I know a lot of people are saying "who is Richard
Matheson?" He was one of the most influential writers of our time. There
are very few writers who can say they influenced writers such as Stephen King
and Anne Rice. Stephen King named Matheson as one of his biggest influences,
and Anne Rice has said Richard Matheson's short story "A dress of white
silk," was one of her prime influences for her vampires. Still not
impressed? Not much of a reader? More of a movie buff? Ever seen a little movie
called I am Legend, starring Will Smith? Or What dreams may come, or Button,
Button, a.k.a. The box, or Hell house, a.k.a. The legend of Hell House, or The
twilight zone episode, where the man freaks out on a plane saying there is a
man on the wing? Yup! You guessed it, all written by Richard Matheson. Even if
you don't read books, you have been exposed to this man’s work. Pop culture
lost a great writer yesterday, but this man will live forever with his
contributions to books and movies.
Here's a list of some of this great authors work.
Movies:
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
Beat Generation (1959)
House of Usher (1960)
Master of the World (1961)
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Burn Witch Burn (1962); a.k.a. Night of the Eagle
(screenplay co-written with Charles Beaumont and George Baxt based on the novel
Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber
Tales of Terror (1962)
The Raven (1963)
The Comedy of Terrors (1963)
The Last Man on Earth (as "Logan Swanson", based
on Matheson's novel I Am Legend)(1964)
Fanatic (1965)
The Young Warriors (1967)
The Devil Rides Out (1968)
De Sade (1969)
The Legend of Hell House (based on his novel) (1973)
Somewhere in Time (based on his novel) (1980)
Twilight Zone: The Movie: Fourth segment "Nightmare at
20,000 Feet" (1983)
Jaws 3-D (1983)
Loose Cannons (1990)
The Box (2009)
Novels:
Someone is Bleeding (1953)
Fury on Sunday (1953)
I Am Legend (1954) filmed as The Last Man on Earth, The
Omega Man, I Am Omega and I Am Legend
The Shrinking Man (1956); filmed as The Incredible Shrinking
Man and subsequently reprinted under that title; also the basis of the film The
Incredible Shrinking Woman
A Stir of Echoes (1958); filmed as Stir of Echoes
Ride the Nightmare (1959); adapted as an episode of The
Alfred Hitchcock Hour and later filmed as Cold Sweat (1970 film)
The Beardless Warriors (1960); filmed as The Young Warriors
The Comedy of Terrors (1964), with Elsie Lee; filmed as The
Comedy of Terrors
Hell House (1971); filmed as The Legend of Hell House
Bid Time Return (1975); filmed as Somewhere in Time and
subsequently reprinted under that title
What Dreams May Come (1978); filmed as What Dreams May Come
Earthbound (Playboy Publications, 1982), as by Logan
Swanson[4] — editorially abridged version; restored text published as by
Richard Matheson, 1989[citation needed]
Journal of the Gun Years (1992)
The Gunfight (1993)
7 Steps to Midnight (1993)
Shadow on the Sun (1994)
Now You See It ... (1995)
The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickock (1996)
The Path: A New Look at Reality (1999)
Passion Play (2000)
Hunger and Thirst (2000)
Camp Pleasant (2001)
Abu and the 7 Marvels (2002)
Hunted Past Reason (2002)
Come Fygures, Come Shadowes (2003)
Woman (2006)
Other Kingdoms (2011)
Generations (2012)
Books of note
