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The Lake
Nobody went near Stink Lake. An ornamental pond in a park in the middle of town, it had died years ago. Now it was fetid with garbage, scummy with slime and weeds, noxious with chemicals known and unknown, foul with secrets long buried.
Then one night, Jill's boyfriend cut through the park on the way home. The stench-heavy stillness was shattered by muffled screams. The scummy surface of the water was lifted by a slimy wave. The oily bubbling was heard all night long.
Then morning came. And for a small town where nothing much happened, the dawn of a new horror....
Then one night, Jill's boyfriend cut through the park on the way home. The stench-heavy stillness was shattered by muffled screams. The scummy surface of the water was lifted by a slimy wave. The oily bubbling was heard all night long.
Then morning came. And for a small town where nothing much happened, the dawn of a new horror....
218 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1989
1 person is currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
John Peyton Cooke
19 books34 followersAuthor of several novels and short stories of crime, suspense, horror, and dark fantasy. I have tried in my work to bring gay characters and a gay perspective to my favorite genres of popular fiction. Please check out my books and let me know what you think.
I was born in Amarillo, Texas, and grew up in Laramie, Wyoming. My novels include TORSOS, THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER, HAVEN, OUT FOR BLOOD, THE LAKE, THE RAPE OF GANYMEDE, and THE FALL OF LUCIFER. My short story "After You've Gone" was selected for BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2003. I've also published short fiction in Christopher Street, Weird Tales, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and THE VALANCOURT BOOK OF HORROR STORIES, VOL. 4. My first 10 published tales are collected in AFTER YOU'VE GONE AND OTHER OUTRE TALES. I currently live in Los Angeles with my husband and our whippet Oliver.
I was born in Amarillo, Texas, and grew up in Laramie, Wyoming. My novels include TORSOS, THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER, HAVEN, OUT FOR BLOOD, THE LAKE, THE RAPE OF GANYMEDE, and THE FALL OF LUCIFER. My short story "After You've Gone" was selected for BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2003. I've also published short fiction in Christopher Street, Weird Tales, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and THE VALANCOURT BOOK OF HORROR STORIES, VOL. 4. My first 10 published tales are collected in AFTER YOU'VE GONE AND OTHER OUTRE TALES. I currently live in Los Angeles with my husband and our whippet Oliver.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 13, 2022
Angst ridden teens with a bunch of personal problems have to face down a witch's curse and flaming salamanders all to save their town and themselves.
This book has a lot going for it. The lake for one. Instead of thinking up some elaborate name for it, it's just called Stink Lake. It stinks, so what better name could it be. There really is no posturing to a certain type. We have gay punk rock teens. Track jocks. Pre-teen gang members. Complicated love circles. Just one question though, why the hell the salamander in the sugar bowl cure? Definitely worth tracking down.
This book has a lot going for it. The lake for one. Instead of thinking up some elaborate name for it, it's just called Stink Lake. It stinks, so what better name could it be. There really is no posturing to a certain type. We have gay punk rock teens. Track jocks. Pre-teen gang members. Complicated love circles. Just one question though, why the hell the salamander in the sugar bowl cure? Definitely worth tracking down.
August 30, 2008
The Lake was quite well written, and the plot was interesting enough to move the short book along quickly. Yes, there was some corniness throughout the story, but it's classic '80s horror--one has to expect some cheesiness!
One other thing I found very interesting--unlike a lot of modern, "mainstream" horror novels, The Lake includes several honest-to-goodness gay people, one of whom is a lead character. It seems John Peyton Cooke was an author somewhat before his time.
If you're a fan of '80s horror novels or just like a creepy read, look for a copy of The Lake the next time you visit your local used bookstore.
One other thing I found very interesting--unlike a lot of modern, "mainstream" horror novels, The Lake includes several honest-to-goodness gay people, one of whom is a lead character. It seems John Peyton Cooke was an author somewhat before his time.
If you're a fan of '80s horror novels or just like a creepy read, look for a copy of The Lake the next time you visit your local used bookstore.
June 2, 2025
Wow. Just… wow. I didn’t think it was possible for a horror novel from the late ’80s to be this aggressively boring, but The Lake really said, “Challenge accepted.” You’d think with only 218 pages, this thing would at least be a quick, pulpy ride. Nope. Somehow, John Peyton Cooke managed to stretch out what could’ve been a mildly spooky short story into a sluggish, soul-sucking slog that felt more like 600 pages of absolutely nothing.
Let’s talk about the plot — or rather, the black hole where a plot should’ve been. It’s the classic “something creepy is happening near a lake” setup, which has been done to death and done better by literally anyone else. But instead of leaning into the cheese or delivering any atmosphere, this book just kind of… sits there. Like a damp sponge. A damp sponge that occasionally tries to be scary, but mostly just makes you question your life choices.
And the characters? Oh god. Unlikable doesn’t even begin to cover it. Every single person in this book is either so dumb, so flat, or so irritating that you start rooting for whatever evil is supposed to be lurking in the lake. You want a body count just to thin the herd of these insufferable weirdos. Their actions make zero sense — you’d get more logical behavior from a pack of raccoons on Red Bull. Watching them stumble around making the dumbest possible choices felt less like horror and more like a low-stakes comedy of errors.
I’d be tempted to give some leeway since it was written in the late ’80s, but even for its time, the writing is bad. Like, “high school creative writing class where no one’s brave enough to give actual feedback” bad. The dialogue is stiff, the pacing is glacial, and the structure is so disjointed it’s like Cooke took all the chapters, shuffled them, and said, “Eh, close enough.”
Bottom line: The Lake is what happens when a horror novel forgets the “horror” part and just leaves you stranded with a bunch of obnoxious characters doing dumb things for 200+ pages. If you’re looking for chills, thrills, or even mild entertainment, keep walking. There’s nothing for you here but disappointment and the haunting question, “Why did I waste my time on this?”
Let’s talk about the plot — or rather, the black hole where a plot should’ve been. It’s the classic “something creepy is happening near a lake” setup, which has been done to death and done better by literally anyone else. But instead of leaning into the cheese or delivering any atmosphere, this book just kind of… sits there. Like a damp sponge. A damp sponge that occasionally tries to be scary, but mostly just makes you question your life choices.
And the characters? Oh god. Unlikable doesn’t even begin to cover it. Every single person in this book is either so dumb, so flat, or so irritating that you start rooting for whatever evil is supposed to be lurking in the lake. You want a body count just to thin the herd of these insufferable weirdos. Their actions make zero sense — you’d get more logical behavior from a pack of raccoons on Red Bull. Watching them stumble around making the dumbest possible choices felt less like horror and more like a low-stakes comedy of errors.
I’d be tempted to give some leeway since it was written in the late ’80s, but even for its time, the writing is bad. Like, “high school creative writing class where no one’s brave enough to give actual feedback” bad. The dialogue is stiff, the pacing is glacial, and the structure is so disjointed it’s like Cooke took all the chapters, shuffled them, and said, “Eh, close enough.”
Bottom line: The Lake is what happens when a horror novel forgets the “horror” part and just leaves you stranded with a bunch of obnoxious characters doing dumb things for 200+ pages. If you’re looking for chills, thrills, or even mild entertainment, keep walking. There’s nothing for you here but disappointment and the haunting question, “Why did I waste my time on this?”
August 19, 2018
Loved it! Scary, fun, well written. I don't think I'll ever see a salamander again without imaging flames sprouting from it's feet...
February 6, 2018
Fire-breathing salamanders meets '80s teen romance.
March 25, 2011
I think this was his first book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews