Harlem Hustler's Morning Errand

Charles Thomas Tester, a young Black man in 1920s Harlem, supports his ailing father through a series of small-time hustles. He's a performer, but more a con artist than a musician, using his guitar case as a prop to move through the city's racial boundaries. One morning, he's hired to deliver a mysterious yellow book to a reclusive woman in Queens, Ma Att. The job is dangerous, but the pay is good—enough to keep his father and himself afloat. Tommy's ability to blend in, play roles, and avoid curiosity is his shield in a world that's both indifferent and hostile to Black men like him.

The Yellow Book's Secret

Tommy delivers the yellow book to Ma Att, careful not to touch or read it. The book, inscribed with "Zig Zag Zig," is a powerful occult artifact, and Tommy, savvy to the dangers of the arcane, has removed its final page, rendering it incomplete. Ma Att is disappointed but pays him. Tommy's hustle is not just about money—it's about survival, knowing when to skirt the rules of both the mundane and supernatural. The missing page, hidden in his father's guitar, becomes a talisman of both protection and future peril.

Suydam's Sinister Invitation

While hustling in Brooklyn, Tommy is approached by Robert Suydam, a wealthy, eccentric white man who hires him to play at a private party. Suydam's interest in Tommy is less about music and more about Tommy's ability to navigate between worlds—racial, social, and mystical. Suydam gives Tommy a password, "Ashmodai," and a retainer, but their interaction is shadowed by the presence of Detective Malone and the brutish private investigator Mr. Howard, who warn Tommy away from Suydam and hint at deeper, dangerous currents.

Father's Razor, Son's Song

Tommy confides in his father, Otis, about the strange job. Otis, a man broken by racism and labor, gives Tommy a straight razor for protection and teaches him a conjure song, a piece of ancestral magic. Their bond is deep, but Otis's fear for his son's safety is palpable. The razor and the song become symbols of Black resilience and the inheritance of survival strategies in a world that offers little mercy.

Night in the Mansion

Tommy travels to Suydam's mansion in Flatbush, braving the dangers of being a Black man in a white neighborhood at night. Inside, the house is a labyrinth of shadows and secrets. Suydam reveals his obsession with forbidden knowledge and hints at a coming apocalypse, promising Tommy a place in the new order. Tommy witnesses impossible visions—windows that become portals to the ocean's depths, glimpses of the "Sleeping King"—and barely escapes with his sanity, realizing Suydam's power is real and terrifying.

Visions Beyond the Veil

Trapped overnight in Suydam's library, Tommy is forced to listen to Suydam's cosmic philosophy: the return of ancient, indifferent gods will erase human suffering by erasing humanity itself. Tommy sees visions of the sea and a monstrous, sleeping entity. When he tries to flee, he finds the mansion has become "Outside," a place where reality's rules no longer apply. Only at dawn does the house return to normal, and Suydam releases Tommy, who is paid and deeply shaken.

A Father's Death

Returning to Harlem, Tommy finds his block swarming with police. Detective Malone and Mr. Howard inform him that his father has been killed—shot by Howard, who mistook Otis's guitar for a weapon while searching for the missing page from the yellow book. The official story is cold and indifferent, and Tommy is left numb, his grief and rage simmering beneath the surface. The world's true horror, he realizes, is not cosmic indifference but human malice.

The Birth of Black Tom

Devastated by his father's death and the injustice of the police, Tommy sheds his old identity. He becomes "Black Tom," embracing the monstrous role society has always projected onto him. He allies with Suydam, now seeing the appeal of destruction and revenge. Tommy's pain and anger become fuel for a new, darker purpose—he will help Suydam unleash the cosmic forces that promise to sweep away the world that killed his father.

Suydam's Army Gathers

Suydam assembles a motley crew of society's marginalized—immigrants, criminals, the dispossessed—for a ritual in his mansion. Tommy, now Black Tom, plays the conjure song as Suydam preaches apocalypse. The guests are entranced by visions of the Sleeping King and the promise of a new world order. But Tommy, disillusioned, smashes his guitar and leaves, realizing that replacing one set of oppressors with another changes nothing.

