Todd Keisling's THE SUNDOWNER'S DANCE

Todd Keisling's The Sundowner's Dance is one of the best audiobooks I've listened to in ages. It's nice to have "mature" characters as the key players, and the characterizations feel spot-on. Malcolm Hillgartner's narration is also perfect — his voice captures each character believably and consistently, without ridiculous affectations that can ruin an otherwise good storyline. The plot unfolds slowly but with increasing tension, so it never feels bogged down — and the creep factor moves gradually from subtle to off the charts. A wonderful example of character-driven cosmic horror, and highly recommended.

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Todd Keisling's The Sundowner's Dance at Amazon.com

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Mark's Mythosphere

During the forty-some years I've been writing and publishing fiction, I have developed what amounts to a unique mythos, largely consistent with (if not necessarily part of) H.P. Lovecraft's so-called "Cthulhu Mythos." Like many writers from my generation—not to mention generations before and after—I came up as a fan of Lovecraft's works and many of my earliest stories qualified as little more than pastiches. None of them were publishable, but I consider them valuable practice runs for the works that would come after.

I've been asked on more than one occasion if I've made a definitive list of my stories and novels that fit into what I call the "Mythosphere," and the answer is no—until now! While some of my works definitely meet its (rather loose) criteria, others are harder to categorize; many might be called outliers, in that they share some common elements with my more overt Lovecraftian tales but don't fit neatly into any particular niche.

 

So, what is this Mythosphere? One of my earliest stories, titled "Threnody," latched onto the concept of sound—specifically music—as a means of bridging dimensions, inspired largely by HPL's "The Music of Erich Zann." In this story, I introduced a "music grimoire" titled The Spheres Beyond Sound, authored by one Maurice Zann. This volume served as a backdrop for a number of my early tales, and even some of my later ones. I never explored the character of Maurice Zann beyond describing him as an unspecified relative of HPL's character and stating that he vanished while experimenting with the musical formulae he devised.

 

The name Maurice Zann had what I'd call rather odd roots. When I was a youngster, I had a record album called A Child's Introduction to Music, and it was produced/narrated by one Maurice Zam. However, because this name was printed in a flowing script on the album cover, for many years, I read his name as "Zann." Thus was born Erich Zann's lesser-known relative.

 

I've written many stories over the years specifically for Lovecraftian/Cthulhu Mythos publications, though my preference has always been to shy away from specific Lovecraftian entities/settings/characters whenever possible. In any event, these overt Cthulhu Mythos stories comprise the earliest building blocks of my personal Mythosphere. As I continued to create fiction, I developed a few settings and characters that have appeared in numerous works. With my long history in the Piedmont and Appalachian regions of Virginia, I naturally gravitated toward them as atmospheric settings. The fictional Sylvan County and town of Aiken Mill are loosely based on the Martinsville/Henry County area where I grew up (and to which I've retired). Beckham College is based on Ferrum College in nearby Franklin County (Benjamin Beckham was Ferrum's first president). Barren Creek is based on Henry, Virginia, located between here and Ferrum. Also, since I lived in Chicago for several years, it has served as the setting of numerous stories and books.

 

In short, those works that I include in the Mythosphere are always rooted in cosmic horror to some degree or another, and most of them fit neatly into a fictional history of the regions in which they're set, occasionally with shared characters. One example of an outlier might be my second novel, The Lebo Coven (1994), which is set in Aiken Mill, though I consider it more an occult-based mystery than a true example of cosmic horror. The town sheriff in this novel is named George Parrott; in my recent novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond (2025), which is a distinct blend of folk and cosmic horror, the sheriff is Bryce Parrott, George's son (and he also appears in my new sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, titled Broken Barriers, to be released later this year by Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink).

 

And so, with no further ado, I will present here my list of stories and novels that I consider bona fide entries in Mark's Mythosphere. The year shown is when the works were written, and the bulleted entries denote the places/years of publication. Make of this what you will.

Mark's Mythosphere:
1985

“Smiert Galgalith”
   • The Haunted Journal (magazine, 1987)

“The Grey House” (short story)

   • Crypt of Cthulhu (magazine, 1992)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

1986
“The Arms of Doom” (short story)
   • Deathrealm (magazine, 1987)

1987
“Threnody” (short story)
   • Deathrealm (magazine, 1987)
   • The New Lovecraft Circle (anthology; published under the title "The Spheres Beyond
         Sound"; Fedogan & Bremer, 1996)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

“The Red Depths” (short story)
   • Revelations From Yuggoth (magazine, 1987)

“The Spheres Beyond Sound” (short story)
   • Tales of Lovecraftian Horror (magazine, 1987)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

“Rapture in Black” (short story)
   • Crypt of Cthulhu (magazine,1987)
   • The Innsmouth Cycle (anthology; Chaosium, 1998)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

1988
“God of Byzantium” (short story)
   • Aberations (magazine, 1991)

“Symphonia Maledictus” (short story)
   • Dagger of the Mind (magazine, 1990)

“Chameleon” (short story)
   • Eldritch Tales (magazine, 1990)

1989
“Spiritual Radio” (short story)
   • Chills (magazine, 1992)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

“Misfits” (short story)
   • Midnight Zoo (magazine, 1991)
   • Quick Chills (anthology; Scream Factory Books, 1992)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

“The Last Trumpet” (short story)
   • Limited Infinity (magazine, 1991)

“Return of the Navigator” (short story)
   • Fugue Devil & Other Weird Horrors (collection; Macabre Ink, 1992)

1990
“Fugue Devil” (novelette)
   • Fugue Devil & Other Weird Horrors (collection; Macabre Ink, 1992)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

1991
“The Last Show at Verdi’s Supper Club” (short story)
   • After Hours (magazine, 1992)
   • Song of Cthulhu (anthology; Chaosium, 2001)

“The Herald at Midnight” (short story)
   • Not One of Us (magazine, 1992)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

1992
Balak (novel)
   • Wildside Press (paperback/ebook, 2000)
   • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (audiobook, 2010)
   • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (revised edition; paperback/ebook, 2026)

1993
“Stalker of the Wild Wind” (short story)
   • Terminal Fright (magazine, 1993)
   • The Ithaqua Cycle (anthology; Chaosium, 1999)
   • Legends of the Night (collection; Wildside Press, 2001)

“Sabbath of the Black Goat” (short story)
   • The Shub-Niggurath Cycle (anthology; Chaosium, 1994)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

1994
The Lebo Coven (novel)
   • Thomson Gale/Five Star Books (hardback, 2004)
   • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (paperback/ebook/audiobook, 2010)

“S” (short story)
   • The Azathoth Cycle (anthology; published under the title “The Pit of Shoggoths,”
         Chaosium, 1996)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

1995
“To Be as They” (short story)
   • Miskatonic University (anthology; DAW, 1996)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000

“The Devil’s Eye” (short story)
   • Midnight Shambler (magazine, 1997)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

1996
“Shudder Wyrm” (short story)
   • Singers of Strange Songs (anthology; Chaosium,1997)

“The Fire Dogs of Balustrade” (short story)
   • New Mythos Legends (anthology; Marietta Publishing, 1999)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

1997
“Orchestra” (short story)
   • October Dreams (anthology; CD Books, 2000)
   • Legends of the Night (collection; Wildside Press, 2001)

“Pachacutec” (short story)
   • Deathrealm (magazine 1997)

1999
“The Children of Burma” (short story)
   • The Spook (magazine, 2001)
   • Legends of the Night (collection; Wildside Press, 2001)
   • The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack: 40 Modern & Classic Lovecraftian Stories
     (mega-anthology; Wildside Press, 2013)

2001
“Epiphany: A Flying Tiger’s Story” (short story)
   • Dead But Dreaming (anthology; DarkTales Books, 2001)
   • Dark Homage (series; Delirium Books, 2004)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

2002
Blue Devil Island (novel)
   • Thomson Gale/Five Star Books (hardback, 2007)
   • Marietta Press (paperback, 2012)
   • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (paperback/ebook/audiobook, 2015)

2003
“The Violet Princess” (short story)
   • Eldritch Blue (anthology; Lindisfarne Press, 2004)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

2004
“The Transformer of Worlds” (short story)
   • Daikaiju (anthology; Agog Press, 2005)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

2005
“Other Gods” (short story)
   • Cemetery Dance (magazine, 2006)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions, 2008)

2006
“Contact” (short story, with John Pelan)
   • Black Wings of Cthulhu IV (anthology; PS Publishing, 2016)

“The Ghost Lens” (short story)
   • Horrors Beyond II (anthology; Elder Signs Press, 2007)
   • The Gaki & Other Hungry Spirits (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2011)

