What do you think?
Rate this book
The Shivers Collection #1
Jackknife
Ruined by scandal, Dennis Lange is hoping for a comeback. Selling the story of a cursed tree could make his future—if it doesn’t kill him—in this monstrous short story from New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill.
Dennis awakens something evil when he removes a decades-old jackknife from the trunk of a gnarled old sycamore. Once pinned in place—now thoughtlessly freed—the tree returns to its roots. An act of vigilante justice took place under its boughs long ago. But its taste for blood has only grown stronger…
Joe Hill’s Jackknife is part of The Shivers, a collection of haunting stories that reveal the otherworldly terrors all around us. Once you know, there’s no going back. Read or listen to each story in one unsettling sitting.
Dennis awakens something evil when he removes a decades-old jackknife from the trunk of a gnarled old sycamore. Once pinned in place—now thoughtlessly freed—the tree returns to its roots. An act of vigilante justice took place under its boughs long ago. But its taste for blood has only grown stronger…
Joe Hill’s Jackknife is part of The Shivers, a collection of haunting stories that reveal the otherworldly terrors all around us. Once you know, there’s no going back. Read or listen to each story in one unsettling sitting.
45 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 15, 2025
1905 people are currently reading
4040 people want to read
About the author
Joe Hill
497 books30.2k followersJoe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.
He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.
He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.
He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.
He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,161 reviews
March 26, 2025
Well, I can't say that I exactly enjoyed this one (and not just because a cat dies), but it's kind of creepy in an old school horror sort of way. And of course by “old school horror” I mean classic Stephen King, but I just read a whole thing about how Joe Hill doesn't write under his real name because he wants to “rise and fall on [his] own merits” and not his father's, so it feels wrong to immediately turn around and compare the two. Anyway, I'm not going to say that the sycamore tree is the hero in this story because it obviously has some serious aggression issues to work through, but at the same time I can't bring myself to feel a whole lot of sympathy for Dennis either.
April 27, 2025
“Jackknife” by Joe Hill (The Shivers Collection #1) is the first book in this exclusive Amazon Original Series of horror short stories. I’m so glad they started this off with Hill because this is one hell of a way to start a collection.
In case you’re interested in “The Shivers Collection” and which authors are a part of it, here’s the entire collection…
Jackknife by Joe Hill (The Shivers Collection #1)
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones (The Shivers Collection #2)
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix (The Shivers Collection #3)
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward (The Shivers Collection #4)
Letter Slot by Owen King (The Shivers Collection #5)
I love every author in this collection, and I can’t wait to complete it. Before I begin my review, here are all the trigger warnings I found while reading…
- Grooming teenagers (nothing graphic)
- Drugs
- Dead animals (very graphic involving a cat)
- Politics
- #MeToo movement
- Sexual abuse of minors
- Suicide
If any of these trigger you, please do not read this book. Moving along, I have to give credit to Hill, since I’ve never read a “tree horror” book as scary as this. I love his writing style, as it was great and over the top. It’s barely 46 pages, and my goodness, what a powerhouse of a freaky read.
The main character, Dennis, was someone I loathed. Hill’s character development of Dennis was surreal. I hated him, and was hooked on what kind of karma was coming his way. I would never ruin a book for anyone, so no spoilers here, but this was fantastic from start to finish.
As always with Hill’s work, I enjoyed his references in this book. As a coffee lover, it was great to see Dunkin’ mentioned, and of course, The Lord of the Rings thanks to Ents. I love LOTR, but the tree horror found here was so wild, I made many weird faces while reading.
The backstory and insight in “Jackknife,” with its uniquely written tree horror, were compelling and felt like they could have easily been part of The Conjuring universe. This was a genuine page-turner that I couldn’t put down from the sheer horror of it all.
When it comes to the ending, this was on the level of Stephen King because I didn’t see that coming at all. I finished this book with a huge smile on my face, thanks to a beyond satisfying ending that has a “drop-the-mic” moment and proves why Hill is such a phenomenal author. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Get it? Tree? Tree horror? Okay, I’ll see myself out now.
I give “Jackknife” by Joe Hill (The Shivers Collection #1) a 5/5 for being one hell of a fun ride with a refreshing take on tree horror. Seriously, you’ll probably never want to look at a barren tree the same ever again after reading this short story. I’m so excited to dive into the rest of this collection.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, since I already found a jackknife, it’s time to go hang out in an indigo room.
In case you’re interested in “The Shivers Collection” and which authors are a part of it, here’s the entire collection…
Jackknife by Joe Hill (The Shivers Collection #1)
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones (The Shivers Collection #2)
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix (The Shivers Collection #3)
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward (The Shivers Collection #4)
Letter Slot by Owen King (The Shivers Collection #5)
I love every author in this collection, and I can’t wait to complete it. Before I begin my review, here are all the trigger warnings I found while reading…
- Grooming teenagers (nothing graphic)
- Drugs
- Dead animals (very graphic involving a cat)
- Politics
- #MeToo movement
- Sexual abuse of minors
- Suicide
If any of these trigger you, please do not read this book. Moving along, I have to give credit to Hill, since I’ve never read a “tree horror” book as scary as this. I love his writing style, as it was great and over the top. It’s barely 46 pages, and my goodness, what a powerhouse of a freaky read.
The main character, Dennis, was someone I loathed. Hill’s character development of Dennis was surreal. I hated him, and was hooked on what kind of karma was coming his way. I would never ruin a book for anyone, so no spoilers here, but this was fantastic from start to finish.
As always with Hill’s work, I enjoyed his references in this book. As a coffee lover, it was great to see Dunkin’ mentioned, and of course, The Lord of the Rings thanks to Ents. I love LOTR, but the tree horror found here was so wild, I made many weird faces while reading.
The backstory and insight in “Jackknife,” with its uniquely written tree horror, were compelling and felt like they could have easily been part of The Conjuring universe. This was a genuine page-turner that I couldn’t put down from the sheer horror of it all.
When it comes to the ending, this was on the level of Stephen King because I didn’t see that coming at all. I finished this book with a huge smile on my face, thanks to a beyond satisfying ending that has a “drop-the-mic” moment and proves why Hill is such a phenomenal author. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Get it? Tree? Tree horror? Okay, I’ll see myself out now.
I give “Jackknife” by Joe Hill (The Shivers Collection #1) a 5/5 for being one hell of a fun ride with a refreshing take on tree horror. Seriously, you’ll probably never want to look at a barren tree the same ever again after reading this short story. I’m so excited to dive into the rest of this collection.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, since I already found a jackknife, it’s time to go hang out in an indigo room.
May 7, 2025
Another tasty morsel by Joe Hill. His horror is to say at the least visceral. I could not stop cringing with every page I read. The first part I was cringing at the mess Dennis had made of his life. An old saying came to mind as I read about his life choices, “When you find that you have dug yourself into a hole…stop digging”. Then I continued to cringe to the point of discomfort when he began his relationship with the Sycamore Tree.
Yes, my fellow GR friends, this is a novelette well worth reading. Brace yourselves!
Yes, my fellow GR friends, this is a novelette well worth reading. Brace yourselves!
September 21, 2025
“In America, even disgrace could be monetized. Even shame had market value.”
Pfft. This was nothing a chainsaw couldn’t fix. 🌳 See, Hill, the problem is that you set the bar too high with your short story, Ushers. Guess you’ll just have to up your game here. You certainly have the skills, sir.
#Yawn. 🥱
Pfft. This was nothing a chainsaw couldn’t fix. 🌳 See, Hill, the problem is that you set the bar too high with your short story, Ushers. Guess you’ll just have to up your game here. You certainly have the skills, sir.
#Yawn. 🥱
September 7, 2025
Vincit Qui Se Vincit...
JACKKNIFE (The Shivers Collection)
by Joe Hill
3 1/2 stars. When his wife Helena found his texts to one of his students, she told Dennis to get out...
He ended up at an Airbnb in Orono...
That's where he first saw the tree. While on his daily walk through the northern Maine woods behind his rental...
He had walked past the tree every day without really seeing it...
Then, one day...
There it was, partially uprooted...
The tree had two holes in its trunk that looked like eyes, and its bare branches looked like bony fingers...
Cryptic messages were carved into the trunk with a Jackknife, which was still stuck in the trunk below the "eyes"...
A message directly below the knife read: DON'T TOUCH...
The knife itself read: VINCIT QUI SE VINCIT (He who overcomes himself wins)...
Dennis had always wanted a Jackknife, so he pulled it out of the tree and took it with him...
The wind blew. The tree groaned...
He put the knife in his pocket and continued his walk. He couldn't wait to use it...
The next day...
On his daily walk through the woods, he could've sworn the tree had moved. It was now in a slightly new location...
Every morning that followed...
The tree had moved a little more until Dennis finally realized that he shouldn't have pulled that knife from its trunk...
This was a standard supernatural short story that was good, if predictable. I don't want to encourage the King family of writers to write their usual tomes full of fluff and filler, but this story would've benefited by a few more pages.
If you're in between books and you are looking for something short to pass the time, this might be a good choice for you.
JACKKNIFE (The Shivers Collection)
by Joe Hill
3 1/2 stars. When his wife Helena found his texts to one of his students, she told Dennis to get out...
He ended up at an Airbnb in Orono...
That's where he first saw the tree. While on his daily walk through the northern Maine woods behind his rental...
He had walked past the tree every day without really seeing it...
Then, one day...
There it was, partially uprooted...
The tree had two holes in its trunk that looked like eyes, and its bare branches looked like bony fingers...
Cryptic messages were carved into the trunk with a Jackknife, which was still stuck in the trunk below the "eyes"...
A message directly below the knife read: DON'T TOUCH...
The knife itself read: VINCIT QUI SE VINCIT (He who overcomes himself wins)...
Dennis had always wanted a Jackknife, so he pulled it out of the tree and took it with him...
The wind blew. The tree groaned...
He put the knife in his pocket and continued his walk. He couldn't wait to use it...
The next day...
On his daily walk through the woods, he could've sworn the tree had moved. It was now in a slightly new location...
Every morning that followed...
The tree had moved a little more until Dennis finally realized that he shouldn't have pulled that knife from its trunk...
This was a standard supernatural short story that was good, if predictable. I don't want to encourage the King family of writers to write their usual tomes full of fluff and filler, but this story would've benefited by a few more pages.
If you're in between books and you are looking for something short to pass the time, this might be a good choice for you.
April 24, 2025
This short story did capture my attention. However, I just feel like it could have been A LOT better. I struggled between 2 or 3 stars with this one, but ultimately gave it 2. I feel like the ending was completely predictable and wish that it had a twist. Some of Joe Hill’s books are GREAT- this one just did not do it for me.
MEH 2/5 stars. 🫤
MEH 2/5 stars. 🫤
March 24, 2025
Jackknife has CLASSIC horror short story vibes and gave me some serious throwbacks to Stephen King's Night Shift collection. The main character is a total douche. He's in a situationship with a college student that ends up trainwrecking his shit. He's living in an AirB&B and stumbles upon an uprooted tree with a jackknife embedded in it. As the story goes along, we become more and more entertained by the idea that maybe, just maybe...this guy is gonna get what's coming to him.
I don't know what else horror readers show up for in their stories--this is good, old-fashioned fun. Joe Hill delivers!
CW for cat death, infidelity, and teacher/student sexual content
*read on NetGalley--available 4/15/25
I don't know what else horror readers show up for in their stories--this is good, old-fashioned fun. Joe Hill delivers!
CW for cat death, infidelity, and teacher/student sexual content
*read on NetGalley--available 4/15/25
May 13, 2025
“A 30 year old man under an ethical cloud after trading extreme sex fantasies with a 20 year old sophomore, including at least one in which he told her he wanted to fuck her in the woods like an animal.”
Joe Hill never disappoints me, his short stories are unmatched.
Joe Hill never disappoints me, his short stories are unmatched.
April 15, 2025
OK, this is not his best short story but it’s enjoyable. It’s about a fucking tree and the horror following a man in disgrace. A big MEH.
June 25, 2025
Jackknife is a captivating short story from one of my faves, Joe Hill. This is a part of the Amazon Shivers Collection, which features works from some of the best Horror and Dark Fiction authors currently in the biz.
After seeing the author list contributing to this collection, I knew it was one that I could not possibly miss. This is the first I've picked up and can't wait for more!
This story features a University Professor on the brink of losing everything after being caught up in a scandal, but through it all he discovers his deep will to live.
It also has a terrifying tree and a touch of vigilante justice.
Joe Hill's writing never fails to capture my attention, and more importantly keep it. Once I started this one, I had to see it through. I wanted to know where exactly we were going with this unsettling concept.
As short stories go, I feel like this is well executed. It gave me what I was hoping for, and as mentioned above, I'm excited to continue on with the collection.
Thank you, Brilliance Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would recommend this to fans of Horror Short Fiction, and of course to fans of Joe Hill!
After seeing the author list contributing to this collection, I knew it was one that I could not possibly miss. This is the first I've picked up and can't wait for more!
This story features a University Professor on the brink of losing everything after being caught up in a scandal, but through it all he discovers his deep will to live.
It also has a terrifying tree and a touch of vigilante justice.
Joe Hill's writing never fails to capture my attention, and more importantly keep it. Once I started this one, I had to see it through. I wanted to know where exactly we were going with this unsettling concept.
As short stories go, I feel like this is well executed. It gave me what I was hoping for, and as mentioned above, I'm excited to continue on with the collection.
Thank you, Brilliance Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would recommend this to fans of Horror Short Fiction, and of course to fans of Joe Hill!
April 16, 2025
This is the first short story in the The Shivers Collection from Amazon Original, and it's a good one.
Dennis Lange has lost his job and his wife due to an indiscretion with a female student. He comes across as a fairly unlikeable person which helps the reader not mind so much what happens to him. I did mind what happened to the cat though.
The whole event is good solid horror with a spooky, malevolent tree and some very unpleasant deaths. I have read a few books by Joe Hill before and I do enjoy his style. I do not read them before I go to bed though. Four stars for this one.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Dennis Lange has lost his job and his wife due to an indiscretion with a female student. He comes across as a fairly unlikeable person which helps the reader not mind so much what happens to him. I did mind what happened to the cat though.
The whole event is good solid horror with a spooky, malevolent tree and some very unpleasant deaths. I have read a few books by Joe Hill before and I do enjoy his style. I do not read them before I go to bed though. Four stars for this one.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
April 17, 2025
this was so bland & idk how I was supposed to find a tree threatening or creepy.. also, the mc Dennis was such an ass that he deserves exactly what he got 🤷♀️
October 18, 2025
Story 3 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Robert Fass
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Robert Fass
September 2, 2025
Dennis Lange got his teaching and marriage lives ruined, all due to some stupid SMS that occurred between he and one of his students. Could he somehow turn things around on his favor?
He things he can, especially after having removed an old jackknife from an old and yet somehow scary sycamore, only to realize there's something evil in it. The tree seems to move or so he thinks and there are some deaths that seem to be linked to it. If he's right, he could probably make some money out of it by selling the story to the media.
Will Dennis be able to achieve what he seeks? There's only one way to find out.
Although a bit of a crazy story, I thought this to be a rather original one. I have watched "The Black Phone" and I had a good time doing it. I felt Joe Hill's short story original and creative. I would be afraid to be in the woods and be faced with a moving evil tree.
He things he can, especially after having removed an old jackknife from an old and yet somehow scary sycamore, only to realize there's something evil in it. The tree seems to move or so he thinks and there are some deaths that seem to be linked to it. If he's right, he could probably make some money out of it by selling the story to the media.
Will Dennis be able to achieve what he seeks? There's only one way to find out.
Although a bit of a crazy story, I thought this to be a rather original one. I have watched "The Black Phone" and I had a good time doing it. I felt Joe Hill's short story original and creative. I would be afraid to be in the woods and be faced with a moving evil tree.
August 14, 2025
Jackknife is a short, horror, story; of Man V. Tree.
The tree itself is the star of the show here. 💀🩸🌲
The writing here is pretty good and descriptive, but I would have liked a little bit *more* substance to the story, like the inclusion of a twist, it felt a a little predictable. This has made me want to read a longer book by Joe Hill, as I don’t believe that I have yet.
Also TW:// there is a pretty gruesome death of a cat. Why am I more perturbed by animal deaths than when it’s humans dying in horror stories lol
Book 1/5 of the Shivers collection.
3 Stars
The tree itself is the star of the show here. 💀🩸🌲
The writing here is pretty good and descriptive, but I would have liked a little bit *more* substance to the story, like the inclusion of a twist, it felt a a little predictable. This has made me want to read a longer book by Joe Hill, as I don’t believe that I have yet.
Also TW:// there is a pretty gruesome death of a cat. Why am I more perturbed by animal deaths than when it’s humans dying in horror stories lol
Book 1/5 of the Shivers collection.
3 Stars
April 19, 2025
Sorry, Joe! It’s Not a Five.
Jackknife is a good story. The horrible entity is a tree.
The disgraced man is a professor and he is on a shameful mission that is destroying his life. He spends so much time drunk that he cannot even imagine, what the hell is he doing?