Ma Att's Vanishing

Black Tom returns to Ma Att's house in Queens to retrieve the missing page of the yellow book. In a confrontation witnessed by neighbors, he uses his newfound power to banish Ma Att and her entire house from existence, sending them "Outside." The act is both a display of supernatural might and a final severing of Tommy's ties to his old life. With the complete book, he returns to Suydam, ready to finish the ritual.

Red Hook's New Order

Suydam and Black Tom relocate to Red Hook, taking over tenement buildings and filling them with books and followers. The neighborhood, already marginalized and policed, becomes a fortress of occult activity. Detective Malone, increasingly obsessed and isolated, tries to investigate but is repelled by Black Tom's growing power. The city's authorities, alarmed by rumors of crime and missing children, prepare for a violent confrontation.

The Supreme Alphabet Unleashed

As police raid the tenements, Suydam and Black Tom conduct the final ritual in the interconnected basements. The Supreme Alphabet, painted in blood, becomes the key to opening a portal to the realm of the Sleeping King. Malone, drawn by his own curiosity and sense of doom, witnesses the horror as the boundaries between worlds collapse. Suydam falters, and Black Tom seizes control, killing Suydam and completing the ritual.

The Raid on Parker Place

The police assault the tenements with overwhelming force, using machine guns and rifles. The buildings collapse, killing many, but in the chaos, Black Tom's ritual succeeds. Malone, trapped in the basement, sees the portal open to a sunken, alien city and glimpses the monstrous King. Black Tom, now fully empowered, mutilates Malone, ensuring he can never close his eyes to the horror he's witnessed.

The Portal and the King

Malone, his eyelids cut off, is left to witness the cosmic terror unleashed by Black Tom. The portal closes, the tenements are destroyed, and Black Tom disappears, leaving behind a trail of death and madness. Malone is rescued but forever changed, his mind and body scarred by what he has seen.

The Monster and the Detective

Malone is celebrated as a hero but is quietly retired, his story sanitized by officials. The truth of Black Tom's power and the cosmic horror is buried under official narratives of crime and insanity. Malone, exiled to Rhode Island, is haunted by memories and visions, struggling to reconcile what he knows with what the world will allow him to say.

Aftermath and Amnesia

As Malone's memories are reshaped by therapy and time, the official story becomes the only story. Black Tom's body is never found, and the true nature of the events in Red Hook is lost to history. Yet, the trauma lingers, and the sense of cosmic dread remains, infecting those sensitive enough to perceive it.

Black Tom's Last Ballad

Black Tom returns to Harlem, changed and haunted. He confides in his friend Buckeye, expressing regret for his actions and the loss of his soul. Despite his power, he longs for the simple dignity of his father. In the end, Black Tom vanishes, leaving behind only rumors and a legacy of horror. The world, remade or not, is left to reckon with the consequences of indifference, malice, and the monsters it creates.

Characters

Charles Thomas Tester / Black Tom

Tommy Tester is a young Black man navigating the dangers of 1920s New York through wit, performance, and a deep sense of familial duty. His relationship with his father, Otis, grounds him, but the world's racism and violence push him to the margins. The murder of his father and the indifference of white society transform Tommy into Black Tom—a figure who embraces the monstrous role forced upon him. Psychologically, Tommy is a study in trauma, rage, and the search for agency in a world that denies it. His journey is one from survival to vengeance, from victim to avenger, and ultimately to a kind of tragic self-awareness.

Otis Tester

Otis is Tommy's ailing father, a man worn down by a lifetime of hard labor and systemic racism. He represents the older generation's stoic endurance and the transmission of survival wisdom—both practical (the razor) and spiritual (the song). His death is the catalyst for Tommy's transformation, and his memory haunts Black Tom, symbolizing both loss and the possibility of redemption.

Robert Suydam

Suydam is a white recluse obsessed with forbidden knowledge and the promise of cosmic apocalypse. He seeks to harness the power of the "Sleeping King" to remake the world, recruiting the marginalized as his army. Suydam is both a manipulator and a true believer, his privilege blinding him to the consequences of his actions. His relationship with Tommy is complex—part mentor, part exploiter, ultimately a victim of the very forces he unleashes.

Detective Thomas F. Malone

Malone is a white detective drawn to the arcane and the mysteries beneath the surface of society. He is both investigator and bystander, his curiosity leading him into the heart of horror. Malone's psychological journey is one of fascination, denial, and ultimate victimhood—his inability to look away from the truth costs him his sanity and his eyes. He embodies the limits of white liberal curiosity in the face of systemic evil.

