Review: The House At Black Tooth Pond by Stephen Mark Rainey

Stephen Mark Rainey is one of the greatest unsung masters of the genre and has churned out solid, entertaining work for decades. From Deathrealms magazine in the eighties and nineties to several dozen short stories to many novels that both embraced the classics and pushed the envelope, he has carved out his own piece of horror history.

With The House at Black Tooth Pond, Rainey furthers that narrative. What begins as a dark crime novel quickly morphs into a supernatural kaleidoscope of terror, but with characters who matter. When Sherriff Bryce Parrott discovers a murder scene that defies reality, his world is shaken. In the town of Aiken Mills, set in the southwestern part of Virginia, the reputation of being the cold case capital begins to make a bit of sense.

Parrott is far from the trope of the grizzled old cop who is burned out and living through a bottle. Rainey gives him an engaging personality that adds to the depth of the characterization that rings throughout the novel.

Brothers Martin and Phillip discover an old house at Black Tooth Pond, and while the psychology professor voices severe reservations after an uneventful first visit, both find themselves entranced by the structure and how it continues to affect them. At first, the effects are benign, but soon devolve into darker happenings.

Rainey sets up the multiple conflicts that unfold organically as the evil within the house reaches into all their lives in various ways. The effects it has on the enjoyable characters keeps the reader both engaged and rooting for them. The Pritchett brothers have a deep, complicated relationship that tosses away a bunch of tired trends, which evokes a classic eighties feel, reminiscent of those classics, but without the hokey cheese factor.