The Wolves in the Walls is a book by
Neil Gaiman and
Dave McKean, published in 2003, in the United States by
HarperCollins, and in the United Kingdom by
Bloomsbury. The book was highly praised on release, winning three awards for that year. In 2006, it was made into a musical which toured the UK and visited the US in 2007.[1]
Neil Gaiman has said the story was inspired by a
nightmare his daughter Maddy, then aged 4, had that there were
wolves in the walls.[1][2] In the story the protagonist, Lucy, hears wolves in the walls of her family's house, but her family does not believe her until one day when the wolves come out of the walls.[2] The book is notable for Dave McKean's art, which utilises many different techniques, including photography,
computer-generated imagery and drawing to achieve its effect.[3]
It is also available in Spanish,[4][5] German[6] and Italian.[7]
Reception
The book was very well received, with positive reviews for both the text and art.[3][8][9][10] It won awards for the
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book (2003),[11] the IRA/CBC Children's Choice (2004) award[12] and the
British Science Fiction Association award for Short Fiction (2003).[13]
Adaptations
Stage adaptation
In 2006 The Wolves in the Walls was adapted for stage, as a "Musical Pandemonium" of the same name, with music by Nick Powell to which Neil Gaiman contributed some lyrics. It was co-produced by the
National Theatre of Scotland and
Improbable theatre,[1][14] and premiered at the
Tramway in Glasgow in March,[15][16] before touring the UK for the rest of the year, winning
TMA Best Show for Children and Young People for 2006.[17] In October 2007 it was staged in New York,
off Broadway at the
New Victory Theater, for a two-week run.[18][19][20] The production was very well received.[21][22]
VR adaptation
In January 2018, a Wolves in the Walls VR adaptation was released for
Oculus Rift and
Oculus Rift S headsets by Fable Studio, a venture headed by
Edward Saatchi and Pete Billington and staffed by former employees of
Oculus Story Studio, as its premiere title.[23][24] The VR adaptation was well-received, and in August 2019, Wolves in the Walls won a Primetime Emmy for outstanding innovation in interactive media,[25] and a
Peabody Award in 2022. A second chapter of Wolves in the Walls, It's All Over, premiered at the April 2019
Tribeca Film Festival,[26] and a third and final chapter, They're Everywhere, released in November of the same year.[27][28] All three chapters were ported to
Oculus Quest in November 2020.[29] The VR adaption received a 2022
Peabody Award in the Immersive & Interactive category.[30]