Best Selling Books by Richard Matheson

The one remaining human in a world populated with vampires struggles to survive.

The definitive collection of terrifying stories by "one of the greatest writers of the 20th century" (Ray Bradbury), edited by award-winning author Victor LaValle Among the greats of 20th-century horror and fantasy, few names stand above Richard Matheson. Though known by many for novels like I Am Legend and his sixteen Twilight Zone episodes, Matheson truly shines in his chilling, masterful short stories. Since his first story appeared in 1950, virtually every major writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy has fallen under his influence, including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, and Joe Hill, as well as filmmakers like Stephen Spielberg and J.J. Abrams. Matheson revolutionized horror by taking it out of Gothic castles and strange cosmos and setting it in the darkened streets and suburbs we recognize as our own. He infused tales of the fantastic and supernormal with dark explorations of human nature, delving deep into the universal dread of feeling alone and threatened in a dangerous world. The Best of Richard Matheson brings together his greatest hits as chosen by Victor LaValle, an expert on horror fiction and one of its brightest talents, marking the first major overview of Matheson''s legendary career. "[Matheson is] the author who influenced me most as a writer." -Stephen King "Richard Matheson''s ironic and iconic imagination created seminal science-fiction stories . . . For me, he is in the same category as Bradbury and Asimov." -Steven Spielberg "He was a giant, and YOU KNOW HIS STORIES, even if you think you don''t." -Neil Gaiman For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

When Richard Collier, a dying screenwriter, becomes infatuated with Elise McKenna, a celebrated actress at the turn of the century, his love proves strong enough to bring him through time to her side.

This eerie ghost story, from Richard Matheson, the award-winning author of Hell House and I Am Legend, inspired the acclaimed 1999 film starring Kevin Bacon. Tom Wallace lived an ordinary life, until a chance event awakened psychic abilities he never knew he possessed. Now he''s hearing the private thoughts of the people around him-and learning shocking secrets he never wanted to know. But as Tom''s existence becomes a waking nightmare, even greater jolts are in store as he becomes the unwilling recipient of a compelling message from beyond the grave! At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

“Devastating . . . a masterly fable, told with insight, wit, and welcome venom . . . this is Hollywood Hell.”—Clive Barker Alan White is a hot young writer-producer looking for the one megahit every Hollywood writer dreams about. He thinks he’s found it with a new TV show called The Mercenary. The network has never seen anything like it. Sex. Violence. Nudity. This time they’re taking it to the max and the Nielsen ratings are shooting through the roof. Alan couldn’t be happier. Until the morning’s headlines start to read like a rerun of last night’s episode. Until The Mercenary begins to take on a terrifying life of its own. Until it becomes chillingly clear that Alan must cancel his creation—before it cancels him. “[Created By] gets the reader into a wrestler’s grip and will not let him go.”—Peter Straub

Duel, Stephen Spielberg’s terrifying first film, was adapted by Richard Matheson from his nail-biting short story of the same name. But “Duel” is only one of the many classic tales in this outstanding collection of stories by the award-winning author of I Am Legend, Somewhere in Time, What Dreams May Come, and The Incredible Shrinking Man. Remember that murderous semi chasing a driver down a lonely stretch of desert highway? Here are over a dozen unforgettable tales of horror and suspense, including several stunning shockers that inspired timeless episodes of The Twilight Zone. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The author of I Am Legend transforms a lonely mansion into a madhouse where a group must face grisly tricks, shocking twists, and the mind of a killer. In Now You See It, the prolific master of suspense and horror delivers a knock-out tale the likes of which have not been seen since Henry Clouzot’s devilish thriller Diabolique. Some years ago, the Great Delacorte, a famed stage magician, came down with a stroke that left him in a vegetative state, able to move only his eyes. The entire action of the novel is witnessed through these eyes as Delacorte sits in the Magic Room of his country estate, a room custom-tailored to display stage illusions. Delacorte’s son, Max, has taken his name and place as an illusionist in every effort to replace his father. Max is supported by his wife Cassandra and her amazingly identical lookalike younger brother Brian. But for the past year, Cassandra has been poisoning Max’s food with arsenic and a sleeping pill. She wants the act all for herself—but Max has his own ideas, and his revenge is the big dish that Matheson sets before us in this dazzler that offers top-flight fun! Praise for Now You See It “One of his strongest efforts…. We’re all a lot richer to have Richard Matheson among us.”―Dean Koontz “A fascinating variation on the locked-room mystery…with more hairpin turns than a mountain road. Now You See It…is absorbing.”―The Washington Post Book World “There are as many twists and turns as a medieval catacomb in one of the most fun novels of the year.”―Rocky Mountain News “Matheson’s prose is extremely smooth and the pacing frantic.”―The Philadelphia Inquirer

The legendary novel of science-fiction horror: “The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson” (Stephen King). After he is exposed to a radioactive cloud, Scott Carey finds himself shrinking, slowly, day-by-day, inch-by-inch. Scott once had a normal, everyday existence as a husband and father, but as time passes, he becomes a national spectacle, something worthy of newspaper headlines. As Carey shrinks, smaller and smaller, his family become giants, more and more unreachable, and even the family cat becomes a predatory menace. In this world of disproportion, increasingly perilous with each passing day, Scott struggles to survive—and is pushed to the very limits of fear and existence . . . Adapted into the Hugo Award–winning film The Incredible Shrinking Man, this is a classic by the author of I Am Legend and other renowned works—a master of imagination whom Ray Bradbury called “one of the most important writers of the twentieth century.” “A classic of suspense as poignant as it is frightening—a mix that only Richard Matheson could pull off.” —Dean Koontz

In this suspense thriller by the author of I Am Legend and Now You See It, a man is on the run for his life after he’s replaced by an impostor. Government mathematician Chris Barton lives a routine life—until, at the end of an ordinary workday, he finds his car missing from the employee parking lot. When he finally arrives home, there is a stranger living in his house—a man who claims to be him. Thrust suddenly into a surreal world where the evidence of his senses cannot be trusted and strangers are trying to kill him, Chris must avoid violent assassins while following a trail of cryptic clues to regain his life . . . “Matheson is the master of paranoia—pitting a single man against unknown horrors and examining his every slow twist in the wind. 7 Steps is a book to be devoured in one long swallow.” —San Jose Mercury News “Richard Matheson is one of the great names in American terror fiction. 7 Steps to Midnight commands attention. . . . The writing is fortunately up to Matheson''s high standards. This is a novel that flies across the page.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer Praise for Richard Matheson “The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson.” —Stephen King “One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.” —Ray Bradbury

Acclaimed novelist/Eisner-winning graphic novelist Joe Hill collaborated with his father, Stephen King, in Throttle, for the first time on a tale that paid tribute to Richard Matheson''s classic tale, Duel. Now, IDW is proud to present comic-book tellings of both stories in Road Rage. Adapted by Chris Ryall with art by Nelson Daniel and Rafa Garres.

A simple crush could lead to an early grave in this pulp noir thriller for fans of Cornell Woolrich. Young novelist Dave Newton is instantly smitten when he meets blonde, beautiful Peggy. But Peggy has a past full of abuse and terror—and she’s involved with Jerry, a lawyer with mob connections and an old rival from Dave’s college days. Soon, Dave finds himself caught in a love triangle with Peggy and Jerry, desperate to win her affections. But when corpses begin to pile up in Peggy’s wake, Dave must face the truth that either Jerry is a mass murderer—or Peggy is. Praise for Richard Matheson “The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson.”—Stephen King “One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.”—Ray Bradbury

The bestselling author of such classic novels as I Am Legend and What Dreams May Come, Richard Matheson is one of the twentieth century''s acknowledged masters of suspense. Hunted Past Reason is a major literary event: Matheson''s first new novel in seven years-and a gripping tale of madness, paranoia, and murder. It''s supposed to be just an ordinary camping trip, two old acquaintances hiking through the wilderness toward a remote cabin in the woods of northern California. Bob Hansen, a middle-aged family man and author, isn''t anticipating anything worse than sore muscles and maybe a few chilly nights. But the enforced isolation of the hike soon exposes long-hidden rivalries and resentments between Bob and his guide through the forest, a fading TV actor whom Bob has known for several years. The deeper they get into the primeval wilderness and the farther from civilization, the greater the tension between the two men becomes-until the simmering hostility erupts into a terrifying life-or-death struggle for survival. Two men entered the woods, but only one may emerge alive. Hunted Past Reason is a nail-biting thriller in the classic Matheson tradition. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

As the Army and the Apache experience an uneasy peace, the discovery of the body of a man who had been brutally murdered and mutilated threatens to ignite all-out war, and it is up to Indian Agent Billjohn Finley to prevent it.

What if you were told that you could make a fortune just by pushing a button on a box? But pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world . . . someone you don''t know. Would you still push the button? "Button, Button," Richard Matheson''s chilling tale of greed and temptation, is now the basis of The Box, the new film from the director of Donnie Darko. In addition, this outstanding collection also contains many other unforgettable stories by Matheson, the award-winning author of I Am Legend and What Dreams May Come. "The inventive plots and spare but convincing portraits of ordinary men and women caught up in forces beyond their control demonstrate why Stephen King has called Matheson his most significant influence." --Publishers Weekly At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A new collection featuring the story that inspired Real Steel, a major motion picture starring Hugh Jackman.

In this pulp noir thriller for fans of Cornell Woolrich, a man’s past invades his serene family life, and it’s not going away quietly. At 32, Chris Martin lives a conventional life. He’s married with a daughter, runs his own small business, and is working to save up money for a bigger home with his wife, Helen. He is happy and content with this staid but comfortable existence—until a late weeknight phone call turns everything upside down. Chris hasn’t always been the model family man he appears to be. And when his past catches up to him, the terror comes into his home—just where he thought he was safest. As Chris finds all that he loves under attack, he must go to heroic lengths to keep his family and his life together. Inspired the 1970 Charles Bronson film Cold Sweat. Praise for Richard Matheson “The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson.”—Stephen King “One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.”—Ray Bradbury

Together in one volume, the epic stories of two legendary gunfighters! Journal of the Gun Years Winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Novel Back East, they told tall tales of Marshal Clay Hauser, the steely-eyed Civil War veteran who became known as the "Hero of the Plains" for his daring exploits in the raucous cow towns of the frontier. But fame proves to be the one enemy he can never outdraw–and a curse that haunts him to his violent end . . . . The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok James Butler Hickok was a celebrity before there was a Hollywood. As a gunfighter and U.S. marshal, he carved out a legend greater than any fictional hero. Now read the unforgettable story of the man behind the myth. "Matheson excels at the depiction of one man alone, locked in a desperate struggle against a force or forces greater than himself." --Stephen King At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Richard Matheson''s bestselling novel, What Dreams May Come, the basis for the hit movie starring Robin Williams, touched numerous readers with its convincing portrait of life after death, based on years of research and personal reflection. Like that earlier book, The Path is a work of inspirational fiction that comes straight from Matheson''s own deeply held beliefs about spirituality and true nature of existence. The story of one man''s encounter with an enigmatic stranger who imparts to him ten lessons about the true reality of the soul; The Path is not so much a novel as a philosophical dialogue about life and the afterlife. Everyone who read What Dreams May Come and wants to know more about Matheson''s personal philosophy should take a walk along . . . The Path. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Affected by radiation, the main character, a family man in suburbia begins to shrink so that the safe and comforting aspects of home become ever more menacing. An undoubted classic of the fifties sci fi and still one of the most intelligent and well crafted films of the genre which effectively captures the paranoia of Cold War America.

Personally selected by Richard Matheson, the bestselling author of I Am Legend and What Dreams May Come, the stories in Nightmare at 20,000 feet more than demonstrate why Matheson''s regarded as one of our most influential horror writers. Featuring the story "Duel," a nail-biting tale of man versus machines that inspired Steven Spielberg''s first film. Remember that monster on the wing of the airplane? William Shatner saw it on The Twilight Zone, John Lithgow saw it in the movie-even Bart Simpson saw it. "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is just one of many classic horror stories by Richard Matheson that have insinuated themselves into our collective imagination. Here are more than twenty of Matheson''s most memorable tales of fear and paranoia, including: "Prey," in which a terrified woman is stalked by a malevolent Tiki doll, as chillingly captured in yet another legendary TV moment; "Blood Son," a disturbing portrait of a strange little boy who dreams of being a vampire; "Dress of White Silk," a seductively sinister tale of evil and innocence. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The New York Times bestseller A LOVE THAT TRANSCENDS HEAVEN AND HELL What happens to us after we die? Chris Nielsen had no idea, until an unexpected accident cut his life short, separating him from his beloved wife, Annie. Now Chris must discover the true nature of life after death. But even Heaven is not complete without Annie, and when tragedy threatens to divide them forever, Chris risks his very soul to save Annie from an eternity of despair. Richard Matheson''s powerful tale of life---and love---after death was the basis for the Oscar-winning film starring Robin Williams.