The jackknife he has found is the connector between he and the sycamore tree. He is not going to be ganged up on.
Four stars. ✨✨✨✨
Jackknife is a good story. The horrible entity is a tree.
The disgraced man is a professor and he is on a shameful mission that is destroying his life. He spends so much time drunk that he cannot even imagine, what the hell is he doing?
The jackknife he has found is the connector between he and the sycamore tree. He is not going to be ganged up on.
Four stars. ✨✨✨✨
September 28, 2025
Yeaaahhhh no. This was not it for me.
I’m positive there is symbolism here that would help deepen the story (which admittedly was well laid out over 45 pages), but I just didn’t care enough about Dennis to bother.
⚠️: graphic animal death (not the death itself but the aftermath), professor x student scandal
I’m positive there is symbolism here that would help deepen the story (which admittedly was well laid out over 45 pages), but I just didn’t care enough about Dennis to bother.
⚠️: graphic animal death (not the death itself but the aftermath), professor x student scandal
August 25, 2025
I was definitely intrigued but oh how the MMC got on my every last nerve. The horror aspect was on point and I liked the mystery behind the possible natural death bringer and total destruction that consumed the woods and all those that chose to venture into it.
The MMC was irritating.
The MMC was irritating.
July 17, 2025
I'm sorry this was boring.. nothing creepy about it whatsoever... however I want to try his other books
April 17, 2025
Now I got to keep my eye on trees.
April 27, 2025
2.5 stars. Extra half star is for the bonus fart in story.
March 20, 2025
I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.
Jackknife is a short horror story that is part of the Shivers collection on Amazon. In this eerie read, we follow a man whose wife has kicked him out after finding out he's been sexting one of his students. He finds a rental not far away that's pretty bleak and depressing but meets his needs to hide away in and work our what he's going to do next with his life. When he goes for a walk in the woods, he finds a jackknife stuck in a tree with engravings in it and removes the knife after always wanting one since being a kid. But strange things happen after this...
I enjoyed this story but felt it could have been made just a little bit longer and found it a little too abruptly.
Jackknife is a short horror story that is part of the Shivers collection on Amazon. In this eerie read, we follow a man whose wife has kicked him out after finding out he's been sexting one of his students. He finds a rental not far away that's pretty bleak and depressing but meets his needs to hide away in and work our what he's going to do next with his life. When he goes for a walk in the woods, he finds a jackknife stuck in a tree with engravings in it and removes the knife after always wanting one since being a kid. But strange things happen after this...
I enjoyed this story but felt it could have been made just a little bit longer and found it a little too abruptly.
April 25, 2025
Hmm… couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. 🤔
May 3, 2025
Superb. Creepy, icky. and with an, er, cracking ending.
April 29, 2025
ok i enjoyed it, it’s got some good horror with an unlikeable character. the plot of an evil tree is sorta funny but was maybe a bit scarier than i thought it would be 😭😭 good opening to this series
October 20, 2025
3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Ebook format 📖
Ebook format 📖
May 1, 2025
↠ 3 stars
this was a decent start to this short story collection. an interesting take on horror, but it felt like something was missing. i think it could benefit from being an actual book rather than a short story, but it was fun for what it was. as always, i did really enjoy joe hill’s writing and the ending was super satisfying. i’m intrigued to see what the rest of the authors in this collection come up with.
also, i’m thrilled that dennis got what was coming to him, but the cat deserved better.
this was a decent start to this short story collection. an interesting take on horror, but it felt like something was missing. i think it could benefit from being an actual book rather than a short story, but it was fun for what it was. as always, i did really enjoy joe hill’s writing and the ending was super satisfying. i’m intrigued to see what the rest of the authors in this collection come up with.
also, i’m thrilled that dennis got what was coming to him, but the cat deserved better.
August 20, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up.
This seems like one of those short stories where the jackknife will come into play later in one of his novels. Maybe it already has? I haven’t read all of Joe Hill’s work, so it’s hard to say. Definitely see it as a teaser for something bigger though.
This seems like one of those short stories where the jackknife will come into play later in one of his novels. Maybe it already has? I haven’t read all of Joe Hill’s work, so it’s hard to say. Definitely see it as a teaser for something bigger though.
January 7, 2026
Overall Rating : B-
If I had a nickel for everytime I read about a tree that could move and was stalking a guy, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.
If I had a nickel for everytime I read about a tree that could move and was stalking a guy, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,161 reviews