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The Hunger and Other Stories
"A memorable first book of fiction, one which belongs on any shelf of the best contemporary weird tales." - August Derleth, Chicago Tribune
"[E]xtraordinary . . . gives Mr. Beaumont undeniable stature as an artist." - N. Y. Herald Tribune
"Charles Beaumont was a genius . . . and one hell of a storyteller." - Dean R. Koontz
"The name of Charles Beaumont will be honored and recognized for generations yet to come." - Robert Bloch
When The Hunger and Other Stories (1957) appeared, it heralded the arrival of Charles Beaumont (1929-1967) as an important and highly original new voice in American fiction. Although he is best known today for his scripts for television and film, including several classic episodes of The Twilight Zone, Beaumont is being rediscovered as a master of weird tales, and this, his first published collection, contains some of his best. Ranging in tone from the chilling Gothic horror of "Miss Gentilbelle," where an insane mother dresses her son up as a girl and slaughters his pets, to deliciously dark humor in tales like "Open House" and "The Infernal Bouillabaisse," where murderers' plans go disastrously awry, these seventeen stories demonstrate Beaumont's remarkable talent and versatility. This new edition of The Hunger and Other Stories, the first in more than fifty years, includes a new introduction by Dr. Bernice M. Murphy, who argues for reevaluation of Beaumont alongside the other greats of the genre, including Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, and Richard Matheson.
"[E]xtraordinary . . . gives Mr. Beaumont undeniable stature as an artist." - N. Y. Herald Tribune
"Charles Beaumont was a genius . . . and one hell of a storyteller." - Dean R. Koontz
"The name of Charles Beaumont will be honored and recognized for generations yet to come." - Robert Bloch
When The Hunger and Other Stories (1957) appeared, it heralded the arrival of Charles Beaumont (1929-1967) as an important and highly original new voice in American fiction. Although he is best known today for his scripts for television and film, including several classic episodes of The Twilight Zone, Beaumont is being rediscovered as a master of weird tales, and this, his first published collection, contains some of his best. Ranging in tone from the chilling Gothic horror of "Miss Gentilbelle," where an insane mother dresses her son up as a girl and slaughters his pets, to deliciously dark humor in tales like "Open House" and "The Infernal Bouillabaisse," where murderers' plans go disastrously awry, these seventeen stories demonstrate Beaumont's remarkable talent and versatility. This new edition of The Hunger and Other Stories, the first in more than fifty years, includes a new introduction by Dr. Bernice M. Murphy, who argues for reevaluation of Beaumont alongside the other greats of the genre, including Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, and Richard Matheson.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 1957
41 people are currently reading
776 people want to read
About the author
Charles Beaumont
211 books168 followersCharles Beaumont was born Charles Leroy Nutt in Chicago in 1929. He dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and worked at a number of jobs before selling his first story to Amazing Stories in 1950. His story “Black Country” (1954) was the first work of short fiction to appear in Playboy, and his classic tale “The Crooked Man” appeared in the same magazine the following year. Beaumont published numerous other short stories in the 1950s, both in mainstream periodicals like Playboy and Esquire and in science fiction and fantasy magazines.
His first story collection, The Hunger and Other Stories, was published in 1957 to immediate acclaim, and was followed by two further collections, Yonder (1958) and Night Ride and Other Journeys (1960). He also published two novels, Run from the Hunter (1957, pseudonymously, with John E. Tomerlin), and The Intruder (1959).
Beaumont is perhaps best remembered for his work in television, particularly his screenplays for The Twilight Zone, for which he wrote several of the most famous episodes. His other screenwriting credits include the scripts for films such as The Premature Burial (1962), Burn, Witch, Burn (1962), The Haunted Palace (1963), and The Masque of the Red Death (1964).
When Beaumont was 34, he began to suffer from ill health and developed a baffling and still unexplained condition that caused him to age at a greatly increased rate, such that at the time of his death at age 38 in 1967, he had the physical appearance of a 95-year-old man. Beaumont was survived by his wife Helen, two daughters, and two sons, one of whom, Christopher, is also a writer.
Beaumont’s work was much respected by his colleagues, and he counted Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, and Roger Corman among his friends and admirers.
-Valancourt Books
His first story collection, The Hunger and Other Stories, was published in 1957 to immediate acclaim, and was followed by two further collections, Yonder (1958) and Night Ride and Other Journeys (1960). He also published two novels, Run from the Hunter (1957, pseudonymously, with John E. Tomerlin), and The Intruder (1959).
Beaumont is perhaps best remembered for his work in television, particularly his screenplays for The Twilight Zone, for which he wrote several of the most famous episodes. His other screenwriting credits include the scripts for films such as The Premature Burial (1962), Burn, Witch, Burn (1962), The Haunted Palace (1963), and The Masque of the Red Death (1964).
When Beaumont was 34, he began to suffer from ill health and developed a baffling and still unexplained condition that caused him to age at a greatly increased rate, such that at the time of his death at age 38 in 1967, he had the physical appearance of a 95-year-old man. Beaumont was survived by his wife Helen, two daughters, and two sons, one of whom, Christopher, is also a writer.
Beaumont’s work was much respected by his colleagues, and he counted Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, and Roger Corman among his friends and admirers.
-Valancourt Books
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 19, 2020
Charles Beaumont, one of the main writers behind the success of the original Twilight Zone TV series, passed away at a young age due to early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. He left behind a wealth of short stories showing his wide range of interest and ability, not to mention a surprising maturity in theme and style for his tender age. This collection contains many of his earliest stories, including "The Crooked Man" which was adapted as a Twilight Zone episode. As usual, the list of stories and ratings are below, along with some song lyrics that may be amusing or insightful or clever, or not.
Miss Gentilbelle - 4/5 - I'm a boy, I'm a boy, but if I say I am I get it
The Vanishing American - 3/5 - now they can't see me any more
A Point of Honor - 3/5 - knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit
Fair Lady - 3/5 - another one rides the bus
Free Dirt - 4/5 - get that dirt off your shoulder
Open House - 4/5 - I used to love her, but I had to kill her
The Train - 2/5 - I know that things are going wrong for me
The Dark Music - 3/5 - darkness wakes and stirs imagination
The Customers - 3/5 - I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Last Night in the Rain - 2/5 - into this house we're born, into this world we're thrown
The Crooked Man - 4/5 - be yourself, no matter what they say
Nursery Rhyme - 3/5 - so much for the golden future I can't even start
The Murderers - 3/5 - life ain't for you and we're the cure
The Hunger - 2/5 - you think I'm a fool or maybe some kind of lunatic
Tears of the Madonna - 3/5 - touched for the very first time
The Infernal Bouillabaisse - 4/5 - why should we be fated to do nothing but brood on food, magical food
Black Country - 3/5 - you feel alright when you hear the music ring
Miss Gentilbelle - 4/5 - I'm a boy, I'm a boy, but if I say I am I get it
The Vanishing American - 3/5 - now they can't see me any more
A Point of Honor - 3/5 - knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit
Fair Lady - 3/5 - another one rides the bus
Free Dirt - 4/5 - get that dirt off your shoulder
Open House - 4/5 - I used to love her, but I had to kill her
The Train - 2/5 - I know that things are going wrong for me
The Dark Music - 3/5 - darkness wakes and stirs imagination
The Customers - 3/5 - I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Last Night in the Rain - 2/5 - into this house we're born, into this world we're thrown
The Crooked Man - 4/5 - be yourself, no matter what they say
Nursery Rhyme - 3/5 - so much for the golden future I can't even start
The Murderers - 3/5 - life ain't for you and we're the cure
The Hunger - 2/5 - you think I'm a fool or maybe some kind of lunatic
Tears of the Madonna - 3/5 - touched for the very first time
The Infernal Bouillabaisse - 4/5 - why should we be fated to do nothing but brood on food, magical food
Black Country - 3/5 - you feel alright when you hear the music ring
November 9, 2008
this is the first charles beaumont book i've ever read, and i must say i'm bowled over. the very first story, miss gentilbelle, was so creepy that i consciously held myself aloof from it, trying not to absorb the fright, and the madness. happily the second story, the vanishing american reminded me of other stories i have loved, despite the creepiness of it, so i could allow myself to fully live in beaumont's world.
i always suspected i would love beaumont's stories: i love his twilight zone episodes, and he hasn't disappointed. i'm looking forward to more.
i always suspected i would love beaumont's stories: i love his twilight zone episodes, and he hasn't disappointed. i'm looking forward to more.
February 12, 2012
Stephen King recommended book. Noted as "important to the genre we have been discussing" from Danse Macabre, published in 1981.
I really enjoyed this collection of horror stories. Some of them were down-right creepy, others very strange. Many have psychological aspects. I can see why King recommended this book.
I really enjoyed this collection of horror stories. Some of them were down-right creepy, others very strange. Many have psychological aspects. I can see why King recommended this book.
November 5, 2018
Well-crafted, literate short stories ranging from speculative fiction to horror. The author (who died in 1967) is best known for penning many classic Twilight Zone episodes, and he was well-respected by his peers, including Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson. Standouts here include the title story and the striking, jazz-inflected prose of "Black Country."
November 15, 2008
"I like to think of our stomachs," Mr. Frenchaboy said, in conclusion, "as small but select museums, to which a new treasure should be added at least once a day."
January 14, 2020
“The Hunger and Other Stories” was Charles Beaumont’s first collection of short stories and was published in 1957. It contains eight stories that have never been previously published. Although a few of these stories did not meet my expectations, for my bar is raised especially (perhaps even unfairly) high for Beaumont, there are more than enough brilliant ones to make up for it.
As with all my short story collection reviews, I rate each story individually and then calculate the average rating as the total rating for the book. But, I warn you…. Some of the reviews of each individual story includes a brief synopsis, which may or may not include a SPOILER. I write my short story reviews this way for future reference to remind me of which ones are worth the time re-reading and which ones are not. Although I do not ruin a good story by announcing any significant spoiler….. If you happen to come across one, it will be in a story that I hated and never intend on reading again. But, you can avoid potentially stumbling across a spoiler by skipping to the very bottom of the review, where it says “FINAL VERDICT”. That is where my overall review for “The Hunger and Other Stories” is listed. The stories within the book include;
MISS GENTILBELLE – Although this story was first introduced in this collection, it can also be found in “Charles Beaumont Selected Stories”. It is about an insane mother of a young boy, whose confused about his gender because she has told him he is a female throughout his entire life. Instead of calling him Robert, she refers to him as Roberta and makes him wear little dresses…. When it comes to disciplinary action, the mother is stellar! Instead of giving him the ol’ spanking or taking his toys away, she chooses to murder his pets – right in front of him. Naturally, over time this behavior messes with the boys mental state of mind and he decides to get some payback. I thought this story was great and even fits in well with today’s horror.
THE VANISHING AMERICAN – This story was published in a 1955. It is about a dude who realizes he is disappearing when he stops getting responses or reactions out of people he passes on the street or meets in an elevator. It was very short, but a fun read with a good ending.
A POINT OF HONOR / I’LL DO ANYTHING – This story was published in 1955. It is about a guy named Julio who has been given a special task as initiation to get into a Mexican gang called “THE ACES”. Although he feels a tremendous amount of pressure from his reluctant peers, he is determined to prove that he has the balls to go through with the challenge. This was a really good story, totally comprised of suspense with another ambiguous ending.
FAIR LADY – Although this story was first introduced in this collection, it’s another one that can also be found in “Charles Beaumont Selected Stories”. This story is almost too short to rate. It’s a cute story about an old woman desperate for love.
FREE DIRT – This story was published in 1955 and is about a cheap bastard who will do anything he can to save buck (although his frugal ways are less characterized as economizing and more defined as stealing). The guy is such a cheapskate that he makes several trips out to a graveyard to collect soil, left-over from grave digging, to start a fruit and vegetable garden instead of buying it from a store or supplier. But his cheap ways soon lead to his demise. This story was short but very interesting with a typical Beaumont ending.
OPEN HOUSE – Another one that was previously unpublished…. Eddie Pierce has committed a heinous crime and his alcoholic buddies show up plastered at his apartment shortly after it takes place and ignore Eddie’s pleas to scram so he can get some sleep. This is a good story for you nosey people who can’t take a hint (or refuse to listen). I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense this story delivers.
THE TRAIN – Previously unpublished, the imagination of a ten-year-old boy named Neely gets the best of him and he experiences a state of panic as a result…. I wasn’t crazy about this story. The way it was written was kind of confusing. The very first line of the story baffled the shit out of me. I had to read the first paragraph twice just to make sure I didn’t misread something and confirm that Neely was in fact a human, not “the small hand on a clock” or any other object.
THE DARK MUSIC – This story was published in 1956 and is about a prudish school teacher who hears hypnotic music at night which makes her do things she wouldn’t normally do. This story was surprisingly entertaining but I wasn’t overly fond of the ending.
THE CUSTOMERS – Another easy to read, previously unpublished story…. This one is about an old married couple named Henry and Myrtle Ludlow, who are awaiting an anticipated, private home visit by a dapper salesman who works for a cemetery burial service called “Murmering Everglades”. He’s there to sell them what all people who are approaching death need (or would want to ask for). Although you had an idea where this story was going from the very beginning, it was still very inviting. I can interpret the ambiguous ending, but it didn’t quite deliver for me. I’m not going to say that I felt cheated or anything, but it was anticlimactic.
LAST NIGHT IN THE RAIN / SIN TOWER – This story was published one year prior to the release of this collection and is about a fourteen-year-old girl named Amy, and her friend Josh. Amy is an outcast and unlike most teenage girls. She struggles with self-esteem and issues with social acceptance. An old man, also known as the town nutcase, lives in a tiny wooden shack down by the river (yes…. an SNL reference) and he has a lot in common with Amy in that aspect. Amy has an instant connection with this peculiar old man and proposes an idea which he is incapable, or at least refusing to oblige. She doesn’t handle the denial well…. Neither does Josh. I thought this story was ok, but it was another one that failed to deliver in the end. I think Beaumont could’ve done better. I’m on the fence as to whether or not I would recommend this story to anyone.
THE CROOKED MAN – This story was published in 1955 in “Playboy” magazine and is about a heterosexual couple living in some sort of alternative universe where hetero’s are the queers and targeted for extinction. Given the publishing dates, I can only assume “The Crooked Man” was the inspiration behind Ron Serling’s screenplay of “Eye of the Beholder”, but I cannot confirm this. It was a great story though and I highly recommend it.
NURSERY RHYME – Previously unpublished, this story is about a crazy evening with a troubled family. Randolph and his mentally gone wife, Agnes, have a son named Carlie – who is currently running from authorities for murdering some chick in the woods while being intoxicated. Carlie is forced to run back home where he is tracked down by dogs and his dad has to decide whether to go along with his fabricated alibi or let him suffer the consequences. This story was all suspense driven and was very dark. I’m on the fence as to whether or not I liked it. But, the ending confirmed just how nuts Agnes actually was.
THE MURDERERS – This story was published in “Esquire” magazine in 1955 and is about a couple of mentally deranged alcoholics who are bored one evening and decide it would be fun to kill another human being. They come across an old, homeless dude and invite him back to their apartment to fulfill their agreed arrangement but a slight delay results in an unexpected change of events. This was an interesting story. I certainly underestimated the homeless man and realized I forgot one undeniable truth…. Just because you are homeless, does not mean you are stupid. Homeless people are survivors first…. honest and law abiding citizens second.
THE HUNGER – This story was published in “Playboy” magazine in 1955. It’s about a sexually inexperienced chick named Julia who is on the prowl for a mass murderer on the loose and believed to be lurking around the surrounding areas. This was another classic Beaumont story and also ambiguous. I can see why a lot of people consider this one to be among the best in the anthology. I would definitely recommend reading this one.
TEARS OF THE MADONNA – Another one that was previously unpublished and is about a man named Ramon, who is anxiously awaiting a meeting with a woman named Madonna. This story was very plain and one that I did not enjoy reading. Perhaps that is attributed to me being under the influence of cannabis at the time, but I do not plan on ever reading it again.
THE INFERNAL BOUILLABISSE – Another previously unpublished story…. Frenchaboy, president of the “Gourmet’s Club”, is consumed by a combination of hate and jealousy over another chef in the club named Edmund Peskin. Frenchaboy is constantly haunted by a beloved dish created by Peskin and this recipe overshadows any of the dishes Frenchaboy serves to the other chefs, making him feel inferior. Peskin refers to his famous dish as, “Bouillabaisse a la Peskin” and refuses to reveal his recipe, despite any threats or hostility he may receive…. Developing an obsession with discovering Peskin’s recipe, along with hopes of also putting to rest the torment and feelings of inadequacy, Mr. Frenchaboy pays Peskin a visit at his apartment after a club meeting. This one started out slow, but ended with a bang (no pun intended) and was very entertaining read…. I can honestly say that I had no idea the chain of events that were going to unfold upon Peskin’s visit.
BLACK COUNTRY – This story was published in 1954 and was the first short story ever to be featured in “Playboy” magazine. It’s about a cancer stricken jazz musician who has taken his own life, but leaves something behind. This was one of my least favorite stories in the anthology. I do not plan to ever revisit this one.
FINAL VERDICT: I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I liked Charles Beaumont’s “Selected Stories” short story collection a little more than “The Hunger and Other Stories”, but there are still plenty of awesome stories in this collection. It’s definitely a must read for any “Twilight Zone” fan.
As with all my short story collection reviews, I rate each story individually and then calculate the average rating as the total rating for the book. But, I warn you…. Some of the reviews of each individual story includes a brief synopsis, which may or may not include a SPOILER. I write my short story reviews this way for future reference to remind me of which ones are worth the time re-reading and which ones are not. Although I do not ruin a good story by announcing any significant spoiler….. If you happen to come across one, it will be in a story that I hated and never intend on reading again. But, you can avoid potentially stumbling across a spoiler by skipping to the very bottom of the review, where it says “FINAL VERDICT”. That is where my overall review for “The Hunger and Other Stories” is listed. The stories within the book include;
MISS GENTILBELLE – Although this story was first introduced in this collection, it can also be found in “Charles Beaumont Selected Stories”. It is about an insane mother of a young boy, whose confused about his gender because she has told him he is a female throughout his entire life. Instead of calling him Robert, she refers to him as Roberta and makes him wear little dresses…. When it comes to disciplinary action, the mother is stellar! Instead of giving him the ol’ spanking or taking his toys away, she chooses to murder his pets – right in front of him. Naturally, over time this behavior messes with the boys mental state of mind and he decides to get some payback. I thought this story was great and even fits in well with today’s horror.
THE VANISHING AMERICAN – This story was published in a 1955. It is about a dude who realizes he is disappearing when he stops getting responses or reactions out of people he passes on the street or meets in an elevator. It was very short, but a fun read with a good ending.
A POINT OF HONOR / I’LL DO ANYTHING – This story was published in 1955. It is about a guy named Julio who has been given a special task as initiation to get into a Mexican gang called “THE ACES”. Although he feels a tremendous amount of pressure from his reluctant peers, he is determined to prove that he has the balls to go through with the challenge. This was a really good story, totally comprised of suspense with another ambiguous ending.
FAIR LADY – Although this story was first introduced in this collection, it’s another one that can also be found in “Charles Beaumont Selected Stories”. This story is almost too short to rate. It’s a cute story about an old woman desperate for love.
FREE DIRT – This story was published in 1955 and is about a cheap bastard who will do anything he can to save buck (although his frugal ways are less characterized as economizing and more defined as stealing). The guy is such a cheapskate that he makes several trips out to a graveyard to collect soil, left-over from grave digging, to start a fruit and vegetable garden instead of buying it from a store or supplier. But his cheap ways soon lead to his demise. This story was short but very interesting with a typical Beaumont ending.
OPEN HOUSE – Another one that was previously unpublished…. Eddie Pierce has committed a heinous crime and his alcoholic buddies show up plastered at his apartment shortly after it takes place and ignore Eddie’s pleas to scram so he can get some sleep. This is a good story for you nosey people who can’t take a hint (or refuse to listen). I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense this story delivers.
THE TRAIN – Previously unpublished, the imagination of a ten-year-old boy named Neely gets the best of him and he experiences a state of panic as a result…. I wasn’t crazy about this story. The way it was written was kind of confusing. The very first line of the story baffled the shit out of me. I had to read the first paragraph twice just to make sure I didn’t misread something and confirm that Neely was in fact a human, not “the small hand on a clock” or any other object.
THE DARK MUSIC – This story was published in 1956 and is about a prudish school teacher who hears hypnotic music at night which makes her do things she wouldn’t normally do. This story was surprisingly entertaining but I wasn’t overly fond of the ending.
THE CUSTOMERS – Another easy to read, previously unpublished story…. This one is about an old married couple named Henry and Myrtle Ludlow, who are awaiting an anticipated, private home visit by a dapper salesman who works for a cemetery burial service called “Murmering Everglades”. He’s there to sell them what all people who are approaching death need (or would want to ask for). Although you had an idea where this story was going from the very beginning, it was still very inviting. I can interpret the ambiguous ending, but it didn’t quite deliver for me. I’m not going to say that I felt cheated or anything, but it was anticlimactic.
