# Is "Nightmare Lake" by Carl Laymon (Richard Laymon) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Nightmare Lake by Carl Laymon (Richard Laymon) (Dell, 1983) is identified by: Dell paperback original in the Twilight: Where Darkness Begins young-adult horror line (number 11), published March 1983 under the Carl Laymon byline (ISBN 0-440-95945-4), a mass-market paperback of about 146 pages. Paperback original under the Carl Laymon byline; no earlier hardcover or other edition precedes it.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Dell paperback original in the Twilight: Where Darkness Begins young-adult horror line (number 11), published March 1983 under the Carl Laymon byline (ISBN 0-440-95945-4), a mass-market paperback of about 146 pages
- As a paperback original there is no dust jacket; the price is printed on the cover
- Written by Richard Laymon under the Carl Laymon pseudonym
- Publisher imprint reads Dell
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Carl Laymon (Richard Laymon) |
| Publisher | Dell |
| Year | 1983 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Dell paperback original in the Twilight: Where Darkness Begins young-adult horror line (number 11), published March 1983 under the Carl… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Dell paperback original in the Twilight: Where Darkness Begins young-adult horror line (number 11), published March 1983 under the Carl Laymon byline (ISBN 0-440-95945-4), a mass-market paperback of about 146 pages. As a paperback original there is no dust jacket; the price is printed on the cover. Written by Richard Laymon under the Carl Laymon pseudonym.

## Is this the true first?
Paperback original under the Carl Laymon byline; no earlier hardcover or other edition precedes it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
N/A (paperback original); later Dell reprints, where they exist, carry an advanced printing line on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Nightmare Lake* by Carl Laymon (Richard Laymon) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/nightmare-lake
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.