Tread Softly

by Richard Laymon

First published 1987

The camping trip turns deadly when Jake and his friends encounter a violent psychopath in the wilderness. They fight for their lives and manage to kill their attacker, thinking their nightmare is over. But the dead man's mother practices dark magic, and she knows exactly who murdered her son. She casts a lethal curse on the young campers, binding their fates to supernatural vengeance. Now Jake and the others must survive not just the trauma of what they did, but the escalating supernatural attacks that follow them home. The witch's curse grows stronger with each passing day, picking them off one by one. Jake realizes that killing in self defense was only the beginning of their terror. The real horror lies in facing a mother's grief twisted into magical retribution that won't stop until every last camper pays with their life.

Genres: horror, supernatural, thriller, dark-fantasy

Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, suspenseful

Tropes: revenge, supernatural-horror, survival

Setting: Wilderness

320 pages · Paperback · Tor Books

Content warnings: gore, violence

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