Button, Button: Uncanny Stories

Richard Matheson was a prolific, widely celebrated, and formative science fiction, fantasy, and horror author of the 20th and early 21st century. Matheson grew up on the East Coast and moved to California in his 20s. In his childhood and youth, he was inspired by such films as Dracula (1931) and the works of Kenneth Roberts. Matheson served in the army in World War II, and this experience became the inspiration for his novel, The Beardless Warriors. The first story that Matheson ever published was a short story called Born of Man and Woman; it appeared in the 1950 summer edition of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Several more of Matheson’s short stories were published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine and were later compiled into collected works like Uncanny Stories. 

Matheson is notable for his flexibility and creative range, as he can write equally well in verse and prose and has been known to use both plain English and more complex styles. He alternates between stories with a humorous tone and those that deliver much darker implications or social critiques. Many of his stories are short snapshots that examine a specific situation and its consequences, while others delve into character dynamics and deeper themes. In the 21st century, many of Richard Matheson’s previously rejected titles were finally published, including his first novel, Hunger and Thirst. In the 1990s, Matheson explored the Western genre and wrote several screenplays. He was always heavily involved in adaptations of his work and served as an enthusiastic participant in them. Throughout his career, Matheson wrote dozens of short stories and novels and earned a prestigious range of awards, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1984 and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1991. He was also inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010. He died in 2013.

Over the years, Richard Matheson’s work has inspired a massive cultural impact in both visual and print media, and his writing continues to be influential even in the present day. His stories have been adapted into 20 films, including three successful adaptations of I Am Legend. Other notable films inspired by Matheson’s work include Duel, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Legend of Hell House (which continues to be re-adapted), and What Dreams May Come. Several of Matheson’s stories were also adapted into Twilight Zone episodes, including “Night Call,” “Steel,” and “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (of which Richard Matheson was the screenwriter). Many of Richard Matheson’s stories originally appeared in fantasy and science fiction magazines, and their accessibility confirmed his work as an important part of the culture. Even when Matheson’s work is not the direct inspiration for a film, his plot twists focus on everyday people, and his deliberately realistic dystopias serve as inspiration for artists everywhere. For example, director Stephen Spielberg has acknowledged Matheson’s influence in his work. Matheson’s stories often feature dark ironies and examinations of human nature that are designed to be even more ominous than the prospect of the supernatural. Other prolific horror and science fiction writers, such as Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Ray Bradbury, have also cited Matheson’s work as a direct inspiration.