The Woods Are Dark

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The Woods are Dark
Author	Richard Laymon
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror fiction
Publication date	1981
Media type	Print (Hardcover, Paperback)

The Woods Are Dark is a 1981 horror novel by Richard Laymon. It was one of the author's earliest published works.

An original, uncut, version of the novel is being published by Cemetery Dance Publications in 2008. Richard Laymon's daughter, Kelly Laymon, posthumously found the original manuscript that was sent to Warner Books before Warner edited fifty pages of material out for their version of the novel. After Warner edited the book Richard Laymon re-wrote parts of the story to fill in the gaps for their final published version. The unedited original submitted version is what is being published by Cemetery Dance under ISBN 978-1-58767-197-5.

[edit] Plot summary

The story concerns two groups of people, a family and two women, who stop in a small California town named Barlow while on vacation. They are all kidnapped by the local townspeople and driven deep into the forest, where they are tied to some trees and then abandoned, while unseen forces in the woods slowly circle around them. One of the kidnappers has a change of heart and comes to their rescue, and they are forced to fight for their lives to escape.

[edit] Extended edition

Cemetery Dance Publications is printing two different versions of their 2008 original, uncut version edition of The Woods are Dark. The signed version will have bookplates that Richard Laymon signed before his death in 2001:

Trade Hardcover Edition - ISBN 978-1-58767-197-5
Traycased Lettered Edition - 52 lettered copies with a Richard Laymon signed bookplate, bound in leather, and additional artwork by Alan M. Clark.