LAST NIGHT IN THE RAIN / SIN TOWER – This story was published one year prior to the release of this collection and is about a fourteen-year-old girl named Amy, and her friend Josh. Amy is an outcast and unlike most teenage girls. She struggles with self-esteem and issues with social acceptance. An old man, also known as the town nutcase, lives in a tiny wooden shack down by the river (yes…. an SNL reference) and he has a lot in common with Amy in that aspect. Amy has an instant connection with this peculiar old man and proposes an idea which he is incapable, or at least refusing to oblige. She doesn’t handle the denial well…. Neither does Josh. I thought this story was ok, but it was another one that failed to deliver in the end. I think Beaumont could’ve done better. I’m on the fence as to whether or not I would recommend this story to anyone.
THE CROOKED MAN – This story was published in 1955 in “Playboy” magazine and is about a heterosexual couple living in some sort of alternative universe where hetero’s are the queers and targeted for extinction. Given the publishing dates, I can only assume “The Crooked Man” was the inspiration behind Ron Serling’s screenplay of “Eye of the Beholder”, but I cannot confirm this. It was a great story though and I highly recommend it.
NURSERY RHYME – Previously unpublished, this story is about a crazy evening with a troubled family. Randolph and his mentally gone wife, Agnes, have a son named Carlie – who is currently running from authorities for murdering some chick in the woods while being intoxicated. Carlie is forced to run back home where he is tracked down by dogs and his dad has to decide whether to go along with his fabricated alibi or let him suffer the consequences. This story was all suspense driven and was very dark. I’m on the fence as to whether or not I liked it. But, the ending confirmed just how nuts Agnes actually was.
THE MURDERERS – This story was published in “Esquire” magazine in 1955 and is about a couple of mentally deranged alcoholics who are bored one evening and decide it would be fun to kill another human being. They come across an old, homeless dude and invite him back to their apartment to fulfill their agreed arrangement but a slight delay results in an unexpected change of events. This was an interesting story. I certainly underestimated the homeless man and realized I forgot one undeniable truth…. Just because you are homeless, does not mean you are stupid. Homeless people are survivors first…. honest and law abiding citizens second.
THE HUNGER – This story was published in “Playboy” magazine in 1955. It’s about a sexually inexperienced chick named Julia who is on the prowl for a mass murderer on the loose and believed to be lurking around the surrounding areas. This was another classic Beaumont story and also ambiguous. I can see why a lot of people consider this one to be among the best in the anthology. I would definitely recommend reading this one.
TEARS OF THE MADONNA – Another one that was previously unpublished and is about a man named Ramon, who is anxiously awaiting a meeting with a woman named Madonna. This story was very plain and one that I did not enjoy reading. Perhaps that is attributed to me being under the influence of cannabis at the time, but I do not plan on ever reading it again.
THE INFERNAL BOUILLABISSE – Another previously unpublished story…. Frenchaboy, president of the “Gourmet’s Club”, is consumed by a combination of hate and jealousy over another chef in the club named Edmund Peskin. Frenchaboy is constantly haunted by a beloved dish created by Peskin and this recipe overshadows any of the dishes Frenchaboy serves to the other chefs, making him feel inferior. Peskin refers to his famous dish as, “Bouillabaisse a la Peskin” and refuses to reveal his recipe, despite any threats or hostility he may receive…. Developing an obsession with discovering Peskin’s recipe, along with hopes of also putting to rest the torment and feelings of inadequacy, Mr. Frenchaboy pays Peskin a visit at his apartment after a club meeting. This one started out slow, but ended with a bang (no pun intended) and was very entertaining read…. I can honestly say that I had no idea the chain of events that were going to unfold upon Peskin’s visit.
BLACK COUNTRY – This story was published in 1954 and was the first short story ever to be featured in “Playboy” magazine. It’s about a cancer stricken jazz musician who has taken his own life, but leaves something behind. This was one of my least favorite stories in the anthology. I do not plan to ever revisit this one.
FINAL VERDICT: I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I liked Charles Beaumont’s “Selected Stories” short story collection a little more than “The Hunger and Other Stories”, but there are still plenty of awesome stories in this collection. It’s definitely a must read for any “Twilight Zone” fan.
October 21, 2014
Personification is ingenious and really captures the essence of horror ... And what horror books were like in the 1950's. Ie Not much about the supernatural but rather the evils human beings bring to our world. For me it, It is more about his writing and commonly his opening lines, give you the chills. The themes are based mostly on the dangerous fantasies of disturbed people. Since it was post WWII, the horro is actually in humans themselves rather then the supernatural
July 31, 2020
Miss Gentilbelle 4/5
The Vanishing American 2/5
A Point of Honor 3/5
Fair Lady 3/5
Free Dirt 3/5
Open House 2/5
The Train 2/5
The Dark Music 4/5
The Customers 3/5
Last Night the Rain 3/5
The Crooked Man 5/5
Nursery Rhyme 4/5
The Murderers 5/5
The Hunger 4/5
Tears of the Madonna 2/5
The Infernal Bouillabaisse 5/5
Black Country 4/5
Beaumont ended up writing a lot of stories for The Twilight Zone, and with some of these, I can see the blueprint of them. There's a definite irony in some of these. Others, like the title story, are far more sinister. My personal favorite was The Crooked Man, about a world in which heterosexual couples are hunted and discriminated against, which attracted quite a bit of controversy when published in Playboy in 1955.
