Blood of the Witness Tree

A true American horror story-born in the woods, steeped in memory, and soaked in dread. Set deep in Michigan's Pigeon River Forest, Blood of the Witness Tree taps into the rich, unsettling current that has always run through American literature-from the spectral woods of Hawthorne and the brooding seas of Melville to Poe's psychological dread and Irving's haunted legends. Here, that current winds its way into the present.

Isaac Fletcher just wants a quiet fly-fishing trip with his teenage son-a chance to heal old wounds. But in the deep forest, where cell signals vanish and nature reclaims the land, something ancient is stirring. Something that remembers.

A standalone sequel to The Dance of Rotten Sticks, this novel delivers more than just frights. It's a haunting meditation on family, loss, and the pull of place. Equal parts character-driven and deeply uncanny, Blood of the Witness Tree is horror rooted in dark and fertile American soil.
- Mathias Clasen, PhD, co-director of the Recreational Fear Lab and author of Why Horror Seduces.

This one got under my skin in the best way. J.C. Vande Zande's Blood of the Witness Tree is a slow-burn stunner, equal parts emotionally raw and quietly supernatural. It taps into those primal fears of isolation, parental guilt, and the way trauma echoes through generations. As past horrors resurface, including a nightmarish encounter with occult forces on Orphan Island, Isaac Fletcher finds himself haunted by unresolved grief, growing unease in the woods, and a series of strange phenomena that suggest the past isn't done with him yet. If you've ever felt the woods watching you, this one's going to hit hard. Highly recommended for fans of eerie realism with a soul.
- Rick Clifton, Host of Quills & Chills

With relatable characters and a Michigan setting so unsettlingly vivid, Blood of the Witness Tree delivers an immersive, atmospheric dose of survival horror with a twist of family drama.
- Viggy Parr Hampton, author of The Rotting Room