Sticks (short story)

"Sticks" is a short story by horror fiction writer Karl Edward Wagner, first published in the March 1974 issue of Whispers.[1] It has been reprinted in several anthologies, including the revised edition of Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, indicating that it is part of the Cthulhu Mythos genre.

The mysterious lattices of twigs were inspired by the work of Weird Tales artist Lee Brown Coye, who illustrated two Carcosa Press volumes which Wagner edited: Manly Wade Wellman's Worse Things Waiting and Hugh B. Cave's Murgunstrumm and Others (the latter volume appeared some years after "Sticks" was written).

"Sticks" was also the inspiration for the lattice stick structures in the HBO show "True Detective".

Adaptations

In the mid-1980s, "Sticks" was adapted for radio by the program The Cabinet of Dr. Fritz.

Critics have noted similarities between the plot of "Sticks" and that of the film The Blair Witch Project.[2][3][4]