The Vanishing American 2/5
A Point of Honor 3/5
Fair Lady 3/5
Free Dirt 3/5
Open House 2/5
The Train 2/5
The Dark Music 4/5
The Customers 3/5
Last Night the Rain 3/5
The Crooked Man 5/5
Nursery Rhyme 4/5
The Murderers 5/5
The Hunger 4/5
Tears of the Madonna 2/5
The Infernal Bouillabaisse 5/5
Black Country 4/5
Beaumont ended up writing a lot of stories for The Twilight Zone, and with some of these, I can see the blueprint of them. There's a definite irony in some of these. Others, like the title story, are far more sinister. My personal favorite was The Crooked Man, about a world in which heterosexual couples are hunted and discriminated against, which attracted quite a bit of controversy when published in Playboy in 1955.
September 18, 2023
These stories twisted my guts and made me very uneasy.
July 13, 2025
If ever there was a book of short stories that started with a BANG!, this is it! “Miss Gentibelle” is the story, and BANG it is! “There’s been a lot of death in this house…” That parrot - oh my god!
I recognized the author's name from the old Twilight Zone t.v. episodes and I thought I'd take a chance. I wasn't disappointed! 17 short stories by Beaumont, most of them appearing for the first time in this collection. The first story was definitely my favorite, but there is enough darkness and creepiness to go around! And "The Crooked Man" was a big mind bender for me, with a world where heterosexuality is illegal and homosexuality is the norm! That one first appeared in 1955 - way ahead of its time!
LOVE this blurb from the back cover:
“If you are lily-livered or chicken-hearted or a dangerous maniac, don’t read these stories.”
You’ve been warned!
“The moon is the shepherd,
The clouds are his sheep…”
I recognized the author's name from the old Twilight Zone t.v. episodes and I thought I'd take a chance. I wasn't disappointed! 17 short stories by Beaumont, most of them appearing for the first time in this collection. The first story was definitely my favorite, but there is enough darkness and creepiness to go around! And "The Crooked Man" was a big mind bender for me, with a world where heterosexuality is illegal and homosexuality is the norm! That one first appeared in 1955 - way ahead of its time!
LOVE this blurb from the back cover:
“If you are lily-livered or chicken-hearted or a dangerous maniac, don’t read these stories.”
You’ve been warned!
“The moon is the shepherd,
The clouds are his sheep…”
November 15, 2015
Perhaps best known for his Twilight Zone scripts, Charles Beaumont was an expert at story, whistling his way through grabber beginnings, gripping middles and satisfying ends in telecasts as short as a half-hour. Now, his short stories are finding new readers, and when I saw this collection on Audible and fondly remembered reading a TOR collection twenty-five years ago called "The Howling Man and Other Stories" and spent my monthly Audible credit without hesitation.
While these stories vary between the mildly disturbing to the deeply chilling, they're all woven together with a thread of macabre humour. Beaumont's voice is easy to place within the same generation as other masterful story writers in the same field like Matheson and Bloch, but he's distinctive too. I'm not a jazz musician, but listening to "Black Country" is likely as close as I will ever hear to the authentic voice of a 1950s jazz drummer as he shares a story. Where I find Beaumont most interesting is when he finds the entrance into a character's mind and shows you around and everything seems normal enough... even as each step takes us into darker and darker territory. We all have rooms like that in our heads and Beaumont has the keys to all of them.
Stories like "Miss Gentilbelle", "The Hunger", "The Vanishing American" and "Fair Lady" give us a view into the minds of deeply alienated figures and the concepts that evolve in their minds as a result of their intense loneliness or isolation. The characters do things we tell ourselves we would never do (actually, sometimes the characters tell themselves the same thing), but as we follow them through the stories, we can all too easily imagine taking their hands and following them into the strange places they should never tread. The macabre humour of "Open House" and "Free Dirt" made me laugh out loud occasionally. "The Dark Music" is a particularly rich and satisfying modern gothic tale. "The Crooked Man" is a strange work of speculative fiction about sexuality that is as interesting, relevant and current today as when it was written in the 1950s.
I came to the collection already aware that Beaumont wrote good stories and unfolded the narratives skillfully, but the pleasant surprise here was being reintroduced to his admirable prose style: economical and Spartan at times, peppered with some enviable metaphors, but never florid or unwieldy. You don't need a dictionary, but it's intelligent writing. His sentences have a flow and rhythm that a poet might envy, but it never sounds forced or awkward. It's very readable.
The publisher recruited three readers to give voices to the characters and narrators of the stories and they are all well suited to the material. It's a good listen.
While these stories vary between the mildly disturbing to the deeply chilling, they're all woven together with a thread of macabre humour. Beaumont's voice is easy to place within the same generation as other masterful story writers in the same field like Matheson and Bloch, but he's distinctive too. I'm not a jazz musician, but listening to "Black Country" is likely as close as I will ever hear to the authentic voice of a 1950s jazz drummer as he shares a story. Where I find Beaumont most interesting is when he finds the entrance into a character's mind and shows you around and everything seems normal enough... even as each step takes us into darker and darker territory. We all have rooms like that in our heads and Beaumont has the keys to all of them.
Stories like "Miss Gentilbelle", "The Hunger", "The Vanishing American" and "Fair Lady" give us a view into the minds of deeply alienated figures and the concepts that evolve in their minds as a result of their intense loneliness or isolation. The characters do things we tell ourselves we would never do (actually, sometimes the characters tell themselves the same thing), but as we follow them through the stories, we can all too easily imagine taking their hands and following them into the strange places they should never tread. The macabre humour of "Open House" and "Free Dirt" made me laugh out loud occasionally. "The Dark Music" is a particularly rich and satisfying modern gothic tale. "The Crooked Man" is a strange work of speculative fiction about sexuality that is as interesting, relevant and current today as when it was written in the 1950s.