Mr. Howard

Howard is a former cop turned private detective, representing the blunt force of white authority. He is instrumental in Otis's death and is ultimately killed by Black Tom. Howard's lack of imagination and empathy make him both dangerous and expendable—a tool of the system that is easily discarded.

Ma Att

Ma Att is a reclusive woman in Queens, a practitioner of dangerous magic. She hires Tommy to deliver the yellow book, seeking power for herself. Her confrontation with Black Tom ends with her being banished "Outside," a victim of the very forces she sought to control. She represents the dangers of seeking power without understanding its cost.

Buckeye

Buckeye is Tommy's best friend, a Caribbean immigrant and numbers runner. He provides emotional support and a connection to community, reminding Tommy of his humanity even as he descends into monstrosity. Buckeye's presence is a counterpoint to the isolation and alienation that drive Tommy's transformation.

The Sleeping King (Cthulhu)

The Sleeping King is the Lovecraftian entity whose awakening promises the end of human suffering—by ending humanity. It is a symbol of cosmic indifference, a force beyond human comprehension or morality. Its presence in the story reframes the horrors of racism and violence as both trivial and inevitable in the face of the universe's vastness.

Irene Tester

Though deceased, Irene's influence lingers through the conjure song she taught Otis, which is passed to Tommy. She represents the lost lineage and cultural memory of Black families, a source of strength and sorrow.

The Victoria Society

Not a person, but a place—this Caribbean social club is a symbol of community and misunderstood difference. It is where Tommy finds both comfort and the limits of his own assumptions, a reminder that not all "otherness" is dangerous or evil.

Plot Devices

The Supreme Alphabet

The yellow book, inscribed with "Zig Zag Zig," is a stand-in for forbidden knowledge and the dangers of seeking power without understanding. Its missing page, hidden by Tommy, is both a literal and symbolic safeguard. The book's completion enables the opening of the portal and the unleashing of cosmic horror, tying personal choices to apocalyptic consequences.

The Portal / "Outside"

The recurring motif of doors, windows, and portals represents the thinness of reality and the ease with which the supernatural intrudes. Suydam's mansion, the tenement basements, and Ma Att's house all become sites where the veil is lifted, exposing characters to the incomprehensible. These moments of crossing over are both literal and metaphorical, marking points of no return for the characters.

The Song and the Razor

Otis's razor and the conjure song are symbols of Black resilience, passed from parent to child. They are both weapons and talismans, grounding Tommy in his heritage even as he is transformed by trauma. Their use in the climax—cutting Suydam's throat, singing the conjure song—ties personal vengeance to cosmic upheaval.

Narrative Structure

The novella is split between Tommy's and Malone's perspectives, offering both the victim's and the investigator's views. This structure allows for a critique of both Black suffering and white curiosity, showing how each is shaped and limited by their social positions. The shifting realities—visions, dreams, altered memories—underscore the instability of truth in a world shaped by both racism and cosmic horror.

Foreshadowing and Repetition

Recurrent phrases ("Don't you mind people grinning in your face"), objects (the guitar, the razor), and events (police violence, supernatural visions) create a sense of inevitability. The story's cyclical structure—beginning and ending with Tommy's hustles, songs, and disappearances—suggests that the horrors of the past are never truly past.

Analysis

Victor LaValle's The Ballad of Black Tom is a masterful reimagining of Lovecraftian horror through the lens of Black experience in early twentieth-century America. By centering the narrative on Tommy Tester—a hustler, survivor, and ultimately, a monster forged by racism—the novella exposes the true horror not as cosmic indifference, but as the everyday malice and systemic violence of white society. The supernatural elements, while terrifying, are less monstrous than the world that creates Black Tom. LaValle's adaptation critiques Lovecraft's racism by turning the tools of cosmic horror against their creator, showing that the real apocalypse is the one already visited upon the marginalized. The story's lessons are clear: indifference is a luxury for the privileged, while the oppressed are forced to become what the world fears most. In the end, the novella asks whether vengeance, power, or even cosmic justice can heal the wounds of history—or whether, like Black Tom, we are doomed to become the monsters we are made to be.

Last updated: July 8, 2025