Search Worlds Without End

The story of a modern man whose love for a woman he has never met draws him back in time to a luxury hotel in San Diego in 1896 where he finds his soulmate.

"Born of Man and Woman" is a science fiction/horror short story by Richard Matheson. It was his first professional sale, written when he was twenty-two years old.

Nominated in 2014 for the 1938 Retro Hugo Award. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Summer 1950. It has been reprinted many times and can be found in the anthologies:

• The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951 (1951), edited by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty
• The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One (1970), edited by Robert Silverberg
• The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction: A 30 Year Retrospective (1980), edited by Edward L. Ferman
• The Road to Science Fiction 4: From Here to Forever (1982), edtied by James Gunn
• The Great SF Stories 12 (1950) (1984), edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg
• The Dark Descent: The Evolution of Horror (1987), edited by David G. Hartwell
• The Century's Best Horror Fiction 1901-1950 (2012), John Pelan

The story is included in the collections:

• Born of Man and Woman (1954)
• Third from the Sun (1955)
• Richard Matheson: Collected Stories (1989)
• Duel: Terror Stories (2003)
• The Best of Richard Matheson (2017)

This short story originally appeared in Playboy, June 1970. It has been collected and anthologized numerous times.

It was the basis for the 2009 movie The Box (also as the second segment of the twentieth episode from the first season (1985-86) of the television series The Twilight Zone).

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay
• Button, Button - (1970) - short story
• Girl of My Dreams - (1963) - short story
• Dying Room Only - non-genre - (1953) - short story
• A Flourish of Strumpets - (1956) - short story
• No Such Thing As a Vampire - (1959) - short story
• Pattern for Survival - (1955) - short story
• Mute - (1962) - novelette
• The Creeping Terror - (1961) - short story (variant of A Touch of Grapefruit 1959)
• Shock Wave - (1963) - short story (variant of Crescendo)
• Clothes Make the Man - (1951) - short story
• The Jazz Machine - (1962) - poem
• 'Tis the Season to Be Jelly - (1963) - short story

This short story originally appeared in Fantastic Story Magazine, March 1953. It has been collected and anthologized a number of times.

It was the basis for episode 108 (1963) of The Twilight Zone.

This short story originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1953. It has been collected and anthologized several times.

It was the basis for episode 11 (1959) of The Twilight Zone.

Rolf Rudolph Deutsch is going die. But when Deutsch, a wealthy magazine and newpaper publisher, starts thinking seriously about his impending death, he offers to pay a physicist and two mediums, one physical and one mental, $100,000 each to establish the facts of life after death.

Dr. Lionel Barrett, the physicist, accompanied by the mediums, travel to the Belasco House in Maine, which has been abandoned and sealed since 1949 after a decade of drug addiction, alcoholism, and debauchery. For one night, Barrett and his colleagues investigate the Belasco House and learn exactly why the townfolks refer to it as the Hell House.

This short story originally appeared in Amazing Stories, October-November 1953. It has been collected and anthologized a number of times.

It was the basis for episode 91 (1962) of The Twilight Zone.

This novelette originally appeared in the anthology The Fiend in You (1962), edited by Charles Beaumont. It has been collected and anthologized several times.

It was the basis for episode 107 (1963) of The Twilight Zone.

This novelette originally appeared in the collection Alone by Night (1962). It has been collected and anthologized numerous times.

It was the basis for episode 123 (1963) of The Twilight Zone.

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:

"Duel," the nail-biting tale of man versus machines that inspired Steven Spielberg's first film;

"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.

Personally selected by Richard Matheson, the bestselling author of I Am Legend and What Dreams May Come, these and many other stories, more than demonstrate why he is rightfully regarded as one of the finest and most influential horror writers of our generation.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Stephen King
• Nightmare at 20,000 Feet - (1962)
• Dress of White Silk - (1951)
• Blood Son - (1951)
• Through Channels
• Witch War - (1951)
• Mad House - (1953)
• Disappearing Act - (1953)
• Legion of Plotters - (1953)
• Long Distance Call - (1953)
• Slaughter House - (1953)
• Wet Straw - (1953)
• Dance of the Dead - (1955)
• The Children of Noah - (1957)
• The Holiday Man - (1957)
• Old Haunts - (1957)
• The Distributor - (1958)
• Crickets - (1960)
• First Anniversary - (1960)
• The Likeness of Julie - (1962)
• Prey - (1969)

In the aptly titled Offbeat, Richard Matheson, a modern master of strange fiction, offers thirteen excursions into the unsettling and bizarre. In these stories you will encounter a major league pitcher with a horrific secret for his astonishing success; an ordinary man who wakes to find himself in a silent, empty world; a death row prisoner with an extraordinary explanation for his innocence; and a novelist whose fictional creations transcend the printed page.

Contents:

• 9 - Introduction (Off Beat: Uncollected Stories) - (2003) - essay by William F. Nolan
• 15 - Relics - (1999) - short story
• 27 - Blunder Buss - (1984) - short story
• 37 - And Now I'm Waiting - (1983) - short story
• 55 - All and Only Silence - (2003) - short story
• 65 - Phone Call From Across the Street - (2003) - short story
• 71 - Maybe You Remember Him - (2003) - novelette
• 93 - Mirror, Mirror... - (2003) - short story
• 107 - Two O'Clock Session - (1991) - short story
• 111 - And In Sorrow - (2000) - novelette
• 135 - The Prisoner - (2001) - short story
• 155 - Always Before Your Voice - (1999) - novelette
• 177 - That Was Yesterday - (2002) - short story
• 183 - Afterword (Off Beat: Uncollected Stories) - (2003) - essay
• 189 - A Checklist of First Editions (Off Beat: Uncollected Stories) - (2003) - essay by uncredited

For over half a century, Richard Matheson has enthralled and terrified readers with such timeless classics as I Am Legend, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Duel, Somewhere in Time, and What Dreams May Come. Now the Grand Master returns with a bewitching tale of erotic suspense and enchantment....

1918. A young American soldier, recently wounded in the Great War, Alex White comes to Gatford to escape his troubled past. The pastoral English village seems the perfect spot to heal his wounded body and soul. True, the neighboring woods are said to be haunted by capricious, even malevolent spirits, but surely those are just old wives' tales.

Aren't they?

A frightening encounter in the forest leads Alex into the arms of Magda Variel, an alluring red-haired widow rumored to be a witch. She warns him to steer clear of the wood and the perilous faerie kingdom it borders, but Alex cannot help himself. Drawn to its verdant mysteries, he finds love, danger... and wonders that will forever change his view of the world.

Other Kingdoms casts a magical spell, as conjured by a truly legendary storyteller.

In his lifetime, Robert Bloch wrote more than four hundred short stories and a dozen novels, including some of the most celebrated works of psychological suspense and horror of the twentieth century. When Robert Bloch was dying, hundreds of people - fans, fellow writers, people he had been close to for decades, and others whom he had never met - wrote to thank him for his work and his impact on their lives. Their words were the inspiration for Robert Bloch: Appreciations of the Master.

This book, then, is a collection unlike any other. Thirty writers, filmmakers, and actors have opened their hearts to speak about Robert Bloch, his influence on their careers, and his friendship. The book presents examples of the very best of Bloch's short fiction, including the rarely reprinted "The Dead Don't Die!" An excerpt from an unproduced screenplay by Bloch, adapting Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson's Hoka!, appears here for the first time anywhere. Bloch's nonfiction is not neglected, for this volume also includes one of his articles on the role of violence and gore in film, "The Clown at Midnight."

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Ricia Mainhardt
• Tribute - (1984) - essay by Douglas E. Winter
• Our Bob - (1995) - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Introduction to "The Cloak" - (1995) - essay by Peter Straub
• The Cloak - (1939) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "Beetles" - (1995) - essay by Gahan Wilson
• Beetles - (1938) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Tribute - (1995) - essay by Andre Norton
• Tribute - (1995) - essay by Christopher Lee
• Introduction to "I Do Not Love Thee, Dr. Fell" - (1995) - essay by William F. Nolan
• I Do Not Love Thee, Dr. Fell - (1955) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "Enoch" - (1995) - essay by Richard Matheson
• Enoch - (1946) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "Sweets to the Sweet" - (1995) - essay by Hugh B. Cave
• Sweets to the Sweet - (1947) - short story by Robert Bloch
• On Robert Bloch - (1995) - essay by William Tenn
• That Hell-Bound Train - (1958) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "The Final Performance" - (1995) - essay by David J. Schow
• The Final Performance - (1960) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Robert Bloch - A Personal Appreciation - (1995) - essay by Randall D. Larson
• The Pin - (1953) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "The Animal Fair" - (1995) - essay by Joe R. Lansdale
• The Animal Fair - (1971) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Bob, We Bearly Knew Ye...The Hokas, Hollywood, and Development Hell - (1995) - essay by Jeff Walker
• Scenes from a Screenplay: Earthman's Burden - (1995) - short fiction by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "The Plot is the Thing" - (1995) - essay by Jeff Walker
• The Plot is the Thing - (1966) - short story by Robert Bloch
• One Small Anecdote Starring R. Bloch and H. Ellison - (1991) - essay by Harlan Ellison
• Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper - (1943) - short story by Robert Bloch
• The Good Old Days - (1995) - essay by Julius Schwartz
• Lessons - (1995) - essay by Melissa Ann Singer
• A Toy for Juliette - (1967) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Tribute - (1995) - essay by Arthur C. Clarke
• More than Most - (1995) - essay by Philip José Farmer
• All on a Golden Afternoon - (1956) - novelette by Robert Bloch
• Tribute - (1995) - essay by Brian Lumley
• Introduction to "Notebook Found in a Deserted House" - (1995) - essay by Ramsey Campbell
• Notebook Found in a Deserted House - (1951) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "The Clown at Midnight" - (1995) - essay by Bill Warren
• The Clown at Midnight - (1960) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Four in the Back - (1995) - essay by Mick Garris
• Introduction to "A Good Knight's Work" - (1995) - essay by William Peter Blatty
• A Good Knight's Work - (1941) - short story by Robert Bloch
• A Chip Off the Old Bloch - (1995) - essay by Sheldon Jaffery
• The Yougoslaves - (1986) - novelette by Robert Bloch
• Robert Bloch: An Appreciation - (1994) - essay by Stephen King
• Introduction to "The Dead Don't Die!" - (1995) - essay by Stephen Jones
• The Dead Don't Die! - (1951) - novella by Robert Bloch
• Tribute - (1995) - essay by Neil Gaiman
• Introduction to "Warning: Death May Be Injurious to Your Health" - (1995) - essay by Neil Gaiman and Stephen Jones
• Warning: Death May Be Injurious to Your Health - (1991) - poem by Robert Bloch
• Remembering Bob Bloch - (1994) - essay by Ray Bradbury
• Introduction to "The Pied Piper Fights the Gestapo" - (1995) - essay by Richard Matheson
• The Pied Piper Fights the Gestapo - (1942) - short story by Robert Bloch

Originally published as a mass-market Western in 1994, Shadow on the Sun has been out of print for years and was largely overlooked by horror fans and general readers.

Now at last this forgotten tale of supernatural terror returns to chill the blood of Matheson's many fans.

Southwest Arizona, a century ago. An uneasy true exists between the remote frontier community of Picture City and the neighboring Apaches. That delicate peace is shredded when the bodies of two white men are found hideously mutilated. The angry townspeople are certain the "savages" have broken the treaty, but Billjohn Finley, the local Indian agent, fears that darker, more unholy forces may be at work. There's a tall, dark stranger in town, who rode in wearing the dead men's clothes. A stranger who may not be entirely human....

This short story originally appeared in Beyond Fantasy Fiction, November 1953. It has been collected and anthologized many times.

It was the basis for episode 139 (1964) of The Twilight Zone.

This novelette originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1956. It has been collected and anthologized numerous times.

It was the basis for episode 122 (1963) of The Twilight Zone.

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.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Victor LaValle
• Born of Man and Woman - (1950)
• Prey - (1969)
• Witch War - (1951)
• Shipshape Home - (1952)
• Blood Son - (1951)
• Where There's a Will - (1980)
• Dying Room Only - (1953)
• Counterfeit Bills - (2004)
• Death Ship - (1953)
• Dance of the Dead - (1955)
• Man with a Club - (2003)
• Button, Button - (1970)
• Duel - (1971)
• Day of Reckoning - (1960)
• The Prisoner - (2001)
• Dress of White Silk - (1951)
• Haircut - (2006)
• Nightmare at 20,000 Feet - (1962)
• The Funeral - (1955)
• Third from the Sun - (1950)
• The Last Day - (1953)
• Long Distance Call - (1953)
• Deus Ex Machina - (1963)
• One for the Books - (1955)
• Now Die in It - (2010)
• The Conqueror - (1954)
• The Holiday Man - (1957)
• No Such Thing as a Vampire - (1959)
• Big Surprise - (1959)
• A Visit to Santa Claus - (1957)
• Finger Prints - (1962)
• Mute - (1962)
• Shock Wave - (1963)

This short story originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1950. It has been collected and anthologized several times.

It was the basis for episode 14 (1960) of The Twilight Zone.

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 the divided soul mates will do anything to reach each other across the boundaries between life and death. When tragedy threatens to divide them forever, Chris risks his very soul to save Annie from an eternity of despair.

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.

Robert Neville may well be the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone.

An incurable plague has mutated every other man, woman, and child into bloodthirsty, nocturnal creatures who are determined to destroy him. By day, he is a hunter, stalking the infected monstrosities through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn....

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay
• Born of Man and Woman - (1950) - short story
• Third from the Sun - (1950) - short story
• When the Waker Sleeps - (1950) - short story
• From Ray Bradbury - essay by Ray Bradbury
• Blood Son - (1951) - short story
• Clothes Make the Man - (1951) - short story
• Dress of White Silk - (1951) - short story
• Return - (1951) - short story
• The Thing - (1951) - short story
• Through Channels - (1951) - short story
• Witch War - (1951) - short story
• From Robert Bloch - essay by Robert Bloch
• Advance Notice - (1952) - short story
• Brother to the Machine - (1952) - short story
• F--- - (1952) - short story
• Lover When You're Near Me - (1952) - novelette
• Mad House - (1953) - novelette
• Shipshape Home - (1952) - short story
• SRL Ad - (1952) - short story
• To Fit the Crime - (1952) - short story
• Death Ship - (1953) - short storye
• From William F. Nolan - essay by William F. Nolan
• Disappearing Act - (1953) - short story
• The Disinheritors - (1953) - short story
• Dying Room Only - non-genre - (1953) - short story
• Full Circle - (1953) - short story
• The Last Day - (1953) - short story
• Lazarus II - (1953) - short story
• Legion of Plotters - (1953) - short story
• Little Girl Lost - (1953) - short story
• Long Distance Call - (1953) - short story
• Slaughter House - (1953) - novelette
• Trespass - (1953) - novelette
• The Wedding - (1953) - short story
• Wet Straw - (1953) - short story
• Being - (1954) - novelette
• The Conqueror - (1954) - short story
• From Jack Finney - essay by Jack Finney
• The Curious Child - (1954) - short story
• Dear Diary - (1954) - short story
• Descent - (1954) - short story
• The Doll That Does Everything - (1954) - short story
• The Man Who Made the World - (1954) - short story
• The Test - (1954) - short story
• The Traveller - (1954) - short story
• When Day Is Dun - (1954) - short story
• Dance of the Dead - (1955) - short story
• The Funeral - (1955) - short story
• Miss Stardust - (1955) - short story
• One for the Books - (1955) - novelette
• Pattern for Survival - (1955) - short story
• From George Clayton Johnson - essay by George Clayton Johnson
• A Flourish of Strumpets - (1956) - short story
• The Splendid Source - (1956) - short story
• Steel - (1956) - novelette
• A Visit to Santa Claus - (1957) - short stoy
• The Children of Noah - (1957) - short story
• The Holiday Man - (1957) - short story
• Lemmings - (1958) - short story
• Old Haunts - (1957) - short story
• The Distributor - (1958) - short story
• The Edge - (1958) - short story
• Big Surprise - (1959) - short story
• The Creeping Terror - (1959) - short story
• Deadline - (1959) - short story
• Mantage - (1959) - novelette
• No Such Thing as a Vampire - (1959) - short story
• From Harlan Ellison - essay by Harlan Ellison
• Crickets - (1960) - short story
• Day of Reckoning - (1960) - short story
• First Anniversary - (1960) - short story
• From Shadowed Places - (1960) - novelette
• Nightmare at 20,000 Feet - (1962) - short story
• Finger Prints - (1962) - short story
• The Likeness of Julie - (1962) - short story
• Mute - (1962) - novelette
• Deus Ex Machina - (1963) - short story
• Girl of My Dreams - (1963) - short story
• The Jazz Machine - (1962) - poem
• From Stephen King - essay by Stephen King
• Shock Wave - (1963) - short story
• 'Tis the Season to Be Jelly - (1963) - short story
• Interest - (1965) - short story
• A Drink of Water - (1967) - short story
• Therese - (1969) - short story
• Prey - (1969) - short story
• Button, Button - (1970) - short story
• From Dennis Etchison - essay by Dennis Etchison
• By Appointment Only - (1970) - short story
• Finishing Touches - (1970) - short story
• 'Til Death Do Us Part - short story
• The Near Departed - (1987) - short story
• Buried Talents - (1987) - short story
• Duel - (1971) - novelette
• From Richard Christian Matheson - essay by Richard Christian Matheson

Contents:

• 1 - Editor's Preface (Richard Matheson: Collected Stories Volume One) - (2003) - essay by Stanley Wiater
• 15 - Born of Man and Woman - (1950) - short story
• 19 - Third from the Sun - (1950) - short story
• 27 - When the Waker Sleeps - (1950) - short story (variant of The Waker Dreams)
• 45 - Blood Son - (1951) - short story (variant of "Drink My Red Blood...")
• 55 - Clothes Make the Man - (1951) - short story
• 61 - Dress of White Silk - (1951) - short story
• 67 - Return - (1951) - short story
• 89 - The Thing - (1951) - short story
• 101 - Through Channels - (1951) - short story
• 109 - Witch War - (1951) - short story
• 117 - Advance Notice - (1952) - short story (variant of Richard Matheson's Letter to the Editor)
• 125 - Brother to the Machine - (1952) - short story
• 133 - F--- - (1952) - short story (variant of The Foodlegger)
• 151 - Lover When You're Near Me - (1952) - novelette
• 175 - Mad House - (1953) - novelette
• 207 - Shipshape Home - (1952) - short story
• 227 - SRL Ad - (1952) - short story
• 239 - To Fit the Crime - (1952) - short story
• 247 - Death Ship - (1953) - short story
• 271 - Disappearing Act - (1953) - short story
• 287 - The Disinheritors - (1953) - short story
• 299 - Dying Room Only - non-genre - (1953) - short story
• 317 - Full Circle - (1953) - short story
• 333 - The Last Day - (1953) - short story
• 351 - Lazarus II - (1953) - short story
• 363 - Legion of Plotters - (1953) - short story
• 373 - Little Girl Lost - (1953) - short story
• 387 - Long Distance Call - (1953) - short story (variant of Sorry, Right Number)

Contents:

• 1 - Editor's Preface (Richard Matheson: Collected Stories Volume Two) - (2005) - essay by Stanley Wiater
• 3 - Dream/Press Introduction (Richard Matheson: Collected Stories Volume Two) - (1989) - essay
• 13 - Gauntlet Press Introduction 2003 (Richard Matheson: Collected Stories Volume Two) - (2003) - essay
• 49 - Trespass - (1953) - novelette (variant of Mother by Protest)
• 51 - Slaughter House - (1953) - novelette
• 89 - The Wedding - (1953) - short story
• 99 - Wet Straw - (1953) - short story
• 107 - Being - (1954) - novelette
• 141 - The Conqueror - (1954) - short story
• 159 - From Jack Finney (Richard Matheson: Collected Stories Volume Two) - (2005) - essay by Jack Finney
• 161 - The Curious Child - (1954) - short story
• 171 - Dear Diary - (1954) - short story
• 175 - Descent - (1954) - short story
• 189 - The Doll That Does Everything - (1954) - short story
• 199 - The Man Who Made the World - (1954) - short story
• 209 - The Test - (1954) - short story
• 229 - The Traveller - (1954) - short story
• 243 - When Day Is Dun - (1954) - short story
• 249 - Dance of the Dead - (1955) - short story
• 265 - The Funeral - (1955) - short story
• 275 - Miss Stardust - (1955) - short story
• 293 - One for the Books - (1955) - novelette
• 313 - Pattern for Survival - (1955) - short story
• 317 - From George Clayton Johnson (Richard Matheson: Collected Stories Volume Two) - (2005) - essay by George Clayton Johnson
• 319 - A Flourish of Strumpets - (1956) - short story
• 329 - The Splendid Source - (1956) - short story
• 347 - Steel - (1956) - novelette
• 373 - A Visit to Santa Claus - non-genre - (1957) - short story
• 387 - The Children of Noah - (1957) - short story
• 405 - The Holiday Man - (1957) - short story
• 411 - Lemmings - (1958) - short story
• 415 - Old Haunts - (1957) - short story
• 427 - The Distributor - non-genre - (1958) - short story
• 445 - The Edge - (1958) - short story