I came to the collection already aware that Beaumont wrote good stories and unfolded the narratives skillfully, but the pleasant surprise here was being reintroduced to his admirable prose style: economical and Spartan at times, peppered with some enviable metaphors, but never florid or unwieldy. You don't need a dictionary, but it's intelligent writing. His sentences have a flow and rhythm that a poet might envy, but it never sounds forced or awkward. It's very readable.
The publisher recruited three readers to give voices to the characters and narrators of the stories and they are all well suited to the material. It's a good listen.
July 17, 2018
I think it is safe to say there isn't another Charles Beaumont. His work with the Twilight Zone is not perfectly emblematic of his overall work, nor is any of it represented in this collection. I chose this collection because I found a vintage copy and specifically because it held no Twilight Zone material.
There's just something about Beaumont's style that even if you're unsure about the material, his style hooks you and takes you along for the ride until the conclusion. A lot of vague endings, but not necessarily unsatisfying. His words are poetic at times.
I'd recommend it for something very different and to experience the work of a talented writer beyond his famous TZ work.
There's just something about Beaumont's style that even if you're unsure about the material, his style hooks you and takes you along for the ride until the conclusion. A lot of vague endings, but not necessarily unsatisfying. His words are poetic at times.
I'd recommend it for something very different and to experience the work of a talented writer beyond his famous TZ work.
January 27, 2008
Hard to find these days, but the short stories of Charles Beaumont (perhaps better-known for his screenplays and TWILIGHT ZONE work on television) remain milestones in the sort of magical realism for which Ray Bradbury is often cited. Highly recommended.
March 4, 2012
the first collection of short stories by Charles Beaumont who is probably best known today for having written a large number of episodes of the original twilight zone. I had read a best of collection and liked it enough to track down all the original collections it was drawn from.
February 28, 2013
The true master of the weird and wonderful. This may be old school to some but Charles Beaumont is the foundation for many, many writers. Taken too soon he left us with this marvelous and classic collection that is timeless.
August 28, 2012
This has been one of the beat short story collections I have read in years. It was my first Beaumont book I have read, I will actively pursue much more of his writing.
September 14, 2024
Like Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont was a prolific contributor to the original Twilight Zone. However, unlike Matheson, he never achieved the same fame as a writer due to his untimely death at age 38 from what we now can guess was early onset Alzheimer's. He left behind only a few collections, and two novels (one of which, The Intruder, served as the basis for Roger Corman's brilliant adaptation with William Shatner). The Hunger, his first collection, can't really be considered Twilight Zone-material. While it does have elements of the fantastique, it leans much more towards psychological horror and dark comedy. The first story, "Miss Gentilbelle" is the most intense of the lot, and absolutely floored me; it's about a former southern belle living in a gothic mansion who forces her son to dress and live as a girl, and kills his pets as punishment for "transgressions". I felt like puking after reading it, but it's brilliant. The rest of the stories are not as intense, and some of them are semi-clunkers, but there are some real diamonds in there: "The Infernal Bouillabaisse" is a neat twist on the cannibal restaurant story, and "Black Country" is set in the jazz milieu of the late 1950s, and prefigures Cortazar's The Pursuer. Also of note is "Free Dirt", an EC style shocker with a twist ending. Beaumont's prose is also more poetic and lyrical than his contemporaries, and he is far closer to Shirley Jackson in evoking emotion than Matheon's razor-sharp hardness.
August 14, 2025
After finishing Perchance to Dream: Selected Stories I had a hankering for more Beaumont. He had a short career and passed young, tragically, so there isn't a lot of his fiction available. However, to my delight, I came across The Hunger and Other Stories.
Stories like The Vanishing American reminds of Shirley Jackson, dealing with the crisis of an unfulfilled life, lost childhood, nostalgia and the swift passing of time.
The Dark Music is reminiscent of The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. It deals with themes of lust and has some bestial overtones, much like Machen's tale. I reckon it may have been controversial at the time?
Another story that may have upset a few people at the time is the titular The Hunger.
It's a very good collection, and Beaumont has to join the pantheon of great American Horror writers in the vein of Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson and Robert Bloch.
Highly recommended. Also read Perchance To Dream, it is (arguably) an even better collection than this.
Stories like The Vanishing American reminds of Shirley Jackson, dealing with the crisis of an unfulfilled life, lost childhood, nostalgia and the swift passing of time.
The Dark Music is reminiscent of The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. It deals with themes of lust and has some bestial overtones, much like Machen's tale. I reckon it may have been controversial at the time?
Another story that may have upset a few people at the time is the titular The Hunger.
It's a very good collection, and Beaumont has to join the pantheon of great American Horror writers in the vein of Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson and Robert Bloch.
Highly recommended. Also read Perchance To Dream, it is (arguably) an even better collection than this.
November 11, 2019
This Halloween season, I was in the mood for some classic, twisted stories. For a long time, I've wanted to read some of the authors who were instrumental in the writing and development of The Twilight Zone. I decided to start with Charles Beaumont, who was involved with the writing of more than twenty episodes of the classic series.
Immediately, I was pulled toward the Night Ride collection. I felt drawn to it. But I looked at the ratings and reviews of all of Beaumont's work and decided it would be more prudent to start with his first collection, The Hunger. This was where I went wrong.