“Messages From a Dark Deity” (short story)
   • Return of the Old Ones (anthology; Dark Regions Press, 2016)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

2007
“Signals” (short story)
   • High Seas Cthulhu (anthology; Elder Signs Press, 2007)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

“Abroyel” (short story)
   • The Gaki & Other Hungry Spirits (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2011)

2010
“Beneath the Pier” (short story)
   • Lovecraft eZine (webzine, 2013)

“The Warlords of Leng” (short story)
   • Secret Asia’s Blackest Heart (anthology; Timaios Press, 2021)

“The End of Henry Switch Road” (short story)
   • Dark Discoveries (magazine, 2012)

2011
“The Danforth Project” (short story)
   • The Mountains of Madness (anthology; Celaeno Press, 2015)

“The Gods of Moab” (novelette)
   • Damned Rodan Publishing (ebook, 2012; paperback, 2024)

“Ecstasy of the Gold” (short story)
   • Lovecraft eZine (webzine, 2012)

2013
“The Game Changers” (short story)
   • World War Cthulhu (anthology; Dark Regions Press, 2014)

“When Jarly Calls” (short story)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

2014
“Masque of the Queen” (short story)
   • In the Court of the Yellow King (anthology, Celaeno Press, 2014)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

“Short Wave” (short story)
   • The Summer of Lovecraft (anthology; Chaosium, 2019)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

2016
“The Diaries of Henry P. Linklatter” (short story)
   • Through a Mythos Darkly (anthology; PS Publishing, 2017)

2017
“The Veil of Dreams” (short story)
   • Tails of Terror (anthology; Golden Goblin Press, 2018)

“Clicks” (short story)
   • Tales From Arkham Sanitarium (anthology; Dark Regions Press, 2022)

2018
“Pons Devana” (short story)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

2022
“Nimbus” (short story)
   • The Weird Cat (anthology; WordCrafts Press, 2023)

2023
“The House at Black Tooth Pond” (short story)
   • Shunned Houses (anthology; WordCrafts Press, 2024)

2024
The House at Black Tooth Pond (novel)
  • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (paperback/ebook/audiobook, 2025)

“Throatwarbler Meets the Vampire” (short story)
   • Eldritch Force (anthology; Weird House Publishing, publication TBA)

“Foragers” (short story)
   • Witches and Witchcraft (anthology; Hippocampus Press, 2025)

2025
“Trial Phase” (short story)
  • Shoggoths (anthology; Crossroad Press, publication TBA)

2026
Broken Barriers (novel)
   • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (publication TBA)

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BALAK (Revised Edition) Now Available

The new, revised edition of Balak is now available from Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink in ebook and paperback. (The audiobook is the original version.)

"This revised edition of Stephen Mark Rainey’s first novel, Balak (originally written in 1992), offers a cleaner version of the text and includes some alterations to unify it with numerous other works that define the author’s unique, four-decade-old mythos."

About Balak...

Two years ago, Claire Challis’s four-year-old son disappeared without a trace. Now, on a cold winter morning, a neighbor’s child vanishes outside her apartment. The subsequent police investigation turns up no clues.

Claire encounters a strange priest. An ancient church that seems to be the site of unspeakable rituals. A shadowy figure that seems to appear and disappear at will. And now, Claire finds herself at the center of a web of intrigue—and in fear for her life. Still, she is determined to learn the truth behind the abductions and learn once and for all the fate of her missing son.

As she delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, Claire realizes that her quest may lead her not to the truth she seeks, but to a place of madness, horror, and agony beyond her wildest imaginings.

Cover art by M. Wayne Miller.

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Order Balak from Amazon.com

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BROKEN BARRIERS Completed!

I just slapped "THE END" on my 15th novel, Broken Barriers, to be released a bit later this year. This is the sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, which came out in 2025. I'll have the proofing, editing, and all that stuff to do, but the bulk of the book is finished. Might need a celebratory martini this evening!

Here's the teeny-tiniest of excerpts... 

Doctor Melissa “Mel” Crawford's deep green eyes lingered on Parrott’s for a few seconds. They sat across from each other at a small table by the front window of Willy’s Downtown Tavern, which offered a lovely view of the sprawling, two-century-old First United Methodist Church building across Main Street (the congregation of which had disapproved of the tavern’s proximity for a full half as many years). Doc Crawford had always looked far younger than her age, which he put at around forty…or maybe thirty…or maybe fifty…who knew? But since last month, several new lines and creases had formed at the corners of her eyes, and a few gray streaks ran through her short, wiry brown hair, so that she resembled a sagacious pixie. As the county medical examiner, she had borne more than her share of the FBI’s condemnation during its investigation of Aiken Mill’s missing six.

“When was the last time I trusted anyone?” Parrott asked.

“Well, you trusted me when I told you we were dealing with something wholly unexplainable at Black Tooth Pond. And when I advised you to call the FBI, you up and did it, against your better judgment. And when I said, ‘Let’s go out to dinner because you need cheering up,’ you accepted. At this point, I would have to call you exceedingly gullible—the fact that we were dealing with something wholly unexplainable notwithstanding.”

“Point taken, but our admittedly nasty intercourse with the FBI was inevitable. We were in over our heads.”

Doc Crawford snickered and raised her nearly full glass of Chardonnay. “To intercourse and being in over our heads.”

Parrott lifted his half-empty, no-longer-chilled mug of Thunder Knob IPA to touch her glass. He struck it a little harder than he intended and sloshed a smidgen of her pale gold-tinted wine onto the table. They both ignored it. A couple of seconds later, the last of his beer had vanished.

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I Wonder What That Is...

Well, it sure looks like something is out there at Black Tooth Pond.

My work on the sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond is coming closer and closer to its end. Only a couple of chapters more, I believe, before I can slap "The End" on it. And then we shall see...

Sylvan County's Voice of Love, Wisdom, and What All

Know what? I feel compelled to inflict this on you. When we were kids, my brother and I made tape recordings of a little fictitious radio station, WDUM, and on it, we did a show called "Mother Bell" which consisted primarily of prank phone calls. It occurred to me the other day that I should include Mother Bell as a podcast in the sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, tentatively titled Broken Barriers.. Prepare to be inflicted upon.

The Mother Bell Podcast
Sylvan County’s Voice of Wisdom, Love, and What All

Hello, children! This is Mother Bell, back with you on a chilly Sunday evening, hoping that come tomorrow, you survive your daring leap back into the workweek. I myself have had the loveliest weekend, and I trust you did too. My son, Scott, and his wife, Bethany, and my two grandchildren, Johnny and Mary Lynn, visited me yesterday, and I can’t tell you what it means to me that they give so freely of their time and energy in my old age. Without them, I could not get by. Oh no, I could not! And I know, many of my friends and neighbors are envious of this, and even some of you, too. But that’s okay. Y’all just envy away. Someday or another, everybody’s gonna get what’s coming to ’em.

Speaking of, whatever is coming, ain’t nobody knows, but I’m here to tell you things here in our town are spooky. It’s like, not so long ago, all these people from here vanished under 'mysterious circumstances.' So, what about our good ol’ sheriff, huh? Well, he and his people did their investigation stuff and such for a while, and then...they up and threw up their hands. Well, that’s what I heard. Then the FBI comes along, and they do their FBI stuff and such, and then they throw up their hands and go away.

I ask you, children, what is going on here?

Imma let you in on a secret. A lot of y’all know that I live up on Copper Peak, and in my lifetime, I have seen devils flying around up here. These are real, true devils, not just bad people who’ve never had the Lord in their hearts. I know, nowadays, we prefer to think that the devil is nothing more than the evil that human beings do, but I’m here to tell you, it’s not like that. These are the most frightening things you could ever imagine, and sometimes you can even smell ’em. Sometimes, that’s the only way to know they’re nearby.

And listen. They’re not just up on Copper Peak. Oh, no, they’re all around in this old, old part of the country, lurking and skulking in the dark shadows.

So, I’m telling you, children, keep the Lord in your hearts and be vigilant. Be careful of these devils. If you see them, they may well see you. And if they do, you’d better be wearing the Lord’s armor, else they may not pass you by. I keep my armor on day and night, and I surely do thank the Lord every day for His protection and His mercy.

We gonna talk more about this in a bit, but right now, I’m gonna put on one of my all-time favorite praiseful songs, “This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made,” sung by the incomparable Mr. Fillmore Skillman, for you to contemplate and enjoy. And while I’m gone, let it be known, like I always tell you: you won’t see me, but Imma see you, because I’m gonna be around, children. So, bye-bye for now, and I’ll be back in five.

