The Stranger in the Woods

This story of theft, struggle, and solitude is the true story of a man who lived alone in a tent in the Maine woods for twenty-seven years, never talking to another person and surviving by stealing supplies from nearby cabins. In 1986, a twenty-year-old white man named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the woods. He would remain alone until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even in winter, Knight developed ways to store food and water and to avoid freezing to death. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothes, reading material, and other provisions, while the Smithfield region's community was never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, Finkel presents a detailed account of the why and how of Knight's secluded life, as well as the challenges he has faced returning to the world.