They Fear Not Men in the Woods

They Fear Not Men in the Woods – Gretchen McNeil
Standalone Novel
Genre: Horror • Folklore Horror • Suspense/Thriller
 
Tropes:
Returning home to uncover the truth
Lost parent mystery
Woods/forest horror inspired by folklore
 
Summary:
Seven years ago, Jen Monroe fled Barrow, Washington after her forest-ranger father mysteriously vanished. Convinced he was still alive, she never looked back—until a message arrives from her estranged mother claiming his remains have been found.
Determined to disprove his death, Jen returns to her logging-town home and quickly discovers something is wrong in the surrounding forests. When her ex suggests a memorial camping trip, Jen sees it as a chance to search for answers. What she encounters instead is an ancient, predatory presence tied to old Scandinavian folklore—something the town has quietly feared for years.
As eerie silences deepen into terror and the woods close in around them, Jen uncovers a truth far darker than she imagined. Something in the forest is alive, ancient, and hungry—and it has no intention of letting her go.