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THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND for Christmas?

As many of my readers already know, I'm currently working on the sequel to my novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond, which came out earlier this year. So, if you haven't already read the original novel, I think you really otter! It's a fun blend of folk and cosmic horror, available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook (narrated by the inimitable Joshua Saxon) from Crossroad Press.

Why not scare the pants off somebody you love (or loathe) for Christmas? It's what I'd do!

 

"Stephen Mark Rainey brings Lovecraftian horror to rural Virginia in this chilling tale...the grounded and believable characterization of his protagonists makes suspending disbelief easy. This is cosmic horror done right.”

—Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

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More info and ordering links for
The House at Black Tooth Pond here

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Hot Off the Crossroad Press—BLUE DEVIL ISLAND

Last week, Crossroad Press founder & CEO David Niall Wilson, audio book narrator Joshua Saxon, and I got together for a Zoom chat to talk about my novel, Blue Devil Island, as it was Joshua's first job with Crossroad, back in 2019. It was an enjoyable half-hour conversation, and is featured in this week's Hot Off the Crossroad Press newsletter. The video is live, so if you're feeling brave, you can watch it on YouTube here. Since then, Joshua has now narrated 76 audiobooks for Crossroad, and he is easily one of the most popular readers anywhere. Check out the conversation, and you'll see why. 

Night of the Fugue Devil

Every seventeen years, on the Autumn Equinox, the Fugue Devil flies out of its extra-dimensional lair to steal souls. It occurs to me that, given the timeline of the stories, TONIGHT is the night of the Fugue Devil.

Just remember...
If you know about the Fugue Devil,
     It knows about you.
If you see the Fugue Devil,
     It will come for you.

Yep, the events in the original novelette take place in 1991, so its next appearance was in 2008, and now, it's that time once again.

Some time ago, I wrote on me blog what amounts to story notes that detail the origin of "Fugue Devil"—a little essay called "The Equinox Devil," which you may find here. And if you're keen on checking out the monster that started it all, just visit the link below. By all means, do sleep well tonight.

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Order Fugue Devil: Resurgence from Amazon.com here

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THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND... More to Come?

"Stephen Mark Rainey brings Lovecraftian horror to rural Virginia in this chilling tale...
the grounded
and believable characterization of his protagonists makes suspending disbelief easy. This is cosmic horror done right!”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

I've had far more than customary feedback from readers wondering whether I might consider writing a sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond. Well...as a matter of fact, I've decided to more than consider it. I'm plotting it as we speak. I guess that's why I've been feeling creeped out for a few days because it's....well, creepy. Link to the book in the first comment. If you haven't checked it out, please do! Available as ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

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Order The House at Black Tooth Pond
from Amazon.com

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THE NIGHTMARE FRONTIER Now Available in Paperback!

Please allow me to interrupt the day's more critical issues (over which I've been venting my brain perhaps more than most people want to hear) to inform you that my 2010 novel, The Nightmare Frontier, up until now available in ebook and audiobook format, is now out as a trade paperback from Macabre Ink/Crossroad Press. Back in the day, this one had something of a quiet release and never gained as much attraction as I feel it deserved. It's a novel I'm rather fond of—something of a melange of folk and cosmic horror, set in rural West Virginia. The paperback contains a few general revisions and corrects a handful of errors present in the original release. Here's a little summary for you:

The town of Silver Ridge, West Virginia, has disappeared from the face of the earth.

A vast chasm prevents any living soul from crossing into the community. From above, only an impenetrable layer of mist marks the spot where the town had existed. Inside Silver Ridge, the nightmare is just beginning.

 

Confined by this unimaginable barrier, the townspeople find themselves confronted by the denizens of a distant dimension: horrifying creatures that intend to transform the valley town into an outpost hospitable to their existence. To these extra-dimensional travelers, human beings are nothing more than pests to be exterminated.

Russ Copeland and Debra Harrington are determined to resist… but as they face death to restore Silver Ridge to its rightful place on Earth, they find that their true enemy may not be the incomprehensible invaders, but an insidious evil whose origin is closer to home than they can imagine.

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“REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE to read a horror novel that actually made you sweat with dread and your hand shake ever-so-slightly as you turned the page? Remember what it was like to feel your heart thud against your chest as the plight of the characters became your own? Stephen Mark Rainey’s The Nightmare Frontier delivers the goods. This is the Good, Real Stuff. From its powerful opening in the jungles of Vietnam to its nerve-wracking finale, this novel never releases its grip on the reader’s nerves, brains, and heart.”—Gary A. Braunbeck, author of In Silent Graves, Things Left Behind, and others

# 

The paperback—the backcover and interior of which I was pleased to be able to design myself—is only $13.99 and available NOW. Please check it out!

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Order The Nightmare Frontier in Paperback from Amazon.com

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Old Dude at Bryan Nowak's "All Things Writing"

If you're very, very brave, you can watch and listen to Bryan Nowak's ALL THINGS WRITING podcast featuring a weird old dude. It's about The House at Black Tooth Pond, Blue Devil Island, H.P. Lovecraft, monsters...all kinds of scary stuff. Go ahead...prove your mettle!

THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND—A Starred Review in Publishers Weekly!

WOOT! Publishers Weekly gives my newest novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond, a starred review.

“Rainey brings Lovecraftian horror to rural Virginia in this chilling tale...the grounded and believable characterization of his protagonists makes suspending disbelief easy. This is cosmic horror done right.” Publishers Weekly

I know this week falls in the middle of the Amazon boycott, but if you'd like an autographed copy of the paperback, just shoot me an email at mark (at) stephenmarkrainey (dot) com, and I can almost certainly accommodate you. The audiobook has just come out from Audible, narrated by the inimitable Joshua Saxon; so when the boycott is over, please avail yourself...

In the meantime, here is a list of retailers where you can buy the ebook.

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The House at Black Tooth Pond Review at Publishers Weekly

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5-Star Advance Review of The House at Black Tooth Pond at Hellnotes

The first advance review of The House at Black Tooth Pond, due in February from Crossroad Press, is up at Hellnotes. Five stars from reviewer Carson Buckingham!

"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..."

Read the full review here.

The ebook and paperback editions are now up for pre-order. The audiobook, narrated by Joshua Saxon, will be released in February as well.

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Preorder The House at Black Tooth Pond here.

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THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND Now Up for Pre-Order!

Artist Charles Hill's rendering of "Black Tooth Pond" (a.k.a. Lester Pond), as it appeared in the 1970s/1980s

My new novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond, is scheduled for release by Macabre Ink (the horror imprint of Crossroad Press) on February 11, 2025. The ebook and paperback editions are now up for pre-order here. Just for shits and giggles, I thought I'd write up a little missive about the novel's setting. Also note that the novel is an expansion of my short story of the same title, which recently appeared in the anthology Shunned Houses, edited by Katherine Kerestman and S.T. Joshi.

The World of Black Tooth Pond
"Black Tooth Pond" is a name I coined many years ago for a small body of water hidden in the woods behind Martinsville High School. My introduction to it came by way of a tenth-grade biology class outing to conduct water-quality experiments. I'd had no idea the place existed, and finding this pond, shrouded in morning mist, an array of black, tooth-like tree trunks protruding from one end, really fired my imagination. The name "Black Tooth Pond" immediately sprang to mind, and as far as I was concerned, that became its official moniker. I discovered in later years that it was known as "Lester Pond," after the name of the landowner. In 2010, I wrote a fairly lengthy blog about my subsequent adventures at and around the pond, which you may find here.

Last year, after more than a decade, I decided to check it out again (blog entry here). To my dismay, I found that, while the pond still existed, all the woods around it had been clear-cut (as have all too many pristine woodlands in this county). I was informed that those woods were considered valuable only for their timber, which is, in my book, among the most deplorable attitudes of the entire human species, so the landowners can go fuck themselves. But that's a whole 'nuther story.

A fictional version of Black Tooth Pond became a semi-regular setting in my tales of Aiken Mill/Sylvan County, Virginia, a location loosely based on Martinsville and the surrounding counties of Patrick, Henry, Franklin, and Floyd.

Left: Black Tooth Pond (a.k.a. Lester Pond) in December 2010; Right: the pond in November 2023

The House of Cabiness
The place I call the House of Cabiness — the "haunted house" of the title — was an old homestead out in another part of Henry County that my brother, Phred, and I discovered back around 1990 while roaming the backroads in his pickup truck, which was a regular activity in those days, oftentimes with his dog Luther accompanying. I'm not going to state that we necessarily went out to the boonies to fire up illicit substances or anything, but... well, sometimes, we might have done some not-at-all smart things.

On one of our nighttime outings, we found a little dirt road that led back into some pretty deep woods, so we decided to follow it. We could only drive so far before the road petered out into a rough footpath, so we parked the truck and continued a piéd. After a while, I noticed that the silhouettes of the nearby trees against the starry sky became curiously boxlike, and I realized I was seeing the contours of a totally overgrown old house. Phred and I both loved finding such "haunted" places, so we wandered around the exterior of the structure as best we could with only cigarette lighters to light our way. Much in the way of Black Tooth Pond, this old place captured our imaginations, and so we decided to return to the house in daylight.

I don't recall whether it was the next day or sometime later, but anyway, Phred and I did return, this time with flashlights, and made a thorough exploration of the inside. Did you ever see The Blair Witch Project? Well, the inside of this house looked very much like that. We found a huge stack of old mail, twenty to thirty years old, some unopened, addressed to various members of the Cabiness family. (In the novel, I changed this to "Caviness," simply because the "cabin" part of the name somehow seemed a little too much given the title of the tale.)

The most ridiculous part of all this was that, not long afterward, one of my brother's college friends, who was getting married, decided to come visit Phred the night before his wedding, and — for his de facto "bachelor party" — we ventured out to the house. The next thing I knew, my brother, his friend, an additional friend, and I all piled into that house with not one flashlight to our names and went wandering about. I know not how, but we avoided the plentiful, bottomless holes in the floors; went up the fucking rickety stairs; and, somehow, did not die.

I returned to the place a few times after that and took some photographs, both inside and out, but that was all within a few months of our original adventure. I'm quite certain that the house no longer exists; for one thing, it was on the verge of falling down over thirty years ago, and for the second thing, Google Maps shows that in that area — sadly, as around Black Tooth Pond — all the woods have been fucking cut down. God awmighty, sometimes I despise humanity for the damage we inflict on our very home.

Anyhoo, all this gives you a bit of backstory for the settings you'll find in both the story "The House at Black Tooth Pond," and the novel of the same name. I surely do hope this whets your appetite.

Bye now!

Artist Charles Hill's rendering of the House of Cabiness, "cleaned-up"

Left: My pen & ink rendering of the old house, circa 1990; Right: a photo of the actual location, circa 1990

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Pre-Order The House at Black Tooth Pond
(ebook and paperback)

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Coming in February 2025: THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND

“Welcome to Aiken Mill, Virginia—The Cold Case Capital of the World.”
My new novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond, is scheduled for release by Macabre Ink (the horror imprint of Crossroad Press) in February 2025...and yes, I have the excitement!

AIKEN MILL, VA: A legend-haunted town in Sylvan County, located in a remote mountainous corner of the state. Now, a mutilated body has turned up in the town. During his investigation, Sheriff Bryce Parrott discovers frightening clues that lead him to believe that some inhuman force 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 directly to the ancient, foreboding house at Black Tooth Pond.

Pre-orders will be available very soon. Stay tuned for more... much more!... about The House at Black Tooth Pond!

"Stephen Mark Rainey's talent is on display here like never before. His masterful use of imagery transported me to shadow-haunted Sylvan County. I heard the eerie cry of the whippoorwill, that cry that marks the presence of the evil entity that roams the woods and lurks within the walls of the house at Black Tooth Pond. You will hear it, too."—Mike Davis, The Lovecraft eZine

Cover art by J. Edward Neill; pen & ink rendering by me, circa 1990, of the actual house that is the basis for the setting in this novel.

Deathrealm: Spirits — One Year Old!

Holy cows! Today, it's one year since the release of Deathrealm: Spirits from Shortwave Publishing. With 20 stories & rhymes by some of the finest authors & poets in the business, Deathrealm: Spirits was the first of a long line of best-selling titles from Shortwave. Thanks to Shortwave CEO Alan Lastufka for helping take this incredible anthology from dream to reality.

FEATURING: Linda D. Addison • Meghan Arcuri • Larry Blamire • Maurice Broaddus • Heather Daughrity • Tim Huguenin • Brian Keene • Ronald Kelly • Joe R. Lansdale • Kasey Lansdale • Eric LaRocca • Patricia Lee Macomber • Elizabeth Massie • Bridgett Nelson • Errick Nunnally • Jeffrey Oliver • Jessica Amanda Salmonson • Richard Thomas • Tony Tremblay • David Niall Wilson

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Got yours? If not, there's still one waiting for you...here!