Back East, they told tall tales about Marshall Clay Halser, the fearless Civil War veteran who became known as the "Hero of the Plains" for his daring exploits in the Wild West. But the truth, as revealed in his private journals, is even more compelling. A callow youth in search of excitement, Halser travels to the raucous cow towns of the frontier, where his steady nerve and ready trigger finger soon mark him as a gunfighter to be reckoned with. As both an outlaw and a lawman, he carves out a legendary career. But fame proves to be the one enemy he can never outdraw–and a curse that haunts him to the bitter end . . . . At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

An essential collection of rare tales of terror from the multi-award-winning Twilight Zone scripter and I Am Legend author—only available in ebook format. A researcher encounters an exotic new strain of “Backteria” that causes the infected person to vanish—leading the doctor on a path of discovery deep into a past he should have left buried. A simple “Haircut” that starts off as a routine trim becomes a dark and terrifying experience when a barber is confronted with a sick customer who seems otherworldly. A case of mistaken identity leads to a darkly farcical story of marriage, murder, and a love that knows no bounds in “Getting Together.” Backteria & Other Improbable Tales gathers these and sixteen more uncanny short stories from master storyteller Richard Matheson, “one of the great names in American terror fiction” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Stories include: “Backteria”, “He Wanted to Live”, “Life Size”, “Man with a Club”, “Professor Fritz and the Runaway House”, “Purge Among Peanuts”, “The Prisoner”, “The Last Blah in the ETC”, “Counterfeit Bills”, “1984 ½”, “Pride”, “Now Die In It”, “Leo Rising”, “Where There’s a Will” (written with Richard Christian Matheson), “Getting Together”, “Person to Person”, “CU: Mannix”, “Haircut”, “An Element Never Forgets” “The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson.” —Stephen King “Perhaps no other living author is as responsible for chilling a generation with tantalizing nightmare visions.” —The New York Times “Matheson’s a writer who just has the special knack, the deft skill to imagine terrifying scenarios on any scale, large and small, and give them chilling possibility.” —Los Angeles Times

An early pulse-pounding thriller from the Twilight Zone scribe and multi-award-winning author of I Am Legend. Vincent was a brilliant pianist, but a disturbed personality. The asylum he was committed to could not hold him. He escaped on an early Sunday morning, bent on revenge against those who betrayed him—his manager and the man who married his lover, Ruth. With his temper spiraling out of control, Vincent pursued his prey without mercy, brutally slaughtering anyone who got in his way. For four hours he would terrorize a community. His rage would not be sated no matter how much blood he spilled. And he refused to let anyone keep him from Ruth ever again . . . Richard Matheson, “one of the great names in American terror fiction,” unleashes a relentless novel of chilling suspense in Fury on Sunday (The Philadelphia Inquirer). “The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson.” —Stephen King “Perhaps no other living author is as responsible for chilling a generation with tantalizing nightmare visions.” —The New York Times “Matheson’s a writer who just has the special knack, the deft skill to imagine terrifying scenarios on any scale, large and small, and give them chilling possibility.” —Los Angeles Times

"Hell House is the scariest haunted house novel ever written. It looms over the rest the way a mountain looms over foothills." --Stephen King

Ordinary people face hair-raising dangers in these four early suspense novels by the celebrated author of I Am Legend. The Shrinking Man In this sci-fi suspense classic adapted into multiple films, a man exposed to radiation begins to shrink at an alarming rate. As his life crumbles, he must survive menacing attacks from house cats and spiders. Camp Pleasant An idyllic summer camp turns horrifying when a young counselor is the witness to the murder of the new camp director. The mystery unfolds in a “simple style that recalls Hemingway” (Publishers Weekly). Hunger and Thirst In this previously unpublished early novel, a man is shot during a robbery gone wrong and wakes up to find himself paralyzed. Lying in his hospital bed, he flashes back to his difficult life and hopes for redemption. 7 Steps to Midnight At the end of an ordinary workday, mathematician Chris Barton finds a stranger living in his house, claiming to be him. Thrust into a surreal world of violence and mystery, Chris must go on the run and follow a series of cryptic clues to regain his life.

In 1944, long before he wrote such classic novels as I Am Legend and What Dreams May Come, author Richard Matheson served as an eighteen-year-old replacement in the 87th Division during the latter part of the war in Europe. His tour of duty there inspired this acclaimed novel, The Beardless Warriors, about a group of equally young and inexperienced soldiers thrown into the fury of combat. The Beardless Warriors are a squad of teenage U.S. infantrymen fighting their way across Germany during the final weeks of the war. Under fire and in over their heads, the fresh-faced young men must grow up fast if they ever hope to see home again. Everett Hackermeyer is the latest soldier to join the squad, "Hack," a troubled youth from a hellish family background, faces a new kind of inferno on the front lines, only to discover hidden reserves he never knew he possessed. Ironically, he doesn''t come to value his own life until he runs the very real chance of losing it. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Originally published: New York: Viking Press, 1975.

Someone is Bleeding -- Fury on Sunday -- Ride the Nightmare.

The visionary first novel by the author of What Dreams May Come in which a man paralyzed by a gunshot reflects on his sordid past and hopes for redemption. Hunger and Thirst is Richard Matheson’s first and until now previously unpublished novel, written fifty-plus years ago when Matheson was only twenty-three-years-old. Matheson’s agent told him it was unpublishable due to its length and so to that end, Matheson put the manuscript in a drawer and left for California where his writing career changed dramatically. Hunger and Thirst centers around Erick, who lies paralyzed on his hospital bed after being shot during a botched bank robbery. Erick contemplates how his life became such a mess—from his childhood, to his service in the war, his romantic life, and now—and holds out hope to be saved… Perfect for fans of Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game Praise for Richard Matheson “One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.”—Ray Bradbury “The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson.”—Stephen King

Four classic novels of murder, madness, revenge, and survival by “one of the great names in American terror fiction” (Philadelphia Inquirer). I Am Legend Named the best vampire novel of the century by the Bram Stoker Estate, I Am Legend is the story of the last man to survive a pandemic that turned the rest of humanity into blood-sucking monsters. Someone Is Bleeding In Matheson’s debut novel, a young novelist falls for a beautiful woman who is involved with a shady lawyer. But the love triangle turns dangerous when corpses begin to pile up in the woman’s wake. Ride the Nightmare A family man saving up for larger home, Chris Martin lives a conventional life—until a secret from his past invades his home, threatening everything he has built. Fury on Sunday A lunatic pianist escapes from an insane asylum one Sunday morning and spends the next four hours on a revenge-fueled rampage to find his erstwhile manager and his lover’s new husband.

Wild Bill Hickok was a celebrity before there ever was a Hollywood. And he was dead before he was forty. Now Richard Matheson, Spur Award-winning author of Journal of the Gun Years, delves into the life and times of James Butler Hickok . . . gunfighter, U.S. marshal, legend. The cruelty that turned him violent. The fears that drove him. And the historic events that cause his name to live on more than century later. A compelling vision of the man behind the myth--and an unforgettable journey into the American frontier. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Two great Western novels at one low price from the New York Times bestselling author, Richard Matheson The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok Gunfighter. US Marshall. Legend. James Butler Hickok was a celebrity before there was a Hollywood...and he was dead before he was forty. Spur Award-winning author Richard Matheson delves into the life and times of the man behind the myth. The cruelty that turned him violent. The fears that drove him. And the unforgettable events that cause his name to live on more than a century later. Shadow on the Sun Southwest Arizona. An uneasy truce exists between the remote frontier town of Picture City and the neighboring Apaches. That delicate peace is threatened when the mutilated bodies of two white men are found. The angry townspeople are certain the “savages” have broken the treaty, Billjohn Finley, the local Indian agent, but has another suspect in mind. There’s a tall, dark stranger in town, and he rode in wearing the dead men’s clothes.... At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.