The House at Black Tooth Pond

by Stephen Mark Rainey

AIKEN MILL, VIRGINIA… A legend-haunted town in Sylvan County, located in a remote, mountainous corner of the state. With its long history of countless deaths and disappearances, Aiken Mill has become known to law enforcement as “The Cold Case Capital of the World.”

Now, an unidentified, mutilated body has turned up in the town. During his investigation, Sheriff Bryce Parrott discovers frightening clues that lead him to believe some ghostly force—or entity—may be responsible for the killing.

While exploring the darkest corners of Sylvan County, psychology professor Martin Pritchett and his brother, Phillip, happen upon a crumbling, century-old house beside a body of water called Black Tooth Pond. A strange compulsion leads both men back to the house time and time again, but neither can remember any of the events that occur there.

As both Sheriff Parrott and the Pritchett brothers attempt to solve their respective mysteries, their paths begin to converge—paths that lead inexorably to the ancient, foreboding house at Black Tooth Pond.

Genres: Horror, Lovecraftian

298 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2024

About the author

Stephen Mark Rainey is the author of numerous novels, including BALAK, THE LEBO COVEN, DARK SHADOWS: DREAMS OF THE DARK (with Elizabeth Massie), BLUE DEVIL ISLAND, THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND, and others, including several in Elizabeth Massie's Ameri-Scares Series for Young Readers. In addition, Mark's work includes six short story collections; over 200 published works of short fiction; and the scripts for several DARK SHADOWS audio productions, which feature members of the original ABC-TV series cast. For ten years, he edited the multi-award-winning DEATHREALM magazine and, most recently, the best-selling anthology, DEATHREALM: SPIRITS (Shortwave Publishing). He has also edited anthologies for Delirium Press, Chaosium, and Arkham House. Mark lives in Martinsville, VA, with his wife, Kimberly, and a passel of precocious house cats. He is a regular panelist on the weekly Lovecraft eZine Podcast and an active member of the Horror Writers Association.

Reviews

[Mother Suspiria]

An engrossing cosmic horror novel with a splash of police procedural, THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND is terrific. Stephen Mark Rainey skillfully brings to life the town and legends of Aiken Mill, its residents, and the mysterious goings-on- which all conspire to produce an eerie, entertaining read.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably my favorite thing about The House at Black Tooth Pond is that I wasn't sure what to expect when I started it. Like walking into a movie that starts in an intriguing scene, you hope it's going to exciting places, but you own't know who's going to take you there. This one did not disappoint. The characters are so human, so very sane, that you can't help but understand their motives- even when they take them to clearly dangerous places. I loved that Rainey kept me guessing all the way through. Are we talking about a deranged murderer? A vindictive ghost? An alien? He somehow manages to weave an exciting, thoroughly believable tale, full of strange goings-on, and not let on until the very end -which by the way, gave me chills. A super fun read that I totally recommend.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Mark Rainey's The House at Black Tooth Pond begins with a grisly murder in a rundown apartment. The horrific injuries are unexplainable by either man or animal. Meanwhile, two brothers hiking in a remote corner of the same county come across an abandoned and decaying house and find themselves at the center of an inexplicable phenomenon.

Horror novels sink or swim on characterization and pacing, and Rainey succeeds on both counts. The main characters - an easy going sheriff, a middle aged academic, his artist brother and their friends and associates - are both familiar and unique. They speak and act like people we meet in small town diners and community colleges, but are drawn with such detail and knowledge that they are more than just their required role. Also, Rainey gives a masterclass on pacing. After the jarring horror of the opening, he pulls back and lets the reader learn the characters and their community, a fictional locale in southern Virginia with a history of unexplained events and cold case crimes. Finally, this deliberate - but never slow - stride subtly picks up for a devastating finish. Highly recommended.

I won't hear the call of the whippoorwhill again without a sense of dread.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful trip into cosmic horror

A creepy, run down, probably haunted house by a creepy, dank pond in the middle of gothic woods. Isn't that the perfect way to spend a long winter evening? Answer: yes.

The House at Black Tooth Pond is dripping (you'll see what I mean), relatable characters, an eerie mystery, and a delightfully twisted dark moment. The intertwining stories get more tangled as the book progresses, giving glimpses along the way of the answer in store for them and us. It climaxes into a beautiful, (you know what I mean) cosmic 'Holy Crow, Are You Kidding Me?,' finale that's completely satisfying. Highly recommended.

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Michael DaBronzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Stephen MarkRainey's stories since I picked up his short story collection, The Last Trumpet, almost 20 years ago. I've read many of his books, and he has consistently delivered with his writing. The House at Black Tooth Pond continues that streak. Another great tale of cosmic horror by an author who knows how to invoke it.

[Carson Buckingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aiken Mill, Virginia, also known as ‘The Cold Case Capitol of the World,’ is fast becoming the bane of Sheriff Bryce Parrott’s existence with the latest mysterious death–a mutilated body, torn to pieces and scattered about a room in a local boarding house. The man’s name was Frank Lydell, and his murder seems to be the triggering factor for all the horrific events that follow.

The Pritchett brothers, Martin and Phillip, discover a rundown old house out at Black Tooth Pond while walking a dog. They do a little exploring inside, finding nothing more remarkable than a stack of old mail. But after they leave, they discover that the house now exerts an influence over them that grows stronger by the day and is seemingly impossible to break.

Though Parrott and the Pritchetts work to solve their own problems, their paths eventually cross—right at the house at Black Tooth Pond, where they begin working together.

But in time?

Mr. Rainey presents us with another masterful crime/horror/sci-fi/paranormal genre-blending book that is hard to put down. I read The House at Black Tooth Pond in one sitting—it was that exciting and that frightening. Think of a traditional haunted house story but on LSD. It was somewhat reminiscent of Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, in that the house itself is insane. I enjoy horror that is more of the creepy type and this book did not disappoint.

5 out of 5 stars…You’ll want this for the next stormy night.

[Jack Tripper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a handful of Rainey’s short stories over the years (mostly his 90s Lovecraftian-ish work collected in The Last Trumpet), and enjoyed them well enough, but this novel was definitely on another level. It’s set in the same small, mountainous Virginia county where many of his other stories take place, one that seems to be a magnet for inexplicable and unnatural phenomena, which have become the source for countless urban legends over the years.

The events related here are sure to inspire many more in Sylvan County. It follows two main storylines. The first involves a sheriff investigating a body (well, body parts) found in a locked apartment that appears to have been ripped apart piece by piece, and covered in a gelatinous material seemingly made of nothing at all: no atomic structure whatsoever when analyzed under a microscope. The second concerns two brothers who discover an abandoned house out in the middle of the woods near a small pond, a house with unearthly vibes, and one they’re surprised they’ve never come across before during their frequent walks in the area. The house seems to call to them, and it becomes almost an obsession, even though they retain no solid memories of their time spent within it.

How these two stories intersect is the main mystery at the heart of the novel, and it maintains an eerie, ominous atmosphere throughout. That and the mountainy small town brings to mind Twin Peaks, which isn’t a bad thing. There’s a lot of creepy imagery here (who would have thought that the song of a whippoorwill could be so unsettling), and some creepy … entities. I was actually leaning towards a 5 star rating for most of it, but in the end I felt it dragged just a bit, with extraneous chapters that don’t push the story forward and which cover ground already thoroughly explored. Also, I wanted a few more answers. In weird fiction I don’t always need answers, as answers make things less weird, but when so much of the story revolves around an insane mystery, I’d like at least a little clarity.

I’m sure things will become more clear after reading more of Rainey’s oeuvre, as much of it is connected, and anyway the journey is more important than the destination, I suppose. And the journey here was well-written, intense, and pretty damn chilling, with well-drawn characters I actually grew to care and root for, unlike with a lot of weird fiction, where the protagonists are merely vessels for exploring otherworldly happenings.

