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The Edge
Stop! Before you fall into a pit of horror - that world of strange, ghoulish fantasy beyond the rainbow of consciousness, beyond time and space, an eerie world of green skies and distant, disturbing horizons...
Stop and think! For once you have ventured into this land, there will be no returning to the clear, comforting light of day.
The fiend in you will have been awakened!
Stop and think! For once you have ventured into this land, there will be no returning to the clear, comforting light of day.
The fiend in you will have been awakened!
- GenresHorror
143 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
22 people want to read
About the author
Charles Beaumont
208 books171 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 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 27, 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 out of print and difficult to find collection contains some of his best pieces. 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.
Song for a Lady - 3/5 - lady, from the moment I saw you, standing whoaoa all alone
The Magic Man - 4/5 - try, try, try to understand
The Music of the Yellow Brass - 3/5 - south of the border, down Mexico way
Night Ride - 3/5 - 'cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
The New Sound - 3/5 - hello darkness my old friend
The Last Caper - 3/5 - you know he knows just exactly what the facts is
The Love-Master - 4/5 - you must be sure that the girl is pure for the Funky Cold Medina
The New People - 5/5 - can this still be real or some crazy dream?
Mother's Day - 3/5 - word to your moms, I came to drop bombs
The Neighbors - 4/5 - live together in perfect harmony
The Howling Man - 5/5 - here come the man with the look in his eye
Song for a Lady - 3/5 - lady, from the moment I saw you, standing whoaoa all alone
The Magic Man - 4/5 - try, try, try to understand
The Music of the Yellow Brass - 3/5 - south of the border, down Mexico way
Night Ride - 3/5 - 'cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
The New Sound - 3/5 - hello darkness my old friend
The Last Caper - 3/5 - you know he knows just exactly what the facts is
The Love-Master - 4/5 - you must be sure that the girl is pure for the Funky Cold Medina
The New People - 5/5 - can this still be real or some crazy dream?
Mother's Day - 3/5 - word to your moms, I came to drop bombs
The Neighbors - 4/5 - live together in perfect harmony
The Howling Man - 5/5 - here come the man with the look in his eye
June 14, 2018
If you can get past that cover shot, fantastic collection of macabre fiction!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews