imagination produces vivid and lasting scenes in his novella “The Girl Who Hid in the Trees.” As an added bonus, three other Steve Stred original short stories are also included in this book.
3.5/5 stars!
THE GIRL WHO HID IN THE TREES is a creepy novella that left me with a serious case of the willies!
In no-where town USA there is a forest-McConnell’s Forest. Years ago, Jason lost his older brother, (as well as his brother’s gang of friends), in that forest, and the mystery has never been solved. Now that Jason and HIS group of friends are grown, they’re tired of hearing the rumors and stories, and they set out in the forest to find the truth. Will they discover what happened? More importantly, will they survive? You’ll have to read this to find out!
On Saturday, sitting beside my sleeping mom in the nursing home, something rare happened. I found myself with nothing to read! I can think of only a few things more horrific for me. (Having my eyeball poked out with a fork, for instance.) I found this story on my Kindle app and have been meaning to read it for some time, so I did.
I immediately found myself drawn in to Jason’s life and what it must be like to be “the boy whose brother was murdered in McConnell’s Forest.” A stigma of sorts was attached to Jason, (as does happen in small towns), but it eventually wore off as Jason got older. I loved the relationship he had with Vanessa and I thought that portion was well written. Once he and his girlfriend shared the fact that they both had had “experiences” in the forest, the fun begins.
I thought at that point, everything came racing at me much more quickly than it had in the first half (or so), of the book. I wouldn’t have minded a little time spent with the entire group of friends, so that I could get to know them a wee bit better, thereby making what happened to them even more horrific. (Also, I thought it was pushing the envelope that the parents would allow the kids to do what they did so… easily, but I can’t get into much more without spoilers.)
Overall though, I thought this tale fun, and about what you’d expect it to be from reading the synopsis. I look forward to reading more from this author!
Recommended!
The children who live near McConnell’s Forest know better than to risk going into the woods, or at least they should. Years ago, when Jason was a little boy, he lost his older brother when he entered the forest to deflate an ages old urban legend.
Now that Jason is a teenager himself, he wants to learn what happened to his brother and what is really going on in the forest first-hand.
He persuades his group of friends to camp in the forest overnight so they can figure out this legend and try to stop everyone from being afraid of the forest.
They learn about the legend of the girl who hid in the trees more closely than they could ever have imagined. Their evening is filled with blood, guts, evil, and horror… and a grotesque parade of gore-covered marchers and a piano made of bones.
Yes, a piano made of bones that I can’t ever get out of my head. I can still hear the pinging keys echoing through the forest.
I thought this was a great, brutal short story with an unpredictable ending. Plenty of blood, guts, and tension, but also sadness.
Also, thank you to the author, Steve Stred, for sending me this story in advance of publication.The Girl Who Hid in the Trees
An urban legend haunts a small town, a creepy little demonic ghost girl haunts the forest. The reason she is there is quite disturbing and quite sad.
A group of young teenage friends want to unravel the mystery of the legend to finally free the town of their continued loss.
This reminded me a bit of SK. Simply because we have a young group of friends fighting to protect each other, having the bravery to go solve a mystery to protect the town. A coming of age tale of sorts. Also, because of the way the story includes the way teenagers talk and think. Those parts had me in stitches. (I think you will understand the comparison if you are familiar with SK).
I read this in just a couple of hours , it was creepy, entertaining, and a quick fun story to read!
Another solid read by Steve Stred! I really enjoyed the creepiness of The Girl Who Hid in the Trees. And to my surprise, there were three more very enjoyable stories included as well.