The Truth Lovecraft Didn’t Tell | The Ballad of Black Tom and the Horrors of Humanity

0:00 So I sought out others, entirely unlike myself, and when they spoke of secret wisdom, I listened. What men like myself would dismiss as superstition or worse, pure evil, I learned to cherish. The more I read, the more I listened, the more sure I became that a great and secret show had been playing throughout my life, throughout all our lives.

0:28 But the mass of us were too ignorant or too frightened to raise our eyes and watch. Because to watch would be to understand that the play isn't being staged for us. To learn we simply do not matter to the players at all. Well, it's Halloween again, and what would Halloween be without a Halloween special?

0:56 You can check out my other Halloween specials throughout the years by checking out the playlist in the description. HP Lovecraft needs no introduction. He was a master in the horror genre, and I've covered several of his works on this channel. If you check out the description, you'll find a playlist full of videos where I explore his work.

1:15 Lovecraft is arguably one of the most influential authors of all time, and he is certainly the most influential horror author to come out of the 20th century. Some of his well-known works like The Call of Cthulhu at the Mountains of Madness, The Dun Witch Horror, The Color from Outer Space, are burned into our collective consciousness and have influenced the horror genre in ways that many don't even realize.

1:38 In this video, however, we're going to focus on a lesser-known Lovecraft story, the horror at Red Hook, and its modern reinterpretation, The Ballad of Black Tom. I just want to start this off by saying that the Ballad of Black Tom is one of the best modern takes on a Lovecraft story that I have ever read.

2:02 It adds complexity to the story and its characters, and adds nuance to the horrors that they face in this tale. It refocuses the narrative to deconstruct Lovecraft's often problematic worldview, which we'll talk about more later, and it does so in a graceful, almost elegant way, while still maintaining the sense of cosmic dread and chaos that Lovecraft's work often evokes.

2:25 Going forward, keep in mind that this video will have spoilers for The Horror at Red Hook by H.P. Lovecraft and The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavallique. If you appreciate my content, consider hitting the like button. It's the best way to get the YouTube algorithm to notice this channel. If you want to do more to support this channel, consider checking out the Patreon link in the description.

3:10 The cult would never die till the stars came right again, and the secret priest would take great Cthulhu from his tomb to revive his subjects and resume his rule of earth. The time would be easy to know, for then mankind would have become as the great old ones, free and wild and beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside, and all men shouting and killing and reveling in joy.

3:41 The Call of Cthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft. Now, if you've ever read H.P. Lovecraft's The Horror at Red Hook, then you know that no specific character by the name of Black Tom is ever mentioned. The original story instead centers around 1925's detective Thomas Malone, who is investigating the strange happenings concentrated in a New York neighborhood known as Red Hook.

4:05 These strange occurrences, which include cult activity and devil worship, were somehow tied to an eccentric, wealthy recluse by the name of Robert Sudam. Now, as I said earlier, Lovecraft obviously had certain problematic views, and this has been well discussed by many people. In my opinion, these views don't usually show up in his work.

4:26 This story, however, is an exception. In this particular story, Lovecraft's xenophobia does in fact rear its head. For instance, consider how this neighborhood of immigrants is described in the original story. The population is a hopeless tangle and enigma, Syrian, Spanish, Italian, and Negro elements impinging upon one another, and fragments of Scandinavian and American belts lying not far distant.

4:53 It is a babble of sound and filth, and sends out strange cries to answer the lapping of oily waves at its grimy piers and the monstrous organ litanies of the harbor whistles. Let's be frank and get it out of the way by acknowledging that the way Lovecraft describes immigrants and black people in this story is quite bigoted and certainly conveys his fear of otherness and the unknown.

5:17 In the story, Thomas Malone is progressively more disturbed by what he witnesses in Red Hook. At some point, Malone and other officers conduct a raid in Red Hook, hoping to root out the cult. However, they encounter fierce resistance from the inhabitants, and what they find horrifies them. The cult's hideout is filled with nightmarish symbols and statues and other unsettling artifacts.

5:42 During the raid, Malone stumbles upon a secret chamber where he witnesses a ritual in progress, involving twisted inhuman figures who appear to be performing unspeakable acts. He sees worshippers and cultists engaged in what appears to be a sacrificial ceremony, with their actions seeming more monstrous than human.

6:01 He hears eerie chants and the frantic movements of those involved in the ritual. The room pulses with an almost palpable sense of malevolence, essentially a kind of gateway to another dimension or reality opens up. In my opinion, it is likely similar to what we see in At the Mountains of Madness when Dan Forth looks back.

6:21 It is an entryway by which these Lovecraftian entities can travel into our world and other worlds as well, and to look into it is to experience cosmic madness, which the human mind was not meant for. A crack formed and enlarged, and the whole door gave way, but from the other side, whence poured a howling tumult of ice-cold wind, with all the stinges of the bottomless pit, and whence reached a sucking force not of earth or heaven, which coiling sentiently about the paralyzed detective dragged him through the aperture and down unmeasured spaces filled with whispers and wails and gusts of mocking laughter.

7:03 Malone feels as though he is pulled into the ritual's madness. He senses the presence of ancient evil entities reaching out through the veil between the worlds, and he witnesses what he believes to be a horrifying vision of hell. O friend and companion of night, thou who rejoicest in the baying of dogs!

7:24 Here a hideous howl burst forth, and spilt blood! Here nameless sounds vied with morbid shriekings, who wanderest in the mist of shades among the tombs! Here a whistling sigh occurred, who longest for blood and bringest terror to mortals, short, sharp cries from myriad throats, Gorgo, repeated as response.

7:46 Mormo, repeated with ecstasy. Thousand faced moon. Sighs and flute notes. Look favorably upon our sacrifices. What Malone witnesses is so traumatic that it ultimately shatters his sanity, leaving him with lasting psychological scars and haunting memories that he cannot fully process or explain. Malone lives, but he is forever changed.

8:14 Following the raid, the police find signs of brutal sacrifices and torture. Many of the cult members have disappeared, while others are captured. But the investigation yields no concrete evidence. In the end, the area seems quieter, and yet the eerie atmosphere remains. Now, where does Black Tom fit into all of this?

8:35 No character by the name of Black Tom ever appears in the work of HP Lovecraft, but the idea of Black Tom is there nonetheless. Throughout many works of Lovecraft, there is mention of cults of foreigners and outsiders from all over the world. The Call of Cthulhu mainly focuses on the Cthulhu cult. Victor Lavalli and The Ballad of Black Tom takes inspiration from this.

8:56 In the Call of Cthulhu, Lovecraft gives notable attention to cult members and leaders, portraying them as mysterious shadowy figures who protect forbidden knowledge about Cthulhu and the old ones. Specifically, a man named Old Castro provides a lot of information about the cult and its history. We know that these figures exist within Lovecraft's universe, but the story never focuses on them or why they worship the old ones in the first place.

9:24 The Ballad of Black Tom explores this, and it explores it well in my opinion. Like in the Lovecraft story, Thomas Malone and Robert Soudam are significant figures, but the narrative focuses on Charles Thomas Tester, a young African-American man living in the 1920s, in Harlem who becomes involved in the occult.

9:46 Thomas lives with his father, Otis, an aging musician. Thomas is also a musician, not a very good one. His real hustle is that he trades in occult goods. He encounters Sudan one day, who has noticed him from afar. Sudan offers him a lot of money to play at a party of his in a few days. Thomas accepts because he needs the money, though he is anxious because he knows that Sudam isn't hiring him for music.

10:12 He knows that it will somehow be occult-related. In the original story, The Horror at Red Hook, Sudam is depicted as an enigmatic, sinister figure who becomes unnaturally youthful and powerful due to his association with dark forces. He has a one-dimensional characterization and is largely defined by his occult obsession.

10:34 In the Ballad of Black Tom, however, Sudam is a more nuanced and manipulative character who actively seeks out Charles Tester's help to further his aims. Lavalli also gives him motivations beyond the occult, portraying him as a wealthy man rebelling against the power structures of society and attempting to use other worldly forces to reshape reality.

10:57 He tells Charles Thomas that there is a sleeping king beneath the sea, and that one day he will awaken to claim the earth. Soudan believes that he will be rewarded if he helps the sleeping king, aka Cthulhu, awaken. The return of the sleeping king would mean the end of your people's wretchedness, the end of all the wreck and squalor of a billion lives.

11:23 When he rises, he wipes away the follies of mankind, and he is only one of many. They are the great old ones. Their footfalls cause mountains to topple. One gaze strikes ten million bodies dead. But imagine the fortunes of those of us who were allowed to survive, the reward for those of us who helped the sleeping king wake.

11:45 Sudan, in his story, is more complex, but ultimately he hopes to use Charles Thomas and the people of Red Hook for his own goals. To him, their humanity means very little. Sudan doesn't become younger as in the original story, but he does in fact seem to have certain powers. Some people know things about the universe that nobody ought to, and can do things that nobody ought be able to do, he said.

