The Hollowing is a fantasy novel by British writer Robert Holdstock, the third in the Mythago Wood series written.
The title refers to a magical pathway, or hollowing, an archaic English term for a sunken lane or hollow-way.
Inside Ryhope wood, Tallis Keeton's young friend, Alex Bradley, remains an adolescent when he would otherwise be twenty years old.
Alex escapes the mental hospital and his highly decayed remains are subsequently found, so he is presumed dead.
Richard joins a scientific expedition to locate his son in the wood, rendered all the more dangerous by the mythagos feeding off Alex's imagination.
During his quest in the wood, Richard Bradley develops a romantic relationship with Helen Silverlock, a Native American.