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This Friday: Author Signing at Seven Sounds Brewing Co., Elizabeth City, NC

THIS FRIDAY! September 6, 2024, 5:00 p.m. EDT, at Seven Sounds Brewing Company in Elizabeth City, NC — a four-author booksigning event, featuring Elizabeth Broadbent, Patricia Lee Macomber, David Niall Wilson, and an old dude. To promote our work, the brewery will offer a unique brew matched with each author's featured book (mine is Fugue Devil: Resurgence — though they may want to leave off the "Resurgence" part, brew-wise!). Seven Sounds features both indoor and outdoor seating, and there will be food trucks and other vendors on hand with wares of many varieties.

In addition to Fugue Devil: Resurgence, I'll also have copies of Deathrealm: Spirits, The Monarchs (which is set in Elizabeth City), The Gods of Moab, Blue Devil Island, and others. If you're within traveling distance, please come see us!

The Gods of Moab Now Available in Paperback!

The Gods of Moab is a novella I wrote in 2012, and since then it's been available only as an ebook. I've had enough queries over the years about whether I might consider releasing it as a paperback that I finally decided to just jump in and do it. So... 'tis here!

  

"A pleasant New Year's Eve outing becomes an experience in otherworldly horror when two close-knit couples discover a shocking secret in the darkest corners of the Appalachian mountains. At an opulent mountain inn, Warren Burr, his fiancee, Anne, and their friends, Roger and Kristin Leverman, encounter a religious zealot named John Hanger, who makes it his business to bear witness to them of his peculiar... and disturbing... faith. His efforts rebuffed, Hanger insidiously assumes control of the couples' technological devices, leading them to stumble into unexpected, surreal landscapes... landscapes inhabited by nightmarish beings that defy explanation and rationality. To return to the world they thought they knew, Warren and his friends must not only escape the deadly entities that pursue them but somehow stop John Hanger's nightmare-plague from spreading to the outside world."

The Gods of Moab is a frightening novella by Stephen Mark Rainey, acclaimed author of Balak, Blue Devil Island, Other Gods, The Nightmare Frontier, and editor of the award-winning Deathrealm magazine and best-selling Deathrealm: Spirits anthology.

"After devouring The Gods of Moab in one short sitting, this novella has not only become my favorite work by the author, it has become one of my favorite reads of the year. Rainey balances his supernatural frights with the natural, and it works beautifully. From the first page to its mind-bending final sentences, The Gods of Moab will have readers wide-eyed and enthralled." —TTZuma, HorrorWorld

 

I plan to have copies available at my Magnolia & Main Booksigning on July 20; at NecronomiCon in Providence, RI, August 15–18; and the Spencer-Penn Centre Local Authors Booksigning Event on September 21. You know I'll post updates as necessary!

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Order The Gods of Moab from Amazon.com here!

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New Novel Complete — The House at Black Tooth Pond

After long, hard work for the past six months, I have finished my latest novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond. It's based on a story of the same title, which will be appearing in the anthology, Shunned Houses, edited by Katherine Kerestman & S.T. Joshi, this coming August (the launch is set for NecronomiCon 2024, in Providence, RI, which I'm planning to attend). Like many of my works of fiction, the novel is set in my fictitious version of Martinsville and Henry County, VA, called Aiken Mill and Sylvan County respectively. While the novel is not a direct sequel to any of my earlier works, it does feature recurring settings and characters from The Lebo Coven, Fugue Devil: Resurgence, and many others.

Here's an excerpt from the book I posted a while back: "Work-in-Progress Excerpt: The House at Black Tooth Pond"

The setting of the novel (and the original story), is based on a couple of places that actually exist in this area. The painting above, by friend and fine artist Charles Hill, is one he did based on some of our old visits out to the place. The drawing below is one that I did, back around 1990, which depicts an old abandoned house my brother and I discovered in the woods of Henry County way back when. In the novel, the two settings are combined to create what I think is an exceptionally creepy location at which terrifying events do happen, which I hope will scare the pants of of ye.

More news about the book's publication will follow at the earliest possibility. For more information on "Black Tooth Pond," the real location, check this out: "Black Tooth Pond"