12:12 I am one of those few. Let me show you. The story mentions something called the Supreme Alphabet, which is almost certainly a take on the Necronomicon, perhaps even just another name for it. The Necronomicon, of course, is Lovecraft's most famous fictional grim war, written in Universe by the mad Arab Abdul Al-Hazrid.

12:37 It's often cited as containing forbidden knowledge in an ancient language. The book includes incantations, spells, and symbols that connect with Lovecraft's mythology of the elder gods like Cthulhu. In the work of HP Lovecraft characters who delve into its language and symbols often face dire consequences.

12:56 In the Ballad of Black Tom, Thomas eventually does deliver the alphabet in full to Sidam, and eventually even reads it himself, though initially he was very fearful of it, recognizing it as an item of immense dark power. With the book, one can open gateways, travel beyond the normal human limits of space.

13:16 The Supreme Alphabet gave the reader access to arcane knowledge that allowed them to bend reality. Now, the concept of a language that can control the universe is not new. It's ancient, in fact. In Jewish mysticism, particularly in the Kabbalah, the book of creation describes a language through which God created the universe.

13:36 This text suggests that the Hebrew letters and words themselves contain mystical power capable of forming reality and manipulating creation. The idea is that by understanding or mastering the combinations of letters and divine names, one can access hidden knowledge or even divine powers. The list goes on and on.

13:56 There are the Egyptian words of power, thought to control the gods and natural forces. There are the Sumerian Miz, or Mez, I'm not really sure how to pronounce them, and the tablets of destiny. There are the Sanskrit and the Vedic incantations of Hinduism, which is one of the oldest religions in the world.

14:14 If someone could actually understand the Supreme Alphabet in its entirety, they would be near unstoppable. The story also focuses significantly on the perspective of Detective Malone. In the original HP Lovecraft story, The Horror at the Red Hook, Malone is a distant, traumatized figure deeply affected by his investigation, and his xenophobia colors his views of Red Hook's residents.

14:38 He approaches the investigation with suspicion and fear, which is amplified by Lovecraft's focus on his dread of immigrants and the occult. In the Ballad of Black Tom, however, Malone is somewhat more developed. While he still holds prejudice, he is shown to be struggling with his role in enforcing unjust laws, and by the end gains a more complex view of the horror in Red Hook.

15:01 In this retelling of the story, Malone is involved in a cover-up involving the murder of Charles Tester's father, Otis Tester, by a police officer. This is one of the main driving factors that leads Charles Thomas Tester to become Black Tom and decide to aid Sudam in his goals. Like in the original story, Malone and the police eventually do a raid on Red Hook, and this is where Malone encounters Black Tom for the last time.

15:28 But he is not the man he encountered the first time. He has changed significantly and seems somehow older. And this is due to something that happened earlier. In the story, Sudan possessed a library in his mansion, kind of like this one. Within the protection of the library, Sudan could travel anywhere, beyond the stars to the bottom of the ocean where the sleeping king lay dead dreaming.

15:54 During such a trip, Charles Thomas Tester, against Sudan's will, opens the library door. He somehow makes contact with the sleeping king, Cthulhu himself. But he is not driven mad. He embraces the chaos, hating the world, and is given power to travel freely, without the need of the library for protection.

16:18 In the end, Charles Thomas Tester, known as Black Tom by then, betrays Sudan at Red Hook as Malone watches in horror. I am an officer of the law. Don't you understand the consequences of hurting me? Guns and badges don't scare everyone, Black Tom said. How? Malone asked. How can you do all of this? Sudan showed me such things were possible, but the old man didn't have the character to see it through.

16:47 I had to be the one to walk through the doors and greet destiny. Sudan proved to be like any other man. He wanted power. But the sleeping king doesn't honor small request. So why are you doing it? Malone asked, sounding like a bewildered child. If not for power, then what could be the point? Black Tom slapped one hand firmly on Malone's neck.

17:14 Malone had never felt John's handshake. It was painful. Black Tom guided him away from the chair. As they moved, Black Tom kicked him over and Mr. Howard's body splayed out onto the ground. I bear a hell within me, Black Tom growled, and finding myself unsympathized with, wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and destruction around me, and then to have sat down and enjoyed the ruin.

17:42 You're a monster then, Malone said. I was made one. Like in the original story, a portal is opened up to somewhere else. Black Tom forces Malone to stare into the portal, and when he refuses, Black Tom does something unspeakable. Malone screamed and screamed and let go of Black Tom's arm. He batted at his own face as if he might swat away his torment.

18:07 Black Tom grunted again, and Malone's eyes became wet. Something was being done to Malone's eyes, a tugging sensation, as if Malone's face was being yanked off. Black Tom held a straight razor in one hand, and it was slathered in blood. Black Tom had cut off Malone's eyelids. Try to shut them now, Black Tom said.

18:30 You can't choose blindness when it suits you. Not anymore. Through the portal Malone witnessed against his wishes the moment when a mountain turned to face him. Its eyelids opened. In the depths of the sea, a pair of eyes shone as bright as starlight. Malone wept. Malone stares into the immense eyes of Cthulhu and is filled with horror like no other.

18:54 Eventually, more police enter the room, and somehow Black Tom slaughters them all before disappearing. Malone is the only official survivor of the incident. As a Lovecraft fan who has read many of his works, I can say with some authority that the horror at Red Hook is nowhere near the top of the list.

19:14 But the Ballad of Black Tom, on the other hand, is an incredible read. In my opinion, it's better than Lovecraft's story. Of course, Lovecraft is an incredible writer, but every so often there comes a work of literature that iterates on an older work of literature and adds something to it in a way that surpasses the original.

19:33 For instance, Isaac Asimov's foundation is foundational in science fiction, and I think that the Dune series borrows heavily from the Foundation series. It involves a galactic empire, it's concerned with the long view of history, other things I won't say because of spoilers. Even though the Dune series came after Asimov's books, in my opinion, Dune is the superior series.

19:57 And this of course doesn't diminish Asimov's foundation because Dune is standing on the back of Asimov's work. Dune is utilizing the groundwork laid out by the Foundation series, just like this particular novella, The Ballad of Black Tom, is standing on the groundwork laid out by HP Lovecraft, but it is also adding something new and adding more complexity.

20:20 I think the Ballad of Black Tom is a remarkable reinterpretation of Lovecraft's work. It transforms the horror at Red Hook from a story of xenophobic fear into one that explores themes of oppression, cosmic horror, the search for agency and a hostile world. Victor Lavalli's adaptation preserves the unsettling atmosphere of Lovecraft's original universe while also providing depth and complexity to the characters that Lovecraft left as essentially flat archetypes.

20:49 Livali enriches their motivations and gives them a sense of reality that resonates a lot more than the original. Charles Thomas Tester, or Black Tom, is not a caricature of the unknown, but rather a fully realized character whose rage, despair, and desire for meaning drive him to face lovecrafting horrors on his own terms.

21:10 The last words that Black Tom speaks to Malone before disappearing exemplifies this. I'll take Cthulhu over you devils any day. And then there's also the quote, What is indifference compared to malice? To Black Tom, the horror and chaos that Cthulhu would certainly bring was preferable to his world where he was hated simply for existing, a world where he was a second-class citizen.

21:37 The Sleeping King did not hate mankind. We simply did not matter to him. He was indifferent to our existence. By centering Black Tom's story, Livali challenges Lovecraft's narrow views, making this tale a narrative of reclaiming agency and self-definition against a backdrop of cosmic chaos and indifference.

22:01 I'll also say that the transformation of the protagonist from Charles Thomas Tester to Black Tom shows how personal tragedy and institutional injustice would intertwine with supernatural horror in such a world if it existed. And this adds a layer of meaning that the original work could only hint at. Lovecraft's story examines the fear of outsiders and the unsettling presence of the other, but Lavalle's retelling allows the outsiders to speak for themselves.

22:33 It explores how the outsider might perceive a world that treats them as monstrous. And by doing this, the author doesn't simply imitate Lovecraft, he kind of interrogates him. He creates a story that engages with the master of horror on his own terms while also challenging his views. Now, if you've been following this channel for a while, then you know that I've become increasingly interested in how stories evolve and are reinterpreted over time.

23:02 This was the main point of my recent video on the thing. Stories are not static, they grow and change with us, and the Ballad of Black Tom is an example of how literature can evolve. Livali builds upon Lovecraft's universe to create a story that is both a tribute and a critique. The narrative demonstrates that while cosmic horror will always have its place, the horror itself does not need to be bound by the prejudices of its original authors.

23:30 Instead, the stories can be revisited, reinterpreted, and expanded. Thank you so much for watching, guys. Make sure you like and subscribe for more Quinn's ideas.