The last of a three volume set of Richard Matheson's Collected Stories. Volume Three includes some of Matheson's most famous stories including Duel upon which the Steven Spielberg movie was based. 33 stories.

Inch by inch, day by day, Scott Carey is getting smaller. Once an unremarkable husband and father, Scott finds himself shrinking with no end in sight. His wife and family turn into unreachable giants, the family cat becomes a predatory menace, and Scott must struggle to survive in a world that seems to be growing ever larger and more perilous--until he faces the ultimate limits of fear and existence.

Subsequently re-published as The Incredible Shrinking Man.

Although Rod Serling, who created the classic television series that ran from 1959 to 1965, is the writer most associated with The Twilight Zone, he was not, of course, the only one. Serling was a serious admirer of horror, fantasy, and science fiction, and he scoured every magazine and collection available to find stories suitable for his series. This anthology showcases almost every original story that had been adapted into an episode. The result is a masterful collection of 30 classic tales by Richard Matheson (who also wrote the warmly nostalgic introduction), Charles Beaumont, Ray Bradbury, Damon Knight, Lewis Padgett, Jerome Bixby, and Manly Wade Wellman, among others. Fans of The Twilight Zone will enjoy revisiting their favorite episodes in literary form, but even if you've never seen the show, you'll enjoy this fine anthology.

Table of Contents:

• Preface - essay by Carol Serling
• Introduction - essay by Richard Matheson
• One for the Angels - (1985) - short fiction by Anne Serling
• Perchance to Dream - (1958) - short story by Charles Beaumont
• Disappearing Act - (1953) - short story by Richard Matheson
• Time Enough at Last - (1953) - short story by Lyn Venable
• What You Need - (1945) - short story by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore [as by Lewis Padgett]
• Third from the Sun - (1950) - short story by Richard Matheson
• Elegy - (1953) - short story by Charles Beaumont
• Brothers Beyond the Void - (1952) - short story by Paul W. Fairman
• The Howling Man - (1959) - short story by Charles Beaumont
• It's a Good Life - (1953) - short story by Jerome Bixby
• The Valley Was Still - (1939) - short story by Manly Wade Wellman
• The Jungle - (1954) - novelette by Charles Beaumont
• To Serve Man - (1950) - short story by Damon Knight
• Little Girl Lost - (1953) - short story by Richard Matheson
• Four O'Clock - (1958) - short story by Price Day
• I Sing the Body Electric! - (1969) - novelette by Ray Bradbury
• The Changing of the Guard [by Rod Serling] - (1985) - essay by Anne Serling
• In His Image - (1957) - novelette by Charles Beaumont
• Mute - (1962) - novelette by Richard Matheson
• Death Ship - (1953) - short story by Richard Matheson
• The Devil, You Say? - (1951) - novelette by Charles Beaumont
• Blind Alley - (1943) - novelette by Malcolm Jameson
• Song for a Lady - (1960) - short story by Charles Beaumont
• Steel - (1956) - novelette by Richard Matheson
• Nightmare at 20,000 Feet - (1962) - short story by Richard Matheson
• The Old Man - (1962) - short story by Henry Slesar
• The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross - (1961) - short story by Henry Slesar
• The Beautiful People - (1952) - short story by Charles Beaumont
• Long Distance Call - (1953) - short story by Richard Matheson
• An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge - (1890) - short story by Ambrose Bierce