In fact it’s so well-written it’s going to be hard going back to reading pulp trash.

Well, for a little while, anyway.

(ETA: I’m not sure if this has been confirmed by Rainey or not, but it feels like the story isn’t really over yet, as the door was left open for a sequel. So my complaint about a lack of answers may become moot in the near future. Still, it would have been nice to know going in that this was potentially just the first of many volumes.)

[Joseph Maddrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Mark Rainey returns to haunted Sylvan County, Virginia, with this slow-burn weird tale in the tradition of H.P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, TED Klein, Twin Peaks, and maybe even The Trollenberg Terror. The deeper story begins with the song of the whippoorwill, an echo of the past that mutates into something more haunting—because Rainey is a veteran miner of the uncanny. When his main character hears the song again, he recognizes it as the sound of his brother mimicking the song of the whippoorwill. When he hears it a third time, he realizes it is something else—something unnatural—mimicking the sound of a human mimicking the sounds of nature. This book made me think about the effects of social media and the threat of AI, and how they might be just as pernicious as an otherworldly Lovecraftian invasion because they can infect our minds and our world as Trojan horses. Rainey’s work conjures such abstract thoughts and unsettling feelings without ever making the horrors of Black Tooth Pond too obvious or explicit. I’m a fan.

[Valerie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story drew me in with the characters--deep, well-developed, and relatable. I especially enjoyed the camaraderie between the small-town sheriff and his deputies. Lots of humorous exchanges, many of the whistling-past-the-graveyard type. The other main characters, brothers mysteriously and simultaneously drawn to an abandoned, overgrown house next to the titular pond, were equally realistic. And any tale including a dog has my vote (no harm comes to the dog)!

Another strong point is the atmosphere. The details given about both the haunted house and the small community in which it is located put the reader in the scene. The use of colors to slowly increase the tension as the tale comes to its conclusion is particularly well done.

I'm not a huge fan of cosmic horror, but the way the author combines it with the classic haunted house is masterful. The book caught my interest from the start and kept it until the conclusion. Can't wait for the sequel! Highly recommend.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The House at Black Tooth Pond is a great read for lovers of small town horror, cosmic horror, and police procedurals. I enjoyed the combination of these subgenres, as I haven't seen a lot of cosmic horror/police procedural mashups.

The setting of Blacktooth Pond is brought to life with vivid descriptions, and there's an eerie ambiance to the area that extends outward to the town itself (and thus the whole book). As for the house itself, it holds an attraction and repulsion for the characters and the reader--I kept wondering if I would do what the characters do, whether I would let curiosity or self-preservation win out.

My favorite character is obviously Rufus, though I really like Chief Parrott, too. The book ended without every question/mystery/concern being wrapped up, so I wonder if there will be a sequel.

[Stephen Provost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Mark Rainey has created an intricate world populated with relatable characters facing horror beyond comprehension. The author deftly juxtaposes the "ordinary" life of a fictional rural community against the existence of a surreal and terrifying "other" dimension, then explores the explosive consequences when the two intersect. Eerie natural sounds usher in decidedly unnatural cosmic assaults on the senses and the psyche. The story is presented as a gradually unfolding mystery from the diverse perspectives of an artist, a psychology professor, a sheriff, and a medical examiner. Read "The House at Black Tooth Pond" and dive into the deep end of cosmic horror.

[paganfrogs_bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aiken Mill, Virginia is in a corner of the State that has its fair share of strange legends.
Now an unidentified mutilated body has been found and Sheriff Bryce Parrott uncovers frightening clues that something sinister is happening.
Its a tale of creepy cosmic horror that keeps you in suspense. I enjoyed reading it and I will want to read the authors other books.

[Jeff McIntosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice lovecraftian feel to this novel...about an evill forcve in a long abandoned house. I hope its part of a series....

Recommended.


Jeff mc