The Blackwood family is referenced in multiple stories. They live in [[Olde Towne]] in [[Ransom Hollow]] ([[Washington State]]). The story [[Blackwood's Baby]] gives some background info on the origins of the Blackwood family: "Ephraim Blackwood settled in Olde Towne at the time of its founding. A widower with two grown sons, he was a furrier by trade. The Blackwoods ran an extensive trap line throughout Ransom Hollow and within ten years of their arrival, they'd become the premier fur trading company in the entire valley." (The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All, p. ) Dan Blackwood is a flautist (and occultist or devil-worshipper) who appears, together with his music group 'The Blackwood Boys', in [[Hand of Glory (Story)]], where he betrays [[Johnny Cope]] in his plot against their shared enemy [[Conrad Paxton]]. The Blackwood Boys make an appearance in [[The Croning]] as well, where they play a show while the main characters are having dinner at a tavern called [[Satan's Bung]] in Olde Towne. The Blackwood Boys are described as playing a song about some *"bad person named Black Bill"* (The Croning, p. ) while both a fight and a fire simultaneously erupt at the place. The Blackwood family is referred to as extremely non-Christian and is said to have occult ties or even engage in devil-worship. Blackwood's Baby, Hand of Glory and The Croning all seem to point towards the family's worshipping of [[Black Bill]]: "[...] the Blackwoods' irreligiousness went a step beyond the pale in the eyes of the locals. [...] Some alleged the family consorted with Splayfoot Bill, that they'd made a pact. Material wealth for their immortal souls." (The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All, p. ) The fictional Blackwood family was almost certainly named after weird fiction author [Algernon Blackwood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Blackwood). #Character #Beautiful #Croning