The writing style is very much of its time. This is great. I was in the mood for the dark, twisty 1950s vibe. With the exception of a couple notable stories, however, this collection didn't really grab me. Many of these relied too much on shock value, whether provided by the twist, or merely by the depravity of the subject. There's also a playfulness in many of these stories that, given their dark nature, comes off as a bit crass. Some of this was the times, but I would venture to guess that part of this was the maturity of the author, and later stories would show more masterful orchestration.
I can't say that Night Ride would've been a better selection for me, as I haven't read it. I do get the impression, however, that it would've better satisfied my thirst for Twilight Zone nostalgia. Maybe someday I'll find out. Or maybe I'll just catch up on my Shirley Jackson reading.
Immediately, I was pulled toward the Night Ride collection. I felt drawn to it. But I looked at the ratings and reviews of all of Beaumont's work and decided it would be more prudent to start with his first collection, The Hunger. This was where I went wrong.
The writing style is very much of its time. This is great. I was in the mood for the dark, twisty 1950s vibe. With the exception of a couple notable stories, however, this collection didn't really grab me. Many of these relied too much on shock value, whether provided by the twist, or merely by the depravity of the subject. There's also a playfulness in many of these stories that, given their dark nature, comes off as a bit crass. Some of this was the times, but I would venture to guess that part of this was the maturity of the author, and later stories would show more masterful orchestration.
I can't say that Night Ride would've been a better selection for me, as I haven't read it. I do get the impression, however, that it would've better satisfied my thirst for Twilight Zone nostalgia. Maybe someday I'll find out. Or maybe I'll just catch up on my Shirley Jackson reading.
September 7, 2023
A collection of lonesome creepy short stories by one of the main writers for “The Twilight Zone.” Surprisingly clever and some ahead of their time. One protagonist is a boy assigned the wrong gender, another a closeted heterosexual in a world where same gender relationships are violently enforced. This later story, “The Crooked Man” will hit differently for many readers. I felt like it was a statement about the arbitrariness of a culture’s gender and sexual expectations. The character’s internal struggle made me think Beaumont must have spent more time than the average cis-straight man of his era considering queer identity. That said it flirts with being a straight man’s nightmare of queer culture in ways that made me uncomfortable. But hey, would love to discuss and debate over a beer!
May 29, 2024
This collection of short fiction by Charles Beaumont features a variety of subjects and genres, mainly in the horror and speculative fiction realm. The earlier stories are mostly the better ones in the book, and some of them have a downright nastiness to them, unlike what I've seen in similar fiction from the 1950s. Some of the tales have the kind of ironic twists to them he would include in his Twilight Zone scripts, though a few of those were fairly easy to predict. I liked many of the stories, though a few left me wanting, as they had pretty disappointing endings. 3.5/5*
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July 11, 2025The first story, "Miss Gentibelle" was a whole 'nuther caliber from the others, which were largely... fine.
"Miss Gentibelle" was an intensely ominous swirl of transphobia, transness, misogyny, and dysphoria. If someone hasn't mined it already, this story would be well worth studying for literary scholars working on gender, sexuality, and transness. (And if anyone has written about it, let me know, please!)
"Miss Gentibelle" was an intensely ominous swirl of transphobia, transness, misogyny, and dysphoria. If someone hasn't mined it already, this story would be well worth studying for literary scholars working on gender, sexuality, and transness. (And if anyone has written about it, let me know, please!)
October 6, 2017
Just finished reading The Hunger and other stories by Charles Beaumont, a great short story collection that was out of print for over 50 years. Do yourself a favor and read it. Delicious horror and science fiction tales that make the skin crawl.
October 22, 2017
A superb collection of beautifully written dark fantasy and horror stories by the author of several of the best Twilight Zone episodes. They range from the grotesque (Free Dirt) to the sublime (The Hunger). An important horror author who died too soon. Well recommended.
March 22, 2019
CB’s very first short story collection. I’d previously read all but two of these stories in later collections of his. I’ve copies of this book in three different formats so needless to say I’m a Beaumont disciple (and goofball) He’s a master in this genre.
March 25, 2019
Anyone familiar with The Twilight Zone may not know Charles Beaumont's name but certainly knows his work. Picked up this collection of stories, and, while uneven at times, some stories (especially the titular one) will stick with me for a long time.
March 23, 2021
Truly amazing. Vivid and visual like anything I’ve ever read, must be the scriptwriter in him that makes him show instead of tell. Dark humor, twisted irony, uncomfortable choices, grimy deaths, beautiful metaphors... the book’s got it all.
February 10, 2022
A nice collection of horror stories bordering on psychological horror. Definitely give it a read if you like reading bite sized horror stories that pack a punch! My favourite stories were Miss Gentilbelle, The Vanishing American and The Crooked Man.
February 12, 2023
I've always had a soft spot for Beaumont. This first collection is his typical blend of s/f, horror, speculative fiction, often with a dash of dark humour. You can see why he wrote episodes for The Twilight Zone, and if you are nostalgic for those then this should be right up your street.
October 14, 2024
These stories rock!
If you like the tv series The Twilight Zone, you will love the short stories of Charles Beaumont. Several were adapted for the show and it’s obvious why Rod Serling wanted them on the show after you read them. Some are humorous, creepy, and sad.
If you like the tv series The Twilight Zone, you will love the short stories of Charles Beaumont. Several were adapted for the show and it’s obvious why Rod Serling wanted them on the show after you read them. Some are humorous, creepy, and sad.
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