The Troop is a 2014 horror novel written by Canadian author Craig Davidson under the pen name Nick Cutter.

The novel follows a troop of Boy Scouts who must deal with not only the threats posed by killer tapeworms, but also the homicidal and sociopathic tendencies of one of their own.

Determined to simulate a true-to-life remote island scenario, Tim makes sure to remove any form of communication to the mainland.

He makes his way to the beach to find that the stranger had arrived on a motorboat, but that the spark plugs needed to operate his boat were missing.

Sitting around the campfire and in a state of delirium, Tim asks one of the boys to assist in performing a surgery on the man, rationalizing that it is the only way to help him.

Tim crudely sets up an operating station, disinfecting poor medical equipment with whiskey, before taking a swig himself.

While out looking for more food to eat, the boys realize that the storm, previously predicted to pass them, is now on a direct path heading for Falstaff Island.

The next day Max, Ephraim, and Newt check on the Scoutmaster, finding that a tree has fallen on the house and crushed the closet, killing Tim in the process.

After a short fight to relieve their frustration, Newt and Max search for Shelley, whom they correctly assume stole the plugs.

Inside, they find the spark plugs, but are unable to retrieve them when a hideously deformed Shelley attacks and has his stomach burst open, spreading the worms everywhere, infecting Newt.

Max, the only survivor of the Falstaff incident, finds he is unable to live life normally, with everyone, even his parents, treating him differently.

The ending is somewhat up to interpretation, with the final passage remarking that Max is returning to the island on a stolen boat, with a deep "hunger" inside of him.

Over the course of the book, it is revealed that a scientist of incredible skill but little restraint (Dr. Edgerton) was working on a modified tapeworm that could rapidly but safely cause weight loss.

Through careful manipulation and planning, the patient was released into Falstaff Island, to allegedly test the virulence and military capabilities of the worm.

The Troop was released in hardback through Galley Books in the United States on February 25, 2014, alongside an audiobook adaptation narrated by Corey Brill.

[4] In August 2019 Deadline reported that film rights to The Troop were optioned by James Wan’s Atomic Monster.

[6][7] The book has been favorably compared to Stephen King's Carrie for its use of "extratextual materials, including newspaper articles, interviews and the like, to supplement the narrative", which Davidson has cited as an inspiration.

[6][8] Tor.com's Niall Alexander also compared the work to Carrie and criticized the characters as "broadly characterised" and stating that "This whisper is what The Troop tries and I’m afraid fails to trade in.

"[9] Publishers Weekly had similar criticisms, writing "Competent prose makes up in part for stock characters—the nerd, the popular kid, the quiet psychotic.

Cutter’s appeal to modern-day disquiet over the ethical lapses of the military-industrial complex will strike many as pro forma rather than based in any authentic outrage over abuses real or imagined.